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Oil Theft in Nigeria Continues to Plague Shell

Mar 28th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52Extract from an article by Arjun Sreekumar published on 28 March 2014 by The Motlet Fool under the headline: “Oil Theft in Nigeria Continues to Plague This Company”

Though one could argue that Shell, which has been operating in Nigeria for decades, should have sold its sabotage-prone Niger Delta assets long ago, at least the company is finally taking the necessary steps to address the situation. Its decision is shaped by Shell’s new “fix or divest” strategy, which seeks to either improve or unload underperforming businesses. The move should pan out to be a good one. Not only will it reduce the company’s exposure to continuing security concerns in Nigeria, it will generate much-needed cash to meet its $15 billion divestment target. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Profits Slump In 2013

Mar 13th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an article by Mark Stones publish 13 March 2014 by The Motley Fool

Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52Shell’s struggles have been well documented and a profit warning was announced in January. The shares have lagged the wider market over the last 12 months, falling 1.5%. In response Shell is cutting upstream spending in America by 20%, with the firm re-evaluating its shale operations… To bolster its capital strength the oil producer has embarked on a programme of asset sales…

FULL ARTICLE

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.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Greatest Weaknesses

Mar 12th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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An article by Kevin Godbold published on Wednesday 12 March 2014 by The Motley Fool

Screen Shot 2014-01-30 at 00.47.49Drilling for oil is a dangerous business. We only need to look across at the firm’s rival BP and its 2010 Gulf-of-Mexico disaster to see how a drilling accident can financially cripple even a major oil company for years. Shell takes similar risks to BP on a daily basis and because accidents don’t happen every day, it’s easy to become complacent about that. However, man’s ingenuity won’t always defeat the forces of nature and the next big oil disaster could be just around the corner. 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’s fire sale

Feb 13th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-09-16 at 00.01.41

Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to unload a massive amount of assets is a troubling sign. Shell’s fire sale casts into doubt how effective it can be in producing growth this year, even with its promising projects. Shell recently suspended drilling in the Arctic. It’s also selling a stake in a liquefied natural gas project in Australia for $1.1 billion and may also consider unloading an interest in a U.S. pipeline project. These actions are part of a broader initiative in which Shell intends to sell $15 billion worth of assets over the next two years. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell completely whiffed in the U.S. and North America

Feb 9th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-09-16 at 00.01.41

Screen Shot 2013-10-01 at 07.56.54Oil prices in the United States hover near $100 per barrel and overall domestic production of oil and natural gas is soaring. With all this in mind, you’d assume the environment would be ripe for Big Oil to produce gushing profits.

Royal Dutch Shell completely whiffed in the U.S. and North America. Its Americas segment posted a $1.4 billion net loss in the fourth quarter and a $3.7 billion net loss for all of 2013.

FULL ARTICLE

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.

3 Reasons Why Royal Dutch Shell plc Could Be Set To Tank

Feb 8th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-09-16 at 00.01.41

Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52Royston Wild has “picked out a handful of reasons why Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) (NYSE: RDS-B.US) could be ready to dive lower.” He says the acceleration in asset disposals across the group and the attempt to curtail spiralling capital expenditure threaten to derail the firm’s long-term earnings prospects. He also points out that the oil price outlook looks murky and explains why there is a question-mark over long-term dividends.  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.

Why Royal Dutch Shell’s Fire Sale May be Cause for Concern

Feb 5th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52…both BP’s and ConocoPhillips’ asset sales look downright modest in comparison to the outright fire sale Royal Dutch Shell will soon embark on. Royal Dutch Shell unloaded billions last year, with even greater amounts to be sold off over the next two years. That’s why investors may have legitimate cause for concern about the fate of Shell’s future growth trajectory.

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by Bob Ciura

Royal Dutch Shell plans to sell off several billion dollars worth of assets over the next two years. Should investors be worried?

The last year was a tough one for integrated oil majors. Thinning refining margins put a serious dent in downstream earnings, and upstream profitability failed to impress despite cooperative energy prices. As a result, it’s not entirely surprising to see members of Big Oil such as (NYSE: BP) sell off non-critical assets.

Even independent exploration and production major ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), which isn’t nearly as integrated as its peers after spinning off its downstream and midstream business, got in on the asset sale game last year. 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.

Why I’ve Sold Royal Dutch Shell plc

Jan 29th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-01-14 at 14.34.31Okay, I know this will be controversial, but I really have just sold my shares in Shell. Some might argue that Shell’s new chief executive is ‘kitchen-sinking’ all the bad news in this quarter, but I very much doubt that this is the case. The company’s difficulties are more deep-seated and structural.

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By – Wednesday, 29 January, 2014

Okay, I know this will be controversial, but I really have just sold my shares in Shell.

A company’s recent share price is based on its past profitability.

But its current profits are falling. Full-year profits are expected to be 23% down on last year, and the trend in profitability is clearly downward.

The sudden, sharp fall in profitability has taken me, and many other investors, by surprise.

Shell has invested substantially in gas, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG). Yet, as more and more shale gas has been produced, the gas market has been over-supplied far more quickly than anyone expected, and gas prices have tumbled. 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.

Natural Gas and Nagging Earthquake Fears

Jan 26th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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By Sara Murphy

More evidence emerges from The Netherlands that natural gas extraction is contributing to increases in tremors around an Exxon Mobil/Shell joint venture.

The Dutch government is cutting production from Western Europe’s biggest gas field, operated by an ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) / Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) joint venture, by a quarter over the next three years.

This is one of those areas where a single big event could turn the public completely against fracking, and maybe even natural gas in general. 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.

Santa Claus Could Be Sitting on Billions of Barrels of Oil

Jan 26th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-09-16 at 00.01.41

Screen Shot 2013-11-01 at 09.31.18by Taylor Muckerman and Joel South, The Motley Fool Jan 25th 2014

For several years now, Shell had hoped that the Alaskan Arctic would their ticket to growth that shareholders would appreciate. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been able to get its act together, and over $4 billion has been spent on wasted efforts. 

For peers like ExxonMobil  and Statoil , the Arctic Circle is the future, but they are both reaching outside of the United States. Hopefully, for their sake, the Kara and Barents Sea will be more friendly that the Chukchi has been to Shell. 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.

Big Oil Is Unloading Billions of Assets in Spring Cleanup

Jan 22nd, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell PLC decided it’s time to clean out its global energy portfolio. The oil giant could unload as much as $30 billion in assets as part of the purge.

by Matt DiLallo, The Motley Fool Jan 22nd 2014

Royal Dutch Shell PLC decided it’s time to clean out its global energy portfolio. The oil giant could unload as much as $30 billion in assets as part of the purge.

Shell game
Shell needs to make some changes after it warned that its profits would be significantly lower than analysts were expecting. But the company has been hinting for a while that it would be paring back its portfolio. Earlier this year Shell announced it was exiting several U.S. shale basins after returns failed to meet its expectations. 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’s Recent Profit Warning Won’t Be the Last

Jan 22nd, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Thanks to upstream cost overruns and downstream overcapacity, 2013 probably will not be the last year Shell faces low earnings. Not only is Gorgon facing big challenges, the Shell-ExxonMobil-Total-KazMunaiGas-Eni Kashagan project was recently shut down due to pipeline leaks. The field’s current $50 billion cost is more than five times its original price

By Joshua Bondy: January 22, 2014

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) just issued a big profit warning for the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing its expected full-year 2013 earnings to $16.8 billion. This is a significant fall from its 2012 full-year earnings of $27.2 billion. Thanks to upstream cost overruns and downstream overcapacity, 2013 probably will not be the last year Shell faces low earnings.

Downstream challenges
Shell’s refineries put a hole in its Q4 2013 earnings. Its Asia-Pacific and European refineries are facing margin pressures and for good reason. They don’t have access to cheap U.S. crude. They are forced to buy expensive Brent crude and pay a premium relative to U.S. refiners. Also, U.S. refiners have access to cheap natural gas and natural gas liquids. 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.

Rev Your Engines: Royal Dutch Shell Plc Looks Ready To Motor

Jan 21st, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-09-16 at 00.01.41

By – Tuesday, 21 January, 2014

2013 was another non-starter for Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) (NYSE: RDS-B.US), and days into 2014 it stalled again. On Friday, Shell issued a profits warning, predicting adjusted earnings of $2.9 billion for the three months to the end of December, well below City expectations. It blamed oil and gas prices and difficult industry refining conditions. I was as disappointed by any investor, because I was hoping it would start the year with a clean slate, following the appointment of new chief executive Ben van Beurden. But now I’m over the shock, I am hopeful that Shell is finally going to start motoring again. 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.

Huge Changes Taking Place At Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Jan 16th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52The FTSE 100 has risen 53% during the last five years, however, Royal Dutch Shell  one of the index’s largest constituents, has underperformed by a staggering 27%. And it’s not just Shell’s shares that have been underperforming. Indeed, according to the Financial Times, around one third of Shell’s assets, are not producing a positive return-on-investment. The assets dragging on Shell’s balance sheet include the company’s $8 billion share in the huge Kashagan oilfield, half of the company’s shale oil business within the United States (worth a total of $24 billion) and numerous downstream assets. Time to do some pruning…

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By – Thursday, 16 January, 2014

The FTSE 100 has risen 53% during the last five years, however, Royal Dutch Shell  one of the index’s largest constituents, has underperformed by a staggering 27%.

What’s more, compared to its larger peers, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, Shell’s shareholder returns have been less than impressive. In particular, aside from the company’s dividend yield, which is around the same as the industry average, since introducing a script dividend back during 2010 Shell has issued around $4 billion more stock than it has brought back. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell plc’s $20bn U-turn Is Great News For Shareholders

Dec 11th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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You can be sure Shell was unsure. The company was set to spend an estimated $20bn on a gas-to-liquid plant, a figure already much higher than previous $12.5bn cost estimate made just a few months ago. But Shell has changed its mind. Now it’s spending $0 on the project. It’s pulled away from it entirely.

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By – Wednesday, 11 December, 2013

Giant resource companies like miners and integrated oil behemoths don’t have a great track record of prudently stewarding capital for the benefit of their shareholders.

Quite the opposite — they have a reputation for blowing money in booms and going near-bust in downturns.

I’ve even heard mining bosses accused of ‘being addicted to big holes in the ground’. For oil and gas companies, the equivalent is perhaps platforms and refineries as far as the eye can see, like an environmentalist’s worse nightmare. 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.

Is the Last Oil Frontier About to Open Up?

Nov 27th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell , for example, has spent more than $5 billion on its Alaskan Arctic program with nothing to show for it. This time around Shell has signed a contract with Transocean on a rig that starts in July. Previously, Shell had used its own rig, Kulluk, and one owned by Noble Corp. . It was the Kulluk that ran aground in 2012…

by Matthew DiLallo, The Motley Fool Nov 26th 2013 2:00PM

Melting Arctic ice caps are springing forth a new frontier for global commerce. New sea lanes are starting to open and more activity is coming to the region. This changing landscape has some suggesting that the last frontier for oil and gas companies might soon be more accessible.

With these changes come new challenges. It’s not just global oil companies that are interested in exploring this final frontier. Countries like China and Russia are looking to stake claim to the region, which could one day prove to be an issue for national security. That is why this transformation will need to be handled with care to protect the already fragile environment and relationships with those nations seeking to extract the region’s natural resources. 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.
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