By Erwin Seba and Gary McWilliams

HOUSTON, March 15 (Reuters) – Major energy companies in the United States imposed work-from-home rules for office staff and began health checks for remote or critical workers as coronavirus spread across the United States and threatened an industry reeling by falling demand and profits.

BP, Exxon Mobil, Kinder Morgan, Motiva Enterprises and Royal Dutch Shell told non-essential staff to work from home starting Monday, workers and officials said. Shell and Chevron have begun routine health checks of workers and visitors at some key U.S. facilities, spokesmen said. read more

Energy-Generating Kites Backed by Shell Set for Test in Scotland: Bloomberg/Quint: 26 May 2017

Power-generating kites backed by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Schlumberger Ltd. and EON SE will start tests in the U.K. this summer, with the aim of developing a technology that could eventually replace offshore wind turbines. Kite Power Systems, known as KPS, is working on a 17-meter device that flies on air currents high above the ground and generates power by pulling at a cable. It raised 5 million pounds ($6.4 million) from the three energy giants last December. “The reason we are interested in something like this is that it has potential to reduce the cost of offshore wind in the future,” said Geert van de Wouw, managing director of Shell Technology Ventures BV. read more

HOUSTON, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”) announces today the completion of the transaction for the separation of assets, liabilities and businesses of Motiva Enterprises LLC (“Motiva”).   As announced when the definitive agreements were signed, the separation is as follows:

• Saudi Aramco (through its wholly owned Saudi Refining, Inc. subsidiary) assumes full ownership of the Motiva Enterprises LLC name and legal entity, including the refinery at Port Arthur, Texas and 24 distribution terminals. Additionally, Motiva has the right to exclusively sell Shell-branded gasoline and diesel in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., as well as the eastern half of Texas and the majority of Florida.
• Shell (through various affiliated companies) assumes sole ownership of the Norco, La., refinery (where Shell operates a chemicals plant), the Convent, La., refinery, 11 distribution terminals, and Shell-branded markets in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, a portion of the Florida panhandle, and the North-eastern region of the U.S.  These assets are now fully integrated with Shell’s downstream business in North America.

About Shell

• Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with operations in more than 70 countries. In the U.S., Shell operates in 50 states and employs more than 20,000 people.
• www.shell.com
• www.shellus.com

Inquiries
Shell Media Relations:  International +44 207 934 5550; Americas +1 713 241 4544
Shell Investor Relations:  Europe + 31 70 377 4540; North America +1 832 337 2034 read more

Over the next few days, we will be posting some outspoken insider comments made several years ago in relation to Motiva, kicking off with the exchange below between “Jim Hartsock” and “Motivasux.”

The comments reveal the low esteem, to put it mildly, in which Shell Oil executives were held at that time.

Comments are welcome from current employees about worker morale these days bearing in mind the dramatic consequences of the Shell/Saudi Aramco divorce. Comments can be posted on our Shell Blog under an alias, thus preserving confidentiality. Or send them to me for publication on the same confidential basis: john@shellnews.net read more

Photo taken in happier times several years before the divorce

Comment posted on Wall Street Journal article: Shell Seeks to Streamline in 2017

The US operations will face drastic cuts. with the breakup of Motiva, many people will be reassigned, told to post for other positions, or face layoff.

The process has already begun, and will intensify as the April 1 target date for the breakup gets closer.

Middle management will be realigned, as some northeast terminals will be sold off to raise cash, and managers will be scrambling for other available positions which may involve relocation, taking early retirement or the unemployment line. read more

HOUSTON, Dec 18 2016 (Reuters) – A malfunction on Saturday triggered flaring at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Norco, Louisiana, chemical plant, said a Shell spokesman.

Shell’s Ray Fisher on Sunday declined to say which unit sustained the malfunction.

A source familiar with plant operations said the malfunction was in an olefins unit at the chemical plant.

The Shell chemical plant in Norco shares the safety flare system with the adjoining Motiva Enterprises refinery. Flaring from the chemical plant is sometimes thought to come from the refinery. read more

By RUSSELL GOLD: Dec. 16, 2016 2:45 p.m. ET

The election of Donald Trump threatens to complicate efforts by Saudi Arabia’s national oil company to purchase refineries and expand its petrochemical footprint in the U.S.

Speaking in Louisiana earlier this month, he said: “We use refineries from other countries. The whole thing is just crazy. It’s crazy.”

That stance could complicate a continuing deal: Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell PLC are in talks to end a joint venture called Motiva Enterprises. The Saudi company, which is state owned and state controlled, has said it expects after negotiations are concluded to own the 603,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. Shell is expected to get two smaller refineries in Louisiana. read more

Motiva Enterprises was returning the expanded hydrocracking unit at the 603,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery to production on Wednesday, said sources familiar with plant operations.

A Motiva spokeswoman declined to discuss operations at the refinery.

The refinery is in the process of restarting the hydrocracker after completing a two-month overhaul that increased its capacity from 80,000 bpd to 105,000 bpd, sources have told Reuters.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Alan Crosby and Jonathan Oatis) read more

Thu Sep 22, 2016 | 5:53pm BST

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) said flaring on Thursday at the Norco, Louisiana manufacturing complex shared with the Motiva Enterprises [MOTIV.UL] refinery was due to an upset in the company’s chemical plant.

The refinery and chemical plant share the safety flare system at the complex and when the flare goes off it is sometimes reported as being due to a malfunction at the refinery.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

SOURCE

The move will affect 3,400 employees when it takes place early next year as part of “an effort to meet the ever changing market conditions and optimize resources for future opportunities,” Shell said in a statement Tuesday. Employees will move to the company’s Woodcreek facility and Shell Technology Center on the west side of town.

Those who work for Shell’s downtown trading operations will stay put, although the company said it eventually plans to have all of its Houston-based staff in company-owned facilities on the west side. read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Sep 14, 2016, 3:52 PM CDT

At a time when U.S. and Saudi relations are strained, the Saudi Arabian Oil Company is reportedly leading in a race to buy a large refinery in Houston.

Certainly, politics and geopolitics cannot stay out of such move by the Saudi company, but it seems that Aramco has solid business reasons, as well as political ones, to bid for the Houston Refinery, which Dutch chemicals company LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) is reportedly putting up for sale. read more

August 31, 2016, 04:22 pm

HOUSTON — Motiva Enterprises LLC has formed a 76 sales and marketing team to better capitalize on its long-term license for the brand.

The new team is a part of Motiva’s fuels, sales and marketing organization and will establish the go-to-market commercial strategy for the 76 brand in Motiva’s operating geography — which includes 26 Gulf and East Coast states and Washington, D.C.

According to Motiva, the relationship with Phillips 66 on the 76 brand complements the company’s long-standing relationship with Shell and the Shell brand. It also expands Motiva’s portfolio to meet the needs of its wholesalers. read more

By Erwin Seba | HOUSTON: Wed Aug 31, 2016

Motiva Enterprises LLC [MOTIV.UL] said on Tuesday the division of its U.S. refining assets between Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) and Saudi Aramco IPO-ARMO.SE would take place on April 1, 2017, months later than originally expected.

The two Motiva partners announced last March they would divide their 20-year-old joint venture. The split, according to sources, had been expected to take place this October after completion of negotiations between Shell and Saudi Aramco over the division of assets and compensation due the partners. read more

Aug 22 2016, 14:58 ET | By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Motiva Enterprises’ 235K bbl/day Convent, La., refinery plans a partial restart of the heavy oil hydrocracking unit by year-end, but full production is not expected to return before fall 2017 as repairs are made from the Aug. 11 fire, Reuters reports, citing Gulf Coast market sources.

In addition to extensive repairs required to return the 45K bbl/day hydrocracker, Motiva will revamp the unit during the shutdown for the planned linking of the Convent refinery with the company’s refinery in Norco, La., sometime next year, according to the report. read more

Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:18pm EDT

Exxon Mobil Corp and Motiva Enterprises refineries continued to operate at reduced levels amidst flood waters in southern Louisiana, sources familiar with operations at each refinery said on Thursday.

An Exxon spokeswoman said the Baton Rouge Complex, which includes a 502,500 bpd refinery, continued to operate on Thursday, but declined to discuss the level of production or the status of specific units. The Baton Rouge refinery is the fourth largest in the United States. read more

Fri Aug 12, 2016 3:06pm EDT

The fire-damaged hydrocracking unit at Motiva Enterprises’ [MOTIV.UL] 235,000 barrel per day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana, refinery was surrounded by high water on Friday from heavy rains overnight, sources familiar with plant operations said.

A Motiva spokeswoman on Friday did not discuss high water at the refinery in a email reply to questions from Reuters.

“Although the weather is challenging, the refinery is running and making product,” said Motiva spokeswoman Angela Goodwin. read more