Oil explorers hit rock bottom
Extract from an extensive FT article by Guy Chazan published 2 July 2014
International exploration and production companies – or E&Ps – were once stock market darlings. But E&Ps have lost their lustre. That is partly because they seem to have lost the knack of discovering oil.
Legal panel to examine Garda misconduct allegations
By John Donovan
The Irish Times has published an article under the headline “Legal panel to examine Garda misconduct allegations.”
Extracts
The Government has decided to hire seven barristers to examine as many as 220 outstanding allegations of Garda misconduct received from members of the public in light of the whistleblowers affair. The move came as the Government approved terms for draft laws to strengthen the Garda SÃochána Ombudsman Commission with new powers, including the right to investigate any alleged criminal conduct by a Garda commissioner. In respect of some 220 allegations about members of the force, Attorney General Máire Whelan will engage a panel of two senior counsel and five junior counsel to scrutinise files and advise whether further action is required. At issue is a deluge of allegations received from the public by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Ministers, TDs and Government departments.
The Garda Ombudsman (GSOC) investigation of police corruption allegations made against Shell by a Shell supplier turned whistleblower, OSSL, is apparently still in progress.
This is despite the fact that it is now getting on to a year since the latest investigation kicked off and despite a written pledge sometime ago by the senior officer leading the investigation, Johan Groenewald, that his findings were imminent.
Mr Groenewald has already undermined the integrity of his investigation by injudicious comments made on the record.
Is he now afraid of publishing his findings?
RELATED
Gardai call for GSOC officials to resign after ‘loss of all confidence’: Irish Independent: 28 June 2014
Tagged: Corrib Gas Project · Gas · Ireland · John Donovan · Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Extract from a Reuters article by CLAIRE MILHENCH published 1 July 2014
(Reuters) – The ageing oil and gas network of the UK North Sea is seeing a welcome rise in interest from infrastructure specialists and pension funds, giving oil majors a chance to offload unwanted assets and ultimately improve recovery from mature fields. Talisman, Shell and Marathon all have North Sea assets on the block, but buyers are getting picky. In June, Marathon failed to sell its Brae facilities, saying it had received no “acceptable offer”.
Why Shell Midstream Partners filed for an initial public offering
Extract from an informative article by Avik Chowdhury published 30 June 2014 by MarketRealist.com
Shell Midstream Partners is a Texas-based company that owns, operates, develops, and acquires pipelines and other midstream assets. Shell has filed a Registration Statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (or SEC) related to the proposed IPO of limited partner units of the MLP. RDS has proposed to list the new MLP under the symbol SHLX in the New York Stock Exchange (or NYSE). SPLC, the principal midstream subsidiary of Shell in the U.S. will own SHLX’s general partner, a significant limited partner interest and the incentive distribution rights.
Shell Tackles Climate Change
Extract from an article published 1 July by Financialbuzz.com
According to Shell (NYSE: RDS), economic development and growth in population are feeding the energy demand. Fossil fuels meet the maximum component of the demand. However, to avoid climate change, the carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced. Marvin Odum, President of Shell Oil has publicly announced his company’s aim to research carbon capture as a way to cut emissions. He has opined that Shell is not planning to enter the debate on climate change or invest any money into it.
Pipeline problems cloud Kashagan oil outlook
Extract from a Geoff Hiscock article published by The Australian on 2 July 2014
A YEAR ago, one of the world’s biggest oil and gas projects, the massive Kashagan field in Kazakhstan’s part of the Caspian Sea, was on the verge of starting production after more than a decade of development and US$40 billion in costs.
Its backers, a combination of international oil companies ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, Eni, Japan’s Inpex, the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Kazakhstan’s state-owned KazMunaiGas, had every expectation Kashagan would be producing as much as 8 million tonnes of oil this year, equivalent to 170,000 barrels a day.
But a series of gas leaks from pipelines soon after production started in mid-September last year brought the operation to a halt…
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