DUTCH SEEK REVISED GAS DEAL

DUTCH SEEK REVISED GAS DEAL WITH SHELL & EXXON

Nov 20th, 2014

by John Donovan. 

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The Dutch government Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Kapm, is seeking to renegotiate deals with Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell on the extraction and sale of Dutch gas. It seems reasonable to speculate that it is not his intention for the renegotiation to benefit the oil giants, who are joint owners of the Dutch Petroleum Company (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij – NAM), operators of the earthquake prone Groningen gas field.

FULL ARTICLE

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Posted in: Environment, Exxon Mobil, Fracking, Gas, GoogleNews, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: Gas · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

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UK Court Lifts Secrecy Order

UK Court Lifts Secrecy Order On Corrupt Nigerian Oil Deal Law Suit

Nov 20th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

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A High Court in the United Kingdom has lifted a secrecy order imposed on a 2013 legal challenge by The Corner House of a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) not to freeze some $215million alleged proceeds of crime from a corrupt Nigerian oil deal. Shell and ENI have denied paying any money to Malabu Oil and Gas. But they were aware and in agreement that the deal was for the benefit of Malabu.

By Edegbe Odemwingie: 7 November 2014

A High Court in the United Kingdom has lifted a secrecy order imposed on a 2013 legal challenge by The Corner House of a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) not to freeze some $215million alleged proceeds of crime from a corrupt Nigerian oil deal.

The fund arose from the sale of one of Nigeria’s largest offshore oil concessions, known as OPL 245 to subsidiaries of oil multinationals, Royal Dutch Shell and ENI.

Police in the UK and magistrates in Italy are now formally investigating the deal.

Both companies denied any illegal conduct.

The OPL 245 concession was originally awarded in 1998 by the then Nigerian oil minister, Dan Etete, to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company that he set up and owns. In effect, Etete awarded one of Nigeria’s most lucrative oil blocks to himself.

In 2011, Shell and ENI paid $1.1billion, plus a signature bonus of $200million, to the Nigerian government for the concession. In a back-to-back deal negotiated by the attorney general of the federation, the Nigerian government then undertook to transfer $1.1billion to Etete’s company, Malabu.

The deal effectively converted into money an asset that had been acquired by Malabu Oil and Gas in highly suspicious, possibly illegal, circumstances.

Shell and ENI have denied paying any money to Malabu Oil and Gas. But they were aware and in agreement that the deal was for the benefit of Malabu.

In 2011, a middleman acting for Malabu sued the company in the UK Commercial Court for fees he claimed he was owed for services rendered to Malabu in the sale of OPL 245.

SOURCE

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Posted in: Africa, Bribery, Business Principles, Corruption, Litigation, Nigeria, Oil,Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: Corruption · Eni · Nigeria · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell

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SHELL WON ‘Prix Pinocchio’ 2014

Long noses at Shell

Nov 20th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

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Worthy winners of France’s fiercely contested ‘Prix Pinocchio’ 2014 were selected last night, recognising corporate greed, hypocrisy and malfeasance, based on a record vote since the awards began. Shell won hands down for the Pinocchio award category ‘One for all and all for me!’, with 43% of the vote, for the development of shale gas projects across the entire world – except in Holland, its home country, which is subject to a fracking moratorium.

(Extract from the linked article)

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Posted in: Business Principles, Fracking, GoogleNews, John Donovan, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: Fracking · Gas · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

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Fire sale of Shell assets gathers pace

Oil price slump: fire sale of Shell assets gathers pace

Nov 20th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

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*Royal Dutch Shell Plc has sold a $600 million stake in a Nigerian oil lease as part of its plan to sell off $15bn worth of assets around the world. The fire sale no doubt has added momentum in view of the collapse in the price of oil. Shell has already disposed of under-performing assets in Australia, the USA and in the North Sea. Bloomberg News has reported that Shell may close its Draugen oil field in the Norwegian Sea a decade earlier than intended because of rising costs and the slump in oil prices. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Shell is claiming that it has sold its stake in a set of oil wells and processing plants in the Niger Delta because the company has struggled with oil theft and other security issues. Guess a fire sale is better than Nigerians ending up being hanged for protesting against decades of Shell’s plunder and pollution in Nigeria, exploiting a succession of corrupt regimes.

THE HAGUE, the Netherlands, November 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ —

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell)(NYSE: RDS.A)(NYSE: RDS.B), has completed the assignment of its 30% interest in Oil Mining Lease 24 (OML24) and related facilities in the Eastern Niger Delta to Newcross Exploration and Production Limited (Newcross). Total cash proceeds for Shell amount to some $600 million.

This divestment is part of the strategic review of SPDC’s onshore portfolio and is in line with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s aim of developing Nigerian companies in the country’s upstream oil and gas business.

Shell has been in Nigeria for more than 50 years and remains committed to keeping a long-term presence there, both onshore and offshore. Through SPDC and its other Nigerian companies, Shell responsibly produces the oil and gas needed to fuel the economic and industrial growth that generates wealth for the nation and jobs for Nigerians.

OML24 covers an area of some 430 square kilometres and includes the Awoba, Awoba Northwest and Ekulama fields and related facilities. The divested infrastructure includes three oil flow-stations and three gas processing plants, in addition to various oil and gas pipelines. The divested fields produced on average around 13,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (100%) during the first half of 2014.

Total E&P Nigeria Limited (10%) and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (5%) have also assigned their interests in the lease, ultimately giving Newcross a 45% interest.

All approvals have been received from the relevant authorities of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

FULL PRESS RELEASE INCLUDING CAUTIONARY NOTE

*Introduction in red text by John Donovan.

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Posted in: Africa, Australia, GoogleNews, John Donovan, Nigeria, Oil, Oil Company Profits, Oil Prices, Royal Dutch Shell Firesale, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, United States.
Tagged: Niger Delta · Nigeria · Oil · Oil Prices · Shell

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Shell has come up completely empty on its promise

Sad faces at Shell?

Nov 20th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

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Last month, the suits over at Shell put on their sad faces and went to the White House to ask for more time to burn through another billion or two. I tell ya, these guys are gluttons for punishment. After eight years and more than $6 billion, Shell has come up completely empty on its promise to bring a bounty of Arctic crude to market from the Chukchi Sea.

Jeff Siegel has authored an interesting article:

“Shale Oil vs. Arctic Drilling“

The extract below sets out his advice to Shell on Arctic drilling.

Last month, the suits over at Shell put on their sad faces and went to the White House to ask for more time to burn through another billion or two. I tell ya, these guys are gluttons for punishment. After eight years and more than $6 billion, Shell has come up completely empty on its promise to bring a bounty of Arctic crude to market from the Chukchi Sea. The plan to tap this Arctic flow was devised more than a decade ago — before the U.S. was swimming in shale oil and before consumption rates started falling. Certainly I don’t fault management for moving aggressively on black treasure in the Arctic. At the time, it made a lot of sense. But today, with $80 crude, a boom in domestic oil and gas production, and little chance of ever successfully producing anything more than losses in the Chukchi, Shell really should just chalk the whole adventure up to an unfortunate face-plant and move on.

Mr Siegel does not expect the Obama administration to be receptive to Shell’s overtures and suggests that even if granted an extension on its leases, that is no guarantee of success bearing in mind what could go wrong, including facing more lawsuits and equipment failures.

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Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Chukchi Sea, Environment, GoogleNews, Oil Spill, Pollution,Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shale Gas, Shale Oil, Shell, Shell Employee Safety, Shell Project Delays, Shell Project Overruns, United States.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Chukchi Sea · Jeroen van der Veer · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell

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Shell Saves $2.5 billion In Transfer-Pricing Case

Royal Dutch Shell Saves $2.5 billion In Transfer-Pricing Case

Nov 20th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

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Bidness Etc discusses the ruling by an Indian court in a transfer-pricing case against Shell and its impact on future foreign investment in the country

Published: November 19, 2014 at 12:26 pm EST

By: Micheal Kaufman

The Bombay High Court has ruled in favor of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) in a high-tax profile case, which could pose a hurdle to the Indian government’s plans on bringing in foreign investment and much-needed revenue.

The ruling was announced on Tuesday, after Indian authorities claimed tax money paid to transfer shares of Shell. The court has not released a written judgment yet.

The judgment can negatively impact India’s image, which might cause leading foreign companies to hesitate to invest in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi can intervene and reverse the ruling.

The Indian government can request the tax authorities to review the case.

In order to allegedly evade more than $2.5 billion in taxes, which should have been considered as income, Indian tax officials believe that Shell’s shares were underpriced when transferred from its Indian subsidiary to the parent company. However, Shell’s lawyers and executives have denied this, stating that shares were valued at the right price.

According to the Shell’s spokesperson, the foreign parent’s equity infusion into its subsidiary is not liable to be taxed. The spokesperson said that the court’s ruling was unbiased and that it would help strengthen the government’s initiatives to progress toward a better investment climate.

The judgment has specified that transfer-pricing laws cannot be imposed on shares issued to a foreign parent. It will be an example for similar cases, which are pending in the court.

Many foreign companies have complained that Indian tax officials seem to target major foreign investors in the country. These include Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD), Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) which, in recent years, have invested heavily in India. They remain disappointed at huge taxes being imposed on them.

Vodafone, which has the second largest number of subscribers in India, went to court resolve a multibillion-dollar tax issue with Indian authorities. It was charged $2 billion for purchasing a stake in an Indian phone company in 2007. The court had ruled in favor of Vodafone, but the Indian Parliament introduced a retroactive law to tax the company. In another transfer-pricing case, Vodafone managed to win the $580 million case.

Similarly, Nokia was convicted of evading billions of dollars in taxes by misquoting exemptions for exporting software. The Indian court froze its assets in the country, which prevented its Chennai factory from becoming a part of the merger with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).

With a confused notion over the tax laws, India ranks low in the ease of doing business index, which is why it was ranked 142 out of 189 by the World Bank.

Indian Prime Minister Narendera Modi has decided to diminish what he calls tax-terrorism as he works to bring investment to Asia’s third-largest economy, although he must improve the tax environment first.

According to analysts, tax authorities will most likely work to provide better environment after lost cases against Vodafone and Shell.

SOURCE ARTICLE

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Posted in: Bidness Etc, India, Litigation, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell Tax Avoidance.
Tagged: India · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

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