Posts from ‘June, 2020’

The pandemic has now forced both of the U.K.’s oil majors to slash the value of their assets by billions of dollars. This is more than just an accounting issue for BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. In the real world, it makes it even harder for them to meet targets for cutting leverage — targets they were already straining to hit.

Shell said on Tuesday it would take a $15 billion to $22 billion post-tax impairment charge after cutting its long-term view on oil and gas prices. BP warned earlier in June of potentially $18 billion in impairments. read more

London (CNN Business)Royal Dutch Shell is writing down the value of its assets by as much as $22 billion as lower oil prices push the Anglo-Dutch company to accelerate a shift away from fossil fuels.

Shell (RDSA) slashed its outlook for energy prices Tuesday, saying in a statement that it expects Brent crude to cost $40 per barrel in 2021 and $50 per barrel in 2022. Prices are forecast to rise to $60 per barrel in 2023.

The company said the changes to its price forecast reflect the economic trauma caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has plunged countries around the world into recession and sharply reduced demand for energy. read more

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc will write down between $15 billion and $22 billion in the second quarter, as the company gave investors a wider glimpse of just how severely the coronavirus crisis has hit Big Oil.

The pandemic left no part of the energy giant’s sprawling business unscathed. Oil production slowed, fuel sales fell and shipments of everything from liquefied natural gas to petrochemicals suffered.

The dire second quarter also threatened to have a lasting legacy, as reductions in long-term price forecasts will force writedowns on the value of assets all over the world, with its integrated gas business taking the biggest hit. read more

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday it would write off assets worth up to $22 billion after the coronavirus crisis knocked oil and gas demand and weakened the energy price outlook.

The Anglo-Dutch company has already been preparing a major overhaul after CEO Ben van Beurden laid out plans in April to reduce Shell’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

Global travel restrictions to prevent the virus spreading affected more than 4 billion people at one point, taking cars off the roads and grounding planes, driving down fuel demand. read more

Shell Russia head: We will not be put away by uncertainty

Shell Russia’s Chairman Cederic Cremers has spoken to TASS about oil prices, Nord Stream 2 and new projects

– Oil producers have faced an unprecedented drop in demand this year. Do you think, Mr. Cremers, this can accelerate energy transition and decarbonization process and make an oil peak consumption closer?

– I think that the crisis and the pandemic of COVID-19 clearly put a lot of pressure on our industry – energy demand has dropped, and the impact on the economies around the globe is very real. I do think this volatile market will be with us for a while. We do not expect that there will be a recovery in oil prices or the demand of the products in the medium term. However, we do expect that it will recover in a longer period. read more

Shell says open to new LNG projects in Russia including with Novatek – TASS

MOSCOW, June 29 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is open to taking part in new liquefied natural gas projects in Russia including with private gas firm Novatek, the TASS news agency cited Shell Russia’s chairman Cederic Cremers as saying on Monday.

Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Katya Golubkova

SOURCE

James Osborne: JUNE 25, 2020

WASHINGTON – The District of Columbia sued Exxon Mobil and other large oil companies Thursday over their contribution to climate change, adding the nation’s capitol to a growing list of states seeking to punish the oil sector for its history of climate denial.

At a time large oil companies are increasingly vocal about the need to address climate change, the suit tackles a long period when despite warnings from their own scientists oil executives openly questioned claims greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels were warming the planet. read more

Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Marguerita Choy: JUNE 25, 2020

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The attorney general for the District of Columbia on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp , BP Plc, Chevron Corp, and Royal Dutch Shell Plc for “systematically and intentionally misleading” consumers about the role their products play in causing climate change, the latest action by a U.S. attorney general against the oil and gas industry.

The lawsuit brought by Attorney General Karl Racine comes a day after Minnesota AG Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against the American Petroleum Institute, Exxon Mobil and Koch Industries for violating state laws barring consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices and false advertising. read more

POSTING ON OUR SHELL BLOG 25 JUNE 2020

About Dear Rob, he is hardly departing in a blaze of glory, his mission it seems is very much unaccomplished as he departs the scene.

Who will take over the poisoned chalice and get the show on the road?

In what seems a relatively short time Prelude has gone from being the expected Real Madrid of the engineering project world to a sort of Accrington Stanley, maybe being a bit unfair on the latter.

Guess the worst of times was the export of human excrement in paper bags from the installation when the lights went out and nothing on it worked …….. read more

Royal Dutch Shell is preparing to overhaul its structure in response to low oil prices and to position itself for a greener future.

Ben van Beurden, 62, chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch energy group, warned employees in an internal video that jobs would be lost in the restructuring, but declined to give any numbers.

A source told the Reuters news agency that Shell would “announce the new shape of the organisation by the end of the year”, with the changes not taking effect until 2021. read more

Oil supermajor Shell plans to announce by the end of the year a significant restructuring to reflect its net-zero emissions goal for 2050 and to align itself with a green recovery from the pandemic, a Shell source told Reuters on Tuesday.

Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden has told employees in an internal website video that there would be restructuring and job cuts, sources who saw the video told Reuters.

Shell’s official website has posted a video message from van Beurden, who says that “[S]ociety must remain focused on the longer-term challenge of climate change. Because it hasn’t gone away. It still needs urgent action. Shell has a big part to play.” read more

By John Donovan

Successive Royal Dutch Shell CEO’s cannot say that they were not warned time and again in chilling terms about the Prelude “experiment”, the description used in a Forbes article published today.

The links below are to a series of articles, initially triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell, the retired distinguished Shell Global Safety Consultant and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects. read more

A series of recent events highlight the challenge Shell has ahead of it with Prelude, and plans for sister vessels which are supposed to follow.

“Over the coming months we will go through a comprehensive review of the company. Where appropriate we will redesign our organization to adapt to a different future…”

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell will announce a major restructuring by the end of the year as the energy company prepares to accelerate its shift towards low-carbon, CEO Ben van Beurden told employees according to a company source.

In a video interview published on Shell’s internal website, van Beurden said that the restructuring would involve job cuts as part of broad cost reductions, although no figures have been decided yet, according to sources who saw the interview. read more

Shell doesn’t expect Prelude FLNG restart before Q3

June 22, 2020, by Mirza Duran

LNG giant Shell is not expecting to restart production at its Prelude FLNG facility offshore Western Australia before the start of the third quarter.

Shell hasn’t exported any cargoes from the FLNG for almost five months following an electrical trip on February 2.

“Start-up timing will depend on Covid-19 constraints and compliance with government directions, which will result in a reduction in the number of people on board the facility”, a Shell spokesperson said in a emailed statement on Monday. read more

ABUJA, June 23 (Reuters) – Britain’s Supreme Court heard an appeal on Tuesday from Nigerian farmers and fishermen seeking to pursue claims against oil major Royal Dutch Shell over spills in the Niger Delta.

The appeal re-opens the possibility of British multinationals being held liable at home for their subsidiaries’ actions abroad. It comes after a setback in 2018 when a London court ruled that the claims could not be pursued in England.

A judgement is expected later this year or in early 2021, a court spokeswoman said. read more