Posts Tagged ‘Environment’

REUTERS

Shell says its Nigeria asset sale not affected by court ruling

ABUJA, June 21 (Reuters) – Shell Plc (SHEL.L) has said its planned sale of onshore assets in Nigeria will go ahead and was not affected by a Supreme Court ruling in a case in which a Niger Delta community is seeking compensation for a 2019 oil spill.

Bamidele Odugbesan, spokesman for Shell in Nigeria, said the June 16 Supreme Court ruling was in response to an appeal launched by Shell against a contempt ruling linked to the dispute with the Niger Delta community.

The lawyer for the community said the ruling, which was made public on Monday, barred Shell from disposing its assets as ordered by a lower court in March.

“The Supreme Court ruling on 16 June was with respect to the contempt proceedings and not related to (the) onshore portfolio review,” Odugbesan said.

Shell has invited bids for its onshore assets. Odugbesan did not say how many bids had been received.

Eighty-eight communities in Rivers state were awarded $1.95 billion compensation for an oil spill they blamed on Shell and which damaged their farms and waterways. Shell denies causing the spill. read more read more

EXPRESS

Energy crisis lifeline: Shell announces plans for £25bn injection into UK clean power

SHELL has announced its plans to massively expand in the UK, boosting its energy security with an investment worth up to £25billion.

By ANTONY ASHKENAZ 12:12, Tue, Jun 14, 2022 | UPDATED: 12:13, Tue, Jun 14, 2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the volatility of the global fossil fuel energy market have pushed European countries, including the UK, to ensure their own energy security. As the cost of wholesale gas around the world skyrockets, the UK has announced ambitious renewable energy generation targets, along with major investments in low-carbon sources of energy like wind and nuclear power.

As part of its own push towards clean energy and away from oil and gas, the UK-based energy firm plans to supply clean power to five million households and electric car drivers by 2030, up from about 1.5 million today.

According to the Telegraph, Shell is planning to invest £20billion-£25billion in the UK over the decade, with over 75 percent of that sum being invested in low carbon energy such as wind turbines and electric car charging points. read more

RIGZONE

Shell Enters Tender For Wind Farm Development In Polish Offshore

Shell subsidiary Amber Baltic Wind has submitted bids under a recent public tender for proposals for new locations for offshore wind farms in the Polish zone of the Baltic Sea.

According to WindEurope, installations generating up to 28 GW of offshore wind energy may be built in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea by 2050. Thanks to many years of experience in the implementation of complex offshore projects in the North Sea, considerable potential, and knowledge in the field of offshore wind energy, and a wide presence in Poland, Shell can support Poland in using its huge wind energy resources and accelerating the transformation process of the energy mix. read more

The Telegraph

Shell plans to expand amid energy market chaos

The FTSE 100 company plans to invest £20bn-£25bn in the UK

Shell is pursuing a significant expansion of its business supplying electricity to UK households amid intense volatility in energy markets.

The FTSE 100 company wants to supply clean power to five million households and electric car drivers by 2030, up from about 1.5m today, as part of plans to diversify away from oil and gas.

Shell plans to invest £20bn-£25bn in the UK over the decade, more than 75pc of which will go towards low carbon energy such as wind turbines and electric car charging points. read more

WAtoday

Shell’s Prelude gas ship hit by safety, crewing and industrial problems

By Peter Milne: June 10, 2022 — 5.00am

Shell is running its $23 billion Prelude floating LNG plant with critical positions filled by crew who are not fully qualified, and more than 200 safety alarms out of action, ahead of industrial action due to start on Friday.

Gas exports recommenced from the world’s largest floating vessel just two months ago after it was shut down for four months following a complete power failure in December that the offshore safety regulator said could have led to a “catastrophic failure”. read more

The New York Times

Shell, the Oil Giant, Will Sell Renewable Energy to Texans

The European oil company has been expanding into green energy even as many U.S. energy giants have kept their focus on fossil fuels.

By Clifford Krauss and Ivan Penn: June 7, 2022 Updated 3:13 p.m. ET

HOUSTON — Shell said on Tuesday that it would begin selling electricity generated from renewable sources to residents and businesses in Texas, a move that brings the European oil company’s shift to green energy to the U.S. market.

The announcement underscores a widening gulf between the strategies of European and U.S. oil companies as elected leaders and consumers demand that the energy industry do more to tackle climate change. European businesses including Shell, BP and TotalEnergies are seeking to expand into renewable energy, electric vehicle charging and other fast-growing businesses as U.S. companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron mostly keep their focus on oil and gas while investing in capturing carbon from industrial plants and biofuels.

Shell, which already has electricity businesses in nine countries, plans to double the amount of electricity it sells by 2030. The company, which is based in London, is Europe’s largest oil and gas business by revenue and has operations in more than 70 countries, including gas stations, refineries and oil and gas fields. read more

AP NEWS

South Africa court to rule on Shell offshore oil exploration

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African court is to rule on efforts to stop British oil giant Shell from conducting any further seismic surveys in the country’s Indian Ocean waters to explore for offshore oil and gas deposits.

Environmental and community groups in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province won an urgent interdict to stop the surveys in December last year and are now asking the court to permanently halt the operations. read more

THE SCOTSMAN

Campaigners threaten legal action after Jackdaw gas field approved in Scottish waters

Environmental campaigners are threatening legal action in a bid to halt development of the Jackdaw gas field after it was awarded final regulatory approval.

By Katrine Bussey: Thursday, 2nd June 2022, 3:45 pm

Greenpeace insisted that by giving the development the green light, the UK Government had “shown no regard” for emissions or the project’s “ultimate climate impact”.

Ami McCarthy of Greenpeace UK said: “We think that’s unlawful. We’re looking at legal action to stop Jackdaw, and [to] fight this every step of the way.”

Her comments came after UK business and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed Shell had been given the go-ahead for the field, which is situated in waters to the east of Aberdeen. read more

DAILY MAIL

New gas field in North Sea finally given thumbs up by regulators in move Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng claims will ‘protect energy security’

By LUCY WHITE AND COLIN FERNANDEZ FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 22:36, 1 June 2022 | UPDATED: 22:46, 1 June 2022

A new gas field in the North Sea has finally been given the thumbs up by regulators in a move Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng claimed will ‘protect energy security’.

The Jackdaw field, east of Aberdeen, is owned by Shell and was originally licensed in 1970.

Last year the Government refused permission to develop it amid opposition from green activists who were pressuring ministers to reduce Britain’s reliance on fossil fuels.

But that decision was called into question following Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, which has caused gas prices to soar as countries shun supplies from the Kremlin. read more

DAILY MAVERICK

Judgment reserved in case against Shell’s seismic survey along the Wild Coast

By Tembile Sgqolana: 31 May 2022

The second day of the three-day court case between Shell, Impact Africa and environmental activists kicked off at the Gqeberha High Court on Tuesday following arguments from advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC and advocate Nick Ferreira on Monday.

The judges adjourned the matter, reserving judgment in both granting the joinder application put forward by Natural Justice and Greenpeace Africa (represented by the environmental law firm Cullinan & Associates) and the declarator that Shell required an environmental authorisation under the National Environmental Management Act (Nema), and if their exploration rights had been lawfully awarded by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).

On Monday, Judge President Selby Mbenenge, Deputy Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela and Judge Thandi Norman heard the merits of the joinder application.

On Tuesday, Jeremy Gauntlett SC, representing Impact Africa, argued against the joinder application sought by Natural Justice and Greenpeace Africa, saying the two organisations added nothing new to the case and had decided to attach themselves like a “cuckoo in a nest”.

During the second day, Gauntlett argued that the applicants were using a legal “knobkerrie” via interdict to undermine Minister Gwede Mantashe’s  authority to decide the matter, laying blame on imperfect legislation rather than the decision-maker. read more

The Guardian

The village that stood up to big oil – and won

The fossil fuel industry faces a reckoning in the Niger Delta after a disaster left families ‘eating, drinking, breathing the oil’

Wednesday 1 June 2022

Today, the oil industry in Nigeria faces a reckoning with Shell at the helm. According to Amnesty International, the oil company has come under “unprecedented legal scrutiny” in recent years for its negligent and criminal practices in the Niger Delta. Several lawsuits are ongoing while others have culminated in courts ordering Shell to pay plaintiffs billions of dollars in damages. The mounting pressure has Shell considering a rapid departure from the region’s oil market. In early August 2021, the company announced it would sell off all remaining onshore oilfields in Nigeria, citing challenges with community unrest, sabotage and a company-wide refocus on promoting green energy. But locals and lawyers see the move as Shell ducking its responsibility to clean up after itself. A court in March barred Shell from selling any more assets in Nigeria while the company appeals against a ruling in which it was found liable for a 2019 oil spill and ordered to pay affected communities nearly $2bn in damages. 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

The Telegraph

Europe lurches closer to energy crisis as Kremlin cuts off gas supply to Shell

British company loses access to Russian fuel following refusal to pay in roubles

By Rachel Millard and Matt Oliver31 May 2022 • 7:44pm

Europe lurched closer to an energy crisis on Tuesday after the Kremlin cut off gas supplies to major buyers including Shell.

Russia’s state-owned gas supplier, Gazprom, said supplies to Shell in Germany as well as to Ørsted in Denmark will be cut off on Wednesday after they refused to bow to Putin’s demands to pay in roubles. read more

Shell to develop Crux project in Western Australia

May 30, 2022

Shell Australia Pty Ltd (Shell Australia) and its joint venture partner, SGH Energy, have taken a final investment decision to approve the development of the Crux natural gas field, off the coast of Western Australia. Crux will provide further supplies of natural gas to the existing Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility.

“This project forms an important part of Shell’s integrated gas portfolio,” said Wael Sawan, Integrated Gas, Renewables and Energy Solutions Director at Shell. “Natural gas from Crux will play a key role in helping Asian customers move from coal to gas as a cleaner-burning fuel. The project will help us to meet the increasing demand for LNG as the energy market transitions to a lower carbon future.

“The project will also boost our customers’ security of supply, which is becoming an ever more significant consideration for global consumers.”

“Developing the Crux project reinforces our commitment to Australia, including boosting the regional economy, creating jobs and providing training opportunities,” said Shell Australia Chair Tony Nunan. “The use of Prelude’s existing infrastructure enables significantly reduced development costs, making Crux competitive and commercially attractive.”

The Crux field is in Commonwealth marine waters in the northern Browse Basin, 620 kilometres north-east of Broome. The development will consist of a platform operated remotely from Prelude,. Five wells will be drilled initially, and an export pipeline will connect the platform to Prelude, which is around 160 kilometres to the south-west of Crux. read more

The Sydney Morning Herald

Shell, Seven Group invest $3.5b in Crux gas for Prelude as unions take action

By Peter Milne: May 30, 2022 — 4.37pm

Shell and Seven Group have sanctioned the $US2.5 billion ($3.5 billion) Crux gas field off Western Australia’s Kimberley coast to supply the world’s largest vessel – Shell’s Prelude floating LNG plant – on the same day unions gave notice of industrial action.

The announcement comes one week into the prime ministership of Anthony Albanese, who said he wants to be remembered for action on climate and is under pressure from the Greens to stop all new fossil fuel projects.

Wood Mackenzie analyst Michael Song said without Crux, before 2030 the 488 metre-long Prelude would not have sufficient gas to operate at full capacity.

Prelude was meant to be the world’s first floating LNG plant and a prototype for Shell to deploy globally to develop gas in remote areas that would otherwise be stranded.

Construction of Crux will start this year with the first gas from an unmanned platform with five wells expected to flow in 2027.

The disappointing Concerto reservoir is another setback for a project that has fallen well short of most metrics that determine a successful project. read more

Bloomberg News

Shell Court Case Prompts Climate Protest in Cape Town

Bloomberg News: Paul Burkhardt: May 28, 2022

Protesters rallied in Cape Town on Saturday ahead of a court ruling on oil and gas exploration by Shell Plc.

Community groups in December won a temporary halt to the company’s seismic survey off South Africa, pending a decision on whether further environmental authorization is needed for the work to proceed. The case will reopen on Monday.

Demonstrators held signs that showed the Shell logo and read “stop all seismic blasting,” activity that they argue will harm local marine life and disrupt fishing, while the company maintains the practice has been well established and in line with industry standards. read more