JOHN DONOVAN FEBRUARY 5, 2014 ARTICLES

Why Royal Dutch Shell’s Fire Sale May be Cause for Concern

Feb 5th, 2014

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

…both BP’s and ConocoPhillips’ asset sales look downright modest in comparison to the outright fire sale Royal Dutch Shell will soon embark on. Royal Dutch Shell unloaded billions last year, with even greater amounts to be sold off over the next two years. That’s why investors may have legitimate cause for concern about the fate of Shell’s future growth trajectory.

by Bob Ciura

Royal Dutch Shell plans to sell off several billion dollars worth of assets over the next two years. Should investors be worried?

The last year was a tough one for integrated oil majors. Thinning refining margins put a serious dent in downstream earnings, and upstream profitability failed to impress despite cooperative energy prices. As a result, it’s not entirely surprising to see members of Big Oil such as BP (NYSE: BP) sell off non-critical assets.

Even independent exploration and production major ConocoPhillips(NYSE: COP), which isn’t nearly as integrated as its peers after spinning off its downstream and midstream business, got in on the asset sale game last year.

However, both BP’s and ConocoPhillips’ asset sales look downright modest in comparison to the outright fire sale Royal Dutch Shell(NYSE: RDS-B) will soon embark on. Royal Dutch Shell unloaded billions last year, with even greater amounts to be sold off over the next two years. That’s why investors may have legitimate cause for concern about the fate of Shell’s future growth trajectory.

These initiatives are what Shell management refers to as the “hard portfolio choices” necessary in light of its poor underlying performance in 2013.

Bob Ciura owns shares of BP p.l.c. (ADR). The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Posted in: BP, Conoco Phillips, Oil, Profits Warning, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: BP · ConocoPhillips · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · The Motley Fool

Is It Finally Time To Dump Royal Dutch Shell Stock?

Feb 5th, 2014

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

By Aaron Levitt, InvestorPlace Contributor

Sometimes you just have to say goodbye to a stock, even when it has been good to you over the years. RDS.A was willing to go the extra mile into some pretty ambitious energy sources. From Australian natural gas to drilling in the Arctic Circle, Shell could be seen as the “growth” orientated major. Unfortunately, those go-getting plans haven’t gone according to plan, and now RDS.A is the process of closing up shop in several of these locations and selling the assets. And with many years of underperformance behind it, it may just be time to sell Royal Dutch Shell stock out of your portfolio.

FULL ARTICLE WELL WORTH READING

Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Australia, Gas, Oil Company Profits, Profits Warning, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Australia · Gas · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Shrinking Giants: Royal Dutch Shell long list of abandoned projects

Feb 5th, 2014

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

A total of $15 billion worth of assets are expected to be sold this year and next, including petrol stations in Australia, offshore production capacity shares in Brazil, pipelines and a host of other assets (link). Problem is that many of the projects were meant to boost production both upstream and downstream, which means that most likely Shell will not be able to stem a steady long-term production decline.

Zoltan Ban: February 5, 2014

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B):

While in 2012 total production of oil and gas increased by about 47,000 barrels of oil equivalent, it seems that Shell production declined for 2013 by 1.8% compared to 2012 and fourth quarter decline was 4.7%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. This decline will probably continue into 2014 and perhaps beyond as Shell actually tries to divest from many projects which were hoped to bring more production online (link).

Long list of abandoned projects:

Oil shale also known as kerogen deposits always captured the imagination and fascination of many people, due mainly to the huge size of the deposits found mainly in the United States. Royal Dutch Shell was among the many companies which figured that being the first to unlock the potential of hundreds of billions, or even trillions of barrels of oil found within the deposits would be a huge competitive advantage over competition as well as a way to make up for dwindling opportunities in more conventional fields. After many years of conducting pilot projects in the field, they quit last year (link).

The over 100,000 acres Shell acquired in 2010 in the Eagle Ford field went up for sale last year, as the returns on the investment proved to be disappointing (link). In the second quarter of 2013, Shell reported a write-down of $2 billion on liquids rich shale operations. At the time, there was little detail given in regards to the specific reason why it was deemed necessary and which operation was responsible. I pointed out then in an article (link) that it was probably the Dimmit County property which a USGS study in 2012 found to be a region with comparatively poor per-well production results in the Eagle Ford. As it turns out, it seems the 2012 USGS report has some relevance in giving us some indication in terms of what to expect in terms of returns on investments.

The Proposed Gas to Liquids (GTL) plant in Louisiana never got off the ground as Shell decided to axe the project on concerns of the future of natural gas prices. The plant was going to produce over 100,000 barrels of GTL diesel fuel per day at a capacity cost of about $100,000 per barrel per day. Given that feasibility of the project was seen only as long as crude oil stays above $100 a barrel and natural gas at under $6 per million BTUs, Shell decided it is too risky (link1, link2).

Exploration in Alaska was abandoned early this year for the remainder of 2014. The company’s new CEO Ben van Beurden cited during the Q4 presentation a court decision which found that the exploration permit to Shell was awarded by the Interior Department based on inadequate information. Truth is however that after years of exploration and $5 billion spent, Shell found out that operating in the arctic was expensive and technically challenging. It is possible that the decision to suspend operations will be permanent.

These are just a few examples of Royal Dutch Shell divesting itself from various projects upstream and downstream. A total of $15 billion worth of assets are expected to be sold this year and next, including petrol stations in Australia, offshore production capacity shares in Brazil, pipelines and a host of other assets (link). It is all part of trying to keep its net capex spending down, which last year came in at $44.3 billion. Problem is that many of the projects were meant to boost production both upstream and downstream, which means that most likely Shell will not be able to stem a steady long-term production decline.

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Gas, Oil, Oil Company Profits, Profits Warning, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, United States.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Seeking Alpha

Price-rigging probes jammed by oil industry bid to protect its secrets

Feb 5th, 2014

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

The case alleges collusion to manipulate spot prices among Shell, BP, Statoil, Morgan Stanley, Vitol, the Dutch trading giant Trafigura Beheer BV and others since 2002…

Joel Kirkland, E&E reporter:EnergyWire: Friday, January 17, 2014

A U.S. investigation into whether the world’s biggest crude oil traders fix prices has sparked an escalating and high-stakes court battle over the disclosure of records.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Vitol Group and Plains All American Pipeline LP have joined Morgan Stanley in a federal court case that aims to stop mounds of trading data given to U.S. regulators from being used in civil cases alleging market manipulation by a trading house controlled by Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen.

“By providing false and inaccurate information and engaging in false or sham trading, defendants undermined the entire pricing structure for the Brent crude oil physical and futures markets,” claims an Oct. 4, 2013, class-action suit filed in a U.S. district court in Manhattan.

The case alleges collusion to manipulate spot prices among Shell, BP, Statoil, Morgan Stanley, Vitol, the Dutch trading giant Trafigura Beheer BV and others since 2002, a period during which physical and financial oil trading shifted into high gear.

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: BP, Litigation, Oil Price Fixing, Oil Prices, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Statoil.
Tagged: BP · Oil Prices · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

AE CLASS ASSIGNMENT 1_SOP

      AFTER EFFECTS CLASS ASSIGNMENT 1

                           LOGO ANIMATION

We are told to create an original logo in Illustrator or photoshop and animate it in  After Effects. The animation needs to be long enough to communicate logo and short enough to hold viewers attention 15 to 30 seconds in length.

In my part I planned to make a 30 second video animation where I gathered at least 20 images of eagles of similar looks and layers of a logo done in Illustrator. I imagined the scene as an eagle flying in the sky in circular path with a scroll in its claws which the eagle will drop to the ground after the second round of flight. Here,at this point the focus of the camera will be alternately between the eagle and the scroll while the scroll was on its way to the ground and the diving to perch on top of pole and the scroll unfolding on the ground revealing the logo displayed on the scroll.

But I am late to realize  that I have involved myself to very ambitious project. It was overwhelmingly difficult. I was not able to even at least to assemble them into the timeline. I wrongly deleted files and have files that  I knew that it is there but After Effects keep on telling me you are missing two files since last saving.  I have my logo pixelated when placed in After Effects and have  to start all over again countless times and almost gaining no progress at all.  

Though the project was not completed yet I turned them in as instructed.  I will be working on them until I could honestly say its done.

Thank you very much.

Antonio L. Buensuceso Jr.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

JOHN DONOVAN FEBRUARY 4, 2014 ARTICLES

Shell’s fall from grace

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

In May 2013, when Voser’s retirement was announced, he was described by Reuters as having been Shell’s “renaissance CEO”. Fast-forward eight months and Voser’s successor stunned the market with a profits warning. It was a remarkably quick fall from grace for both the former chief and the company… …the company’s misstatement of its proven reserves early in the century landed it with a multi-million dollar fine from stock market regulators and forced the departure of its chairman as well as shocking investors. Shell has had its own environmental problems in Nigeria. Now it is being severely criticised for overspending.

By John Kemp

Feb 4 (Reuters) – “All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure,” wrote Enoch Powell, a former member of Britain’s parliament who held controversial views on immigration and national identity.

Much the same could be said of business careers, as Shell’s former chief executive Peter Voser has learned the hard way. His strategy of continuing to invest in complex megaprojects through the oil industry cycle is now blamed for the company’s recent profit warning and underperformance.

In May 2013, when Voser’s retirement was announced, he was described by Reuters as having been Shell’s “renaissance CEO”. According to my colleague Andy Callus, “his exit from a role he is seen to have excelled in surprised investors, analysts and people inside Europe’s biggest oil company” .

Fast-forward eight months and Voser’s successor stunned the market with a profits warning. “Our 2013 performance was not what I expect from Shell,” Chief Executive Ben van Beurden told investors and promised a more disciplined approach to investment as well as better operational performance and project delivery.

It was a remarkably quick fall from grace for both the former chief and the company, though no swifter than many other chief executives and businesses have endured.

FROM HERO TO FAILURE

Speaking to Reuters in May 2013, Voser warned: “You spend capex through the cycle. Don’t try to read it, don’t slow down. It will cost you more when you want to grow afterwards.

“I know a lot of investors and analysts. They all think they can read the market … but one thing in our industry is very clear; it takes you five to seven years to recover (from) a strategic slowdown,” Voser explained.

“The market changes its views in three to six months, and you can’t change that fast in our industry.”

Just a few weeks after Voser stepped down, Shell has finally succumbed to cyclical pressure. Van Beurden insists the company’s overall strategy is sound, but has promised to cut investment and enhance returns by making hard choices about new projects.

Shell’s abrupt turnaround has prompted questions about whether the company’s strategy was mistaken, poorly executed, or if the company was the victim of changed circumstances beyond its control.

It has also prompted unflattering comparisons with BP , which emphasised spending discipline much earlier, and is now the darling of analysts and investors.

SIBLING RIVALRY

Contrasting the strategy, leadership, culture and performance of the two London-listed oil majors is a favourite pastime of writers about both companies.

In the standard caricature, Shell is more conservative, bureaucratic, technology-driven and controlled by engineers. BP is reputedly more entrepreneurial, innovative, risk-taking and controlled by financially focused managers.

The two have regularly swapped places as the favourite of the media and investors over the last two decades depending on which set of characteristics is in fashion.

Legendary Chief Executive John Browne, who played a leading role consolidating the oil industry, pushing into post-communist Russia and building up a formidable oil trading division, made BP the favourite in the late 1990s.

But in the wake of accidents like the Texas City refinery explosion and Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, BP’s alleged lack ofengineering expertise, reliance on external contractors, obsession with short-term financial results, and criticism of its safety procedures, drew adverse comparisons with Shell’s boring but predictably safe operations.

BP suffered a near-death experience following the 2010 Gulf oil spill, and is still paying out tens of billions of dollars in fines and compensation.

But Shell too has had its ups and downs. The company’s Pearl gas-to-liquids project in Qatar has proved to be enormously profitable. Shell’s advanced engineering is admired across the industry. And Shell was the first of the major oil companies to exploit the shift from oil to gas.

But the company’s misstatement of its proven reserves early in the century landed it with a multi-million dollar fine from stock market regulators and forced the departure of its chairman as well as shocking investors. Shell has had its own environmental problems in Nigeria. Now it is being severely criticised for overspending.

SIMILAR RETURNS

In practice, the long-term performance of the two companies has been remarkably similar. The attached chart shows the share price performances of Shell and BP since 1994 ().

At times, BP has outperformed its more staid rival, but its shares have also been much more volatile, and the two companies’ performance over the whole period has ended up remarkably similar.

If reinvested dividends are taken into account, the total return on Shell’s shares has averaged 8.64 percent per year since 1994, only marginally less than the 8.96 percent return on BP shares. Which company comes out ahead is sensitive to the period chosen for analysis, suggesting underlying performance is basically indistinguishable.

That is not really surprising. Both companies face the same fundamental forces – including exploration and development costs, political risks, price risks, and technology challenges.

The fact the two companies’ financial performances have been similar over the long term suggests the fundamentals they have in common are more important than the cultural, strategic and leadership factors that differentiate them.

Journalists, financial analysts and investors tend to focus on human factors like strategy, leadership and culture because they make for a more interesting story. But the fundamental factors the two rivals have in common are probably more important in explaining medium and long-term performance.

FICKLE FASHIONS

Voser was right to observe that in a capital-intensive industry like oil and gas it makes no sense to keep changing spending and investment plans in response to short-term demands from investors and analysts. But he was most definitely wrong to think the market would reward Shell for taking a rational long-term view.

Nearly all political, business and financial careers end in failure and recriminations because as they mature leaders become more rigid, less adaptable, and less open to new thinking, and they must live with the consequences of past decisions when circumstances change.

The only leaders to escape with their heroism intact tend to be those who leave early before the external environment shifts. Voser retired early but he was unlucky to do so just as the industry’s investment climate was turning.

Shell’s strategy was not wrong, and it certainly was not worse than BP’s, however it was not well aligned to the prevailing phase of the cycle, and the company did not adapt quickly enough to keep investors and commentators happy.

But the cycle will keep on turning. In a few years BP will be out of favour again, and everyone will be writing about how Shell is a much more solid and reliable performer, with a good long-term investment portfolio, and crediting its lucky CEO.

SOURCE

Posted in: Ben van Beurden, BP, Gas, Nigeria, Oil Company Profits, Peter Voser, Profits Warning, Reuters, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell Oil Reserves Scandal, Shell Project Delays, Shell Project Overruns.
Tagged: Ben van Beurden · BP · Litigation · Oil · Peter Voser · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

BP versus Shell

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

In the wake of this month’s profits warning from Royal Dutch Shell and its problems in Nigeria, its upstream and downstream problems and the failure of its massive capital expenditure program to yield any meaningful benefits in the short term, investors appear to be asking themselves whether a move back to BP might be in order. Shell’s new CEO Ben van Beurden in his new role as CEO appears to be clearing the decks for some form of company reorganisation as the company struggles with falling revenues and lower oil prices.

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: Ben van Beurden, BP, Nigeria, Profits Warning, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: Ben van Beurden · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Royal Dutch Shell and Mad Dog Gaddafi

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

The compilation of articles accessible below provide the answer to why Tony Blair and Royal Dutch Shell executive director Malcolm Brinded (above left), sucked up to the Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, the monster ultimately responsible for the Pan-Am 103 bombing and other terrorist atrocities. They include the murder of a British police constable Yvonne Fletcher shot outside the Libyan Embassy in London while policing an anti-Gaddafi demonstration.

By John Donovan

Last night a remarkable 90 minute documentary was aired on BBC FOUR TV under the title: Mad Dog: Gaddafi’s Secret World

Part of the documentary covered the bombing of Pan Am 103 and the subsequent release of the convicted bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in a deal involving oil.

Shell is the only oil company named in the documentary. It claims to operate under strict business principles, but in fact has no scruples at all.

The following are extracts from a related Daily Mail article published under the headline: Shell wrote letter Tony Blair used in £325m Libyan oil deal

Tony Blair used a letter written by Shell to lobby Colonel Gaddafi on its behalf to clinch an oil deal, documents reveal.

A letter he wrote to the Libyan leader bears a remarkable similarity to a briefing note Royal Dutch Shell sent him weeks earlier promoting a £325million deal.

The correspondence, obtained under a Freedom of Information request, reveals just how much Mr Blair was influenced by the oil company when he was Prime Minister.

It also puts into question the Government’s motives for releasing Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi.

Lockerbie victims have accused the Government of releasing the terrorist in order to allow British companies better access to oil and gas deals in Libya. The letters reveal that

Shell asked Mr Blair to discuss progress on weapons of mass destruction and about information on the investigation into the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan Embassy in London in 1984.

The objective was ‘to cause the Leader to instruct the Cabinet to approve/finalise quickly’ the company’s deal, according to the Shell draft.

Shell advised the Prime Minister to congratulate Colonel Muammar Gaddafi on Revolution Day and to comment on Libya’s ‘remarkable year of progress’.

EXTRACTS END

The compilation of articles accessible below provide the answer to why Tony Blair and Royal Dutch Shell executive director Malcolm Brinded (now departed), sucked up to the Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, the monster ultimately responsible for the Pan-Am 103 bombing and other terrorist atrocities. They include the murder of a British police constable Yvonne Fletcher shot outside the Libyan Embassy in London while policing an anti-Gaddafi demonstration.

• Shell’s Malcolm Brinded – lustful friend of Libya: 22 August 2009
• Shell has been stalking the Libyans ever since relations thawed: 22 August 2009
• Shell dealing with the devil in Libya: 23 February 2011
• Claimed uprising by Shell Libya staff: 15 June 2012
• Shell’s undignified exit from Libya: 16 June 2012
• Shell Libya Security Breach: 22 Jan 2013

Posted in: Africa, Business Principles, GoogleNews, Human Rights, John Donovan,Malcolm Brinded, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell Employee Safety.
Tagged: Gaddafi · Libya · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Chris Finlayson’s dreadful first year as chief executive at BG

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

LONDON EVENING STANDARD TODAY:

Chris Finlayson’s dreadful first year as chief executive at BG Group was today capped by the news that profits slumped 37% to $4.16 billion (£2.54 billion) in 2013. The former Royal Dutch Shell executive said he shared shareholders’ “disappointment” at the oil producer’s many problems, which have included four profit warnings in little more than 12 months. Garry White, chief investment commentator at broker Charles Stanley, said: “I reckon it’s time for BG Group to be broken up.”

By John Donovan

WE REPEATEDLY WARNED BG SHAREHOLDERS AND EMPLOYEES ABOUT CHRIS FINLAYSON…

HE IS NOT THE ONLY COMMON DENOMINATOR BETWEEN ROYAL DUTCH SHELL AND BG GROUP.

BOTH COMPANIES HAVE JUST ISSUED PROFIT WARNINGS

• How Chris Finlayson bungled the Mother of all Projects: Sakhalin II: 24 December 2012
• BG Group corporate incubator for Shell strays?: 22 December 2012
• BG Group CEO Chris Finlayson and the Shell ‘Touch Fuck All’ Scandal: 20 December 2012
• CHRIS FINLAYSON AND THE ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RESERVES SCANDAL: 18 December 2012
• Contact with BG Group about its controversial new CEO Chris Finlayson: 17 December 2012
• Shareholder alarm over appointment of BG Group CEO Chris Finlayson: 16 December 2012
• Chris Finlayson: One can of worms after another: 17 Jan 2013
• Chris Finlayson saw himself as the victim of a brutal Shell regime: 21 October 2013

THE DEVASTATING ARTICLE PUBLISHED TODAY BY THE LONDON EVENING STANDARD IS SELF-EXPLANATORY

Gloom continues for new BG boss amid profits slide

4 February 2014

Chris Finlayson’s dreadful first year as chief executive at BG Group was today capped by the news that profits slumped 37% to $4.16 billion (£2.54 billion) in 2013.

The former Royal Dutch Shell executive said he shared shareholders’ “disappointment” at the oil producer’s many problems, which have included four profit warnings in little more than 12 months.

Last week Finlayson declared “force majeure” notices in Egypt, meaning the group would cancel contracts due to circumstances out of its control, which resulted in a 13.8% slump in the share price on the day.

Some analysts believe BG cannot carry on in its current form. Garry White, chief investment commentator at broker Charles Stanley, said: “I reckon it’s time for BG Group to be broken up.”

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: Brent Bravo Scandal, Chris Finlayson, Corporate Governance, Gas, Gazprom,GoogleNews, John Donovan, Profits Warning, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: BG Group · Gas · John Donovan · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

BP Fourth-Quarter Profit Drops

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

By Brian Swint February 04, 2014

BP follows Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Exxon Mobil Corp., the two biggest oil companies by market value, in reporting lower earnings as the cost of drilling rises, refining profits slump and oil prices stagnate.

Shell and BG Group Plc (BG/) both issued profit warnings for the fourth quarter. BG today reported the first loss since 2000 on output disruptions from Egypt and higher exploration costs. Shell said last week it will accelerate asset sales to offset investment after capital spending reached a record in 2013.

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: Bloomberg, BP, Business Week, Exxon Mobil, Oil Company Profits, Profits Warning, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

BP share price: Oil giant’s earnings in focus after rivals’ gloomy results

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

 

by Alice Young, Feb 3 2014, 15:58 GMT

BP’s results follow that of European peer Shell, which last week posted a drop in its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings matching a shock profit warning issued earlier in January.

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: BP, Oil Company Profits, Profits Warning, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Broker round-up: Shell

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

By Philip Whiterow: February 03 2014, 1:00pm

Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSB) has been downgraded by HSBC, despite the broker welcoming the actions taken by new chief executive Ben van Beurden.Shell’s new boss is right to focus on improving the Anglo-Dutch giant’s financial performance and its capital efficiency, says the broker, including a reduction in growth capex and the clear guidance on increased disposals. According to HSBC, however, the market has anticipated many of his changes already…

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: Ben van Beurden, Oil, Oil Company Profits, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: Ben van Beurden · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Worlds leading source of information about Royal Dutch Shell

Sep 4th, 2012 

by John Donovan. 

Comments are off for this post

Free access to over 36,000 articles, comment, historical information and news archive relating to corporate tax dodgersRoyal Dutch Shell, the worlds largest company by revenue. A TVdocumentary feature about our co-founder John Donovan, has aired in many countries (link to related presseurop article published in 10 languages). This non-profit website isendorsed by Shell. Site “viewed traffic” AWstats for Jan 2014:7,065,548 hits and 1,144,700 page views.

For nearly a decade, we have operated under the Royal Dutch Shell Plc top level domain name, dealing on Shell’s reluctant behalf with job applications, business proposals, Shell pension enquiries, shareholder enquiries, complaints, invitations to speak at conferences, contact from the Dutch Defence Ministry and even terrorist threats. All meant for Shell. A humiliation that Shell continues to endure. We provide a global platform, on a responsible basis, for Shell whistleblowers to put confidential information, including insider information and leaked documents, into the public domain e.g. Sakhalin2. 

Posted in: Shell, Shell Oil Reserves Scandal, Sir Philip Watts, Tony Blair.

Shell starts production from second Mars platform in deep water Gulf of Mexico

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

News and Media Releases

Shell starts production from second Mars platform in deep water Gulf of Mexico

04 Feb 2014

Shell today announces it has begun production from the Mars B development through Olympus – the company’s seventh, and largest, floating deep-water platform in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the first deep-water project in the Gulf to expand an existing oil and gas field with significant new infrastructure, which should extend the life of the greater Mars basin to 2050 or beyond. Combined future production from Olympus and the original Mars platform is expected to deliver an estimated resource base of 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

“With two large platforms now producing from the deep-water Mars field, this project demonstrates our deep-water project delivery and leadership,” said John Hollowell, Executive Vice President for Deep Water, Shell Upstream Americas. “We safely completed construction and installation of the Olympus platform more than six months ahead of schedule, allowing us to begin production early from the development’s first well. Olympus is the latest, successful start-up of our strong portfolio of deep-water projects, which we expect to generate substantial value in the coming years. Deep water will continue to be a core growth opportunity for Shell.”

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: Gulf of Mexico, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, United States.

Australian union accuses Shell, Caltex of lax tanker safety rules

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

Joanna Mather: Tuesday 4 February 2014

The Transport Workers’ Union has announced a national dispute in the oil, fuel and gas industry, claiming up to 45 per cent of petrol tankers have poor break maintenance.

The union is seeking to have the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal issue orders requiring that companies including Shell and Caltex enforce maintenance rules for fuel tankers.

There are an estimated 1500 tankers on Australian roads.

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: Australia, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell.

Argentina Accuses Shell of Conspiracy After Price Increase

Feb 4th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Argentine unit was accused of conspiring against the country’s interests by Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich after the oil producer increased fuel prices following a devaluation of the peso. “Shell’s attitude and the one from its highest executive is conspiratorial and against the interests of the country,” Capitanich told reporters this morning in Buenos Aires. “The only explanation for this behavior is greediness.”

By Pablo Gonzalez Feb 3, 2014 7:08 PM GMT

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)’s Argentine unit was accused of conspiring against the country’s interests by Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich after the oil producer increased fuel prices following a devaluation of the peso.

Shell boosted prices an average 12 percent at its service stations, which represent 18 percent of the Argentine market, the company said in an e-mailed statement published by local newspapers today. The company’s previous price increase of 6.8 percent was on Jan. 2, beforeArgentina moved to weaken the peso 15 percent from Jan. 22 to Jan. 23, the largest drop since 2002.

“Shell’s attitude and the one from its highest executive is conspiratorial and against the interests of the country,” Capitanich told reporters this morning in Buenos Aires. “The only explanation for this behavior is greediness.”

The sudden fall in the peso, which is the worst performing currency in the world after tumbling 19 percent this year, prompted Shell to increase prices again, the company said in the statement. The increase was the first by a fuel distributor in the Buenos Aires area since the devaluation and occurred 10 days after the government said Shell Argentina’s Chief Executive Officer Juan Jose Aranguren attempted to interfere in the currency exchange market by buying dollars at a higher rate than the market was selling.

‘Categorically Untrue’

“Suggestions that there was any other reason behind our decision are categorically untrue,” Kayla Macke, a spokeswoman for Shell based in Houston, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “As we explained to customers and the government in Argentina, this move is purely due to the relative increase in the cost of crude oil to our operation in the country, which has occurred as a direct result of the falling value of the peso.”

Aranguren said the price increase still trails the company’s costs.

“It is not a good thing to wake up after being accused of being a conspirator,” Aranguren said today in an interview aired by Radio Mitre. “If our costs increase 23 percent and we increase our prices by 12 percent, could that be considered greediness?”

YPF SA (YPF), Argentina’s biggest energy company, declined to comment on a potential fuel price increase in an e-mailed response to questions. YPF owns 1,500 service stations in Argentina, or 58 percent of the market.

Shell Boycott

Argentina, which was censured by the International Monetary Fundin February 2013 for underreporting inflation, has moved to contain consumer price increases in the wake of the devaluation by threatening to fine or close businesses and capping costs on goods from food to electronics.

Consumer prices rose 28.4 percent in 2013, according to opposition lawmakers who compile private economist estimates. Prices rose 10.9 percent last year, according to the government.’

This isn’t the first time Shell’s CEO is accused of conspiracy against the country. Aranguren, 59, was appointed president of Shell’s Argentine unit, or Shell Compania Argentina de Petroleo SA, in 2003, the same year Nestor Kirchner was elected president. Kirchner asked consumers in 2005 to boycott Shell after it raised fuel prices.

Former Argentina Trade Secretary Guillermo Moreno imposed 83 fines against the company and took Aranguren to court. All cases were dismissed. Moreno was ousted Nov. 19 after eight years of using strong-arm tactics that earned him a reputation as a bully.

The firing of Moreno “is a signal that they can’t continue running the country the way they were running it,” Aranguren said in an interview on Dec. 9.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pablo Gonzalez in Buenos Aires at pgonzalez49@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Attwood atjattwood3@bloomberg.net

SOURCE

Posted in: Bloomberg, Oil, Oil Company Profits, Oil Price Fixing, Oil Prices, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: Argentina · Oil Prices · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Campaigners cheer a bad week for Shell

Feb 3rd, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

Campaigners in Canada protesting proposed drilling in the Arctic. Tavis Ford under a Creative Commons Licence

By Kevin Smith

It’s been a bad week for Shell. On the international stage, a lawsuit from indigenous communities and environmental groups has scuppered their chances of drilling for oil in the Alaskan Arctic, while in London, it was announced that Shell was no longer going to be the sponsor for the 14/15 Classic Series at the Southbank Centre. Two events of a very different scale to each other, and on different sides of the world, but connected through the concept of the ‘social licence to operate’.

FULL ARTICLE

Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Business Principles, Environment, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

The TRUTH will set you FREE.