Posts under ‘BBC News’

BBC NEWS

Former Shell boss Ben van Beurden’s pay package jumps to £9.7m

9 March 2023

Former Shell boss Ben van Beurden received a pay package of £9.7m last year, up more than 50% from 2021.

His pay was revealed in the oil and gas giant’s annual report and accounts.

Shell reported the highest annual profits in its 115-year history last year after a surge in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Massive profits made by energy firms have added to pressure to tax them more as households struggle with rising energy bills. read more

BBC NEWS

Vast energy firm profits raise fresh questions over windfall tax

By Douglas Fraser: Business and economy editor, Scotland

• Vast profits for BP and Shell have put them in the frontline of a battle over the winners and losers from the energy crisis.
• Extension of the windfall tax is seen by the industry as a way of discouraging further investment.
• Some would prefer to see that discouraged and are dismayed as BP increases spend, while others want taxes to target benefits to shareholders.

BP and Shell get the attention because they’re big, public brands based in Britain. They’re not the only ones making vast amounts of money.

US firm ExxonMobil reported a profit of $56bn (£47bn) for last year. Chevron, also in the US, reported $36bn (£30bn).

Shell had profits of $40bn (£32bn) and BP has weighed in at $28bn (£23bn). All of them have more than doubled profits as the invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russia roiled the world’s energy markets.

Equinor (formerly Statoil), based in Norway and the largest supplier of gas to the UK and European Union after Russian gas flow was cut sharply, announced on Wednesday its net profit for the year was $28.7bn (£24bn), up from $8.6bn (£7bn) in 2021. Adjusted operating profits – before tax and removing one-off items – came to $75bn (£62bn). read more

BBC NEWS

Shell reports highest profits in 115 years

Oil and gas giant Shell has reported record annual profits after energy prices surged last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

By Simon Jack & Nick Edser: 2 FEB 2023

Profits hit $39.9bn (£32.2bn) in 2022, double last year’s total and the highest in its 115-year history.

Energy firms have seen record earnings since oil and gas prices jumped following the invasion of Ukraine.

It has heaped pressure on firms to pay more tax as households struggle with rising bills.

Opposition parties said Shell’s profits were “outrageous” and the government was letting energy firms “off the hook”. They also called for the planned increase in the energy price cap due in April to be scrapped. read more

BBC NEWS: Job risk as Shell considers quitting energy market

BBC NEWS 27 JAN 2023

Up to 2,000 UK jobs are at risk at Shell Energy after it announced it was considering quitting the energy sector.

The firm said it was conducting a “strategic review” to its operations in the UK, Netherlands and Germany amid “tough market conditions”.

The Coventry-based company provides energy to 1.4 million homes in the UK and broadband to around 500,000 people.

A spokesperson said: “No decisions have yet been taken on the way forward” and added the review could take months. read more

BBC News

Man hit with £29k Shell Energy bill after supplier error

24 Jan 2023

A man has been hit with a £29,000 energy bill following a mistake by his supplier.

Patrick Collins, from Henley, Oxfordshire, said attempts to resolve the problem with Shell Energy had so far failed.

The bill was his first from the firm after his previous supplier, Green Energy, went bust in 2021.

After being contacted by the BBC, Shell Energy said it accepted Mr Collins did not owe £29,000.

It added it was working to rectify the problem. read more

BBC News

Shell to pay $16m to Nigerian farmers over oil damage

23 Dec 2022

Shell has agreed to pay $16m (£13m) to four Nigerian farmers and their communities to compensate for damage allegedly caused by pollution coming from leaks in its oil pipelines.

The sum was agreed in negotiations between the oil company and campaign group Friends of the Earth.

But it is being given on the basis of “no admission of liability”, a joint statement says.

Nigeria’s oil industry has been a major source of environmental damage. read more

BBC News

Shell boss says taxing energy firms to help the poor is ‘inevitable’

By Tom Espiner: Business reporter, BBC News: 4 Oct 2022

Taxes on firms within the oil and gas industry are “inevitable” to help the poorest people, the outgoing boss of Shell has said.

Ben van Beurden said that energy markets cannot behave in a way that “damage a significant part of society”.

Households in the UK have been under pressure from rising energy bills as gas prices have soared.

The UK government under Liz Truss has pushed back against extending a windfall tax on oil and gas firms.

Last week, the EU agreed emergency measures to charge energy firms on record profits. read more

BBC News

Oil giant Shell appoints renewables head as boss

Shell is to replace its current boss Ben van Beurden with its head of gas and renewables, the oil giant has said.

Mr van Beurden will to step down at the end of 2022, and be replaced by Wael Sawan.

Mr Sawan, a duel Lebanese-Canadian national who previously led Shell’s oil and gas production business, was seen as a favourite to take the top job.

He now oversees Shell’s growth into low carbon energies as well as its giant gas business. read more

BBC NEWS

Shell staff get profits bonus as energy bills soar

• Immoral oil and gas profits must be taxed – UN

4 August 2022

Energy giant Shell is to give its workers a one-off 8% bonus after the company reported record profits from high oil and gas prices.

Most of the 82,000 staff it employs worldwide will get the pay boost but top executives will be excluded.

Shell said the award reflected its financial success and was “not a response” to the rising cost of living.

Energy firms’ bumper profits have prompted calls for tougher taxes to help families with rising bills. read more

BBC News

Greenpeace lodges legal bid to halt Jackdaw gas field in North Sea

By Kevin Keane
BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent

Greenpeace has lodged a legal challenge over consent being given to develop a large North Sea gas field.

Regulators gave the go-ahead in June for Shell to develop the Jackdaw field, which lies 150 miles east of Aberdeen.

The environmental charity believes that in granting consent, the UK government failed to consider emissions from burning the gas.

The UK government would not comment on legal proceedings but said Jackdaw would boost domestic gas supply. read more

BBC News

Energy rationing cannot be ruled out, warns Shell

Rationing of energy in Europe cannot be ruled out, the boss of energy giant Shell has warned, due to worries over the supply of gas from Russia.

Speaking at an energy conference, Ben van Beurden said a “really tough winter in Europe” was ahead, with energy prices set to see “significant” rises.

Energy prices jumped earlier this year after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia has also been accused of using gas “as a weapon” by limiting supplies in response to EU sanctions. read more

BBC News

Russia moves to take control of Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project

1 JULY 2022

Russia has moved to take over a major oil and gas project in which Shell has a 27.5% stake.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday to take charge of the Sakhalin-2 project.

The move could force Shell and Japan’s Mitsui and Mitsubishi to abandon their investments as the economic fallout of the Ukraine war spreads.

Oil giant Shell said: “We are aware of the decree and are assessing its implications.” read more

BBC NEWS

Shell’s Jackdaw gas field given go-ahead by regulators

By Justin Rowlatt: Climate editor:

June 1st, 2022

The development of a major North Sea gas field has been approved by regulators.

The Jackdaw field, east of Aberdeen, has the potential to produce 6.5% of Britain’s gas output.

The regulatory approval comes as the UK government seeks to boost domestic energy output following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Shell’s proposals were initially rejected on environmental grounds in October. read more

Mirror.co.uk

Oil giants’ profits for three months would be enough to give every household £450

Analysis by shadow Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband shows that Shell and BP made combined profits of £12.37billion in the first quarter of 2022.

Profits made by oil giants in the first three months of this year were enough to give every household £450 towards soaring energy bills.

Analysis by shadow Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband shows that Shell and BP made combined profits of £12.37billion in the first quarter of 2022. read more

BBC NEWS

Windfall tax on energy firms still an option

By Simon Jack: Business editor: 11 May 2022

A windfall tax on big oil and gas companies to help tackle the soaring cost of living has not been ruled out, sources close to the chancellor say.

Officials say Rishi Sunak is still open to the idea if firms do not reinvest their bumper profits in the UK.

Current policy is still based on the tax deterring investment in new oil and gas fields and green technologies.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned last week it could put future UK energy security at risk. read more

skynews

Shell reportedly reconsidering decision to pull out of controversial Cambo oilfield development

The energy company halted work on the development in Scotland in December after backlash from campaigners.

Shell is reportedly reconsidering its decision to pull out of the controversial Cambo oilfield development in Scotland.

Work on the oilfield – off the coast of Shetland – was halted in December after the energy company decided to withdraw, stating the economic case for investment “was not strong enough”. read more