Posts from ‘November, 2020’

Shell in court over claims it hampered fossil fuels phase-out

Daniel Boffey in Brussels: Mon 30 Nov 2020 11.12 GMT

It will be heard that a cache of internal and external documents proves that Shell has known about climate change at least since the 1950s and has been aware of its large-scale consequences at least since 1986.

FURTHER EXTRACTS

A court in The Hague will hear claims that Royal Dutch Shell has broken Dutch law by knowingly hampering the global phase-out of fossil fuels, in a case that could force the company to reduce its CO₂ emissions. read more

Shell Convent, Louisiana, refinery workers get severance package details – sources

By Erwin Seba: Fri, 27 November 2020, 10:49 pm GMT

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Hourly employees at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Convent, Louisiana, refinery, scheduled for permanent closure as early as next week, received details this week of the severance package negotiated by their union and Shell, three people familiar with the agreement said on Friday.

Shell said on Nov. 5 it was closing the refinery after failing to find a buyer for the plant, which has been hit hard by crushed demand in the COVID-19 pandemic. A spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the agreement. read more

Nigerian Supreme Court Upholds Oil Spill Award Against Shell

Elisha Bala-Gbogbo: Last Updated Nov 30, 2020

Shell, the largest oil producer in Nigeria, have been beset by lawsuits involving the West African nation, many of them in courts in the Hague and the U.K.

EXTRACTS

Nigeria’s Supreme Court dismissed an application by Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s local unit to review a $467-million award for damages caused by an oil spill half a century ago. Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour led a five-member panel of the court Friday that unanimously dismissed Shell’s bid for lacking merit. read more

Utterly useless in every conceivable way. Broadband was installed badly and never worked (including the phone). Impossible to get them to repair it during lockdown, despite repeated requests, and customer service was spectacularly unhelpful. Eventually, I had no alternative but to cancel. I had paid about £250 for a year’s service I never received and was offered £30 in compensation. A disgrace. Avoid at all costs! Be warned.

Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted over the past 4 days on Trustpilot. Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. read more

OPL245 Scandal: Coalition urges World Bank group not to protect oil giants

…prosecutions relating to the OPL 245 deal are live in two jurisdictions (Nigeria and Italy); Investigations are also live in The Netherlands, where the prosecutors have told Royal Dutch Shell, which was also a party to the deal that they have sufficient evidence to prosecute. 

A World Bank affiliated group may scuttle Nigeria’s bid to successfully prosecute illicit funds associated with the controversial OPL 245, a coalition of international anti-corruption groups has said. read more

Shell is undergoing a major restructuring which will also result in thousands of job losses.

Green Is Good for Power Traders Chasing $430 Billion Market

Lars Paulsson, Rachel Morison, and Jesper Starn: Published: Nov 22 2020, 10:30 AM: Last Updated:  Nov 22 2020, 1:53 PM

Extracts

Stricter climate targets are spurring investments in wind turbines, solar panels and battery systems, with Bloomberg Intelligence estimating the market may almost double in size in the next 10 years. With the European Union, U.K. and other governments increasingly turning their backs on fossil fuels, companies steeped in that business are looking over the horizon and seeing a new age of electricity. read more

Oil Majors Are Paying The Price For Investing In Renewables

By Alex Kimani – Nov 19, 2020, 7:00 PM CST

Big Oil has been frequently lambasted for trying to burnish its green credentials through half-hearted investments in renewables. That might have been true for much of the past decade, but it appears to be changing as the oil and gas majors have started putting down big money into clean energy. For instance, European oil majors including BP Plc. (NYSE:BP), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A), Eni SpA (NYSE:E), Total SA (NYSE:TOT), and Norwegian national oil company Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) have already invested billions of dollars in renewable energy and made big clean energy commitments.Yet, Big Oil just can’t seem to catch a break, with stocks of oil and gas companies that are investing heavily in renewables being punished by the markets. read more

“Appalling customer service. They’ll keep you on hold forever and then ditch the call.”

Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted over the past 4 days on Trustpilot. Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. read more

Is now the time to sell my Shell shares?

Tom Rodgers: Wed, 18 November 2020, 10:23 am GMT

There’s an old maxim in the wealth management business that no one ever lost money investing in Royal Dutch Shell(LSE:RDSB) shares. No matter how excited young analysts get about the next big thing in battery metals, cloud data storage or AI, they would still recommend buying Shell shares. That’s because the Anglo-Dutch giant has offered predictable dividend income since 1945.

But could the tide have turned on Shell shares for good? read more

North Sea Neighbors on Opposite Ends of Shell’s Tax Bill

By Laura Hurst: 17 November 2020, 11:21 GMT: Updated on 17 November 2020, 13:14 GMT

• Energy giant gets money back from Britain for a second year
• Norway, however, taps company for more than $1 billion

Royal Dutch Shell Plc pumps thousands of barrels of oil and gas from the North Sea every day. In Norway the energy major paid over a billion dollars in tax last year, but on the U.K. side, it got more than a hundred million dollars back.

The discrepancy reflects contrasting government policies and spending by the oil and gas giant. In Norway, Shell had an effective tax rate of 78%. In Britain, it paid no corporation tax because of losses tied to investments in new North Sea fields. It also earned rebates from dismantling old platforms in the region. read more

Shell reveals latest year without paying UK corporation tax

Royal Dutch Shell paid no corporation tax in the UK last year even as it paid out billions of dollars in other jurisdictions.

Anjli Raval, Senior Energy Correspondent

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

The Anglo-Dutch oil major paid a total of $7.8bn in corporate income tax and $5.9bn in royalties last year on pre-tax profits of $25.5bn, according to an annual report published on Tuesday.

But the UK — along with France, South Africa and Indonesia — returned money to the company.

Shell received $116m from the UK government, following a similar return to the company in 2018, which it attributed to tax losses linked to investments in new North Sea fields and rebates tied to the decommissioning of ageing oil platforms. read more

Shell gets UK tax refund, but pays over $1billion in nearby Norway

Shell paid billions of dollars in tax in 2019 to governments around the world. But in four countries, the energy giant got money back.

17 Nov 2020

The London-listed major paid $7.8 billion in corporate income tax and a further $5.9 billion in royalties globally last year, it said in a report. The Sultanate of Oman made up the lion’s share, receiving $2.89 billion from Shell. But treasuries in the UK, France, South Africa and Indonesia returned money. read more

English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial newspaper, the FD.

Shell and Exxon are aiming for multi-billion dollar green subsidies

Carel Grol: 16 November 2020

Four multinationals that want to store the greenhouse gas CO₂ in an empty gas field off the Dutch coast will apply for a subsidy at the end of this month. According to estimates, this subsidy could amount to around € 1.5 billion.

In brief

• Four multinationals, including Shell, want to participate in a large-scale CO₂ storage project in a gas field under the North Sea.
• It is estimated that a subsidy of € 1.5 billion will be applied for.
• If the subsidy is paid, there will be less money for solar energy.

Four multinationals, including Exxon and Shell, will apply for a subsidy for CO₂ storage in a gas field under the North Sea. This grant is controversial as it is a huge amount for something that has never been done on this scale. There are less than 25 active large CO₂ storage projects worldwide. The so-called Porthos project in the North Sea should really be a breakthrough for Europe. read more

Shell Climate Change Ads Axed From Facebook

Greg Winterton: 16 November 2020

Extracts

Some Shell advertisements, including for its electric vehicle-charging firm Greenlots, have been removed from Facebook over concerns around transparency of environmental policies and climate change.

Shell’s advertisements – part of rebranding efforts to place emphasis on its renewable energy divisions – were labelled as sponsored, but did not include a disclaimer stating they were paid for by the firm.  read more

Shell has tried to shed its image of corporate killer like a snake would its skin.

Dear Shell: After 25 Years, Are You Finally Ready to Accept Your Role in the Murder of Ogoni 9?

The Ogoni 9 — Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine — were murdered 25 years ago for their campaign against Shell. Photo by Martin LeSanto-Smith.

And so another grim, painful milestone is reached. It is now a quarter of a century since the Ogoni 9 were murdered in Nigeria. read more

Nigeria case against JP Morgan over OPL 245 oil deal to go to trial

Julia Payne: 12 July 2020

LONDON (Reuters) – A lawsuit launched by the Nigerian government against U.S. bank JP Morgan Chase, claiming over $1.7 billion (1.29 billion pounds) for its role in a disputed 2011 oilfield deal, will proceed to trial, London’s high court ruled on Thursday.

The suit filed in the English courts in 2017 relates to the purchase of the offshore OPL 245 oilfield in Nigeria by oil majors Royal Dutch Shell RDsa.L and Eni ENI.MI in 2011, which is the subject of an ongoing trial in Milan. read more