Dec 11th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Sunday Times Business Person of the Year 2022: The shortlist
The Sunday Times
In a year buffeted by war, falling markets and government upheaval, we present the shortlist for the business person who has stood out above the rest
Ben van Beurden, Shell
The Dutchman will call time on a 40-year career at Shell in 2023, having spent nine years in the hot seat. He gambled early in his tenure on the £36 billion takeover of gas giant BG Group, relocated Shell’s head office to London, and cut its dividend when the oil price tanked during Covid. But the company has surged this year on the back of higher oil prices stoked by the Ukraine war. Van Beurden, 64, leaves Shell in a fitter state and with plans to embrace green energy —read more
The £80million boss of Shell is preparing to join the stream of FTSE100 bosses heading for the door.
Ben van Beurden – who, it emerged in March, bagged £4.6million in bonuses on top of his £1.4million salary last year, taking his total pay and bonuses to almost £80million during his nine years at the helm – could step down as soon as 2023 as the oil giant begins its search for a replacement.
His departure will mark the end of an era for Shell, as it tries to toe the tricky line of boosting Britain’s energy security with embracing sustainable technologies. While Van Beurden’s legacy includes a commitment to reduce oil production, he has been criticised for failing to take more drastic action.read more
Absolutely atrocious customer service.I was switched by force due to Ofgem price cap and Pure Planet going bust. I couldn’t get a bill off this useless company for almost six months, despite having a smart meter. Then I got two within a short period of time totalling over £700 where normally I would pay less than half of that. They didn’t get meter readings for three and a half months and imposed a daily average calculated on my usage during the coldest months of the year. Absolute b*ll*nds!read more
Nov 16th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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This is MONEY
Oil major switches sides: Shell’s UK move is a big plus for the City post-Brexit, says ALEX BRUMMER
By ALEX BRUMMER FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED:| UPDATED:
Shell’s decision to sacrifice its ‘Royal Dutch’ designation and unify its domicile in London is epoch-making.
It is a big plus for the City post-Brexit, even if there are green campaigners who will find the increased presence of an oil major in the UK a cause for disquiet.read more
Energy giants’ lobbying fuels the rise of hydrogen
Shell and BP want the controversial gas in families’ boilers. They’re pushing hard. By John Collingridge
The Sunday Times
EXTRACTS
Few parts of the UK have attracted as much government attention in recent months as northeast England. Although Conservative mayor Ben Houchen is favourite to win Thursday’s Tees Valley mayoral election, ministers have left nothing to chance.
The 34-year-old has hosted visits from Boris Johnson, chancellor Rishi Sunak and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. Nearby Hartlepool, where the Tories’ Jill Mortimer is the bookies’ favourite to grab the seat from Labour in this week’s by-election, has received a similar love-bombing.
Houchen’s campaign has had a distinctly green tinge. He has campaigned on a ticket of clean industrial rebirth in an area ravaged by the closures of steel and chemicals works.
Hydrogen has been at its heart — an element that in just a few years has propelled into the mainstream.
Huge vested interests lie behind the rise of hydrogen: oil giants such as Shell, BP and Norway’s Equinor have staked their futures on natural gas as a less-polluting alternative to oil.read more
Shell shareholders are to be kept waiting for higher dividend payouts as the oil giant labours under a massive debt pile.
The Anglo-Dutch company has pledged to distribute up to 30pc of cash flow to shareholders as soon as its debts come down to $65bn (£47bn), as it tries to keep investors on board while it moves towards lower carbon energy.read more
Shell has written down the value of some of its gas assets, including its Queensland Curtis project in Australia.
As the Shift to Green Energy Speeds Up, Shell’s Big Natural-Gas Bet Is at Risk. The fuel faces growing environmental scrutiny and competition from cleaner energy sources
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni are seeking to sell their oil and gas operations in Tunisia, industry sources said, as the North African country struggles to attract new investments following years of political instability.
Shell has hired investment bank Rothschild & Co. to sell its Tunisian assets, which include two offshore gas fields and an onshore production facility the Anglo-Dutch company acquired as part of its 2016 $53 billion takeover of BG Group, the sources told Reuters.read more
Shell CEO takes pay cut in 2020 for the second straight year
By Reuters Staff: MARCH 11, 2021: 8.30 am
March 11 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive Ben van Beurden pay package nearly halved in 2020, a year in which the oil major’s profit tumbled because of low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Van Beurden, who became CEO in 2014, oversaw sharp growth in Shell’s oil and gas output following the 2016 acquisition of BG Group for $53 billion.
But an unprecedented hit to the energy sector last year, knocked oil prices into negative territory for the first time in history, and forced major players to cut dividend payouts and management pay to weather the storm.read more
Shell cuts exploration ambitions in Norway, to focus on natural gas
By Reuters Staff: 9 February 2021
OSLO, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell will narrow its exploration scope in Norway to focus on natural gas production and possibly offshore wind in future, it told the Norwegian oil and energy ministry.
Shell said in October it planned to reduce its oil and gas operations to nine basins around the world as part of its strategy to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations. It is expected to announce details of its new strategy on Thursday.read more
Is former BG Group/Shell Exec Sami Iskander carrying any reputational baggage?
MESSAGE POSTED BY JOHN DONOVAN ON OUR SHELL BLOG: 4 FEB 2021
POSTED ON BEHALF OF AN INVESTIGATIVE CONTACT:
Newly former Shell executive Sami Iskander has been appointed CEO to London-traded energy company Petrofac, which is facing corruption allegations in Italy and from the U.K.’s SFO.
The question is whether Iskander, who was one of only four executives from British Gas retained by Shell when the two merged in 2015, brings any baggage with him?read more
The long overdue structural reorganisation at Shell is rapidly approaching. No better place to start than within the Brazil Asset which has been propped-up for over ten years now by the same BG Group sycophants who have a proven track record of overbooking reserves on the basis of flawed functionall approved technical workflows. These individuals are still clinging desperately to their positions five years after the takeover of BG Group by Shell. Can it be that Shell cannot afford to move them on lest their poor work and lies be revealed? Get rid of them, truth and transparency are now required if not demanded in the Brasil Asset!read more
A shift to renewables and the rise of green energy giants means the future for former fossil fuel titans is far from certain, writes Rachel Millard
Tuesday 20 October 2020 The Daily Telegraph
EXTRACTS
It was the early days of 2015 when Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden ascended the stage of the InterContinental Hotel on London’s Park Lane with a stirring message for his industry peers amid strengthening global action on carbon emissions.read more
Michael Boyd: Energy Income Authority: Oct 8, 2020High-quality income and growth plays in the energy space.Summary
Poor messaging from management, as well as an ill-prepared balance sheet caused in part by buybacks, has caused the European major a lot of pain.
Arguably, senior executives deserve to be shown the door. But even if that happens, expect the pivot away from fossil fuels to continue.
Is the move into Power and other “Green Energy” assets the right move? Maybe, maybe not.
This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, Energy Income Authority. Get started today »
I often get asked why I don’t cover the supermajors all that often on Seeking Alpha. The answer comes down to a rather simple reality: time invested versus potential gain. Anyone that has followed my long / short book knows that whatever I take a stake in, I know inside out. Quite frankly, the sprawling operations of most majors coupled with competing against institutionals that have enough research analysts on the payroll to pack a local gymnasium makes it a losing proposition – or at least in my view.read more
Shell on Wednesday announced a major reorganization that will see thousands of jobs lost. The last major reorganization dates back to 2016 when Shell cut 10,000 jobs after the acquisition of BG Group.
English translation of an article published by the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Times.
Thousands of jobs at stake in Shell reorganization, not spared
Shell on Wednesday announced a major reorganization that will see thousands of jobs lost. The restructuring is also reportedly hitting the top layers of management. The restructuring is needed to reduce costs as oil prices have fallen sharply and the outlook has deteriorated. Shell is also working on it. a new strategy. This will be revealed early next year.read more
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is looking to slash up to 40% off the cost of producing oil and gas in a major drive to save cash so it can overhaul its business and focus more on renewable energy and power markets, sources told Reuters.
Shell’s new cost-cutting review, known internally as Project Reshape and expected to be completed this year, will affect its three main divisions and any savings will come on top of a $4 billion target set in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.read more
Listen and read proof in audio and transcript form of Shell CEO Ben van Beurden’s cover-up tactics in the OPL 245 Nigerian corruption scandal. The instruction given by him in the covertly recorded call to CFO Simon Henry was at odds with Shell’s claimed core business principles. Cover-up and obstruction, instead of transparency and integrity, says Shell critic John Donovan
JOHN DONOVAN TV DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEW
SHELL EXECUTIVES AT THE CENTER OF A SCHEME TO STEAL $1.3 BILLION FROM NIGERIA’S PEOPLE
SHELL ADMITS DEALING WITH NIGERIAN MONEY LAUNDERER – BBC NEWS
SHELL, ENI AND NIGERIAN OFFICIALS IN OPL 245 CORRUPTION SCANDAL
INVESTIGATION OF OPL 245 NIGERIAN OIL CORRUPTION SCANDAL
DUTCH EARTHQUAKES CAUSED BY SHELL/EXXON
SHELL KILLS FOR OIL IN NIGERIA
ESTHER KIOBEL: EVIL OIL GIANT SHELL COLLUDED IN THE EXECUTION OF MY INNOCENT HUSBAND
ESTHER KIOBEL SUES SHELL FOR COMPLICITY IN HUSBANDS MURDER
SHELL LIED ABOUT CLEANING UP OIL IN NIGER DELTA
SHELL SPIES INFILTRATED NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT
LEGO DROPS SHELL OVER GREENPEACE OIL SPILL VIDEO
SHELL ARCTIC DRILLING ACCIDENTS
SHELL KNEW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE DECADES AGO
ABANDONED BY SHELL: KEITH MACDONALD & FAMILY, VICTIMS OF RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION AT WORK
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL FOUNDER SIR HENRI DETERDING, NAZI FINANCIER
JOHN DONOVAN PROMOTIONAL GAMES FOR SHELL AND OTHER CLIENTS
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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OVER 500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR SHELL WEBSITES
See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission websiteetc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our non-profit websites and/or our activities.
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