Giants amass cash for share buybacks and dividends

Rachel Millard: October 28 2018

The two biggest London-listed oil majors are expected to report higher profits and cash levels this week, driven by rising oil and gas prices as the industry’s recovery continues.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude averaged $75.80 during the third quarter of the year, 45% higher than the same period in 2017, while UK gas prices are up 54% year-on-year.

The rally following the crash that sent prices below $30 a barrel in 2016 is helping companies to repay debt and start rewarding shareholders, even as it pushes up costs for households and motorists. Analysts’ profit forecasts for BP, which reports on Tuesday, averaged $2.8bn (£2.2bn) compared with $1.9bn during the same quarter last year. read more

By John Donovan

Shell is a major investor in Putin’s Russia, which uses revenues from hydrocarbon sales to finance illegal and immoral wars against Ukraine and Syria. Not to mention the murder of Russian and UK citizens using outlawed radioactive and chemical weapons.

Shell’s main business partner in Russia is Gazprom, whose board is filled with former KGB and other questionable characters.

Shell is partnering with Gazprom on Sakhalin 2, the Nordstream II pipeline and the Baltic LNG project. read more

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Oct 24, 2018

New, deep-water production is underway today at Lula Extreme South in the Brazilian Santos Basin. Royal Dutch Shell plc, through its subsidiary Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda. (Shell) and consortium partners, announces that the FPSO P-69 is now producing.

Operated by Petrobras, P-69 is a standardized vessel that can process up to 150,000 barrels of oil and 6 million cubic meters of natural gas daily. It will ramp up production through eight producing and seven injection wells. read more

Shell thinks that the likelihood of Shell having the same fate as photo company Kodak is small. “We are thinking a lot about Kodak moments.” Kodak, a long-time powerhouse in photography, proved unable to adequately respond to the rapid development of digital photography and went bankrupt.

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad. 

‘I have to make sure that Shell does not become a dodo’

‘We are also a marketing company that serves customers from 45,000 branches. These are more branches than McDonald’s. “Photo: Peter Boer

Bert van Dijk

Shell invests $ 1 billion a year to $ 2 billion in clean energy, but still more than ten times in oil and gas. Does not the mega-concern cope with the same fate as Kodak, the photo company that went bankrupt because it reacted too late to changes in the environment?

A conversation with Jeremy Bentham, head of Shells scenario department.

Bentham (60) is the proud owner of the Dodo. A drawing of the extinct bird is framed in the room of the Shell driver. The internal ‘award’ has been passed on to Shell drivers since 1976 as ‘a warning to us all’, as is shown in the drawing.

Bentham is the eighth ‘custodian’ of the Dodo. ‘It is my responsibility to ensure that Shell does not become a dodo that reacts too late to changes in its environment.’ read more

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The government squeezed the NAM out of the claims settlement, because of the great dissatisfaction among the people in Groningen. Something else had to be rigged…

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad. NAM is the Shell/Exxon Joint Venture company responsible for the earthquake blighted Groningen Gas Field and consequential potential bill for untold billions to deal with damaged residences.

‘Groningers who live in a container at the back of their yard, that’s a lot of noise’

Bruno van Ravels received the call on Friday, March 2, at home in Breda. On the line are boss at the Council of State: Bart Jan van Ettekoven, chairman of the administrative law department of the Council of State. ‘This is important. They want you to become the chairman of the Temporary Committee Mining Damage Groningen. ‘ read more

The Premium Times report (below) on the MALABU SCANDAL mentions a Shell internal memo from Donny Ching that John Donovan recently supplied to Reuters, who confirmed its authenticity with Shell. 

MALABU SCANDAL: Shell, Eni officials’ trial continues as anti-corruption group head appears before court: Premium Times: 19 Oct 2018

National Gallery loses Shell funding after protests: The Times: 20 Oct 2018

Shell ends National Gallery sponsorship – to delight of campaigners: The Guardian: 19 Oct 2018

Shell Picks a Digital Platform to Build Its AI Future Upon: Journal of Petroleum Technology: 19 Oct 2018

Shell to invest up to $2 bln annually to explore, produce oil in Brazil through 2025 -report read more

Shell comments on deepwater vs. shale: Seeking Alpha: 18 Oct 2018

Shell bets on shale for flexibility in energy transition: Financial Times:17 Oct 2018

Shell’s $31 Billion Gamble On Canadian LNG: Seeking Alpha: 17 Oct 2018

Shell Exits Denmark’s Offshore Oil and Gas Sector: The Maritime Executive: 17 Oct 2018 read more

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad. 

Rutte: the risk that Shell will leave the Netherlands remains

The risk that large companies will leave the Netherlands as a result of maintaining the dividend tax remains. ‘Whether it is irresponsible will have to prove’, said Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the debate with the House on the cancellation of the controversial plan to abolish the tax on profit distributions.

“Shell has always been very open about how important it is for them,” Rutte said. But Unilever has not yet made a definitive choice. According to Rutte, the reduction of corporation tax is partly aimed at reducing the remaining risk of departure. ‘But we will have to work hard to keep these companies for the Netherlands’, says the Prime Minister. read more

Shell celebrates 40 years of deep-water innovation: CISION: 15 Oct 2018

Gazprom and Shell discuss next steps in Baltic LNG project: LNG INDUSTRY: 15 Oct 2018

Shell reaches milestone on plastics plant in Northeast, potentially a Gulf competitor: Houston Chronicle: 14 Oct 2018

Shell’s greener future is a matter of survival: The Telegraph 13 Oct 2018

Shell launching new retail fuel pilot programs in U.S.: Houston Chronicle 12 Oct 2018

Shell Makes a Comeback in the North Sea With New Gas Field Investment: OilVoice 12 Oct 2018

Exclusive: Shell seeks to sell Venezuela JV stake to France’s Maurel & Prom – sources: Reuters 12 Oct 2018

FREE TO READ HERE

References to the Kindle book by John Donovan “Sir Henri Deterding and the Nazi History of Royal Dutch Shell” are made on pages 110 & 636.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marc J. Rauch is a multi-award winning TV/film writer, producer and director and has been a broadcasting and marketing executive for more than 45 years. In 1987, he co-founded The Auto Channel television network, and TheAutoChannel.com a few years later. Marc serves as the company’s Executive Vice President and Co-Publisher. TheAutoChannel.com is the Internet’s largest and oldest automotive information resource, with more than 1.5 million pages of content. Marc is a leading advocate of alternative fuels and energy; writing, lecturing and making numerous broadcast appearances regarding these issues. read more

Shell Legal Director Donny Ching (above) effectively outlaws internal discussion among Shell staff of the first chilling verdicts in the OPL 245 trial.

It is a heavyweight ask directed at all Shell staff, effectively outlawing internal discussion of the OPL 245 litigation, when the ask in question comes from the Legal Director and board member of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Who would dare, under the circumstances, to discuss such a self-evidently taboo subject with colleagues? 

RELATED REUTERS ARTICLE

By John Donovan

Printed below is a leaked Shell internal memo sent to all Shell staff by Donny Ching, Legal Director of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

It provides proof of the understandable great sensitivity attached to the criminal trials in Milan Italy stemming from the Nigerian OPL 245 corruption scandal.

The two middlemen defendants in the fast-track OPL 245 trial cited by Mr Ching have already been found guilty and sent to jail for four years.

In his message to all Shell staff, Mr Ching asks them not to engage in speculation on the verdicts on middlemen Emeka Obi and Gianluca di Nardo and how they might relate to the trial involving Shell and four of Shell’s “former employees.” Two of them being former MI6 people hired by Shell, as confirmed by RDS CEO Ben van Beurden. read more

NO, IT’S NOT MALCOLM BRINDED. HIS BRIBERY & CORRUPTION TRIAL (RE OPL 245) ALSO RELATING TO NIGERIA, IS STILL IN PROGRESS. 

Those sentenced alongside the SPDC managing director are Shell’s Secretary and Head of legal and the Deputy Country Head of Legal/Managing Counsel Global litigation sub-Sahara Africa.The judge directed the Nigerian Police Force and other law enforcement to effect immediate arrest of the aforementioned Shell officials who were absent in court and send them to prison.

By Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt: OCTOBER 10, 2018

A Port Harcourt High Court yesterday sentenced the Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Osagie Okunbor, and two others to three months’ imprisonment with hard labour for disobeying court order.

But reacting to the court judgment, the SPDC’s spokesman, Bamidele Odugbesan, said the oil giant did not accept the judgment and had appealed it. 

“We do not accept that SPDC has disobeyed any lawful order of court and have accordingly appealed this judgement.  read more

Adam Vaughan: Tue 9 Oct 2018: The boss of Shell has said a huge tree-planting project the size of the Amazon rainforest would be needed to meet a tougher global warming target, as he argued more renewable energy alone would not be enough. FULL ARTICLE

Jillian Ambrose, energy editor: 9 OCTOBER 2018 • 3:35PM: Royal Dutch Shell may be spending billions of dollars on renewable energy and electric cars, but the oil major is not straying far from its fossil fuel roots just yet. The energy giant’s chief executive Ben Van Beurden has warned the industry not to be swayed by the flurry of headlines marking Shell’s steps towards cleaner energy. FULL ARTICLE read more