December, 2019:
EXPRESS: Pension funds for millions of Brits could end up ‘worthless’, warns Bank of England chief
Firms must justify investment in fossil fuels warns Outgoing Bank of England governor
The outgoing governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has said all companies and financial institutions must justify their continued investment in fossil fuels, and warned that assets in the sector could end up “worthless”.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme being broadcast on Monday, Carney said that although the financial sector was starting to cut back on investment in oil and gas companies, the process was not moving quickly enough.
FT: Graft and mismanagement claims taint Nigeria oil clean-up
Neil Munshi in Eleme, Nigeria:29 Dec 2019
Local people’s lack of faith is rooted in decades of mistrust in the authorities. In the 1990s, writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop) led non-violent protests seeking justice for the Ogoni over the severe environmental degradation in their homeland caused by oil extraction. The government responded with a brutal crackdown and in 1994 executed Mr Saro-Wiwa and eight others. Little has changed since. Ogoniland, like the broader Niger Delta, has become more polluted and development has stalled, with little to show for the billions of dollars in crude that has been extracted.
REUTERS: Nigeria inks major LNG expansion with oil majors
Reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja and Libby George in Lagos, Dec 27, 2019
* Train 7 will boost LNG output to 30 mln t/y
* Deal shows “renewed confidence” from investors – Kyari
* FID was delayed from Q4 2018
ABUJA/LAGOS, Dec 27 (Reuters) – Nigeria signed a major gas expansion deal on Friday, a much-needed collaboration with oil majors that Nigeria LNG said would boost its liquefied natural gas output by more than 30%.
The agreement marks a moment of amity with international oil majors, even as a tax dispute and a new law increasing the government’s take on deepwater oil production have irked some companies.
The final investment decision on the Train 7 processing unit at the Bonny Island plant was signed by Nigeria LNG partners state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Eni , Total and Royal Dutch Shell in Abuja.
An interview with Laura Alonso, former head of Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office
Alonso is being accused of non-compliance with her duties and functions as head of the AO for allegedly covering up infractions by former Energy Minister Juan José Aranguren, accused of malfeasance and conflict of interest for signing deals that benefited Grupo Royal Dutch Shell PLC oil company.
Dec 20, 2019: Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas. In episode 26, Chris and Ken speak to Laura Alonso, former head of Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office (AO) and Secretary of Public Ethics, Transparency and Fight Against Corruption under President Mauricio Macri’s administration (2015-2019).
Hosts Chris and Ken speak to Alonso about her anti-corruption efforts, the future of Argentina and the recent attacks against her work and the AO by Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. On top of these attacks, Alonso is being accused of non-compliance with her duties and functions as head of the AO for allegedly covering up infractions by former Energy Minister Juan José Aranguren, accused of malfeasance and conflict of interest for signing deals that benefited Grupo Royal Dutch Shell PLC oil company.
Dutch FD: Russia has a ship to finish Nord Stream 2
English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FD
Russia has a ship to finish Nord Stream 2
From our editor
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia itself has a pipeline ship to complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany. The newspaper Kommersant reported this on Thursday, based on anonymous sources.
Earlier this week, under pressure from US sanctions legislation, the Dutch-Swiss offshore group Allseas stopped the construction of Nord Stream 2. This pipeline runs from the Russian Oest-Luga through the Baltic Sea and the Baltic Sea to the German Greifswald.
Shell Expands Resource Base for Prelude LNG
Shell has announced a “significant” gas and condensate discovery within reach for a tieback to the Prelude FLNG facility in the Browse Basin off Western Australia.
Drilling of the 100 percent Shell-owned Bratwurst -1 exploration well was successfully concluded on December 4 after nearly 80 days of drilling. This campaign was completed in just over 18 months from bidding and 12 months from award of the lease block title, Shell said.
The discovery is located 85 nm to the northeast of the Shell-operated Prelude FLNG facility and offers an opportunity for a future tie-back to Prelude.
Shell: About 50 New Orleans jobs moving to Houston, but deepwater operations staying put
Royal Dutch Shell confirmed on Tuesday that it plans to move about 50 New Orleans-based jobs to Houston next year, but said it is committed to keeping its core deepwater operations in the city long-term.
The company, which is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, said that the jobs being relocated to Shell’s North American headquarters in Texas are primarily from the subsurface and seismic processing teams.
A spokesman for Shell in New Orleans, Paul Hagel, said that the job-shuffle is a routine adjustment for the company and should not be seen as affecting the company’s long-term commitment to the city as headquarters of its deepwater operations for the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia and elsewhere.
Why the World Worries About Russia/Shell/USA Nord Stream 2 Showdown
By Dec. 24, 2019 at 7:06 a.m. GMT
A new natural gas pipeline into Europe from Russia is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, worries leaders in Eastern Europe, has put German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the hot seat and most recently has become the target of U.S. sanctions. The punitive measures approved by U.S. President Donald Trump have stymied construction just as the final sections of pipe were about to be laid.
1. What is Nord Stream 2?
It’s a planned 1,230-kilometer (764-mile) undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas from Russian fields to the European network at Germany’s Baltic coast. It will double the capacity of an existing undersea route — the original Nord Stream — that opened in 2011. Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($10.7 billion) cost. Denmark removed one of the project’s last hurdles in October when it approved construction of the link through its waters.
Nord Stream 2 Confrontation
English translation of two Nord Stream 2 articles published today by the Dutch FD.
Berlin convinced: sanctions cannot stop the construction of the last 160 km of Nord Stream 2
: 24 Dec 2019
The Solitaire was one of the ships of the Dutch-Swiss offshore company Allseas who worked on the Nord Stream 2. Gas pipeline. Photo: Reuters
In brief
- Allseas has stopped the construction of Nord Stream 2 under pressure from the American sanctions.
- But the gas pipeline is simply being phased out, German politicians expect.
- The latter does entail delays and higher costs.
Although the Dutch-Swiss offshore group Allseas has stopped the construction of Nord Stream 2 under pressure from US sanctions legislation, the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany will be phased out in the view of German politics. The sanctions will only lead to a few months delay and higher costs.
“I assume that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be delivered in the second half of 2020,” said Peter Beyer, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German parliament, in a conversation with radio station Deutschlandfunk on Monday.
ENERGYVOICE.COM: UK Government report reveals CNOOC as North Sea’s largest taxpayer, Shell sits bottom
A government report has revealed CNOOC was the biggest tax spender in the North Sea last year while energy giant Shell paid the least on balance after a reimbursement. The “extractive industries transparency initiative” (Eiti) report highlights progress in getting UK-based oil, gas and mining companies to disclose their payments and receipts to and from government agencies.
Shell Energy the worst utility company ever?
By John Donovan: 23 Dec 2019
Selection of extracts from pissed off customer reviews about Shell Energy UK posted recently on review sites such as Trustpilot.
(1) Terrible company stay well clear of their broadband
(2) This is the worst utility company ever, do NOT enter into a contract with them.
Their customer service sucks, 4 phone calls that have taken almost 5 hours…
(3) the saga goes on.
Ref my previous review, nothing has changed, more chance of winning the lottery than contacting customer services…
‘This f*****g company’ disgruntled customer gripe about Shell Energy
ANOTHER LESS THAN FLATTERING REVIEW ABOUT SHELL ENERGY BY A PISSED OFF UK CUSTOMER
On 23 Dec 2019, at 12:41, wrote:
So I’m paying £190 a month to to this f*****g company x had smart meters fitted x my total bill this month should be about £80-£90 max and they’ve upped my debit balance by £500!!! WTF????!!!!
Liz Brady
OPL 245: Adoke to present documents on $1.06b Malabu oil deal
The former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN),
In Milan, two middlemen were convicted and some former and current Shell and Eni officials are also on trial. “The value of the oil block was put at about $3.5 billion but through underhand deals, Nigeria only got about $209million
From Yusuf Alli, Abuja: Dec 23, 2019
There were indications on Sunday that the bank accounts of former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Mohammed Adoke are being screened by operatives probing his suspected involvement in the $1.06 billion Malabu Oil Block (OPL 245) deal.
The former minister, who has been in custody since last Thursday when he returned to the country from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has opted to pass data and documents relating to the deal to investigators, it was gathered.
Shell’s Toxic Role in Cancer Alley
In 2018 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused Shell of violating clean air laws for over a decade and reached a settlement with the corporate giant shortly after.
Extracts
The Shell Norco Manufacturing Complex has been operating by the banks of the Mississippi River in southern Louisiana for almost a century. A sprawling set of oil refineries and petrochemical plants that dominate the landscape and pollute the air about 20 miles outside the city of New Orleans.
In 2018 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused Shell of violating clean air laws for over a decade and reached a settlement with the corporate giant shortly after.
Since 2001 the Norco Civic Association, a community group heavily backed by Shell, has run a Christmas parade that winds through the industrial complex, which sits on the site of old sugarcane fields in the heart of a region known as “Cancer Alley” due to its high levels of industrial pollution.
THE GUARDIAN: FTSE leaves coal and oil firms and G4S on ethical investment list
FTSE leaves coal and oil firms and G4S on ethical investment list
Jasper Jolly: Sun 22 Dec 2019 13.54 GMTExtracts:
The latest publicly available factsheets show that 65 oil and gas companies were already present on FTSE4Good’s emerging and developed markets indices. They included British and French oil “supermajors” Royal Dutch Shell and Total – the sixth and 17th biggest contributers to carbon dioxide pollution in history.
“Looking at the number of oil companies listed in this index, this looks more like FTSE4Crude than FTSE4Good,” said Rosie Rogers, the head of Greenpeace UK’s climate campaign. “It takes some brass neck to argue that there’s anything ‘ethical’ about investing in the fossil fuel companies driving the climate emergency.”
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.
