Shell

CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Shell

Shell CEO @ LNG18: Working Hard to Lower LNG Costs
April 12, 2016April 12, 2016

Ben van Beurden, Shell CEO

In April 2015 when supermajor Royal Dutch Shell announced it wanted to buy out BG and merge the two companies–the biggest such merger since Exxon merged with Mobil–we told you the buyout/merger was all about LNG (see LNG Love Story: Shell Makes Play to Buy BG in $69.7B Megamerger). In February, Shell consummated the deal with BG (see Shell & BG One Company After Today, Shell Ponies Up $14.4B Cash). Earlier today Shell CEO Ben van Beurden took the stage at the LNG18 conference in Perth, Australia. van Beurden’s talk was, as you can imagine, about LNG–liquefied natural gas–and how Shell is working to lower costs in engineering and construction of LNG facilities. That is, van Beurden confirmed what everyone already knew: LNG is the future of Shell…
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Beaver County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Shell has Spent “Half a Billion Dollars” on PA Cracker Already!
April 8, 2016April 8, 2016

The Pittsburgh Business Times hosted an event yesterday in Beaver County, PA–the place where Shell is spending money to explore whether or not to build an ethane cracker plant. Seems like we’ve been writing about Shell’s potential ethane cracker forever. We’ve chronicled just about every up and down. We’ve also highlighted various initiatives they’ve undertaken since announcing Monaca, PA as their chosen site–something they did back in March 2012, now four years ago (see Shell Announces Location of Ethane Cracker Plant). Since that time Shell has purchased the property where they want to build the plant; they’re building a bridge and roads to the plant site; they’ve leased office space near the plant site. They’ve done a whole lot more. What we didn’t realize is that when you add it all together, according to Pat Nardelli, a partner at Castlebrook Development and speaker at the PBT event, Shell has spent “half billion to date if not more, and it’s going up every day.” Yikes! In this economy nobody blows a half bil on something they just decide to walk away from…
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Energy Companies | Shell

Shell Giving Up on Shale? Merges Unconventional with Conventional
March 2, 2016March 2, 2016

Just last November supermajor Royal Dutch Shell announced they were restructuring their upstream (drilling) units into two divisions: conventional and unconventional/shale (see Shell Restructures Upstream into Conventional/Unconventional Units). Then last week Shell announced they’ve scrapped the plan and will continue to treat all of upstream as one division within the company. What happened? Is this a signal that Shell is giving up on shale?…
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Anadarko | Carrizo Oil & Gas | Chesapeake Energy | Chevron | Citrus | CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Energy Corporation of America | EOG Resources | EQT Corp | EXCO Resources | Exxon Mobil | Pennsylvania General Energy | Range Resources Corp | Rice Energy | Seneca Resources | Shell | Southwestern Energy | Talisman Energy | WPX Energy

Top 20 Marcellus Drillers – Ranked by Environmental Impact
February 17, 2016February 17, 2016

Last Friday MDN brought you the news about a professor who devised a clever formula for evaluating the overall environmental impact of 20 Marcellus drillers (see Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Best Driller of Them All?). At the time we only knew who the top and bottom companies are in the list. CONSOL Energy took top honors, while ExxonMobil was last or “least” environmentally friendly as compared with the others. We now have the entire list (below). Where does your favorite driller fall in the list?…
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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Shell Leases 76,000 Sq Ft Office Space Near Cracker Plant Site
February 17, 2016February 17, 2016

We believe there’s little doubt remaining that Shell will commit to building a $3 billion ethane cracker plant in Monaca (Beaver County), PA. The evidence continues to mount. Shell is spending big bucks on a variety of activities related the project, as we’ve previously indicated (see Shell Begins Hiring for Monaca, PA Ethane Cracker Plant). The latest evidence comes from the Pittsburgh Business Times who has an inside source telling them that Shell has cut a deal with Michael Baker International to lease a 76,000-square-foot building with a 400-car parking lot sitting on 100 acres near the proposed cracker site in Beaver County…
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BG Group | CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Shell

Shell & BG One Company After Today, Shell Ponies Up $14.4B Cash
February 12, 2016February 12, 2016

The last major hurdle has been scaled in the Shell buyout of BG–the largest such oil and gas deal since Exxon bought Mobil in 1999. Yesterday the High Court of Justice in England and Wales approved the merger. Previously Shell stockholders approved the $69.7 billion deal (see Shell Shareholders Vote in Favor of BG Buyout/Merger). Not long after BG stockholders approved it too (see It’s a Deal – BG Shareholders Approve Shell Buyout). Shell canceled a loan it previously arranged, for $14.4 billion to help with the purchase. Instead, the company will use its own hefty piles of cash for the buyout. The unfortunate news is that Shell intends to layoff 10,000 people after the merger is complete–to save money…
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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Shell Begins Hiring for Monaca, PA Ethane Cracker Plant
February 10, 2016February 10, 2016

Yesterday a sharp MDN reader called our attention to a job posting on LinkedIn. The posting, by Shell, seeks a “Technical Service Team Lead Polyethylene (Pittsburgh, PA).” When you read the job listing (below) it clearly states it the job is for their Monaca, PA ethane cracker plant complex. Now this is a single job posting–so far–although it’s for a very important position. Still, our point is this: You don’t spend millions building a new bridge over a highway as a new entrance to a piece of property (see Shell Begins Building Bridge to PA Cracker Plant Site), you don’t spend $80 million to clean up that site (see Shell Paying $80M to Clean Up PA Site for Ethane Cracker Plant), you don’t spend $69 million to move a water intake site and build a new water treatment site for the local town because the current water intake is on the site where you want to build (see Shell Paying $69M to Move Water Plant for Cracker Project), you don’t spend money to lease land to build two ethane pipelines to that site (see Exclusive: Shell Leasing Land for 2 Pipelines to PA Cracker Plant), and you don’t begin hiring people to work on/at the plant–unless you’re serious about building it…
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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Shell

Exclusive: Shell Leasing Land for 2 Pipelines to PA Cracker Plant
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

MDN received an exclusive tip from a trusted source (who is also an MDN subscriber) yesterday about the Shell ethane cracker plant in Monaca (Beaver County), PA. Our source, who lives in Beaver County, told us he was approached by a Shell landman about signing a pipeline right-of-way through his property to build a pipeline to the plant. We have an account of our source’s conversation with the landman, and some key information the landman let slip about Shell’s plans for two such pipelines…
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CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Shell

It’s a Deal – BG Shareholders Approve Shell Buyout
January 29, 2016January 29, 2016

In the end, it wasn’t even close. Some 99.5% of BG Group’s shareholders voted to approve the sale/merger of the company with Shell at a meeting yesterday. Earlier this week 83% of Shell’s shareholders voted to approve the merger (see Shell Shareholders Vote in Favor of BG Buyout/Merger). As we’ve said from the beginning, this is an LNG love story–Shell wanted BG for its natural gas market share. The Shell/BG merger will create the world’s dominant LNG company, by far. The buyout/merger is, for Shell, it’s largest-ever acquisition. Just how big is this deal? The Shell/BG merger is the largest oil and gas deal since Exxon bought Mobil in 1999. The merger will be consummated on February 15. As we’ve previously noted, Shell plans to lay off 10,000 people across both companies once the merger is complete. Happy Valentine’s Day…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | M&A | Shell

Shell Shareholders Vote in Favor of BG Buyout/Merger
January 28, 2016January 28, 2016

Shareholders in Shell just voted to cut 10,000 jobs. Well, not exactly. Shell’s shareholders voted yesterday to approve Shell’s plan to buy BG Group in a $69.7 billion megamerger. As we explained in April 2015 when the deal was first announced, this is a deal about LNG (see LNG Love Story: Shell Makes Play to Buy BG in $69.7B Megamerger). Why the snarky remark about voting to cut 10,000 jobs? Because last week that’s what Shell said they would do once the merger is approved. They plan to ax 10,000 jobs in Shell and at BG (see Shell to Cut 10,000 Jobs After Buying BG; Exiting Shale Drilling). One down, one to go. BG shareholders vote on the merger today. If they vote “yes” as is expected, the merger will be complete on Feb. 15. Expect the pink slips to appear in the mailbox starting Feb. 16. Happy Valentine’s Day…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | M&A | Shell

Shell to Cut 10,000 Jobs After Buying BG; Exiting Shale Drilling
January 20, 2016January 20, 2016

In April 2015 MDN brought you the announcement that Shell was buying BG Group (the former British Gas) in a megamerger worth $69.7 billion (see LNG Love Story: Shell Makes Play to Buy BG in $69.7B Megamerger). As we alluded in the title of that post, the deal is all about LNG–liquefied natural gas. The merger will make Shell THE dominant player in LNG worldwide. The process to obtain regulatory approval in multiple countries has been long and arduous. Later this month, on Jan. 28, BG shareholders will cast a final vote on the plan. In an update issued this morning by Shell, the company says they expect to complete the BG transaction in the next few weeks, and after they do, there will be a total of 10,000 layoffs between the two companies. Don’t you just love mergers? Ax and hack away. Toss a few thousand jobs here and a few thousand jobs there. We know, times a tough. Companies must cut in order to stay in business. We just want to remind you that behind these abstract numbers are 10,000 real people with real families that depend on them. Shell also said they’re hightailing it out of shale…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Shell | Steuben County

NY Town Barred from Selling Water to Shell for PA Fracking
January 7, 2016January 7, 2016

In March 2012, the village board in Painted Post (Steuben County), NY voted to sell water to Shell for use in fracking operations across the border in Pennsylvania. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) gave its blessing to Painted Post to sell up to 1 million gallons of water day. But the decision didn’t sit well with power-hungry anti-drillers. The nutters from the radical Sierra Club sued to stop the deal in June 2012 (see Sierra Club Sues to Stop Water Sales in Steuben County, NY). A lower court ruled in favor of the radicals and struck down the deal. On appeal, a corrupt state appellate court has upheld the lower court’s ruling. Shell will have to find water from another source–not that they’re drilling any wells right now anyway…
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Beaver County | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Odebrecht | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | PTT Global | Shell | West Virginia | Wood County

Will 2016 be the Year *Somebody* Commits to Building a Cracker?
December 28, 2015December 28, 2015

Will somebody, somewhere PLEASE build the northeast an ethane cracker plant? Pretty please? We noticed a couple of stories that indicate 2016 is THE year that at least one company will likely pull the trigger on an FID–a Final Investment Decision to build an ethane cracker. But which company is likely to do it? Shell? PTT Global? Odebrecht? Leaving Odebrecht’s Parkersburg, WV proposed cracker aside for the moment (a project where we barely detect a pulse), both the Shell plant, planned for Beaver County, PA, and the PTT Global plant, planned for Belmont County, OH, have seen impressive signs of activity in 2015. Which of those two will likely say “yes” in 2016?…
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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Shell

Shell Closing Pittsburgh Office, Moving 180 People to Houston, TX
December 2, 2015December 2, 2015

Shell is closing its Pittsburgh-area office and moving “most of” the 180 workers who worked there to its U.S. HQ in Houston, Texas–so says a Shell spokesperson. A few workers may remain and redeploy to various field offices that Shell intends to keep open–including a field office in Tioga County, PA where they have an active drilling program. Shell drilled just eight wells in PA this year, compared to 17 last year and 31 the year before that. Notice a pattern? Perhaps most importantly Shell stresses the office closure has nothing to do with the work on a proposed ethane cracker plant in Beaver County…
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Energy Companies | Shell

Shell Restructures Upstream into Conventional/Unconventional Units
November 5, 2015November 5, 2015

On Tuesday, Royal Dutch Shell held a “Management Day” event in London (another was planned for Wednesday in New York) in which Shell announced the company is restructuring its upstream (i.e. drilling) division. The newly configured upstream division will be split into an Unconventional Resources branch to oversee development of shale, tight natural gas and oil, and oilsands, and an Upstream International branch to oversee all conventional exploration. Nowhere in the presentation, a presentation which includes Shell’s strategies for midstream and downstream too, could we find a single mention of Shell’s potential ethane cracker project in Pennsylvania. There was also no mention of Shell’s Marcellus/Utica drilling program, although we found a single slide with a brief mention on it of northeast shale (see the slide below). Shell’s overall message, in essence, was this: “The ongoing low price of oil (and gas) is changing everything, and we’re making tough decisions in light of this new reality.” Below is Shell’s full Management Day announcement, which includes a description about dividing upstream so every part of it is more accountable to the bottom line, and a description of their efforts to buy BG–which consuming a lot of Shell’s energy and attention at the moment…
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BG Group | BP | Energy Companies | Equinor/Statoil | Reliance Industries | Shell | Total

10 Sell-Out Big Oil Companies Support Paris Global Warming Treaty
October 16, 2015October 16, 2015

Eight CEOs from the Gang of 10

In a repugnant and self-serving public relations stunt, the CEOs for 10 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies are pushing for “an effective climate change agreement to be reached at next month’s 21st session of the United Nations (UN) Conference of Parties to the UN Framework on Climate Change (COP21)” at the meeting being held in Paris in early December. That is, they’re pretending they believe in the total hoax that mankind is causing global warming and therefore all of the nations of the earth, including the United States, should give up their sovereignty to achieve something they have no control over–whether or not global average temps go up more than 2 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. Conveniently, most of us won’t be alive to see whether or not that ever happens. Fortunately none of the big oil companies signing this asinine statement are U.S.-based companies, although they all have serious (and large) operations in the U.S. Who are the Gang of 10?…
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