News and information on Royal Dutch Shell Plc
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
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.
On 31 December 2015 there was an uncontrolled flaring event at the Corrib Gas installation which resulted in Shell being successfully prosecuted by the EPA.
This release is for information purposes only and Shell to Sea will not be making any further comment other than to quote from their press release following Minister White’s grant of consent where Ms Harrington is quoted as saying ‘The Judicial Review of Alex White’s decision should prove interesting’.
The Shell to Sea Campaign has three main aims:
January 30th, 2018The sites are included on the environmental watchdog’s National Priority Site (NPS) list, which is updated on a quarterly basis. Six of the sites account for more than half of all complaints received in 2017, the majority of which concerned odour, noise or dust.
SCREENSHOT FROM A RELATED VIDEO CLIP
Of particular concern to Shell, the author provides first-hand insight into Shell’s security and intelligence activities in Nigeria, Iraq, Iran, Ireland and other global hot spots and details how Shell worked with US, UK and Dutch Intelligence and military agencies to further their mutual agendas. The author also discusses Shell’s secret communications with MEND militants in Nigeria through intermediaries. By John Donovan
I suspect that Shell in particular, should be very concerned about a book in the pipeline called “CRUDE INTENTION”. I say this because the author is a former senior manager of Shell Global Security.
Unlike the MI6 “people” hired by Shell including Guy Colegate, John Copleston and Ian Forbes McCredie, and the FBI officials recruited for their government connections like former FBI Deputy Director Richard Garcia, the author is a career security & business professional in the oil & gas industry whose own principles and ethics often conflicted those of his spymaster bosses and coworkers; including the monitoring of our activities as part of a Shell global surveillance operation.
The article goes on to say: The prime minister faces a choice between allowing Ms Fitzgerald to be removed or leave, or continuing to support her and risking the collapse of deal with Fianna Fáil that underpins his minority government.
Calls for Fitzgerald’s resignation came after revelations she was aware of Gardai strategy to discredit Garda whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe.
“All this time, the Minister for Justice continued to state her full confidence in the Garda Commissioner who was responsible for this attempt to grievously undermine Sgt McCabe.
Comment by John Donovan
The above message relates to Shell sponsored corruption of the Irish police force in relation to the Corrib Gas project. The Minister referred to in the message is Ms Frances Fitzgerald, T.D. – currently Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland whose actions in relation to corruption in the Irish police looks like they may bring down the whole Irish government. Later today I will publish my correspondence on Irish police corruption with the minister.
It was at my instigation that the subject was first raised in the Irish Parliament.
Now, some of the financial cost to the Corrib Gas Partners, Shell Ireland, Statoil and Vermilion Energy from the odourless gas being pumped into the network can be revealed.Gordon Deegan: Irish Independent: Wednesday 1
Corrib Gas Partners lost out on estimated natural gas revenues of around €38m in the third quarter of this year as a result of odourless gas getting into the network and a scheduled downtime.
Production ceased at the Bellanaboy gas terminal in Co Mayo on September 9th for a scheduled downtime and a total of 31 days of production were lost.
This was as a result of odourless gas being pumped into the gas network in the west of Ireland after the plant was restarted temporarily.
Extracts from the ebook “John Donovan, Shell’s Nightmare” (now available on Amazon websites globally)Extract begins
My Shell insider sources have received threats, including alleged death threats, as reported by The Irish Times in April 2011: Gardaí investigate alleged death threats to Corrib whistleblowers
The last message I received from one Sakhalin2 source advised that they had received a credible serious threat. I never heard from that particular insider again.
A press release issued by Shell UK in March 1995 provides some idea of the degree of acrimony and the wide scope of our campaigning activities.
Barry O’Halloran: 14 Oct 2017
The Corrib natural gas field off the west coast lost €140 million last year, according to accounts filed by its operator, Shell E&P Ireland.
Global oil and gas giant, Royal Dutch Shell, is selling its 45 per cent stake in the Corrib operator to a Canadian pension fund for up to €1.08 billion. Accounts for Shell E&P Ireland show that it lost €140 million in 2016 as the cost of running Corrib exceeded the revenues that it earned. The figures show that the company’s sales were €182.2 million, but costs of €359.4 million and a near €10 million interest bill left it with losses of €187 million. A tax credit of €47 million reduced this to €140 million.
News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Oct 1st, 2017 – For immediate release
— Shell to Sea has cumulative knowledge of the Shell/Corrib project, and is capable and willing to put hard questions to CER and EPA. —
The latest fiasco in the Shell refinery at Bellanaboy resulted in as yet unspecified volumes of un-odourised gas entering the national gas grid and as yet unknown quantities of toxins released to land, sea and air in Erris, north Mayo. Shell to Sea has produced a list of specific questions for CER (recently renamed to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities) and EPA, the two statutory bodies charged with investigating this most recent lapse in Shell’s ‘global technical expertise’. [1, 2]
A week ago, the Irish Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan warned the corruption-ridden Irish police Force (the Gardaí) that he wants to see “all the skeletons out of all of the cupboards” in terms of Garda scandals and controversies. One such scandal is the “Strange tale of Shell’s pipeline battle, the Gardaí and £30,000 of booze.”
Shell has been a corporate sponsor of police corruption in Ireland aided and abetted by its ”Mr Fixit” company OSSL, who freely admit their involvement in distributing bribes on behalf of Shell to smooth the path of the controversial Corrib Gas Project. Despite the confession, Shell has thus far managed to escape due retribution.
(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) are working to remove unodourised gas that entered the network from the country’s Corrib gas field and has curbed output since last week, Shell said.
Due to a technical problem at the Shell-operated Bellanaboy Bridge gas terminal in Ireland, unodourised gas entered the network, forcing GNI to ask local customers to switch off their gas meters on Sept. 22-23, a Shell spokesperson said.
Unodourised gas cannot be easily detected as it cannot be smelt. Normally odourants are added before the gas reaches customers so people can detect gas leaks by scent. Undetected gas can lead to an explosion or fire.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER RIGHT: A still of the flare from a video by Rossport resident, Mary Corduff.
By Áine Ryan: 26 Sept 2017
COMPANIES selling ‘potentially dangerous energy products’ are obliged ‘to ensure that there is no risk to the customer’. That was according to Minister Michael Ring in the aftermath of news breaking last Thursday night about the fact that odourless gas from the Corrib refinery had entered the network for Galway and Mayo. The crisis, which involved a 36-hour flaring operation at the Bellanaboy refinery in order to push the odourless gas back out of the network, has since been resolved as two State inquiries continue into the potentially dangerous situation.
Lorna Siggins: 22 Sept 2017
Two State investigations are under way into the release of odourless gas into the natural gas supply in the west of Ireland after a “technical fault” at the Corrib gas refinery.
More than 9,000 customers in counties Galway and Mayo were advised to shut down supplies on Thursday until further notice for safety reasons, and the State’s national gas emergency plan was invoked.
Gas Networks Ireland said it had restored a safe supply to 60 per cent of those affected by Friday evening, mainly in Galway city and parts of the county.
“Shell has brought their worst practice in Nigeria into the beautiful Barony of Erris – how dare they and how dare this state allow Shell to poison a pristine environment and the health of future generations; this cannot be spun as a spurious health and safety concern – it’s incompetent and negligent; it is our Place and our People who suffer the consequences while unaccountable, faceless functionaries reap their pensions”News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Sept 22nd, 2017 – For immediate release
— Shell’s incompetence puts lives in danger all over Mayo and Galway. —
Following Shell’s latest fiasco of putting odourless gas into the Irish gas network, Shell to Sea has again highlighted the lack of regulation and monitoring of Shell in relation to the Corrib Gas project. [1,2]
Shell to Sea spokesperson Terence Conway stated “During construction of the Corrib project, Shell were a clear danger to lives in this area, but now it is clear that they are a danger to lives further afield also. We have no confidence in the state to regulate or control Shell.”
: Rumor on the street is the Shell Vito project is over a year behind schedule, AND Shell plans to double down and award Whale to the same contractors in the coming weeks. Must be some serious love going on between the Singaporeans and Shell decision makers....
: To uscitizen, BRAZIL: 'PS - Shell is investing 2 billion a year into Brazil and already paying off'. Assuming $2Bn (you did not quote currency), that would just about cover Shell's share of the costs of replicants, operating expenses and of course managers' BONUSES! $2Bn would represent approximately 10% of Shell's income in 2018. https://reports.shell.com/annual-report/2018/consolidated-financial-statements/statement-of-cash-flows.php FPSO unit cost: our initial case ($91bn total capex) assumed a cost of $2.5 billion for each of 13 FPSO units. However, our research shows a wide range of possibilities for this cost depending on the vessel configuration; plus the fact that Brazilian shipyards should get better at building them so the cost could reduce over time. Also the project might choose to lease rather than buy the FPSOs outright, which could improve economics for the consortium depending on the lease terms. http://openoil.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/OO_br_Libra_narrative_1.0_161104.pdf
: To uscitizen, BG GROUP ASSETS SOLD BY SHELL SUBSEQUENT TO TAKEOVER: Petrobras and Total announced that they have finalized a decisive milestone in the realization of their Strategic Alliance, signed in March 2017, with the completion of the following transactions: Transfer from Petrobras to Total of 22.5% of the rights of the Iara area, which comprises the Sururu, Berbigão and Oeste de Atapu fields in Block BM-S-11A in the Santos Basin pre-salt, operated by Petrobras (42.5%) alongside Shell (25%) and Petrogal (10%). The consideration for the above transactions amounts to US$1.95 billion, including closing adjustments. This amount does not include US$ 400 million that can be triggered by Petrobras to carry a part of its investment share in the Iara development fields and contingent payments. http://www.petrobras.com.br/en/news/petrobras-and-total-complete-the-transfer-of-rights-in-the-lapa-and-iara-concessions-as-part-of-their-strategic-alliance.htm Royal Dutch Shell is nearing the sale of a large part of its North Sea oil and gas assets to private equity-backed Chrysaor for $3 billion, banking sources said, marking a milestone in its drive to reduce debt after buying BG Group. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shell-m-a-northsea/shell-set-to-sell-3-billion-north-sea-assets-to-chrysaor-idUSKBN15B14M Including this week’s US$750 million sale of an offshore shallow water gas field in Thailand. https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2018/1/shell-has-sold-us27-billion-assets-acquiring-bg-group-charts/ The deal covers Shell’s interests in the fields Buzzard, Beryl, Bressay, Elgin-Franklin, J-Block, the Greater Armada cluster, Everest, Lomond and Erskine, and a 10% stake in Schiehallion. Shell also announced on Tuesday that it had sold its stake in a Thai gas field for $900m to a subsidiary of the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/31/shell-sells-north-sea-oil-gas-fields-chrysaor-linda-cook TOTAL: $5.7Bn = 21% of $27Bn
: To uscitizen: OVERPAID: Shell offered BG Group Shareholders a premium of approximately 52% to the 90 trading day volume weighted average price of 890.4pence per BG Share on 7 April 2015 https://www.shell.com/investors/financial-reporting/pre-combination-bg-group-publications/recommended-cash-and-share-offer-for-bg-group-plc-by-royal-dutch-shell-plc/_jcr_content/par/textimage_931903780.stream/1447807511882/98173e46e15c9a96a2e68397b2b75093c96c3720/offer-announcement-royaldutchshellplc-bggroupplc.pdf Since agreeing the largest single upstream-centric deal of the past 10 years to purchase BG Group in April 2015, Royal Dutch Shell has been selling assets all over the world to rationalize its portfolio. https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2018/1/shell-has-sold-us27-billion-assets-acquiring-bg-group-charts/
: Bonus group, Contradict myself - lol. Poor guy - like I said do your own research - tell us what you find, you will look like the irrational uneducated poster you are. PS - Shell is investing 2 billion a year into Brazil and already paying off. Do you ever look anything up?
: To US Citizen. Thank you for your post of September 9th 2019 20:12. Congratulations on also being an avid reader of this blog. You are correct in my post of June 26th 2019 23:05 I did say that '..Shell had a ‘fire sale’ of a plethora of BG ‘dross’ assets in order to raise $30Bn to disguise the amount by which they had overpaid for BG Group.' More correctly, Shell had a ‘fire sale’ including a plethora of BG ‘dross’ assets in order to raise $30Bn to disguise the amount by which they had overpaid for BG Group. This does not detract from the fact that Shell did have a 'fire sale' in order to raise $30Bn. By my estimation Shell over paid for BG Group by about 30%. The Christmas boxes were very large, but the presents were very small. You contradict yourself when you say that you will not do my homework for me, but then tell me that the split of the $30Bn assets sold was 80:20 Shell:BG. Is that correct? If so, thank you that just goes to show how worthless those BG assets were, but then that is what you can expect from a Cappuccino and Belgian chocolate lifestyle company. Any comments about what the Brazil Asset are up to these days?
: To Bonus Group - the large percentage of assets sold by Shell were non BG assets. I will not do your homework for you, but the split is 80/20. A great example of why you do not take what this sites protagonists post as good information. But go ahead, say I am wrong and also posting garbage, do your research and tell me the number of BG asset sales vs the 30 billion Shell raised thru asset sales.
: MESSAGE FROM JOHN FOR THE ATTENTION OF BOGUS GROUP. I have received the information you kindly sent and have replied by encrypted email.
: I might write in more detail but I find it rather ironic that it was this website that was telling the world 6 or so years ago that this installation did not have risk levels as low as claimed and one of the principal risk drivers was the compact nature of a hazardous substances plant with not enough space to swing a cat in. Unless you are not aware I wrote to Shell Australia at the time giving them data from 8 existing or planned onshore LNG plants which varied from 80 to 100 hectares or on average 20 to 22 times the footprint of Prelude, could they tell me as a stakeholder with shares in the Company how they arrived at their ridiculously low number but can guess I assume that a reasonable explanatory reply was not forthcoming, as sure as eggs are eggs if this plant is currently having problems or if it has problems or major accident events in future it will be due to the force fitting a complex plant, with risk levels much above which they have published, on a postage stamp of a footprint. God willing they will never live to regret their fraudulent overly optimistic claims, risk is based on reality not wishful thinking. Bill
: UPDATED SAT 24 AUG 22.00.
John, here's the link, can you access from here? https://www.upstreamonline.com/live/1836861/shell-learns-from-prelude-challenges
REPLY FROM JOHN:
Thanks. Problem is that it's behind a paywall and despite it being a great publication for the oil industry, none of us retired folk wants to invest in a subscription.
I have received the further Prelude information you have kindly provided and have replied by encripted email.
: Further to Bogus Group's post yesterday. I am absolutely appalled that a Senior Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc should spout so much nonsense concerning the Prelude installation. The statement is redolent of Malcolm Brinded and his 'Touch F*ck All' policy, which led to the deaths of Keith Moncrieff and Sean McCue on Brent Bravo on 11th September 2003. What is boring is the continuous misleading spin and blather from the top of this company and their lackadaisical approach to safety. 'Chronic Unease' is a well known expression in the Oil and Gas Industry, and that state of mind is far from boring or routine. In fact nothing is either boring or routine in Oil and Gas operations. Rob Jager moved last year to the post of VP Prelude after spending thirteen years as Country Chair and VP for Shell New Zealand/Shell Taranaki, after Shell announced the sale of its New Zealand interests in March 2018. Jager clearly previously has spent too much time being 'laid back' in the fantasy land of Lord of the Rings, marvelling at New Zealand's scenery and wondering who will be entertaining him for his next luxury seafood dinner accompanied by a glass of chilled expensive New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
: PLEASE SEE REPLY FROM JOHN WHICH FOLLOWS THE COMMENT FROM BOGUS GROUP
More on Prelude article in Upstream.
I’m stunned by what can only be described as idiotic statements. Nothing like the utopia of self-aggrandisement without verification. What is Jagers’ level of technical and operational capabilities? I recall similar rhetoric from BG Group charlatans, with the “best in class” mentality and use of the most overstated expression ever to be used outside the education sector, all aimed at pleasing their taskmasters.
Ramp-up of Prelude and what Jager hopes will be decades of “uneventful” and “boring” operation.
“This will be a state where little or nothing happens. We have few if any alarms, no surprises and where things are running like clock work and we are effectively in autopilot,” he said.
“We will know when we have succeeded in this ambition because Prelude will be recognised as the most boring asset in Shell global portfolio our people will refer to it as the safest and most desirable place to work, and when the rest of the industry is knocking on our door to find out how we have achieved such a best in class outcome, especially for a facility as complex and unique as Prelude.”
REPLY FROM JOHN
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.
Comments RSS Feed
