Shell Is the Greenest Big Oil Company. Look What That Got It.

Shekhar Patil: 31 Oct 2021

Royal Dutch Shell PLC shows much that is wrong with environmental, social and governance investing. The Anglo-Dutch company was the first to target reduced carbon emissions from customers, has gone further than any of the other oil supermajors to shift its direction away from fossil fuels and is closest of any of them to meeting the Paris carbon target. It even has a better ESG score than electric-car leader Tesla or hydrogen wonder stock Plug Power. read more

Norway’s wealth fund lost $21 billion in first half of 2020

OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s $1.15 trillion sovereign wealth fund posted a loss of 188 billion Norwegian crowns ($21.27 billion) in the first half of 2020 as stocks and real estate holdings fell in value during the COVID-19 pandemic, it said on Tuesday.

The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund holds stakes in some 9,200 companies globally, owning 1.5% of all listed stocks. It also invests in bonds and real estate.

For a graphic on Top 10 sovereign wealth funds Top 10 sovereign wealth funds: read more

GRAPHIC-Shell’s oil and gas reserve life drops for sixth year in a row

* Shell’s reserve life drops below 8 years

* Investors have shifted focus away from reserves to profits

By Ron Bousso

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – The number of years of production left in Royal Dutch Shell’s oil and gas reserves fell for the sixth year in a row in 2019 to below eight.

But there was little reaction from investors to the steady decline in what was once considered a key metric for gauging the strength of the world’s major oil and gas companies.

There is a growing perception the world holds enough oil and gas to meet demand many times over, especially against the backdrop of a gradual shift away from fossil fuels because of concerns about climate change. https://reut.rs/2GBtBvC read more

By John Donovan

My families falling out with Shell took place over two decades ago.

Some indication of the degree of acrimony can be gauged from the content of posters Shell put on public display on 23 September 1998 at the Shell Centre in London, specifically targeting my father and me. I have never heard of a multinational corporation doing anything like this before or since.

This is what the posters said:

YOU MAY BE HANDED A LEAFLET OUTSIDE SHELL CENTRE BY MR ALFRED DONOVAN, FORMALLY OF A COMPANY CALLED DON MARKETING UK LIMITED.  YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT JOHN DONOVAN, A DIRECTOR OF DON MARKETING UK LIMITED, MR ALFRED DONOVAN’S SON, HAS ISSUED A WRIT AGAINST SHELL UK CLAIMING THAT HIS COMPANY INVENTED THE SMART LOYALTY CARD PROGRAMME.  MR DONOVAN’S ALLEGATIONS HAVE BEEN VERY CAREFULLY INVESTIGATED BY SHELL UK AND DISCUSSED IN DETAIL WITH MR DONOVAN AND HIS SOLICITORS. THE CLAIM IS BEING VIGOROUSLY DEFENDED.  AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW, MR DONOVAN HAS MADE SOME OFFENSIVE STATEMENTS ABOUT SHELL UK COLLEAGUES. WE REJECT SUCH ALLEGATIONS ABSOLUTELY AND ARE WHOLLY CONFIDENT THAT OUR COLLEAGUES HAVE ACTED IN THIS MATTER AT ALL TIMES IN GOOD FAITH AND IN LINE WITH OUR LONG STANDING BUSINESS PRINCIPLES. read more

AUGUST 26, 2017 / 7:06 PM

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Hurricane Harvey has not impacted operations at Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) refineries in Convent and Norco, Louisiana, and at its joint-venture refinery in Deer Park, Texas, company spokesman Ray Fisher said on Saturday. Harvey has dumped between 4 inches (10 centimetres) and 5 inches (13 cm) of rain in the area around the Deer Park refinery in the past 24 hours, according to the Harris County Flood Warning System.

SHELL REPUTATIONAL RISKS

How fortunate that Shell has not got itself mired in any murky activity. e.g. paying hundreds of millions to a Nigerian crook, putting profits before safety with induced earthquakes in The Netherlands, terrorising safety staff in Norway, spying globally on its own employees, or engaging in widespread bribery and corruption in Ireland. None of that could possibly happen. Same applies to the oil and gas reserves fraud, which Donny Ching, to his credit, has not forgotten. 

The following information is taken directly from Shell’s Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2016

From page 14

An erosion of our business reputation could have a material adverse effect on our brand, our ability to secure new resources and our licence to operate. read more

By Ron Bousso | LONDON

In the waters off Malaysia, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is finding gas quickly and cheaply to replenish depleting fields where only a few years ago geologists had lost hope of discovering any new reserves.

The Anglo-Dutch group is combining the latest technology with the wisdom of industry veterans to unlock new oil and gas deposits where it already operates, usually within 20 km (12 miles) of existing platforms.

The result has been a string of finds which, while modest in size, can generate cash rapidly to suit an era of drastically reduced exploration budgets across the energy industry. read more

By Ed Crooks, November 4, 2016

If you are looking forward to the oil industry recovery, you shouldn’t break out the champagne just yet.

Over the past eight days, the world’s largest listed oil companies have released third quarter earnings reports. From all of them, the message was that while the worst might be over, they were still facing a long hard road ahead.

The snap reactions from the stock market were mixed: positive for  Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and ConocoPhillips; negative for ExxonMobil, BP, Eni, Statoil, Petrochina and Cnooc. read more

By Freya Berry and Ron Bousso

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> is working on selling out of its onshore assets in Gabon, according to two sources familiar with the matter, seeking to refocus its African presence.

Bids are due in June for the fields, which one source estimated could be worth around $700 million (488.55 million pound). However the second person said that price indications were currently below Shell’s expectations and that no sale may occur.

“Shell continuously evaluates opportunities for our global portfolio in line with our business strategy,” a company spokesman said on Thursday. read more

by Rakteem Katakey: August 3, 2015: BLOOMBERG.COM

Royal Dutch Shell Plc will swap a stake in one of its international energy assets for part of Gazprom PJSC’s Sakhalin-3 project as Europe’s biggest oil company extends ties with Russia.

The companies are discussing which asset would be offered to Gazprom, Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden said last week in London. For Shell, the prize is greater involvement in the world’s biggest gas reserves.

“Russia sits on 25 percent of the world’s gas reserves and is very, very close to markets that we are very familiar with,” Van Beurden said July 30, on the sidelines of the company’s earnings presentation. Shell is also pushing “to see how we can work with Gazprom internationally.” read more

FROM A BBC ARTICLE PUBLISHED 24 FEB 2015

Oil and gas industry in ‘bleak’ 2014, finds survey

The UK offshore oil and gas industry has reported its worst annual performance for four decades.

Industry body Oil & Gas UK said falling oil prices and rising costs meant the sector spent and invested £5.3bn more than it earned from sales during 2014.

That outflow of cash was the biggest since massive investment in platforms in the 1970s preceded the flow of oil.

The body’s annual survey also indicated that investment in the industry is set to fall this year, as well as drilling.

Oil & Gas UK said the “bleak” findings emphasised the urgency of government action to secure the industry’s long-term future. read more

From an article by Zoltan Ban published 23 Feb 2015 by Seeking Alpha under the headline:

Shell Replaced Only 26% Of Its Produced Reserves In 2014

Summary

• Shell replaced only 26% of its produced reserves in 2014.

• The three year average rate of reserve replacement is 67%.

• Even with potential for growth in the downstream, Shell is likely to undergo a continued process of shrinkage as a company in the longer term.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) produced 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent in 2014. Only 26% of that was replaced with new reserves, which means that just over 300 million barrels of oil equivalent were added. Over the past three years, 67% reserve replacement was achieved, which looks much better, but still suggests that Shell is a shrinking upstream producer (link).

Shrinking oil production has already been a well-established trend with this company since 2010, but the current low reserve replacement ratio suggests that there is much worse to come. read more

Shell’s reputation was destroyed in 2004 after FIVE consecutive cuts to its hydrocarbon reserves covering 55% of its total reserves.

US and UK financial regulators imposed $150 million in fines on Shell for securities fraud. Shell was also rocked by class action lawsuits.

Sir Philip Watts and Walter van de Vijver (whose headcut images appear courtesy of The Wall Street Journal), were among the Shell executives forced to resign.

MONTAGE OF MEDIA COVERAGE (CLICK LINK TO VIEW LARGE IMAGES OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLES)

SHELL RESERVES SECURITIES FRAUD UNFOLDS IN SIZZLING NEWS HEADLINES

Daily Telegraph: Shell drops ‘bombshell’ on reserves: 9 January 2004

The Times: How Shell blew a hole in a 100-year reputation: 10 January 2004

The West Australian: Investors howl for Shell’s blood: 12 January 2004

London Evening Standard: Shell bosses lied to the City: 19 April 2004

Houston Chronicle:‘Sick and tired about lying’ at Shell: 19 April 2004

Bloomberg: Shell Loses AAA Credit Rating: 19 April 2004

BBC News: Shell bosses ‘fooled the market’: 19 April 2004

The Guardian: Trail of emails reveals depths of deceit at the heart of Shell: 20 April 2004 read more