SHELL PRELUDE FLNG OFTEN TOXIC HEADLINES OVER THE LAST DECADE TELL AN OMINOUS STORY 

Posted by John Donovan 9 Sept 2023

The links below are to a series of articles stretching back a decade, some triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the  Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell, the former distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International (now sadly deceased). A good loyal friend, and regular long-term contributor to this website, who I never actually met.

ARTICLE: Voser wisely abandons an unstable ship: 28 December 2013

ARTICLE: Royal Dutch Shell Prelude to disaster?: 10 Jan 2014 read more

SHELL CANNOT SAY IT WAS NOT WARNED TIME AND AGAIN ABOUT PRELUDE SAFETY ISSUES

Posted by John Donovan

7 Sept 2023

In an act that can only be described as a masterclass in cutting corners, Shell decided against shutting down its prodigious Prelude liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility off Australia for a whole year to rectify the myriad issues plaguing its operations. Why bother with such trivial matters as design flaws and safety when there’s money to be made, am I right?

Instead, Shell opted for a shorter, two-month maintenance plan because apparently “strong gas demand” is a suitable reason to ignore the ever-persistent problems. read more

Repeated Safety Violations: Because One Breach Just Isn’t Enough

Posted By John Donovan 18 August 2023

In an awe-inspiring display of audacity, Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility has recently unveiled its unconventional approach to workplace safety – one that is sure to set new standards in the realm of fiery entertainment. The facility, nestled off the picturesque coast of Western Australia, doubles as a thrilling unintended firework extravaganza, exposing workers to risks of explosions and flames.

With a stature that demands attention and an attitude that scoffs at safety regulations, the facility extracts, liquefies, and stores natural gas with an added element of surprise. read more

POSTED BY JOHN DONOVAN: July 24, 2023

Bravo, Shell! Your daredevil attitude towards safety is truly awe-inspiring.

Summary: Oh, isn’t it delightful to hear about Shell’s latest adventures in offshore safety? The audacious oil and gas giant, Shell, has yet again dazzled us with its impressive handling of workplace risk at the Prelude offshore LNG platform in Australia. Who needs safety standards, right? It’s much more thrilling to expose workers to the exhilarating possibility of fire or explosion! 

Article: Prepare to be amazed by Shell’s thrilling antics at the Prelude offshore LNG platform in Australia! In a daring display of audacity, Shell has managed to expose its workers to the exhilarating risk of fire and explosion. read more

Posted by John Donovan July 6, 2023

In a stunning display of arrogance, Shell’s boss, Wael Sawan, has declared that cutting oil and gas production would be “dangerous and irresponsible.” Apparently, the world still “desperately needs oil and gas,” according to Sawan, who seems to believe that renewable energy is simply not progressing fast enough to replace these polluting fossil fuels.

Climate scientists, however, are infuriated by Shell’s stubborn commitment to continue current oil production until 2030. Professor Emily Shuckburgh from the University of Cambridge rightly argues that companies like Shell should prioritize accelerating the transition to green energy instead of prolonging the use of oil and gas, which harms both the environment and vulnerable communities. read more

Posted by John Donovan 3 July 2023

In a remarkable exhibition of utter disregard for their own pledges, Shell, the greedy and ruthless polluting oil giant, continues to engage in the trading of Russian gas more than a year after promising to withdraw from the Russian energy market.

Despite their hollow claims, the despicable company was involved in nearly an eighth of Russia’s shipborne gas exports in 2022, making a tidy sum of hundreds of millions while conveniently ignoring the bloodshed and suffering caused by the Ukrainian invasion. read more

This extraordinary project was meant to revolutionize the industry and solidify Shell’s position as a visionary leader. Little did the world know that it was about to witness the pinnacle of human achievement in the realm of catastrophic failures…The Prelude fiasco perfectly encapsulates Shell’s unparalleled ability to disappoint. It is a masterclass in how not to execute a project…

Posted by John Donovan 18 June 2023

Off the coast of Western Australia’s Kimberley region, lies a testament to Shell’s flawless decision-making and unrivalled business acumen. The usually tranquil waters of the northeastern Indian Ocean serve as a backdrop to this remarkable tale of grandiosity and unparalleled brilliance.

Shell, the benevolent oil giant, embarked on an audacious endeavour in 2011 – the construction of the monumental Prelude floating gas factory. This extraordinary project was meant to revolutionize the industry and solidify Shell’s position as a visionary leader. Little did the world know that it was about to witness the pinnacle of human achievement in the realm of catastrophic failures. read more

BP agrees to buy Shell’s stake in Australian Browse gas project

By Samuel Mckeith: REUTERS April 29, 20237:26 AM GMT+1

SYDNEY, April 29 (Reuters) – BP (BP.L) has agreed to buy rival giant Shell’s (SHEL.L) 27% stake in the Browse joint venture, expanding its holding in Australia’s largest untapped gas resource in a move that could improve the development prospects for the long-stalled project.

The Browse project, estimated to cost $20.5 billion, has been stuck on the drawing board for years but is now being considered as a replacement for ageing gas fields to supply the North West Shelf LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant. read more

The Washington Post

Breaking up with Russia is hard for many Western firms, despite war

But leaving can be complex. Four days after the invasion, Shell announced it was leaving Russia and later wrote off its nearly 27.5 percent stake in the Sakhalin-2 LNG facility in the Far East at $1.6 billion. This month, an unconfirmed Russian newspaper report suddenly surfaced that Putin had given permission for the company to repatriate $1.2 billion from the sale of its stake in Russia’s Novatek. Shell had no comment. read more

OILPRICE.COM

Shell: Solar And Wind Are Growing Faster Than LNG Ever Did

By Haley Zaremba – Apr 09, 2023, 2:00 PM CDT

• Shell: Wind and solar production capacities are growing faster than liquefied natural gas and nuclear ever did.
• Government incentives and energy security issues have given renewables another bump.
• While solar and wind are seeing a much steeper growth trajectory than nuclear and liquefied natural gas did, energy demand, too, has seen an extreme growth trend.

Wind and solar production capacities are growing faster than liquefied natural gas and nuclear ever did. A recent report from Shell Plc examined and compared the growth trajectories of these four energy forms, which have all emerged within the past 60 years, and which tell a very clear story about how the global energy sector is growing and changing. Put simply: our youngest and cleanest energy technologies are the fastest growing the world has seen in at least 50 years. read more

OILPRICE.COM

Putin Approves $1.2 Billion Payment To Shell For Sakhalin-2 Exit

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Apr 04, 2023, 4:00 AM CDT

Vladimir Putin has approved a request by Novatek to allow Shell to receive $1.2 billion (94.8 billion rubles) from the Russian gas producer for its 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-2 LNG project, Russian daily Kommersant reported on Tuesday, quoting sources with knowledge of the matter.

Last year, a decree from Putin stipulated that a newly set up state Russian company would take over the rights and obligations of Sakhalin Energy Investment Co., the joint venture running the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project. read more

Energy giant Shell expects boost in gas production

August Graham, PA Business Reporter

Energy giant Shell has said it expects to have produced more gas in the opening three months of this year than it did during the close of last year even as prices drop from recent extremes.

The oil and gas major said developments in Australia would also help it supply more liquid gas – the type transported by ship – to countries around the world.

The company’s shares rose by 1.8% after the news, while rival BP also saw a 0.6% boost.

Shell expects to have produced between 930,000 and 970,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from its integrated gas division over the three months, up from 917,000 in the last quarter of 2022.

It also expects to load ships with between seven and 7.4 million tonnes of liquid natural gas (LNG) during the quarter, an increase from 6.8 million tonnes in the previous three months. read more

…problems included repeated outages at its Prelude liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility off the western coast of Australia…

REUTERS

Shell CEO creates chief of staff role in management overhaul

By Ron Bousso: February 23, 2023: 4:15 PM GMT

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Shell (SHEL.L) Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan has created a senior role of chief of staff as part of a management overhaul to improve performance after technical problems and other disruption, three company sources said. read more

REUTERS

Shell CEO in first changes combines LNG, upstream operations

Ron Bousso: Mon, 30 January 2023 at 7:11 am GMT

LONDON (Reuters) -Shell will combine its oil and gas production and liquefied natural gas (LNG) divisions as part of CEO Wael Sawan’s first changes since taking charge of the energy giant earlier this month.

The new division, which combines Shell’s most profitable operations, will be headed by current upstream director Zoe Yujnovich, Shell said in a statement on Monday.

Sawan took office on Jan. 1 after heading Shell’s integrated gas division, which included Shell’s LNG and renewables businesses, with a vow to simplify and improve the company’s operations.

Under the internal restructure, renewables operations will be combined with Shell’s oil refining and marketing operations led by current downstream director Huibert Vigeveno, the company said. read more

RIGZONE

Prelude FLNG Loads Out First Cargo Since Fire

by Bojan Lepic| Rigzone Staff| Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Even though Shell has not confirmed any restart on its massive Prelude FLNG, Reuters reported that the Methane Becki Anne LNG tanker has begun loading.

The Methane Becki Anne was the first LNG tanker to berth at Shell’s Prelude floating LNG site off Western Australia since it was shut down after a fire.

According to Reuters, the LNG carrier vessel berthed at the Prelude plant on January 17, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed. Refinitiv’s data also showed that LNG has already begun loading. read more

cnbc

Shell to take $2 billion fourth-quarter tax hit after new EU, UK levies

PUBLISHED FRI, JAN 6 2023 2:43 AM EST UPDATED FRI, JAN 6 20238:01 AM EST

Ruxandra Iordache

KEY POINTS

• Shell expects a fourth-quarter tax hit of $2 billion, following additional levies in the U.K. and European Union.

• The company expects “significantly higher” results from its liquefied natural gas trading performance in the fourth quarter, compared with July-September.

• Shell will release its final fourth-quarter results on Feb. 2.

Oil and gas major Shell said Friday it expects to take a $2 billion hit for the fourth quarter as a result of new taxes in the European Union and U.K.

“The Q4′22 earnings impact of recently announced additional taxes in the EU (the solidarity contribution) and the deferred tax impact from the increased UK Energy Profits Levy is expected to be around $2 billion,” the company said in a trading update.

The EU agreed in September that oil and gas companies will pay a levy on surplus profits made in 2022 or 2023. The “solidarity contribution” will see firms pay 33% of profits above their average taxable profits. read more