Dec 11th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Sunday Times Business Person of the Year 2022: The shortlist
The Sunday Times
In a year buffeted by war, falling markets and government upheaval, we present the shortlist for the business person who has stood out above the rest
Ben van Beurden, Shell
The Dutchman will call time on a 40-year career at Shell in 2023, having spent nine years in the hot seat. He gambled early in his tenure on the £36 billion takeover of gas giant BG Group, relocated Shell’s head office to London, and cut its dividend when the oil price tanked during Covid. But the company has surged this year on the back of higher oil prices stoked by the Ukraine war. Van Beurden, 64, leaves Shell in a fitter state and with plans to embrace green energy —read more
LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Shell (SHEL.L) is about to get a new boss. Chief Executive Ben van Beurden, who has been in situ since the start of 2014, is likely to step down from the $192 billion oil giant next year, Reuters has reported read more . Plenty of credible candidates exist to replace him, but one looks the most obvious.
Despite battling with two major oil price slumps and an unprecedented 66% cut to Shell’s dividend in April 2020, Van Beurden’s track record looks acceptable. Since Jan. 1 2014, when he took over, Shell shares have returned 67%… He also pulled off the $70 billion purchase of BG Group in 2016, which made it a leading force in liquefied natural gas (LNG).read more
Shell shareholders are to be kept waiting for higher dividend payouts as the oil giant labours under a massive debt pile.
The Anglo-Dutch company has pledged to distribute up to 30pc of cash flow to shareholders as soon as its debts come down to $65bn (£47bn), as it tries to keep investors on board while it moves towards lower carbon energy.read more
Shell has written down the value of some of its gas assets, including its Queensland Curtis project in Australia.
As the Shift to Green Energy Speeds Up, Shell’s Big Natural-Gas Bet Is at Risk. The fuel faces growing environmental scrutiny and competition from cleaner energy sources
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni are seeking to sell their oil and gas operations in Tunisia, industry sources said, as the North African country struggles to attract new investments following years of political instability.
Shell has hired investment bank Rothschild & Co. to sell its Tunisian assets, which include two offshore gas fields and an onshore production facility the Anglo-Dutch company acquired as part of its 2016 $53 billion takeover of BG Group, the sources told Reuters.read more
Shell CEO takes pay cut in 2020 for the second straight year
By Reuters Staff: MARCH 11, 2021: 8.30 am
March 11 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive Ben van Beurden pay package nearly halved in 2020, a year in which the oil major’s profit tumbled because of low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Van Beurden, who became CEO in 2014, oversaw sharp growth in Shell’s oil and gas output following the 2016 acquisition of BG Group for $53 billion.
But an unprecedented hit to the energy sector last year, knocked oil prices into negative territory for the first time in history, and forced major players to cut dividend payouts and management pay to weather the storm.read more
Shell cuts exploration ambitions in Norway, to focus on natural gas
By Reuters Staff: 9 February 2021
OSLO, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell will narrow its exploration scope in Norway to focus on natural gas production and possibly offshore wind in future, it told the Norwegian oil and energy ministry.
Shell said in October it planned to reduce its oil and gas operations to nine basins around the world as part of its strategy to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations. It is expected to announce details of its new strategy on Thursday.read more
Is former BG Group/Shell Exec Sami Iskander carrying any reputational baggage?
MESSAGE POSTED BY JOHN DONOVAN ON OUR SHELL BLOG: 4 FEB 2021
POSTED ON BEHALF OF AN INVESTIGATIVE CONTACT:
Newly former Shell executive Sami Iskander has been appointed CEO to London-traded energy company Petrofac, which is facing corruption allegations in Italy and from the U.K.’s SFO.
The question is whether Iskander, who was one of only four executives from British Gas retained by Shell when the two merged in 2015, brings any baggage with him?read more
The oil giant was forced into its first dividend cut in more than 70 years earlier this year thanks to the oil price crash and the coronavirus pandemic.read more
Shell on Wednesday announced a major reorganization that will see thousands of jobs lost. The last major reorganization dates back to 2016 when Shell cut 10,000 jobs after the acquisition of BG Group.
English translation of an article published by the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Times.
Thousands of jobs at stake in Shell reorganization, not spared
Shell on Wednesday announced a major reorganization that will see thousands of jobs lost. The restructuring is also reportedly hitting the top layers of management. The restructuring is needed to reduce costs as oil prices have fallen sharply and the outlook has deteriorated. Shell is also working on it. a new strategy. This will be revealed early next year.read more
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is looking to slash up to 40% off the cost of producing oil and gas in a major drive to save cash so it can overhaul its business and focus more on renewable energy and power markets, sources told Reuters.
Shell’s new cost-cutting review, known internally as Project Reshape and expected to be completed this year, will affect its three main divisions and any savings will come on top of a $4 billion target set in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.read more
Big Oil’s patchy deals record casts shadow over green makeover
When Shell bought BG Group for $54 billion in 2016 in the midst of the price crash, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden made a compelling case to investors…: Speaking in July, Shell’s CEO stood by the deal. “The company did get stronger, but indeed the company was not able to withstand the onslaught of COVID if we wanted to adopt a prudent stance … I remain convinced it was the right move,” van Beurden told reporters.read more
Royal Dutch Shell Plc had been turning out about 2.7 million barrels of oil each day until the novel coronavirus took hold of the world. Demand for oil, the company’s core product, dropped almost a third in April, and the price of West Texas Intermediate briefly dipped into negative numbers for the first time.
It’s not easy to run an oil major when people suddenly stop needing oil. Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden responded by slashing spending and cutting Shell’s dividend for the first time since World War II. And, as critics warned, the company remains saddled with debt from its $53 billion acquisition of BG Group in 2015.read more
English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FT
Shell needs to consider Van Beurden succession
From our editor
CFO Jessica Uhl and CEO Ben van Beurden before the start of the Shell Shell shareholders’ meeting in Scheveningen last May. Photo: Piroschka van de Wouw / Reuters
In brief
Investors say in the Sunday Telegraph that Shell should reflect on the position of its top man.
The British newspaper published a story based on anonymous sources.
Shell is struggling: last week, the dividend was cut for the first time in decades.
One of Shell’s largest shareholders has suggested that the oil and gas company should start thinking about succeeding CEO Ben van Beurden, the day after Shell reduced its dividend for the first time since World War II. That writes the Sunday Telegraph. The British newspaper has spoken to two investors from the top 20 largest shareholders, one of which says it is time for a ‘changing of the guard’.read more
While everyone is understandably watching the meltdown in the crude oil market, the global market for natural gas is also cratering.
At least 20 cargoes of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been cancelled by buyers in Asia and Europe, according to Reuters. The global pandemic and the unfolding economic crisis have slashed demand for gas worldwide. Cheniere Energy, one of the main exporters of U.S. LNG, has seen an estimated 10 cargoes cancelled by buyers halfway around the world, Reuters said.read more
Mr Gould, clearly an avid reader of this Blog, has now amended his profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn to show that he is no longer a Board member of Saudi Aramco, but is now a Board member at Occidental Petroleum. Sadly, however, like most of his BG Group counterparts he did not check his profile thoroughly enough, because it shows that he is still (May 2012 – Present) Chairman of BG Group, a defunct oil and gas company.
Listen and read proof in audio and transcript form of Shell CEO Ben van Beurden’s cover-up tactics in the OPL 245 Nigerian corruption scandal. The instruction given by him in the covertly recorded call to CFO Simon Henry was at odds with Shell’s claimed core business principles. Cover-up and obstruction, instead of transparency and integrity, says Shell critic John Donovan
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
JOHN DONOVAN TV DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEW
SHELL EXECUTIVES AT THE CENTER OF A SCHEME TO STEAL $1.3 BILLION FROM NIGERIA’S PEOPLE
SHELL ADMITS DEALING WITH NIGERIAN MONEY LAUNDERER – BBC NEWS
SHELL, ENI AND NIGERIAN OFFICIALS IN OPL 245 CORRUPTION SCANDAL
INVESTIGATION OF OPL 245 NIGERIAN OIL CORRUPTION SCANDAL
DUTCH EARTHQUAKES CAUSED BY SHELL/EXXON
SHELL KILLS FOR OIL IN NIGERIA
ESTHER KIOBEL: EVIL OIL GIANT SHELL COLLUDED IN THE EXECUTION OF MY INNOCENT HUSBAND
SHELL LIED ABOUT CLEANING UP OIL IN NIGER DELTA
SHELL SPIES INFILTRATED NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT
LEGO DROPS SHELL OVER GREENPEACE OIL SPILL VIDEO
SHELL ARCTIC DRILLING ACCIDENTS
SHELL KNEW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE DECADES AGO
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL FOUNDER SIR HENRI DETERDING, NAZI FINANCIER
JOHN DONOVAN PROMOTIONAL GAMES FOR SHELL AND OTHER CLIENTS
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