Impact on Royal Dutch Shell from Putin’s Missile
The whole geopolitical situation has now become even more precarious following the deliberate shooting down of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH-17. If that was not bad enough, it transpires that over 170 of the people on board the ill-fated flight were Dutch and three of the passengers were Shell employees. What will Ben van Beurden do if it is confirmed that the Sun front page headline today is accurate, bearing in mind that Putin has already annexed Crimea and is behind the rebels/terrorists trying to grab an even larger slice of the Ukraine for him?
By John Donovan
Shell’s relationship with Russia and the Ukraine became more difficult earlier this week when the USA escalated sanctions against Russia, targeting in particular Russian energy giant Rosneft and Gazprombank, the financial arm of Gazprom.
Rosneft and Gazprom are controlled by the corrupt and aggressive Putin regime. Both companies have important business dealings with Shell.
Shell has already pledged to comply with all international sanctions against Russia, but the pledge seems at odds withgrovelling comments made to Putin on 18 April 2014 by Royal Dutch Shell CEO, Ben van Beurden.
Experts have warned that Russia could retaliate against American and European multinationals in response to sanctions. Russia has also threatened that firms leaving over sanctions would not be able to return any time soon.
For obvious related reasons, Shell also has a complicated and delicate relationship with Ukraine.
The whole geopolitical situation has now become even more precarious following the deliberate shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH-17.
If that was not bad enough, it transpires that over 170 of the people on board the ill-fated flight were Dutch and three of the passengers were Shell employees.
What will Ben van Beurden do if it is confirmed that the Sun front page headline today is accurate, bearing in mind that Putin has already annexed Crimea and is behind the rebels/terrorists trying to grab an even larger slice of the Ukraine for him?
I think we already know the answer.
Shell is not interested in morals, ethics, human rights, the safety of it employees, the public, or any other consideration, except money. For over a 100 years, Shell has been driven by unscrupulous greed as its sole motivator.
Shell funded Hitler and the Nazi party, and has subsequently done business with a string of evil regimes, including General Sani Abacha, Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, the Mad Mullahs of Iran and the South African Apartheid regime. Putin is but the latest power mad egomaniac to be treated like royalty by Shell. Bowed to and fawned over by Ben van Beurden.
Basically, the company is willing to deal with the devil if that is what it takes to please investors and generate multimillion dollar financial packages for its fat cat executive directors, irrespective of their performance, honesty and all moral considerations.
At the Royal Dutch Shell Plc AGM in May 2014 Ben van Beurden bluntly made it clear that Shell’s priority is what is in the economic interests of Shell shareholders, not geopolitical concerns. That explains why he happily bowed to Putin on Good Friday after the Putin annexation of Crimea.
RELATED: Royal Dutch Shell outmanoeuvred, outsmarted, bullied and humiliated by Putin.
RELATED: Is Vladimir Putin Another Adolf Hitler?: Forbes Magazine 16 April 2014
Researched article from
Nation
MH17 crash: Shell Malaysia employees were on board ill-fated flight
Extract from a Motley Fool article byRoyston Wildpublished Friday 18 July 2014 under the headline: The Risks Of Investing In Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Like its industry rival BP, Shell also faces the prospect of being dragged through the courts — and having to incur huge legal penalties — as a result of a major oil catastrophe.
Some 11,000 villagers from the Nigerian village of Bodo are taking action against the business after thefts from the Bomu-Bonny pipeline caused two large oil spills in 2008. Shell had initially offered to compensate claimants to the tune of £30m back in 2011, an offer which it repeated after an initial hearing at the UK High Court in June.
The plaintiffs had been seeking closer to £300m due to the environmental impact of the spills as well as financial implications for local businesses, and again rejected the offer out of hand. Although the court ruled last month that Shell cannot be held accountable under Nigerian law for the damage caused by the thefts, the oil giant may be forced to pay compensation for failing to implement reasonable measures to prevent such criminal activity.
The case is due to be heard in May next year, and Shell could face stiff financial penalties whether settled in or out of court.
Shell suspends development of Canada’s Jumping Pound gas liquefaction unit
Extracts from a Reuters article published Friday 18 July 2014
LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said it has suspended development of a liquefaction unit at Canada’s Jumping Pound facility…
“We believe LNG (liquefied natural gas) in transport is a considerable opportunity for Shell, but it is an emerging market and we must have a balanced approach to its development,” a company spokseman said.
The shale gas production boom has pulled down natural gas prices in North America, making LNG competitive with oil in the transport sector, but development costs remain high.
© Thomson Reuters 2014 All rights reserved
LNG spot crash persists as Shell bizarrely talks it up
Extracts from an article published by macro business.com on 18 July 2014
Prices of spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) for August delivery to Asia plummeted 26.5% year-over-year to an average $11.365 per million British thermal units (/MMBtu), the lowest monthly average since April 2011, the latest Platts Japan/Korea Marker (JKM) for month-ahead delivery showed. The drop came as supply continued to outweigh demand.
So, supply is already crimping prices at the margin, even accounting for seasonality. Not good news for Australia’s overpriced magnificent seven projects, though they are protected by oil-linked contracts for now.
Bizarrely, Shell is talking up further investment. From The Australian:
“The (LNG) demand is there and we very much like investing in an OECD country that is so well placed geographically and in terms of capability, and which we know well because we have been here for more than a century.”
…“Labour productivity, in my mind, is below par…But Australia does have a lot of infrastructure, capability and experience in the industry. It’s a bit of a tight labour market but labour is, in principle, available.
“I still think Australia has the edge and we are keen to invest more in it.”
“In my mind there is some long-overdue thinking of restructure and consolidation at Gladstone that needs to happen,” he said.
“We can be a very relaxed and strategic player in that game and for me, all options are open.”
One very obvious question we might ask is: if it’s all going so swimmingly then why is there a need for restructuring?
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
By John Donovan
