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Project Delays Will Cost These Oil Majors Billions

Jul 29th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-04-06 at 21.01.34Extracts from a Motley Fool article by Rupert Hargreaves published 28 July 2014

In total, Kashagan is now expect to cost a total of $136 billion, more than 140% above initial estimates. Production has been consistently delayed; the most recent delay, which occurred at the end of last year, concerns the project’s pipelines. At present, the project is being overseen by Italy’s Eni, although ExxonMobil is shortly set to take over. Shell, Eni, and Total all have a 16.8% stake in the project, and Morgan Stanley’s analysts believe that as a result of the delays, these three companies will have their 2016 net income estimates reduced by $500 million each. That is a large figure, even for these oil giants. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Europe’s ‘ghost town’ refineries spook oil company results

Jul 24th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 00.07.20Extracts from a Reuters article by Christopher Johnson published Wednesday 23 July 2014

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) – Europe is coming under increasing pressure to close oil refineries as chronic over-capacity hits processing margins, dragging down group profits and hitting share prices.

Poland’s PKN Orlen and Czech processor Unipetrol both announced unexpected large losses on Wednesday after impairment charges at processing plants.

Larger oil peers Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Eni will report next week and refining is expected to weight heavily on the results.

Stephen George, principal consultant at KBC Advanced Technologies and a specialist in global refining economics, says many European refiners will have to close eventually, no matter how strong the political pressure to save jobs. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reflections on the notorious Kashagan ‘Cash All Gone” project 

Jul 8th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan

In view of the recent shattering news from the jinxed Kashagan project…

Production at Kazakhstan’s Kashagan Oil Field Halted Until 2016

…it is interesting to reflect back on the situation as it was in 2007, reported in this Reuters article by Tom Bergin.

It seems that not much has changed.

It also explains why Royal Dutch Shell ended up issuing a profits warning and launching a fire sale of assets, following a succession of disastrous projects mired by incompetence.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Report: Exxon May Take Over as Kashagan Operator

Jun 6th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-04-06 at 21.01.34Extract from a Reuters/Rigzone article by Dmitry Zhdannikov, published Friday 6 June 2014

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) – U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil is in line to take over as operator of the giant Kashagan field in an attempt to fix the beleaguered $50 billion project offshore Kazakhstan, industry publication Nefte Compass reported on Friday. The Kashagan shareholders are Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, France’s Total and Kazakh state oil company Kazmunaigas, each with 16.8 percent, and Japan’s Inpex and China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) as junior partners.

FULL ARTICLE

RELATED ARTICLE

Kashagan Appoints Exxon Executive To Run Troubled Oil Venture

ALMATY, June 6 (Reuters) – The troubled Kashagan oil development has named an executive from U.S. firm Exxon Mobil to run the venture while also streamlining its complicated structure in an attempt to fix the beleaguered $50 billion project offshore Kazakhstan. The group said on Friday Stephane de Mahieu, an Exxon secondee, had become managing director as of May 1, 2014. However, it denied a report in industry publication Nefte Compass that Exxon would take over as operator of Kashagan saying that instead all seven oil firms involved will be effectively operators through a rejigged venture. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Kashagan ‘Cash All Gone’ Pipeline Debacle

May 21st, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Shell has been a key participant in the Kashagan project consortium which includes Eni and ExxonMobil. Given its notorious track record of over-promise and under delivery, having Shell involved is a bad omen for any elephant project.

By John Donovan

The latest news from the “Cash All Gone” project (as it is widely known) is that due to the need to replace fatally flawed leaking pipelines, the oilfield may not restart until 2016. 

The project is already years behind schedule and countless billions over budget.

I have received some related comment and questions from a retired Royal Dutch Shell EP expert that deserve to be put into the public domain.

Shell has been a key participant in the Kashagan project consortium which includes Eni and ExxonMobil. Given its notorious track record of over-promise and under delivery, having Shell involved is a bad omen for any elephant project.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Kashagan oilfield may not restart until 2016

May 21st, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-04-06 at 21.01.34Extracts from a Reuters article by Mariya Gordeyeva published 21 May 2014 under the headline: Kashagan oilfield may not restart until 2016, Kazakh minister says

May 21 (Reuters) – Oil output at Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan field may not resume until early 2016, Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said on Wednesday, urging foreign partners to start replacing leaky pipelines at the deposit. Production at Kashagan, the world’s biggest oil find in 35 years, started last September but halted in early October after the discovery of gas leaks in the $50 billion project’s pipeline network. The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which develops the offshore field in the Caspian Sea, said last month that it did not expect to produce oil this year due to the leaks. “It (production) may restart by the end of 2015 if all goes well,” Karabalin told Reuters on the sidelines of the Astana Economic Forum. “Otherwise, it may turn out to be early 2016. NCOC includes Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, China’s CNPC, Japan’s Inpex and Kazakh state-run company KazMunaiGas. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Kashagan project closed indefinitely

Apr 24th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-04-06 at 21.01.34Extract from oilprice.com article by James Burgess published 23 April 2014 under the headline: “Kashagan Field Plans Pipeline Replacement”

After weeks of review, the operators of Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan oil field have concluded that pipelines carrying oil and gas will need to be replaced due to extensive damage. The consortium — which includes Eni, Total, Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil — has been repeatedly frustrated by delays and engineering obstacles. With the discovery of the severely corroded pipelines, the project, which was shut down in October 2013 after a brief start, is now closed indefinitely. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Another blow to Royal Dutch Shell

Apr 6th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-04-06 at 21.01.34Extract from a Steve LeVine article published 6 April 2014 by qz.com under the headline: “Kazakhstan’s largest oilfield will be shut down for at least two years”

Kashagan will be shut for at least two years while specialty pipelines are made to resist the unforeseen impact of toxic gas, according to a source close to the project. In recent weeks, word has dribbled out that Kashagan—one of the largest supergiant oil finds of the last half-century—may lie dormant through the summer…  Already, $50 billion has been spent, and the delay means a delay in billions of dollars in cashflow expected by Kazakhstan itself and major oil companies including ExxonMobil, Shell, Eni, and France’s Total.  …source close to the project said that Shell began a few days ago to notify its employees and contractors of the news of the long delay to restart the field. It remains to be seen how oil and stock markets will react to the news… read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Taylor: Will SEC give oil companies the green light on secrecy?

Dec 8th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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In the event that Shell and Eni’s handling of the deal is found to be in breach of U.S. anti-bribery laws, investors, who were not given the opportunity to assess these payments, could also be on the hook for penalties that could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Screen Shot 2013-12-08 at 00.16.35

By Simon Taylor | December 7, 2013

Lack of new disclosure rules for foreign government access puts investors at risk

Conspicuously missing from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s annual update on regulatory activity released last week is a rule requiring companies to disclose what they pay foreign governments for access to natural resources. The agency needs to put an immediate end to these secret payments if it is to do its job of protecting investors.

When the SEC proposed disclosure rules in August 2012 as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law, the American Petroleum Institute (which represents companies such as Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron) sued the SEC to keep their deals – and the public – in the dark. In July, a federal court supported the institute’s case and ordered the SEC to revise its original payment disclosure rule. The SEC needs to make the rewrite a top priority so that a new version of the rules is released in early 2014. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell and ENI’s billion dollar payment for Nigerian oil project could fall foul of anti-corruption laws

Nov 12th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 19.01.01

Screen Shot 2014-12-06 at 14.08.2712 November 2012

New information suggests that the US$1.1 billion paid by Shell and the Italian energy company ENI for a Nigerian oil block could fall foul of anti-corruption legislation and highlights the urgent need for strong disclosure laws across the EU. A directive being discussed by the EU Council and Parliament must require full “project-by-project” disclosure to ensure such payments are publicly reported.

The payments made by Shell and ENI in 2011 relate to a disputed Nigerian oil block, OPL-245.[i] Though Shell and ENI paid the Nigerian government, funds were then transferred shortly after to a company controlled by ex-Oil Minister, Dan Etete, who in 2007 was convicted in France of money laundering. According to the current Nigerian Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Adoke, Shell and ENI were fully aware and in agreement that the money would then be transferred to Etete’s company, Malabu Oil & Gas. Earlier this year he stated, “SNUD [a subsidiary of Shell] and ENI agreed to pay Malabu through the Federal Government acting as an obligor the sum of US$1,092,040,000…”[ii] Malabu first obtained the oil block in 1998, in controversial circumstances when Etete himself was the Nigerian Oil Minister under the country’s then-leader General Abacha. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Sale Of Oil Block OPL 245 By Malabu To Shell & Agip

Dec 11th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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Letter Of Complaint Regarding Sale Of Oil Block OPL 245 By Malabu To Shell & Agip

December 11, 2011

By Ademola Williams

Dear Sirs: On the 7th of December 2011 various news papers internationally and local published a report that Royal Dutch Shell and Eni said on Wednesday they have bought the prospective Nigerian deep offshore oil block OPL 245: these reports were given to all the various news outlets by Shell and ENI (Agips parent company), Shell, Eni buy Nigeria’s controversial OPL 245

As a concerned Nigerian, I urge the House Committee on Upstream Petroleum, to investigate the approval of the above Oil license and sale to Shell & Agip by DPR and the Ministry of Petroleum; and consider the transfer of ownership to Shell and Agip as illegal; in addition to revert the said oil block to its previous status and only allow such oil block to be sold to parties who fit the requirement of the oil blocks initial license. Which says that no foreign company can directly or indirectly buy more than 40% of the oil block. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell, Eni buy huge Nigeria offshore oil block-Shell

Dec 7th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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ABUJA | Wed Dec 7, 2011 3:57pm GMT

Dec 7 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and Eni have bought the prospective Nigerian deep offshore oil block OPL 245, Shell said on Wednesday, ending a decade of legal disputes over the huge asset.

A spokesman for the Anglo-Dutch major said it would own 50 percent of the block with Eni owning the other half and operating output. He would not confirm how much was paid or the quantity of reserves but industry experts have said OPL 245 was worth over $1 billion and holds around 9 billion barrels of oil. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell escapes 96 million euros fine after grassing on other members of “paraffin mafia”

Nov 26th, 2008
by John Donovan.
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Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell escaped a potential fine of 96 million euros because it blew the whistle first to the EU competition authorities.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Details of the final Kashagan agreement

Oct 31st, 2008
by John Donovan.
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Kazakhstan and a consortium of Western oil companies developing the Kashagan oilfield signed the final agreement on the future of the project on Friday after more than a year of tense negotiations.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

As Fuel Prices Fall, Will Push For Alternatives Lose Steam?

Oct 20th, 2008
by John Donovan.
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Biofuel players range from the oil majors, such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell, to ethanol giants VeraSun Energy and Poet, to tiny firms like Solarzyme, which started in its founders' garage five years ago and is now testing an algae catalyst in a large commercial vat.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

‘Paraffin mafia’ comes unstuck after €676m fines

Oct 2nd, 2008
by John Donovan.
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The Commission made dawn raids on the companies three years ago after Shell, one of its members, blew the whistle on the illegal activities. Shell escaped a possible fine because it provided the Commission investigators with the initial vital information.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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