Royal Dutch Shell News 23 Sept 2014
By John Donovan
Nigeria
FROM THE DAILY MAIL
Shell has overhauled its security procedures in Nigeria to prevent oil theft that is costing it hundreds of millions of pounds. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant said it had stopped paying private security contractors to monitor its pipelines and oil facilities.
Carbon Pricing
Forbes.com has published an article purportedly authored by Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Extract
There’s much to do if we are to build a lower-carbon, higher-energy future. For Shell’s part, we wholeheartedly support the World Bank’s recent call for a carbon price to be applied throughout the global economy. Carbon pricing is one vital step, but there’s a long road ahead. To build the energy future we need, government, business and civil society must work together. With the right approach, one characterized by pragmatism, it can be within our reach. And, as CEO, I am determined that through our production of natural gas and our efforts to advance CCS, for example, Shell will continue to play our part.
Brazil
According to a Reuters report: Thailand’s top oil and gas explorer, PTT Exploration and Production Pcl, has agreed to acquire a 20 percent stake in Brazilian offshore oil and gas concession BM-ES-23 from Royal Dutch Shell for an undisclosed sum. Earlier this year, the company agreed to sell a 23 percent interest in the Parque das Conchas field offshore Brazil for about $1 billion, as part of the $15 billion Shell fire sale of assets.
United States
BBC News says that President Obama has announced a crackdown on tax avoidance deals known as inversions. The practice involves a US firm merging with a firm in a country with a lower tax rate and has become popular over recent years. The President said: “We’ve recently seen a few large corporations announce plans to exploit this loophole, undercutting businesses that act responsibly and leaving the middle class to pay the bill, and I’m glad that [Treasury Secretary Jack Lew] is exploring additional actions to help reverse this trend.”
One of our regular contributors says ” This will affect Shell” and has drawn my attention to a related WSJ article.
Extract
Europe firms fear fallout from U.S. anti-inversion crackdown. Multinational companies based in Europe have launched an effort to avoid suffering collateral damage from Obama administration efforts to curb tax-inversion deals, the Financial Times reports. Big European companies typically avoid U.S. politics, but now firms including Nestlé SA, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Airbus Group NV and BASF SE are alarmed at the risk to their own U.S. divisions.
Australia
A number of articles, including this one, point out that Shell is now free to sell a 9.5% stake in Woodside Petroleum. Shell’s plans to sell the stake are part of its planned fire sale of $15 billion worth of assets by next May, including its Australian filling station network and an Australian refinery.
Greenpeace puts more pressure on LEGO
LONDON, Sept. 22 (UPI) — Environmental advocacy group Greenpeace said toy company LEGO runs the risk of spoiling its reputation with its tacit ties to Shell’s arctic drilling campaign. With a new line of LEGO brand toys at Shell retail centers, Greenpeace now says it’s up to company’s like LEGO to break away from Shell or risk damaging their reputation should an accident in the arctic occur.
Russia – Shell shrugs off Russian sanctions
Interfax reports that Shell intends to stay in Russia and is not yet concerned by sanctions against the country.
Much of the above text is taken verbatim from current news reports.
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
By John Donovan
