Why the World Worries About Russia’s Nord Stream Pipeline

Gazprom owns the project operator, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors contributing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11.6 billion) cost. By Dina Khrennikova and Anna Shiryaevskaya | Bloomberg: Feb. 25, 2021 A natural gas pipeline being built under the Baltic Sea from Russia to the German coast is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, fuels worries in the U.S. and other countries that the link could give the Kremlin new leverage over Germany and other NATO allies. Pipe construction, halted in 2019, resumed in December 2020, yet U.S. sanctions still threaten to pull the brakes on the project backed by the Russia’s Gazprom PJSC.

1. What is Nord Stream 2?

It’s a 1,230-kilometer (764-mile) gas pipeline that will double the capacity of the existing undersea route from Russian fields to Europe — the original Nord Stream — which opened in 2011. Gazprom owns the project operator, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors contributing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11.6 billion) cost. Initially expected to come online by the end of 2019, the link has been delayed by U.S. sanctions that forced Swiss contractor Allseas Group SA to withdraw its pipelaying vessels when all but 160 kilometers of the link was in place. When Nord Stream 2 started construction again, Russian vessels were deployed to lay 2.6 kilometers in Germany’s exclusive economic zone. In January 2021 work resumed on the Danish section. read more

Shell, Simply Blue Energy in joint venture for offshore wind project

Floating turbines off south coast will supply power for up to 800,000 homes

Kevin O’Sullivan Environment & Science Editor: 27 JAN 2021

Shell has signed an agreement with Irish marine renewables developer Simply Blue Energy to acquire a 51 per cent share in a floating wind farm to be built off the south coast.

The joint venture will produce up to 1 gigawatt of power when fully operational – equivalent to Ireland’s largest generating station at Moneypoint in Co Clare, and capable of powering 800,000 homes.

“This partnership combines the floating wind track record and local knowledge of Simply Blue Energy with Shell’s offshore experience, floating wind expertise and ability to develop large complex projects,” Simply Blue chief executive Sam Roch-Perks said. read more

Translation of an article published by the Dutch financial newspaper, the FD. 

Shell Crown Prince: ‘We must show more predictable financial results’

Shell has had a bad year. The global corona pandemic left a huge hole in the financial results. The oil and gas multinational had to write off more than $20 billion on oil and gas fields and announced it would cut thousands of jobs.

Bert van Dijk 31 Dec ’20

Huibert Vigeveno is in charge of all Shell refineries and petrol stations. These will play a key role in the coming years, expects the 51-year-old Dutchman, tipped as a successor to Shell CEO Ben van Beurden. About CO₂ emissions: ‘There is often a gap between what a company promises and what it actually does. With us it is the other way around. ‘ read more

Natural gas output at Europe’s largest onshore gas field, the Netherlands’ Groningen, continued to fall sharply in December following the Dutch government’s tightening of the production quota, with volumes down 43% year on year.

The rapidly declining output at the field has eaten away at Dutch gas stocks, which have now fallen below Gas Year 2018 levels and are well below the European average.

A production cap has been put in place to prevent earthquakes linked to gas extraction at Groningen and the Dutch government plans to phase out gas extraction at the field completely by mid-2022. read more

Directors of an Irish subcontractor, OSSL, testified under oath in an Irish court that OSSL distributed bribes on behalf of Shell, including over €30k in free alcohol to the Irish police. The purpose of the corruption was to smooth the path of the controversial Corrib Gas Project, which had attracted huge public protests in Ireland.

For more information read the Observer/Guardian article: “Strange tale of Shell’s pipeline battle, the Gardaí and £30,000 of booze.”

Published by John Donovan of royaldutchshellplc.com read more

Zacks Equity Research: September 11, 2019

The government of the Netherlands recently stated that gas production from the Groningen field, once biggest in Europe, will be gradually phased out by mid-2022 (eight years earlier than planned) to lower the risk and damages from the earthquakes caused by drilling. Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV or NAM, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell PLC RDS.A and Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM is the operator of the field.

Earlier-than-planned halt of the Groningen gas field resulted from the frequently felt earth tremors with 3.4 magnitude earthquakes hitting the region in January 2018 as well as earlier in 2019, thereby coercing a dip in the extraction levels and a vow by the government to stop production as early as possible. read more

The British-Australian newspaper The Guardian discovered that Shell Energy Holdings Australia is trying to “get under” *(evade/dodge/escape/deflect?) the bill through the courts.

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FT, Financieele Dagblad

Shell in conflict with Australian tax authorities

Maarten van Dun: 27 August 2019

Pedestrians walk past a Shell station in Melbourne. Photo: Carla Gottgens / Bloomberg

Shell has appealed against a decision by the Australian tax authorities. The ATO believes that Shell should pay back a tax benefit of A $ 755 million, converted to € 460 million. The Anglo-Dutch oil company wants to get rid of this tax assessment through the courts.

Shell received the tax assessment from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for its share in Australia’s largest gas field, the Browse project. That field is off the coast of Western Australia and has an estimated value of A $ 30 bln. Shell has a 27% share in the gas field, which has been developing for fifteen years. However, production has never started due to the low global gas prices. Since 2016, the work has stopped completely. read more

The people who some would say have sold their souls to a toxic oil company with an evil history. Back Row: Catherine J. Hughes, Sir Nigel Sheinwald GCMG, Euleen Goh, Gerrit Zalm, Linda G. Stuntz, Roberto Setubal, Ann Godbehere. Front Row: Jessica Uhl (CFO), Ben van Beurden (CEO), Charles O. Holliday (Chair), Tjalling Wiersma, and Gerard Kleisterlee

HOW TO GRAB MAXIMUM ATTENTION AT MINIMUM COST TO VENTILATE YOUR GRIPE OR CAMPAIGN AGAINST SHELL, WHETHER ON THE GROUNDS OF OPL 245 CORRUPTION, PLUNDER, POLLUTION, ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS, PERSONAL INJURY, OR ALLEGED COMPLICITY IN THE MURDER OF THE OGONI 9.

BECOME A SHELL INVESTOR AND GENERATE AWARENESS AT AN INVESTMENT COST OF JUST OVER £30. THAT MODEST INVESTMENT WILL ALLOW YOU TO RAISE A RUCKUS AGAINST ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC AT ITS AGM IN FRONT OF THE ASSEMBLED SHELL BOARD, SHELL SHAREHOLDERS AND THE NEWS MEDIA.

The information in italics comes from a Daily Mail article published on 12 August 2019.

You can buy shares through an AJ Bell Youinvest account online for £9.95, for example, with ongoing fees of up to £7.50 a quarter.

You need to purchase only one share in the company you want to target. A share in Shell currently costs £23.98…

Once you are a shareholder, you should be sent the firm’s annual report and other information for investors, which can also be found on its website.

You will also have the right to attend annual general meetings (AGMs) and vote on company policies. read more

The top lawyer at Shell has already disputed irrefutable evidence and threatened legal action against me, but it has all proven to be empty bluster. The last thing Shell wants is for its Nazi past to be aired in open court. 

By John Donovan

Toxic ramifications from Nazi business connections continue to make news headlines several decades after the end of WW2.

Two weeks ago we published a story about Shell arising from a New York Times article published on 14 June 2019 revealing that billionaire descendants of a family who control a company which owns Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Pret A Manger and a number of other famous brands are grappling with the exposure of an unspeakable secret – a Nazi history. See No atonement from Royal Dutch Shell for its Nazi history read more

Royal Dutch Shell will set carbon emissions targets next year and link these to executive pay, reversing its chief executive’s opposition and following intense pressure from shareholders who want fossil fuel companies to take greater responsibility for their contribution to global warming. FULL FT ARTICLE

The deal resulted in Shell taking a sizeable financial hit as a consequence…

Want to read more?

FULL ARTICLE

Malcolm Brinded, standing trial for Corruption in Italy over Nigerian OPL 245 oil deal, a key figure in many Shell scandals, including the tragic deaths on Brent Bravo.

EMAIL TO ALL MP’s: ON 1st OCT, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL CEO BEN VAN BEURDEN HAD ADVANCE SIGHT OF THE TOXIC FACTS SET OUT HEREIN. NO LEGAL ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN TO STOP YOU SEEING THIS. 

Although I am not one of your constituents, I hope you agree that the safety of UK offshore workers is a matter of importance to ALL MP’s. Some unfortunate Royal Dutch Shell workers have already lost their lives. More lives are at stake. Please at least glance through the information below, which includes my name and address. 

SHELL NORTH SEA PLATFORM WORKER DEATHS DESERVING A FULLY INFORMED PUBLIC INQUIRY

Just how bad does has a company have to be before the Church of England withdraws investment on ethical grounds?

You may have seen the email I recently sent to over around 1,000 parliamentarians, including senior clergy and the former Scottish Energy Minister Baroness Liddell, who, as you will see, has a Shell connection. The email was about the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Church of England’s significant investment in Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Many thanks for all the responses received.

I would like to bring to your attention just one of the many scandals rattling around in Shell’s corporate cupboard. read more

From: John Donovan
Subject: Next Email to Parliamentarians
Date: 1 October 2018 at 21:00:35 BST
To: [email protected]
Cc: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>, William Campbell

Dear Mr Thomson

Printed below is a draft of my next email to Parliamentarians. Usual invitation: Shell is welcome to point out for rectification any inaccurate information. Shell is also invited to provide comment for unedited inclusion alongside the article in a prominent form. If I receive no response by Wednesday noon I will assume Shell does not wish to take up these invitations. More time will happily be given for Shell to provide any such substantive response if so requested before the deadline. Accuracy of stated facts is far more important than any rush to publication. I am sure Mr. Campbell will let me know if he spots any error in regard to matters known by him. If Shell does not want to have advance sight of future such emails, then please advise accordingly and I will comply with that request. Yours sincerely John Donovan

DRAFT

EMAIL TO ALL MP’s AND PROMINENT MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: ROYAL DUTCH SHELL LAWYERS HAVE HAD ADVANCE SIGHT OF WHAT YOU ARE HOPEFULLY ABOUT TO READ.

SHELL NORTH SEA PLATFORM WORKER DEATHS DESERVING A PUBLIC INQUIRY

Just how bad does has a company have to be before the Church of England withdraws investment on ethical grounds?

You may have seen the email I recently sent to over around 1,000 parliamentarians, including senior clergy and the former Scottish Energy Minister Baroness Liddell, who has a Shell connection. The email was about the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Church of England’s significant investment in Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Many thanks for all the responses received.

Today I would like to bring to your attention just one of the many scandals rattling around in Shell’s corporate cupboard. read more

Seán McCárthaigh: August 2, 2018

The release of odourless gas into the national network last September, meaning 10,000 homes had to go without gas for days, was due to poor operating procedures at the Corrib gas refinery in Co Mayo. A report by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) concluded that the emergency on September 21, 2017, was due to a technical failure at the Shell E&P Ireland terminal at Bellanaboy. The CRU said it had followed up its findings with enforcement actions against both Shell and Gas Networks Ireland (GNI), which operates the national gas network. As gas has no smell, odourant is added by Shell at its Bellanaboy facility so that people can identify any leaks. The investigation found that the company’s operating procedures did not allow… Continue reading article read more

Reuters Staff: BUSINESS NEWS: MARCH 5, 2018 / 11:00 AM

MILAN (Reuters) – An Italian court on Monday postponed to May 14 the start of a trial of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Eni (ENI.MI) executives over alleged corruption in Nigeria.

The decision confirms what three sources had told Reuters on Friday. The trial was originally expected to start on Monday.

The case involves the 2011 purchase by Eni and Shell of Nigeria of Nigeria’s OPL-245 offshore oilfield – one of Africa’s most valuable oil blocks – for about $1.3 billion (941.07 million pounds). read more

Mary Carolan: 13 FEB 2018

A campaigner against the Corrib gas project in Co Mayo has urged the High Court to quash a ministerial consent for a pipeline bringing gas to a refinery at Ballinaboy.

From the time of her first submission in May 2001 to Mayo County Council concerning the project, and despite not being able to argue every facet of what later took place, “I knew what was at stake”, Maura Harrington said.

She had recognised, from “day one”, the entire project was “a land, sea and air attack on the place that is Erris”. read more

Listen to wire-tapped call implicating Ben van Beurden in OPL 245 corruption cover-up. 

By John Donovan

• Hear an admission by BvB that Shell had not been open with the U.S. Dept of Justice in regard to a related Shell Nigerian corruption scandal already subject to a 61 page Deferred Prosecution Agreement.
• Concern expressed by BvB over potential share-price sensitive fallout, rather than the obvious priority of being open with shareholders as pledged in Shell’s claimed business principles. 
• Express instruction from BvB to Simon Henry at the close of the call: “don’t volunteer any information that is not requested.” How can that be construed other than as potential obstruction of an investigation involving police and the other important authorities BvB mentions. Significantly, Simon Henry did not resist that unethical and perhaps criminal instruction. Even if material evidence was discovered internally at Shell, the unavoidable implication was that its existence should not be disclosed to the police. That order came from the very top. BvB has not made an apology or comment on his instruction. 
• Inexplicably, both BvB and Simon Henry chuckled at times during the discussion. Perhaps a case of Shell shock at the dawn raid carried out at Shell HQ earlier that day by an army of 60 investigators, which triggered the call?

Listen and read the proof in audio and transcript form confirming current Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden and then CFO colleague Simon Henry have both been infected with the deeply ingrained culture of cover-up adopted by successive Shell executive directors.

At the time of the incriminating wire-tapped telephone conversation in Feb 2016, a police dawn raid had just taken place at RDS HQ in The Hague searching for evidence in relation to the OPL 245 billion dollar Nigerian oil deal corruption scandal. read more