The Telegraph

Shell handed £90m by taxpayers to cut energy bills under price guarantee

The payments are one part of a major Government package to shield households

By Rachel Millard 9 November 2022 

Shell has been handed £90m of taxpayer cash under the Government’s scheme to help families with surging energy bills.

The oil and gas giant’s UK household supply division received £90,141,141 from the Government in October, according to official figures.

All suppliers are being sent cash by the Government each month so they can shave £400 off customers’ bills in instalments between now and March. read more

Another departing Shell leader seeking redemption?

By John Donovan

Departing Shell Plc CEO Ben van Beurden seems to be seeking redemption in his closing period with the energy giant.

THE GRONINGEN SCANDAL

BvB now admits that Shell should have pulled out of the controversial earthquake-blighted Groningen project operated by NAM – a Shell-Exxon joint venture company.

According to Reuters: “A damning report in 2015 from the independent Dutch Safety Board had accused the government and the field’s operators of ignoring the threat of earthquakes linked to the field for years.” 

As regular visitors to this website know, we have been drawing attention to the Groningen scandal for many years. Thousands of properties have been damaged. As a consequence, Dutch prosecutors are pursuing litigation against NAM. Tens of thousands of Groningen residents are eligible for compensation for earthquake damage. read more

The Guardian

Criticism intensifies after big oil admits ‘gaslighting’ public over green aims

Fury as ‘explosive’ files reveal largest oil companies contradicted public statements and wished bedbugs upon critical activists

Oliver Milman: Sat 17 Sep 2022 11.00 BST

Criticism in the US of the oil industry’s obfuscation over the climate crisis is intensifying after internal documents showed companies attempted to distance themselves from agreed climate goals, admitted “gaslighting” the public over purported efforts to go green, and even wished critical activists be infested by bedbugs.

The communications were unveiled as part of a congressional hearing held in Washington DC, where an investigation into the role of fossil fuels in driving the climate crisis produced documents obtained from the oil giants ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they wish bedbugs on you, then you win,” said Varshini Prakash, executive director of Sunrise. The organization accused Shell of a “legacy of violence and of ignoring the wellbeing of communities across the globe”. read more

The Guardian

South African court bans offshore oil and gas exploration by Shell

Judgment is huge victory for campaigners concerned about effect of seismic waves on marine life

A South African court has upheld a ban imposed on the energy giant Shell from using seismic waves to explore for oil and gas off the Indian Ocean coast.

The judgment delivered in Makhanda on Thursday marks a monumental victory for environmentalists concerned about the impact the exploration would have on whales and other marine life.

The 2014 decision granting the right for the “exploration of oil and gas in the Transkei and Algoa exploration areas is reviewed and set aside”, the high court ruled in the southern city. read more

The Guardian

Church of England pension boss’s shares in Shell ‘shocking’, say campaigners

Exclusive: Christian climate groups urge Clive Mather to resign and C of E to divest from fossil fuel

Damian Carrington Environment editor: Wed 17 Aug 2022 10.00 EDT

The chair of the Church of England Pensions Board, which has not divested its £3.5bn fund from fossil fuels, is a shareholder in Shell, the Guardian can reveal.

Clive Mather had a 38-year career at the oil company during which he oversaw a multibillion-dollar tar sands project in Canada. read more

The Biggest of the Biggest: Prelude FLNG, the Largest Floating Edifice of All Time

A project of oil and gas giant Shell, the Prelude is simultaneously a stellar engineering achievement and a financial black hole.

13 Aug 2022, 16:11 UTC: by Razvan Calin

Over 530 yards long, 80 yards wide, more than 300 feet tall, and 660,000 tones heavy. The largest floating structure the world has ever put out to see is the Prelude offshore natural gas facility. Completed in under five years, the colossal ship-looking titan is made to work a quarter of a century in rough South Pacific waters. read more

The Sun

PURE GREED: How fatcat energy bosses will bank a staggering £15 MILLION as terrified hard-up Brits choose heating or eating

• Emma Pietras
• 22:37, 10 Aug 2022
• Updated: 9:09, 11 Aug 2022

IT is High Noon for the energy fatcats today as they drag their expensively-dressed behinds into showdown talks with the Chancellor.

As The Sun revealed yesterday, Nadhim Zahawi has summoned gas and electricity bosses in to explain just how much cash they are making out of the energy crisis.

It comes as energy experts at Auxilione revealed energy bills could reach over £5,000 next year and Martin Lewis warned the crisis could put lives at risk.

Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng wil also demand to know what investment they plan to make with their soaring profits. read more

This is MONEY.co.uk

Shell and BP to share in huge giveaway that will blow hole in gains from windfall tax: £7.5bn taxpayer handout for oil titans

• Energy giants already receive Treasury incentives to invest in the North Sea 

• Fresh changes have been ushered in that will turbocharge the subsidies 

• Plans introduced at same time as Government’s £5bn ‘windfall tax’ 

• City sources describe exceptionally high incentives as ‘beyond believable’ 

By LUKE BARR, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY

PUBLISHED: 21:50, 6 August 2022 | UPDATED: 08:56, 7 August 2022

Oil and gas titans are set to reap a mammoth taxpayer giveaway of up to £7.5billion despite making record profits.

BP and Shell are among the firms that will benefit from new tax breaks, despite BP boss Bernard Looney comparing his firm to a ‘cash machine’.

Energy giants already receive Treasury incentives to invest in the North Sea, but fresh changes have been ushered in that will turbocharge the subsidies. The plans have been introduced at the same time as the Government’s £5billion ‘windfall tax’ – billed as taxing energy firms to help pay for the cost-of-living crisis. 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

EXPRESS

Shell dishes out bonuses after huge profits while energy crisis hits Britons’ pockets

SHELL is passing on some of its record profits to its staff in a one-off bonus, but claimed it was “not a response” to cost of living crisis spurred on by high energy prices.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that it was “immoral” for oil and gas firms to profit from the invasion of Ukraine, adding that the “grotesque greed is punishing the poorest”.

By ALEKS PHILLIPS

09:59, Thu, Aug 4, 2022 | UPDATED: 11:55, Thu, Aug 4, 2022

Most of the energy giant’s 82,000 staff worldwide will get an 8 percent boost, after the company doubled its profits in the past three months alone to £9.4billion. Fossil fuel companies have been accused of profiteering from a crisis.

It comes as energy bills are expected to soar to well over £3,000 this winter, with the increase in energy costs being seen as the “main driver” of inflation.

Shell said top executives will be excluded. Its CEO, Ben van Beurden, currently makes an estimated £6.2million.

In the first three months of the year, Shell made $9.1billion (£7.4billion) as the commodity price shot up amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. read more

The Guardian

‘Insult to millions’: Shell and Centrica profits cause outrage as energy bills soar

Rob Davies: @ByRobDavies: Thu 28 Jul 2022 18.42 BST

profits at two of the UK’s biggest energy companies read more

THE TIMES

Shell vows a return for investors from its ‘obscene’ profits

Emily Gosden: Energy Editor: Friday July 29 2022, 12.01

Shell’s profits more than doubled to a high of $11.5 billion in the second quarter as it benefited from surging oil, gas and fuel prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The FTSE 100 oil company said it would increase returns to investors by buying back $6 billion of shares over the coming three months.

Shell faced a backlash for what critics called “obscene” profits, which come after petrol prices hit record highs and as households face a crippling rise in energy bills that is forecast to push millions of people into poverty this winter.

Ben van Beurden, the chief executive, admitted it was “a difficult period for a lot of people” because of high energy prices, but said: “These are global phenomena, there’s… read more

The Washington Post

Shell posts record earnings again as energy prices soar

London-based Shell said it’s second-quarter adjusted earnings — which exclude one-time items and fluctuations in the value of inventories — rose to $11.5 billion from $5.5 billion in the same three-month period last year.

The latest earnings smash its record set in the previous quarter, when the company recorded $9.1 billion in adjusted earnings.

Shell also said it would buy back another $6 billion in shares, underlining its healthy cash position. read more

The NewYork Times

Shell reports record profit, again, with $11.5 billion in latest quarter.

The energy giant is thriving because of soaring oil and gas prices and a tight market for refined products.

Shell reported record earnings for the second consecutive quarter on Thursday, as the energy giant continues to prosper from high oil and gas prices spurred by the war in Ukraine and other factors.

Shell, Europe’s largest energy company, said adjusted earnings were $11.5 billion for the second quarter. The figure topped Shell’s previous record of $9.1 billion in the first quarter. read more

CNBC

Shell, Total continue buyback bonanza after record profits

PUBLISHED THU, JUL 28 20222:11 AM EDT

KEY POINTS

• Europe’s oil giants Shell and TotalEnergies extended share buybacks after their second-quarter profits beat an already record-breaking previous quarter.

• The two companies combined are buying back $8 billion in shares in the third quarter.

• Benchmark Brent crude oil futures have risen more than 140% in the past twelve months, averaging around $114 a barrel in the quarter.

Europe’s biggest oil companies Shell and TotalEnergies extended share buybacks on Thursday after their second-quarter profits beat an already record-breaking previous quarter on the back of soaring crude, gas and oil product prices.

The two companies combined are buying back $8 billion in shares in the third quarter after recording their respective highest quarterly profits while keeping their dividends steady, which might disappoint some investors. read more

SHELL COMMENTS ON THE VERDICT FROM THE MILAN TRIBUNAL OVER OPL-245

Mar 17, 2021

Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“RDS” or the “Company”), today made the following statement after the Milan Tribunal acquitted the company of charges related to Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 in Nigeria:

“We welcome today’s decision by the Milan Tribunal. We have always maintained that the 2011 settlement was legal, designed to resolve a decade-long legal dispute and unlock development of the OPL 245 block. At the same time, this has been a difficult learning experience for us. Shell is a company that operates with integrity and we work hard every day to ensure our actions not only follow the letter and spirit of the law, but also live up to society’s wider expectations of us.” read more