Guardian: “Jeremy Leggett among 100 signatories to letter opposing oil firm’s likely influence over university’s climate change studies.” Read more
Solarcentury
The company I founded in 1998 to design and supply solar energy solutions for the built environment. Solarcentury
Solar Aid
The charity I founded in 2006, with a 5% contribution of Solarcentury profits, to help deliver solar lighting to Africa. Solar Aid
Oxford alumni condemn choice of Shell to fund earth sciences lab.
Shell and Gazprom join forces to exploit Siberian tight oil.
FT: “The new deal will see the two companies join forces to develop parts of the Bazhenov shale, a vast formation in western Siberia that is one of the largest accumulations of unconventional oil in the world. Oil executives call it “Russia’s Bakken”, a reference to the formation in North Dakota that has driven a huge increase in US oil production.” Read more
4 years after exiting solar, Shell sees it as world’s biggest energy source.
February 28, 2013 Clean Energy
REW: “Royal Dutch Shell Plc says solar power, a business it abandoned four years ago, may expand into the world’s biggest source of energy in the next half century.” Read more
Shell puts Arctic operations on ice.
FT: Shell has abandoning plans to drill for oil off the north coast of Alaska this year, “in a huge setback for the company’s Arctic ambitions.” Read more
Shell has yet to drill a single well in the Arctic and may not in 2013.
January 31, 2013 Oil
FT: ” Shell’s ambitious plans to explore for oil in the Arctic this year are clouding over again. Peter Voser, chief executive, said the two drilling rigs the company is deploying offshore Alaska are both out of action.” Read more
Davos mulls whether fracking is the next big idea.
Heather Stewart sums up the World Economic Forum: “Governments are increasingly pinning their hopes on the fuel (shale gas) as a low-cost energy source, releasing them from dependence on the volatile Middle East.” Read more
“Global gas push stalls”: major non-US production could be a decade away.
December 2, 2012 Gas
WSJ: “Exporting the U.S. shale energy revolution overseas turns out to be far tougher than anyone expected …oil companies are running into obstacles as they try to replicate the U.S. experience on other continents. The result is that significant overseas shale energy production could be a decade away.” Read more
UK MPs demand moratorium on Arctic drilling, propose unlimited liability.
September 20, 2012 Oil
Guardian: “British MPs are calling on Shell and others to halt “reckless” oil and gas drilling in the Arctic until stronger safety measures are put in place.” Read more
Shell slammed for scant testing of crucial Arctic spill containment equipment.
September 9, 2012 Oil
Guardian: “Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), a US group that helps federal and state employees raise the alarm on environmental protection issues, said it was shocked by the single page of notes from the government agency after it filed a federal lawsuit against the BSSE asking for all documents relating to the capping tests.”
US gives Shell clearance to begin Arctic drilling.
But only a quarter of the way to the potential reservoir it is targeting off Alaska, and they may not be able to continue without an extension to the allowed drilling season. FT: “Mr Salazar [Interior Secretary] said the company would not be allowed to go any further until it had secured final approvals for the Arctic Challenger, the 300-foot barge converted to carry a containment system for catching oil in the event of a spill. He suggested those approvals could come next week, at the earliest. “We are holding Shell’s feet to the fire,” Mr Salazar said. “We don’t know whether Shell will be able to complete a well in the Arctic this year”.”
Shell to invest $1bn a year in China shale gas.
August 21, 2012 Gas
Shell also plans a $12.6bn refinery and petrochemical complex – which could become China’s single largest foreign investment.
Civil servants attend a 2 day Shell course on energy policy.
Guardian: “Senior Whitehall officials from 10 government departments and agencies attended exclusive “training courses” laid on by Shell over two days at its London headquarters…” Read more
Big energy gets seven times more meetings with Treasury ministers than green energy.
Guardian: And Osborne has never once had a meeting with green energy. Treasury ministers have met multiple times with Shell.
SSE and Shell announce a CCS project at Peterhead.
The SSE-owned Peterhead gas-fired power station is owned by SSE, and the CO2 would be pumped to Shell’s Goldeneye gas field. A small BP pilot project there aiming to make hydrogen and pump the CO2 into North Sea seabed was scrapped because of a lack of UK government support.
Local Nigerians accuse Shell of causing pipeline sabotage by withdrawing payments for protection.
August 25, 2011 Oil
Shell declares that it cannot meet its full commitment to export oil from Nigeria following hacksaw sabotage locals say is caused by the company withdrawing contracts to pay people to monitor and protect the pipeline.
Shell pays out some £250 million for huge Nigerian oil spill.
August 3, 2011 Oil
The award, made in the UK High Court, is for a spill 20% the size of the Gulf spill. While holding hands up for this one, most spills are not operational but the result of sabotage, Shell claims.
More than a spill a week in the North Sea in 2009 and 2010.
July 5, 2011 Oil
Reports to the HSE show more than one a week. Most go unreported. Shell is one of the worst offenders.
O&G industry figures that floating LNG terminals will take the public heat off gas production.
June 22, 2011 Gas
The FLNGs, as the industry is now calling them, allow production where once it was too expensive to put in pipelines, and is out of the public eye. The first, Shell’s, is set for Australia. Others are thinking of following suit, the FT reports.
Shell and Rosneft hold talks on the Arctic.
BP’s future supplies look to be in trouble. Offers are also being considered from Exxon and Chevron.