News and information on Shell Plc
Shell has doubled its spending on clean power and bowed to shareholder pressure by promising to halve the carbon footprint of the energy it sells by 2050, as the oil giant said it was stepping up its ambitions on green energy.
Royal Dutch Shell has signalled the end of the three-year oil market downturn by restarting its all-cash shareholder payouts as its cash flow begins to boom. The oil major began paying out dividends in the form of shares in 2015, in the wake of the oil price crash and its $50bn takeover of BG Group. But chief executive Ben van Beurden said the Anglo-Dutch group was now confident that it could call an end its scrip dividend as its cost-cutting and divestment programme pays off. The leaner business will also enable Shell to double down on its investment in ‘new energies’ including low-carbon fuels and renewable electricity. FULL ARTICLE
It’s payback time for investors in Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Shareholders in the Anglo-Dutch oil company have had to endure receiving their dividends partly in stock throughout the industry price slump. This mild austerity is now ending. Shell is signalling that when it comes to spending its cash, shareholders will get first dibs. The move to a full cash dividend, announced on Tuesday, is only just affordable. Investors should feel lucky the dividend wasn’t cut. In the 12 months to Sept. 30, organic free cash flow of $17 billion wouldn’t have covered the full dividend bill plus interest on Shell’s $68 billion net debt. FULL ARTICLE
FILE PHOTO: Ben van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, speaks during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 15, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes /File Photo
Ron Bousso: NOVEMBER 18, 2017
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) will return to paying pure cash dividends and step up its investment in cleaner energy as it turns a corner after more than two years of cost cuts and disposals prompted by weak oil prices. Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden sought to strike a balance between reassuring investors it can increase returns in its core fossil fuel business during an “era of volatility” in oil prices while preparing to step up investments in renewables. FULL ARTICLE
Shell, which openly lobbied for the Dutch dividend tax cut, could make significant cost savings if it were to scrap its dual share structure. While the oil price remains low, such a move could be well received. But Shell is also one of the biggest dividend payers in the UK. If it did shift its listing to Euronext, the implications would be enormous for domestic pension funds and investors — not to mention hugely symbolic as the Brexit negotiations roll on. FULL ARTICLE
Esther Kiobel poses with a picture of her late husband Dr. Barinem Kiobel one of nine men executed by Nigeria’s military government after a peaceful uprising in 1995 against Shell’s widespread pollution in Ogoniland. Photograph: Amnesty International
Extract: Amnesty International is calling for a criminal investigation into the oil giant Shell regarding allegations it was complicit in human rights abuses carried out by the Nigerian military. Amnesty is urging the UK, Nigeria and the Netherlands to consider a criminal case against Shell in light of evidence it claims amounts to “complicity in murder, rape and torture” – allegations Shell strongly denies.
NEWS PROVIDED BY: Royal Dutch Shell plc
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, November 28, 2017/PRNewswire/ —
Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) (NYSE: RDS.A) (NYSE: RDS.B) Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden, today updated investors on the company’s strategy, setting out plans to grow returns and free cash flow, and outlining its ambition to reduce the net carbon footprint of its energy products.
“Our next steps as we re-shape Shell into a world-class investment aim to ensure that our company can continue to thrive, not just in the short and medium term but for many decades to come,” said van Beurden. “These steps build on the foundations of Shell’s strong operational and financial performance, and my confidence in our strategy and our ability to deliver on the promises we make.”
Shell, in an initiative called “iShale,” has marshaled technology from a dozen oilfield suppliers, including devices from subsea specialist TechnipFMC Plc that separate fracking sand from oil and well-control software from Emerson Electric Co, to bring more automation and data analysis to shale operations.
Ernest Scheyder: NOVEMBER 28, 2017
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Shale oil engineer Oscar Portillo spends his days drilling as many as five wells at once – without ever setting foot on a rig. Part of a team working to cut the cost of drilling a new shale well by a third, Portillo works from a Royal Dutch Shell Plc office in suburban Houston, his eyes darting among 13 monitors flashing data on speed, temperature and other metrics as he helps control rigs more than 500 miles (805 km) away in the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. oilfield. FULL ARTICLE
Massive cache of internal documents and other evidence points to Shell’s complicity in horrific crimes committed by the Nigerian military in the 1990sAmnesty International is calling on Nigeria, the UK and the Netherlands to launch investigations into Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell, over its role in a swathe of horrific crimes committed by the Nigerian military government in the oil-producing Ogoniland region in the 1990s.
The organization has released a ground-breaking review of thousands of pages of internal company documents and witness statements, as well as Amnesty International’s own archive from the period.
The Nigerian military’s campaign to silence the Ogoni people’s protests against Shell’s pollution led to widespread and serious human rights violations, many of which also amounted to criminal offences.
Ron Bousso: NOVEMBER 27, 2017
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) has partnered with top carmakers to deploy ultra-fast chargers on Europe’s highways, stealing a march on rivals in the race to remove one of the biggest obstacles facing the electric car sector. Shell’s agreement with IONITY – a joint venture between BMW (BMWG.DE), Daimler (DAIGn.DE), Ford (F.N) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) – will initially bring high-powered docks to 80 highway sites in 2019, it said in a statement. Power giants including France’s Engie (ENGIE.PA) and Germany’s E.ON (EONGn.DE), as well as niche players such as U.S. start-up ChargePoint, are all building vehicle-charging networks in Europe, but Shell says the IONITY technology is key to addressing the problem of journey distances. FULL ARTICLE
Royal Dutch Shell Malikai superlift at a deep-water project in Malaysia. The global business is in a healthier financial state than it has been recently and intends to resume cash dividends
Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: Monday November 27, 2017
Royal Dutch Shell is expected to signal its return to paying its entire dividend in cash this week, in the latest evidence of renewed confidence in the oil industry. The Anglo-Dutch group, the biggest listed oil company in Europe, makes a proportion of its payments to investors in the form of new shares rather than cash. READ MORE
Oil behemoth Royal Dutch Shell has been tipped to dish out more cash to investors as it scraps a programme of paying dividends in the form of shares. Analysts from UBS believe it is a case of “when not if” Shell restores a full cash dividend.
Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden is expected to signal the changes at a London management day on Tuesday.
The oil giant put a scrip dividend programme – where part of the firm’s dividend is paid by issuing new shares – in place in 2015 to reduce demands on cash as debt spiralled. Shell’s cash reserves were put under pressure by a combination of soft oil prices and a £47bn deal to buy gas producer BG.
Simon Duke: NOVEMBER 26, 2017
Royal Dutch Shell is tipped to resume paying all its dividend in cash this week — unplugging a gusher worth billions of pounds for investors. Chief executive Ben van Beurden is expected to signal the move on Tuesday, when he lays out his vision for Britain’s most valuable public company. Abandoning the so-called scrip dividend programme would mark the latest stage in the Anglo-Dutch company’s recovery from the depths of the oil industry downturn. The company has paid a slice of its dividend in stock since early 2015, when the plunging oil price forced Van Beurden to marshal resources.
The article goes on to say: The prime minister faces a choice between allowing Ms Fitzgerald to be removed or leave, or continuing to support her and risking the collapse of deal with Fianna Fáil that underpins his minority government.
Calls for Fitzgerald’s resignation came after revelations she was aware of Gardai strategy to discredit Garda whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe.
“All this time, the Minister for Justice continued to state her full confidence in the Garda Commissioner who was responsible for this attempt to grievously undermine Sgt McCabe.
My name is Esher Kiobel. I would like to tell you about my epic fight with the Goliath oil company Royal Dutch Shell, whose army of lawyers have battled since 2001 to prevent my case against the evil company from being heard in court. I hold Shell responsible for crimes against my family, including the execution of my distinguished husband Dr. Barinem Kiobel who was hanged along with fellow Ogoni, collectively known as the Ogoni 9. Ken Saro-Wiwa, a winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize, was also one of the Ogoni 9.
Comment by John Donovan
The above message relates to Shell sponsored corruption of the Irish police force in relation to the Corrib Gas project. The Minister referred to in the message is Ms Frances Fitzgerald, T.D. – currently Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland whose actions in relation to corruption in the Irish police looks like they may bring down the whole Irish government. Later today I will publish my correspondence on Irish police corruption with the minister.
It was at my instigation that the subject was first raised in the Irish Parliament.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
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