Shell backs out of Russian oil projects
In April 2014, following the Russian Annexation of Crimea, Shell COE, Ben van Beurden, was still bowing to Putin and full of ambition for Russian oil and gas projects.
By John Donovan
In April 2014, Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben Van Beurden claimed that the company had no plans to change its work with its Russian partners, despite the conflict in Ukraine.
His resolve seems to have crumbled following the imposition of further sanctions by the USA and Europe against the Putin regime.
A number of news articles are reporting that Shell has followed Exxon in suspending tight oil projects in Russia.
According to Reuters, “Oil major Shell has suspended development of hard-to-recover oil in Russia’s Bazhenov formation with Gazprom Neft, Interfax cited Gazprom Neft’s head as saying on Friday, after the West imposed sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.”
Extracts from Russia & India Report published 6 October 2014
Shell followed ExxonMobil’s example, also ceasing its operations in Russia in response to the sanctions. According to Russian analysts, the withdrawal of foreign partners potentially poses a threat to about a quarter of the Russian oil market.
On September 30, Shell’s press service published a statement saying that the sanctions had influenced its plans to develop oilfields in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Area in Western Siberia.
“At the moment, we are conducting a dialogue with European state entities and our partners regarding the degree of influence of these sanctions,” the statement read.
Shell Ideas360 Global Search for Game Changing Ideas
The question arises of whether Ideas360 is a devious predatory operation by Shell, trawling for brain waves from bright but naive students unlikely to have the funds or wherewithal to sue if ideas are misappropriated.
By John Donovan
The Shell Ideas360 contest has been launched in Qatar, directed at university students. This is first time the scheme has been introduced into the Middle East.
According to an article published in the Gulf Times: The competition allows participants to develop their ideas into a “potentially investment-worthy” business case with the support of mentors and subject matter experts.
A Shell spokesperson says: “The Shell Ideas360 is a great platform that will enable Qatar’s university students to collaborate with students from all around the world and develop game-changing ideas.”
Students are being targeted with all manner of hype and enticements, including $1,000 prizes in the USA, to submit their ideas to Shell, presumably in the belief that Shell can be trusted.
From my perspective, claiming as I do, the world championship in successfully suing Shell for the theft of ideas, and being aware of more recent and current claims against Shell for alleged IP theft, I feel compelled to warn students and everyone else, about trusting Shell.
The question arises of whether Ideas360 is a devious predatory operation by Shell trawling for brain waves from bright but naive students unlikely to have the funds or wherewithal to sue if ideas are misappropriated.
If Shell wants to put the scheme on a proper ethical footing, giving students confidence to disclose ideas, it should offer a low cost binding independent arbitration service to settle any IP ownership/exploitation disputes arising from participation in the scheme. The arbitration could decide, in the event of a dispute, if an idea really is novel, practical, and has potential commercial value. Dependant on that assessment, it could then decide on what basis the inventor should be rewarded if the idea is exploited by Shell.
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
By Nick Gill
NAM, a 50:50 joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil, is currently assessing claims from hundreds of people who say their homes have been damaged by the quakes.
