Posts Tagged ‘Gas’

Prelude will not resume full production this year, says Shell

Article by Adam Duckett: 21st October 2020

SHELL has said its huge floating LNG production plant – the Prelude FLNG facility – is not expected to resume full production this year, following a troubled start for the pioneering facility.

Production aboard Prelude – which at 488 m long is the largest ship ever built – was halted in February after an electrical trip and it has not resumed. This fault followed, though was not linked to, an order from Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) for Shell to revise its safety management system. read more

Shell’s plans to slash maintenance staff at Mossmorran would put lives at risk warns union

by Aileen Robertson: October 21 2020, 7.00am

Trade union Unite said it understood Shell was intending to axe 63 out of 77 contractor jobs at the Fife NGL Plant and that this could put lives at risk.

Shell has disputed the union’s claims of an 80% cut in workforce, insisting the safety of its plants was “paramount” and would not be compromised.

Posts under threat are said to include scaffold inspectors and supervisors, riggers and rigging supervisors, forklift drivers, general assistants and mechanical supervisors. read more

Shell deny huge job cuts at two Scots plants then U-turns as union raises ‘critical’ safety concerns

SHELL have come under fire after denying union claims of huge job cuts at two of its plants raising ‘critical’ safety concerns – that were later confirmed.

Details seen by the Herald confirm Unite concerns that proposals affecting the energy giant’s Northern Systems and Plants (NSP) operations in Fife and Aberdeenshire would result in 63 out of 77 Kaefer jobs being axed at the Mossmorran plant with a further 46 out of 52 jobs being proposed for redundancy at St Fergus. read more

Is Shell’s $17 Billion Bet On Floating LNG A Flop?

What new ship construction project has cost more than a US Navy Supercarrier and is equally troubled with delays and problems? Shell’s Prelude FLNG.

SOURCE

Shell’s Australian Prelude LNG will not resume shipping LNG this year

By Sonali Paul: OCTOBER 15, 2020

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L said on Thursday its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project off Australia, off line since early February, is working on restarting operations but would not resume full production this year.

The troubled Prelude FLNG platform was shut down following an electrical trip and Shell has faced a number of issues over the past few months in trying to restart full production and now does not expect to ship any LNG before next year. read more

By Julian Lee | Bloomberg: Oct. 11, 2020 at 1:54 p.m. GMT+1

Covid-19 may do for Big Oil what the Chicxulub asteroid did for the dinosaurs when it struck Earth 66 million years ago.

BP Plc plans to cut 10,000 jobs, equivalent to 14% of its workforce; Shell will shed 9,000 workers, or 11%; and Chevron will reduce its payroll by 6,000, a 13% reduction. 

Much like the “terrible lizards,” Big Oil was already in decline before the novel coronavirus hit. The world in which they thrived is changing around them and they face multiple threats to their future health. But the outbreak’s impact has accelerated the process. read more

Shell Plans to Cut Thousands of Jobs Amid Shift to Carbon Neutrality: What Investors Need to Know

Shell’s job cuts are just the latest unsettling news for Wall Street’s least-loved oil major (shares of Shell are down more than any other integrated oil and gas company so far this year).

BY Daniel Foelber:(TMFpalomino2) Oct 10, 2020 at 7:54AM

The case for why the job cuts are the right decision for investors.

To say it’s been an off-year for big oil would be an understatement. Shockwaves of volatility and lower energy demand have rippled through global markets. An added threat is the increasing role of renewables in the energy mix as wind and solar companies continue to gain market share — and oil companies lose it. read more

Why Gazprom’s $7.6 Billion Nord Stream 2 Fine Is Just the Start

Stephanie Bodoni and Maciej Martewicz

Oct 9. 2020

(Bloomberg) — Poland’s antitrust watchdog slapped a $7.6 billion fine on Gazprom PJSC over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, opening a new front in the bitter political battle over the natural gas project. Wednesday’s surprise move raises a whole set of legal questions about the plan, which is teetering on the brink. What was the fine for? The antitrust authority said Gazprom and its partners, which which is teetering on the brink. read more

Royal Dutch Shell: Energy Transition Woes

• Poor messaging from management, as well as an ill-prepared balance sheet caused in part by buybacks, has caused the European major a lot of pain.
• Arguably, senior executives deserve to be shown the door. But even if that happens, expect the pivot away from fossil fuels to continue.
• Is the move into Power and other “Green Energy” assets the right move? Maybe, maybe not.
• This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, Energy Income Authority. Get started today »

I often get asked why I don’t cover the supermajors all that often on Seeking Alpha. The answer comes down to a rather simple reality: time invested versus potential gain. Anyone that has followed my long / short book knows that whatever I take a stake in, I know inside out. Quite frankly, the sprawling operations of most majors coupled with competing against institutionals that have enough research analysts on the payroll to pack a local gymnasium makes it a losing proposition – or at least in my view. read more

U.S. sanctions… forced Swiss contractor Allseas Group SA to withdraw its pipelaying vessels

Why the World Worries About Russia’s Natural Gas Pipeline

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 joint Russian-European venture, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors contributing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11.2 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. The pipeline operator is looking for solutions to lay the remaining 6% of the pipe, which includes construction work in Denmark’s waters. read more

Prelude FLNG maintenance workers to go on strike

Paul Hunt: Senior Journalist: Oil & Gas, Policy. 07 October 2020

The Australian Workers Union and Maritime Union of Australia filed for protected action to legally strike across the massive LNG project a fortnight ago.

Protected action gives the workers legal immunity to conduct a strike without facing consequences imposed by the employer. Unions claim Monadelphous is paying Prelude maintenance workers below industry standard pay and conditions.

The unions are seeking a pay rise and better job security, citing a casualisation of the offshore workforce as a major issue. read more

Bloomberg: Fossil Fuel Firms Not Doing Enough on Emissions, Funds Say

Laura Hurst: Wed., October 7, 2020, 8:55 a.m. GMT+1

(Bloomberg) — None of Europe’s largest oil, gas and coal companies are on track to limit global warming to within 2 degrees Celsius, according to a report by money managers overseeing more than $22 trillion.

Energy and mining companies have been under increasing pressure, from both environmental groups and their own investors, to demonstrate how their business models align with the Paris climate agreement and to show they’re taking action to curb their emissions. read more

Shell’s Prelude FLNG becomes a big headache!

By Bill Campbell

According to a recent article in Forbes “the biggest vessel in the world costing todate between 12 and 17 billion US may have also turned into Shell’s biggest blooper.”

It’s all been Technically very challenging as Shell has attempted to squeeze a complex LNG plant into a relatively small space Forbes say. (this website has covered this as a fundamental concern a number of times) – (1)

Goodman Sachs are also of the opinion that when eventually fully operational Prelude, the worlds most expensive LNG project, will only break even in current market conditions at around 20 dollars per a thousand cubic feet. read more

Op-ed: A $100 billion Big Oil divestiture plan is coming

• The largest oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and BP, are projected to sell a combined $100 billion in oil and gas assets around the world as they focus on top-performing regions, particularly the U.S. shale, according to a new analysis from consulting firm Rystad Energy.
• Climate change and renewable energy investments are forces that these Big Oil firms need to respond to strategically, but their own carbon divestiture campaigns will be motivated by factors distinct from the push from climate activists. 

Energy transition has climbed towards the top of the agenda in the boardrooms of the world’s largest oil and gas companies. With electrification and renewable energy on the rise, Big Oil is striving to adapt to a transformation that could eventually render their business obsolete if they don’t latch on to the opportunities it brings. The result could be a massive sell-off of assets as the biggest petroleum players concentrate their oil and gas production to the countries where oil and gas is cheapest and easiest to produce. 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

Bert van Dijk

IN BRIEF

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

Royal Dutch Shell and BP have lost over half of their market value so far this year, with both shares hitting 25-year lows this week…

Big Oil shares capitulate to COVID, lower carbon doubts