by Veselin Valchev: Monday, 30 Nov 2015, 10:13 GMT

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON:RDSA) is on track to settle all mandatory regulatory approvals for the proposed merger with smaller rival BG Group before the end of the year, paving the way for the final shareholder verdict.

According to sources close to the negotiations, both the Australian Investment Review Board and China’s ministry of commerce, whose approvals are mandatory for the deal to go through, are expected to give the thumbs-up before Christmas. read more

By HELEN THOMAS: Nov. 29, 2015 2:00 p.m. ET

Royal Dutch Shell can’t forcibly renegotiate the deal it struck in April to buy oil and gas producer BG: The U.K. Takeover Panel wouldn’t allow it. And amid griping over the price, the oil major argues the $58 billion cash-and-shares transaction should help its cash flow regardless. That may be so. It doesn’t, however, lessen the need for Shell to do more in cutting costs and spending.

FULL ARTICLE

DIRECTIVE 2013/30/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 12 June 2013 on safety of offshore oil and gas operations and amending Directive 2004/35/EC

The above EU Directive (available in many languages, including Dutch) may be of assistance to people around the world who are concerned about the operations of European oil companies. 

A link to the directive is provided at the foot of this article.

The EU directive requires European companies involved in the oil industry to comply with the contents of the directive itself, and their own internal policies and standards globally (SEMS). Oil companies do not publish their own internal policies and standards, which they consider to be confidential. However, most court cases are actually the result of Shell’s employees ignoring the SEMS standards, so this is most helpful if copies of the relevant standards can be obtained through discovery or other means. The SEMS standards are required to be in place for the companies to operate in Europe.  read more

Questions have been raised about the growing gulf between the price of BG shares and Shell’s cash and stock offer, while some market sources have argued that the low oil price could force Shell to renegotiate the deal and reduce its bid.

Regulators in China and Australia likely to support move to create Britain’s biggest company

By Ashley Armstrong, and Ben Marlow: 28 Nov 2015

Chinese and Australian regulators are expected to give their blessing to Shell’s £55bn mega takeover of BG before Christmas, leaving the future of the deal resting squarely in shareholders’ hands.

The tie-up, which will create Britain’s biggest public company, has been under mounting scrutiny in recent weeks as the City questions whether Shell can justify pushing ahead, with oil prices remaining so suppressed.

However, the takeover will advance a major step towards completion in the coming weeks with the two sides anticipating clearance from China’s Mofcom regulator after the deal was passed into the final phase of its review process. read more

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos and Royal Dutch Shell stand to lose roughly $77 billion in projects

By Steve Birr: Daily Caller News Foundation

If world leaders agree on a 2 degree Celsius warming limit at the Paris climate summit, $2 trillion in new coal and petroleum projects risk being killed, according to a new report.

The London based Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI) environmental think tank says that efforts by world governments will negatively impact the energy industry and warns investors that coal, oil and gas will be hit hardest. Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos and Royal Dutch Shell stand to lose roughly $77 billion in projects, while ExxonMobil would lose about $73 billion, according to Reuters. read more

by Golnar Motevalli, Anthony Dipaola and Hashem Kalantari: November 28, 2015: Bloomberg.com

• Shell, Total, Lukoil interested in specific Iranian fields

• Iran seeks to sign first oil development deal in March, April

Total SA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Lukoil PJSC are among international companies that have selected oil and natural gas deposits to develop in Iran as the holder of the world’s fourth-largest crude reserves presents $30 billion worth of projects to investors.

Total is one of the companies that have been in the forefront of discussions and Eni SpA is also looking to invest, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. Shell, Total and Lukoil all specified fields they would be interested in developing in Iran, Ali Kardor, deputy director of investment and financing at National Iranian Oil Co. said in an interview in Tehran. read more

Martin Waller warns of a chance that “The Shell board could rise up in protest against Mr van Beurden…”

Robin Pagnamenta Energy Editor: Saturday 28 November 2015: Page 65

Royal Dutch Shell is drawing up plans for more cost-cutting after its £43 billion takeover of BG Group, amid mounting pressure from shareholders to bolster the commercial logic of the deal amid falling oil prices.

The oil giant, which already has unveiled plans to slash $3.5 billion from the combined group, is understood to believe that it can wring still more in costs from the proposed merger, which is expected to be completed next year. read more

Trefis Team, CONTRIBUTOR: NOV 27, 2015

…the Chinese authorities reviewing the proposed Royal Dutch Shell – BG Group merger are reportedly urging Royal Dutch Shell to dole out concessions on long-term liquefied natural gas supply contracts with the country.

After getting an all-clear from the Australian completion authority last week, Shell now needs clearance from China and Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board for the deal to close as planned in early 2016.

SOURCE

Afri organised a protest at Shell HQ in Dublin on Nov. 10th to mark the 20th anniversary of the execution of the Ogoni 9. The execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and his colleagues was carried out by the Nigerian military dictatorship with the collusion of Shell. Shell’s disregard for human rights and the environment continues in Ogoniland and elsewhere throughout the world including Erris, Co. Mayo.

YouTube Video

By James Stafford: Thu, 26 November 2015

As with most oil companies, 2015 has been a rough year for Royal Dutch Shell. The Anglo-Dutch company reported a third quarter loss of $6 billion, which included $7.9 billion in impairment charges.

During its third quarter earnings call, Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden summed up the company’s strategy, emphasizing restraint. “Grow to simplify” is how he put it. What that means in practice is scrapping the Arctic campaign; pulling out of the expensive Carmon Creek oil sands project in Canada; shedding assets in the less desirable parts of North American shale; selling assets elsewhere around the world, including Nigeria; and focusing on its merger with BG, which is a big bet on LNG. read more

By Marcelo Teixeira:Thu Nov 26, 2015 6:47pm GMT

SAO PAULO Nov 26 (Reuters) – Brazilian energy and transportation group Cosan SA Industria e Comercio has no plans to part ways with Royal Dutch Shell on their Raízen joint venture, the world’s largest cane processor, Cosan Chairman Rubens Ometto said on Thursday.

Asked by Reuters to comment on a local newspaper report that Shell, the oil major, would exercise a contractual option to buy out Cosan’s stake in Raízen, Ometto said the story was completely unfounded. read more

By Royston Wild – Thursday, 26 November, 2015

To say that 2015 has represented another ‘annus horribilis’ for the oil industry would be something of a colossal understatement. Of course the year has yet to run its course, and the fossil fuel sector will be pinning their hopes on a ‘Santa Rally’ to put down a marker for 2016.

I am far from optimistic over the likelihood of such a scenario, however, and believe that industry giants like (LSE: BP) and Shell (LSE: RDSB) — firms that have seen their share prices dip 6% and 25% correspondingly since the turn of the year — have much more ground to concede. read more

BY JENNIFER MCKIERNAN POLITICAL REPORTER, 26 NOV 2015

PLANS for a £1 billion carbon capture and storage plant at Peterhead have been axed by Chancellor George Osborne in his autumn spending review.

The project, which would have been the world’s first CCS plant, had been expected to create 600 jobs in the North-east.

A spokesman for energy giant Shell said the project was not viable without UK Government funding.

He said: “While we acknowledge this decision has been made in the context of a difficult spending review, without that funding, we no longer see a future for the Peterhead project in the near term.” read more

“Without that funding, we no longer see a future for the Peterhead project in the near term,” a spokesman for Shell said.

LONDON | BY SUSANNA TWIDALE: Wed Nov 25, 2015

Britain has scrapped plans to spend up to 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) to help commercialize the technology for capturing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and storing them underground, the government said on Wednesday, putting two major projects at risk of being canceled.

The announcement comes just days before negotiators from more than 190 countries are due to meet in Paris to thrash out a global deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions blamed for rising temperatures. read more

By Charles Mandel | November 25th 2015

A handful of protesters from Sum of Us, Greenpeace, the Ecology Action and the Clean Ocean Action Committee delivered a massive 233,000-signature petition to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) opposing what they said were extremely lax safety standards around Shell’s drilling program. Currently, if a subsea oil well blowout were to occur, the company would be allowed to take 12 to 13 days to contain it. Shell’s original proposal suggested it could take 21 days to get a capping stack to the site. read more

A Shell spokesman said: “Shell is disappointed at the withdrawal of funding for the CCS Commercialisation Competition…

25 November 2015

The UK government has announced it is axing a £1bn grant for developing new carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

Peterhead power station and the White Rose scheme in North Yorkshire were the bidders in the competition.

Shell and SSE are behind the Aberdeenshire plans.

The energy company Drax had announced in September it was abandoning plans to introduce CCS technology in North Yorkshire.

‘Engage on implications’

In stock exchange announcement, the government said: “Today, following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, HM Government confirms that the £1bn ring-fenced capital budget for the Carbon Capture and Storage Competition is no longer available. read more