Javier Blas: Bloomberg: January 27, 2020

(Bloomberg) — The world’s largest energy traders enjoyed one of their best ever years in 2019 as pipeline outages, dramatic changes in ship fuel regulations and Middle East conflicts shook up the global oil market.

The bonanza extended beyond the independent traders like Vitol Group and Trafigura Group Ltd. to the in-house units of oil giants Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and BP Plc, which made billions of dollars in profits.

“By all accounts, 2019 was among the best years ever for the energy trading industry,” said Marco Dunand, the chief executive of Mercuria Energy Group Ltd., one of the five largest independent oil traders. read more

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH:

Harry Brennan: 26 JANUARY 2020 • 5:00AM From page 9 of the Money Section

Why pension savers cannot afford to be ethical

There’s a climate crisis, but investors are increasingly relying on oil and sin stocks to survive, finds Harry Brennan

The world is currently on fire, according to the teenage climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, the green activist demanded world leaders and money managers halt investment in fossil fuels and immediately, and completely, divest from “carbon assets” to avert a climate apocalypse and save the planet.

But can savers truly afford to put their money into exclusively ethical investments? read more

Jan 24, 2020

The fossil fuel industry faces a dilemma similar to what confounded big tobacco a generation ago, according to economist and energy specialist Peter Sainsbury.

Speaking on the Contrarian Investor Podcast, Sainsbury says oil companies in particular are starting to be seen as “sin stocks,” with institutions divesting themselves on ethical grounds. But therein lies the opportunity. Much like tobacco companies reinvented themselves in the 1990s, energy companies can undergo a similar renaissance. Indeed the process of oil companies divesting harmful assets is already underway. This causes opportunities for investors. But first, headwinds can be expected. read more

JANUARY 23, 2020

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s financial crime watchdog charged former attorney general Mohammed Adoke in court on Thursday for allegedly receiving bribes to facilitate a $1.3 billion oil deal, the agency said in a statement.

It is the latest development in one of the oil industry’s biggest corruption scandals, over the 2011 sale of the offshore oilfield known as OPL 245 by Malabu Oil and Gas.

A resulting investigation has entangled two of the sectors biggest players, Shell and Eni, as well as an array of powerful figures from the previous Nigerian government. read more

Stephen Stapczynski, Anna Shiryaevskaya and Naureen S. Malik. Bloomberg: January 24, 2020

(Bloomberg) — Liquefied natural gas prices are poised to test record lows this year thanks to an onslaught of supply and warmer temperatures, throwing up risks and opportunities for the producers, buyers and traders behind the world’s fastest-growing fossil fuel.

The startup of new export projects from Australia to the U.S. has flooded the market, while brimming stockpiles in Europe and an expected slowdown in Chinese demand have dumped cold water on consumption prospects. LNG for spot delivery to North Asia is on track to hit an all-time low this summer, while gas prices in Europe and the U.S. are trading at the weakest seasonal levels since 1999. read more

At first glance, the Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) share price looks like a desirable investment. The stock is trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 13.3. It also offers a dividend yield of 6.3%.

However, the oil and gas major is facing one major challenge in the years ahead that could hurt its growth. It could also render billions of pounds of investment defunct. This is the threat of climate change.

Global warming

Investors all around the world are starting to wake up to the threat of climate change and the impact it could have on industries. For most companies, re-focusing their businesses to be more green is relatively easy. Unfortunately, for Shell, it isn’t. read more

Companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, and Saudi Aramco are ramping up output of plastic — which is made from oil and gas, and their byproducts — to hedge against the possibility that a serious global response to climate change might reduce demand for their fuels, analysts say.

BETH GARDINER

As public concern about plastic pollution rises, consumers are reaching for canvas bags, metal straws, and reusable water bottles. But while individuals fret over images of oceanic garbage gyres, the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are pouring billions of dollars into new plants intended to make millions more tons of plastic than they now pump out.

Companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, and Saudi Aramco are ramping up output of plastic — which is made from oil and gas, and their byproducts — to hedge against the possibility that a serious global response to climate change might reduce demand for their fuels, analysts say. Petrochemicals, the category that includes plastic, now account for 14 percent of oil use, and are expected to drive half of oil demand growth between now and 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says. The World Economic Forum predicts plastic production will double in the next 20 years. read more

By John Donovan

Postings and messages I have read or received in the last 48 hours lead me to the conclusion that bullying understaffed Shell Energy customer service is driving some of its locked-in customers to illness and despair.

Some staff must be uncomfortable having to treat vulnerable customers so shabbily and ruthlessly. How will they feel if someone does resort to suicide, as has been threatened?

There are so many disturbing customer postings on Trustpilot and other review sites about Shell Energy that there may be enough potential claimants to warrant a class-action lawsuit? read more

By Nick Cunningham – Jan 19, 2020, 6:00 PM CST

Since 2010, the five largest oil majors have spent vastly more than they have generated when including shareholder payouts. ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Total, and Royal Dutch Shell have dished out a combined $536 billion in dividends and share buybacks since 2010, a figure that far exceeds the $329 billion in free cash flow over the same period, according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

That comes out to a gap of $207 billion, or about 39 percent of the total that was given to shareholders. The shortfall had to be made up somehow. According to IEEFA, the oil majors bridged the gap by selling off assets and taking on debt. read more

By CNN: Published January 19, 2020 11:46 pm

By Hanna Ziady, CNN Business

The oil and gas industry needs to work harder and faster to tackle the climate crisis if it wants to remain profitable, a leading energy group says.

The oil and gas industry needs to work harder and faster to tackle the climate crisis if it wants to remain profitable, a leading energy group says.

Oil and gas companies should do much more to respond to the threat of climate change, and cannot rely on fossil fuels to keep driving returns, the International Energy Agency said in a report Monday.

Since 2015, the industry has directed less than 1% of its annual capital expenditure towards low-carbon businesses, according to the report.

Some companies have spent up to 5% but “there are few signs of the large-scale change in capital allocation needed to put the world on a more sustainable path,” it said. read more

EnergyVoice.com: by Tom Baxter: 20/01/2020, 6:00 am

Media reports of organisations announcing divestment and a distancing from oil and gas are increasing.

The recent Energy Voice article Royal College of GPs halts OGUK conference over climate concerns is a case in point. In the eyes of many oil and gas has become a toxic brand.

Extinction Rebellion recently blockaded Shell’s Aberdeen headquarters with one protestor saying “we have no option to start weaning ourselves off fossil fuels.”

But isn’t that what Shell state they are doing?

Shell’s Energy Transition Report says: “Changing our portfolio in the long term, beyond 2030 describes Shell’s intent to move in step with society towards a lower-carbon future. It describes our ambition to halve the Net Carbon Footprint of the energy products we sell by 2050. This will mean reducing emissions from our operations, but most of the reductions will come from changing the portfolio of products we sell. 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

Mark Robinson

When Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) launched its £35.6bn bid for BG Group, it was easy to appreciate the strategic rationale. At a stroke, the Anglo-Dutch energy giant not only bolstered its reserves, but also shored-up its position in a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market which had grown rapidly since the turn of the millennium.

Shell wasn’t alone in increasing its exposure to the sector, but investors may now be questioning whether long-term prospects in gas markets warrant the massive capital allocation. A supply glut, most noticeably in the US Permian basin, weighed on gas prices last year, and there are few signs of respite as new fields in Australia and Russia come online. read more

“Investors are gradually moving away from energy stocks. A look behind the dividend payments of the leading companies helps explain why. For the core business of these companies, there is more money going out than coming in.” 

By Jordan Blum: Thursday, January 16, 2020

The largest oil and gas companies for years have lived beyond their means and paid more money to investors than they can reasonably afford, according to a new report.

The study from the Cleveland-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis found that the five largest Big Oil majors — Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Total — spent $536 billion on shareholder dividends and stock buybacks since 2010 while bringing in just $329 billion in free cash flow. read more

16 Jan 2020

Extinction Rebellion protesters have blocked the entrances to Shell’s Aberdeen headquarters.

Activists arrived at the Altens base at about 06:30 and plan to remain at the site all day “to hold Shell to account”.

The group says the protest is part of its two-week long campaign targeting the fossil fuel industry.

Shell said it was addressing its emissions and helping customers to reduce theirs.

The protesters plan to walk through Aberdeen city centre, starting at the railway station at 13:00 then going via Union St and the harbour.

The group also has its purple boat at the site. read more

The featured extracts are from customer reviews about Shell Energy posted today, 15 Jan 2020 on Trustpilot. Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative. Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring theme in negative reviews; the difficulty in communicating with the company. For ease of reading, typos are corrected. 

Similar to a lot of other people on…

Appalling thieving firm If they don’t respond looks like we will have to take the matter further. Oh, my partner is 73 nice way to treat pensioners…

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!!!

I signed my contract for Fast Fibre Broadband before Christmas and was told that I should be connected by the 6th of January. Rooter etc. arrived in time before the connection date and I followed the instruction to install it. The 6th came and went and I had nothing.

An engineer rang me today to let me know that he could only connect my phone line as the broadband had been cancelled???? So I called cust services again and after 25 minutes spoke to an operator who, put me on hold for another 15 minutes and then another 15 minutes to then not listen to me, not reading my emails correctly (so she did not have all the information) to then blatantly lying to me. read more