“Shell continues to comply with all relevant international sanctions”

By Daniel J. Graeber

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, July 14 (UPI) — With a nuclear deal in hand, Royal Dutch Shell said Tuesday it’s exploring the “immediate and long-term” implication of an opening Iranian oil door.

Representatives from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Germany and Iran announced the signing of a breakthrough agreement that pulls Iran back from the brink of developing a nuclear weapons program in exchange for sweeping and staged relief from economic sanctions. read more

Shell to tap new Gulf of Mexico oil

HOUSTON, July 1 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday it made a final investment decision to open up new oil developments in the deep waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Shell said it was moving forward with a decision to build what it says will be the largest floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico in order to tap into the deepwater Appomattox prospect. Average production is expected to be about 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

“Appomattox opens up more production growth for us in the Gulf of Mexico, where our production last year averaged about 225,000 boe per day, and this development will be profitable for decades to come,” Upstream Director Marvin Odum said in a statement. “With its competitive cost and design, Appomattox is next in our series of deep-water successes.” read more

Activists deploy against Shell’s arctic plans

By Daniel J. Graeber: June 29, 2015

MUKILTEO, Wash., June 29 (UPI) — Activists said Monday they took to the water off the Washington state coast in kayaks to try to slow progress of a Shell drilling rig bound for arctic waters.

“We know we can’t stop them,” Carlo Voli, a campaigner from advocacy group 350 Seattle, said in an emailed statement. “But we can’t just watch them go; we have to do all we can to slow them down, and get people to focus on what a disaster Arctic drilling would be.” read more

HOUSTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) — Michael Macrander, a chief scientist for Shell in Alaska, said engagement with the scientific community could help his company navigate arctic waters. Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Bueden said last month he was “not prepared to commit further resources for drilling in Alaska in 2014” following a court decision challenging a 2008 lease for acreage in the Chukchi Sea. Shell’s arctic campaign was plagued by problems with its drilling rigs, Noble Discoverer and Kulluk, and the cost associated with managing operations in the harsh arctic climate. Macrander told delegates at an arctic technology conference in Houston the arctic problems could be answered with science-based solutions. read more

Royal Dutch Shell is selling off four of its onshore Nigerian oil blocks because of the constant theft of large volumes oil from its pipelines, officials said.

Oct. 18, 2013

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Oct. 18 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell is selling off four of its onshore Nigerian oil blocks because of the constant theft of large volumes oil from its pipelines, officials said.The move highlights the West African state’s growing battle with criminal syndicates that are stealing an average of 100,000 barrels of crude a day. That costs the continent’s second largest economy after South Africa up to $1 billion a month, a criminal enterprise on an industrial scale that officials say rivals the narcotics trade as the world’s most lucrative crime.

Oil industry officials and community workers say this massive theft of Nigeria’s key resource involves crooked politicians, security forces, oil industry personnel and oil traders.

There are also militant groups operating in the oil-rich but impoverished Niger Delta, a labyrinth of swamps and creeks that provide cover for the complex network of crime.

“There’s a sophisticated organization,” says Philip Mshelbila, Shell’s chief of communications in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. “Clearly it’s not just local. There has to be a wide network.” read more

Published: July 18, 2013 at 8:12 AM

HOUSTON, July 18 (UPI) — The Gulf of Mexico is expected to be a source of substantial oil production during the next several years, a Shell Oil executive said.

Shell announced Wednesday it was closing down its Cardamom development in the Gulf of Mexico in order to retrofit a drilling platform for future development. Shell set drilling records for depth and production with its Auger platform and it’s expected to reach a peak production rate of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent by next year. read more

Published: May 24, 2013 at 3:58 PM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 24 (UPI) — A U.S. Coast Guard panel investigating the grounding of a drilling rig in Alaska heard testimony from an engineer who blamed a tow ship’s diesel fuel supply.

The inquiry concerns the towing of the drilling rig Kulluk, owned by Royal Dutch Shell, which ran aground Dec. 31, 2012, when the 365-foot towing ship Aiviq experienced an engine failure, the (Anchorage, Alaska) Daily News reported Friday.

Carl Broekhuis, the ship’s main engineer, said Thursday, the fourth day of an anticipated 10-day hearing, the ship’s four engines failed because of a problem with the fuel that materialized in the form of “slime.” read more

Published: March. 21, 2013 at 8:17 AM

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, March 21 (UPI) — The estimated $2.3 billion payable to the National Iranian Oil Co. can’t be settled because of sanctions imposed on Iran, Royal Dutch Shell said.

Shell published its annual Form 20-F for 2012, which provides a comprehensive detail of financial activity for the year ending Dec. 31, 2012.

The company said it ended upstream commercial operations and new business developments in Iran in 2010 as a result of sanctions. Western governments have used economic sanctions as a way to limit Iran’s nuclear program, which the Iranian government says is peaceful. read more

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 25 (UPI) — Shell Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser said there is significant shale natural gas potential in Ukraine.

Voser told the BBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Shell signed a 50-year production sharing contract to explore shale natural gas reserves in Ukraine.

Ukraine is among the Eastern European countries eyeing potential shale gas reserves along with Poland and Lithuania. Voser said his company expected to make billions of dollars in investments in Ukraine should shale exploration prove fruitful. read more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) — A rights group supporting Nigerian nationals before the U.S. Supreme Court said the case seemed to be moving against Royal Dutch Shell.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in Kiobel vs. Royal Dutch Petroleum. Esther Kiobel filed the case in U.S. courts under the Alien Tort Statute, a 1789 law, saying her husband Barinem Kiobel was executed by the Nigerian military with the alleged backing of Shell.

Advocacy group EarthRights International said Monday’s arguments were viewed as favorable for Kiobel. read more

Published: Sept. 26, 2012 at 7:22 AM

LONDON, Sept. 26 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell said it completed the first part of a cleanup operation related to an oil spill at its Gannet platform in the North Sea last year.

Oil leaked from the Gannet platform in the North Sea in August 2011. The release totaled around 1,300 barrels of oil, making it the largest oil spill in the region in more than a decade.

The British Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention said it approved Shell’s plans to extract the residual oil left in a pipeline. read more

Published: Sept. 17, 2012 at 8:22 AM

MOSCOW, Sept. 17 (UPI) — Russian energy company Gazprom announced plans to invest more than $14 billion on projects in the Sakhalin region of the Far East.

Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller met with delegates from the region in Moscow to discuss energy projects in the east.

“Miller emphasized that implementation of projects in Eastern Russia was the company’s top priority,” said Gazprom in a statement.

The company said it aims to invest more than $14 billion on a variety of developments in the region, including offshore production and liquefied natural gas. read more

A group of environmental organizations have urged the Obama administration not to allow oil giant Shell to begin planned exploratory drilling in Arctic seas off Alaska’s coast this summer.

Published: Aug. 10, 2012 at 2:43 PM

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) — Environmental organizations urged the Obama administration not to allow oil giant Shell to begin planned exploratory drilling in arctic seas off Alaska this summer.

After a series of delays, Shell was to begin its long-planned drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas during the brief ice-free period this summer. But the company’s window for drilling is narrowing, as it faces a Sept. 24 deadline when it must cease operations in hydrocarbon-bearing zones in the Chukchi and by Oct. 31 in the Beaufort. read more

Published: July 20, 2012 at 5:57 AM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 20 (UPI) — Divers from Shell confirmed that the Noble Discoverer drillship didn’t run aground after it slipped its anchor off the Alaskan coast, the company said.

Shell said the drillship slipped anchor and drifted about 300 feet toward the Alaskan coast. It was towed to its original position this week. There were no injuries or pollution reported from the incident.

“While an internal investigation will determine why the Discoverer slipped anchor, we are pleased with the speed and effectiveness of the mitigation measures we had in place,” the company said in a statement. read more

Environmental activists Greenpeace conducted an elaborate online hoax to draw attention to the the oil company Shell’s push to drill in protected Arctic lands. Users were invited to submit suggestions for the “Arctic ready” ad campaign through a mock website designed to look like the company’s.

By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com Published: July 17, 2012 at 12:19

Environmental activist group Greenpeace followed up a fake Shell launch partywith yet another successful viral campaign against the oil giant.

The pranksters set up a website imitating Shell‘s, encouraging people to submit their suggestions for a “crowdsourced ad campaign” promoting drilling in the Arctic.

Greenpeace released a statement taking credit for the campaign.

“With help from the Yes Lab we built a special Arctic Ready website for Shell, which houses our new advertisements, plus a tool for you to create your own,” the statement says. “Take a moment to choose a picture and add your own message – there are some great ones up already. We’ve even built a charming kids’ game – Angry Bergs – to keep the littl’uns happy. Watch the dollars flood in as you protect your oil platform from those pesky natural hazards. Unsinkable.” read more

Published: June 18, 2012 at 8:27 AM

WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) — Washington recognizes the strategic importance of untapped oil reserves off the coast of Alaska, an executive from Shell said.

Shell aims to launch a drilling campaign in the coming months in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off the Alaskan coast after having its oil-spill response plan approved by federal regulators.

Shell President Marvin Odum told the Platts news service the importance of oil reserves offshore Alaska is well-understood by the White House. read more