Dutch Driving License Theory Book In English

Article outlines the requirements (in 1993) for obtaining a license in South Africa.

• • • In Singapore, cars and other vehicles drive on the left side of the road, as in neighbouring, due to its British colonial history (which led to British driving rules being adopted in India, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong as well). As a result, most vehicles are right-hand drive. However, exemptions have been made to allow foreign vehicles and construction machineries to utilise the roadspace of Singapore. As such, vehicles with configurations are required to either be driven with a sign indicating 'LEFT-HAND-DRIVE' or towed. The per-capita car ownership rate in Singapore is 12 cars per 100 people (or 1 car per 8.25 people). Geylang Road was one of the earliest roads built in Singapore. The earliest roads in Singapore, after its in 1819, were laid out in the of 1822 in keeping with 's directions.

A grid system was adopted for the town with roads for being 16 yards (15 m) wide, and those for horses four yards wide. Pedestrian paths along the roadsides were two yards wide, allowing room for two people to walk abreast and giving rise to the that came to be associated with the sheltered walkways along roadside.

[ ] These roads were fairly advanced for the time, with surfacing used on High Street as early as 1821. Roads were also constructed across the rest of the island, although they were usually unsurfaced. Most of the roads were accessible to the kampong roads by 1845, and finally to the HDB developed roads since the 1960s.

Currently, there are a lot of roads and expressways in Singapore. The first motor car was introduced in Singapore in 1896. As with many other urban areas of the time, all the earliest modes of transport were replaced by today's transport. Driving licence [ ] Obtaining a driving licence [ ] A class 3 or class 3A licence permits the holder to drive motorcars weighing less than 3,000 kg when unladen and to carry no more than seven passengers. In addition, the holder may drive a motor tractor or other motor vehicles with an unladen weight of less than 2,500 kg. A class 3A licence limits the holder to drive motor vehicles without a clutch pedal, typically automatic transmission cars, whereas a class 3 licence allows the holder to drive all motor vehicles.

Class 3A drivers are not allowed to drive manual transmission cars. Drivers must be 18 years old to qualify for a including applying for theory lessons. Once a driver passes the Basic Theory Test (BTT), a Provisional Driving Licence (PDL) which lasts for six months, must be applied for before taking the practical driving lesson. However, a student can choose to apply and pass the Final Theory Test (FTT) before applying for a PDL and starting driving lessons. The last stage of obtaining a driving licence is the practical driving test, for which a student must have a FTT pass result slip and a PDL. The driving theory tests consists of 50 questions to be answered within 50 minutes; to pass, you must answer 45 out of the 50 questions correctly.

Results are shown immediately after the test on the same touchscreen monitor. Foreign drivers in Singapore [ ] The Singapore Traffic Police require foreigners residing in Singapore to have a valid foreign driver's licence and to be at least 18 years old. Conversion to a Singaporean licence is often possible for certain classes of vehicles. Foreigners who have obtained a Singapore licence are supplied with a limited-duration licence which needs to be renewed between one month before expiry to three years after expiry.

After this period, the conversion procedure or licensing theory and practical tests must be taken all over again. Licence renewal [ ] No renewal of a driving licence is required for Singapore citizens and permanent residents since the introduction of the photocard licence. The driving licence is for the normal lifespan of the person and can be surrendered upon request to the. If the person passes away, the licence will have to be surrendered to the Traffic Police for cancellation, similar to National Registration Identity Card (NRIC). A person who commits 12 demerit points and is above 80 years old is subject to early termination of the driving licence indefinitely, after which it will also not accept new drivers above 79 years old. Random medical check-up screenings will be done above 62 years old for all drivers; however this is only valid if they still want to drive.

For Class 4, 5, bus and taxi driving licences, annual medical check-ups are done from 70 years old all the way to 80. The upper age limit is 81. Riding motorcycles registered on a different holder [ ] In Singapore, it is illegal to ride a motorcycle if the rider's name is not entered in the insurance contract. For each motorcycle, only one co-rider can be entered, but the procedure to change the co-rider is comparatively quick and easy. The only exception is commercial insurance, where any rider can use the vehicle. Only a business registered company can register for a commercial insurance. Example: Any rider can rent a motorcycle.

Driver Improvement Points System [ ] The Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS) is a system whereby demerit points will be added to the driver's record. The system is meant to deter drivers from infringing the rules-of-the-road and, if they do, suspend their driving licence for a period of time. This system requires offenders to retest and pass the driving test again from the beginning. If a driver accumulates 24 within a period of two years, he/she will be suspended from driving for three months. If he/she had been suspended before, he/she will only be allowed to accumulate less than 12 demerit points in a period of 12 months.

It is a driving licence scheme where those foreigners who have their licence suspended will have their licences affected, as this is from other countries. A driving licence is a statutory requirement and is commonly used worldwide.

Currently, drivers are given demerit points if they commit certain traffic offences such as and passengers not fastening their. Roads in Singapore [ ] Electronic Road Pricing [ ]. Main article: The (LTA) in Singapore implemented an Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme to deter traffic congestion during peak hours at various roads.

The ERP scheme requires electronic gantries to be placed over the road at designated locations and that cars be equipped with an In-Vehicle Unit (IU), a rectangular device pasted on the inside bottom right of the front windscreen from the driver's view, which will deduct the toll price from a. The CashCard must be inserted into the device, and failure to do so is in violation of law. There is no charge for entering the area during certain non-peak times. Low Emission Zone [ ] The LTA also implemented the Low Emission Zone to deter air pollution at various roads. SBS Transit had not extended most of the Volvo DM3500s and some Striders, including SMRT had early retired Dennis Lance 245 and Hino HS3KRK beginning 2013, as part of the change of law.

• 2014: All buses, vans, lorries and minibuses must meet minimum Euro II onwards. All taxis must meet minimum Euro III onwards • 24 December 2017: All buses, vans, lorries and minibuses must meet minimum Euro III onwards. All taxis must meet minimum Euro IV onwards Parking [ ] The cost of parking in many upgraded car parks can be deducted from the CashCard inserted in the IU of the vehicle, thus eliminating the need for the car park to have an attendant.

Although the cost of parking (which is published) is variable, parking costs tend to be much less expensive compared to London and New York. For example, the Centrepoint shopping centre charges a mere S$1 (approximately US$0.70) for the first hour, whereas garages in New York on and 57th Street charge between US$12 and US$26 for one hour.

Some car parks in Singapore are equipped with sensors that can detect whether the position is filled or not. This information is processed and displayed in signs around the car park, directing drivers to areas where there are free spaces. Road signs [ ]. Main article: During British colonial rule, Singapore's road rules and legislature which govern the design and layout of the road signs were directly imported from Britain.

As such, most road signs in Singapore are similar to those in the UK. For example, warning signs are a depicted as red triangles and mandatory regulative signs are depicted as blue circles.

However, several aspects of road signage and traffic-calming measures adopted locally developed standards after independence. Major deviations are as follows: 1.

A locally developed is used in favour for the road signs, instead of which was adopted in Britain. In 1998, a system of black-on-yellow 'curve alignment markers' were widely adopted and gradually replaced the British system of using white-on-black sharp deviation signs to delineate sharp turns. A few of the British system was still kept such as in Mandai Road and Suntec City. In the late 1990s, all the circular regulatory signs and triangular warning signs were mounted to a one-size-fits-all square white backing board to improve conspicuity on a complex background like trees. In the early 2000s, signs at road works are usually black-on-red-orange with diamond and rectangular shaped, which are similar to the Taiwanese system. Most roads, bridges,, and tunnels are marked with signposts with the road's name. The expressways in Singapore are not numbered (unlike most other countries), but are named.

Road signs abbreviate the full name of the expressway into three representative letters, such as the PIE for Pan Island Expressway or the ECP for East Coast Parkway respectively. Almost all road signs in Singapore are in English although many road names have a Malay origin.

Typically, 'Jalan' is used for 'Road' and 'Lorong' is used for 'Lane'. Multilingual road signs exist, especially for historically ethnic enclaves like Chinatown or Little India, or for landmarks. For example, some directional signs pointing to Chinese or Hindu temples are bilingual or trilingual (English, Chinese, or Tamil). Bilingual signage dates to the early days of Singapore. Free Download Nikon Coolpix Hack Raw Programs For Kids. Curiously enough, even on the larger signs, road names are rarely spelt out in full. For example, 'road' is almost always 'Rd' ('Avenue' as 'Ave', 'Bukit' as 'Bt', 'Boulevard' as 'Blvd', 'Close' as 'Cl', 'Central' as 'Ctrl', 'Crescent' as 'Cres', 'Drive' as 'Dr', 'Jalan' as 'Jln', 'Kampong' as 'Kg', 'Lane' as 'Ln', 'Lorong' as 'Lor', 'Upper' as 'Upp', 'Place' as 'Pl', 'Saint' and 'Street' as 'St', 'Tanjong' as 'Tg'). Exceptions include roads that end with less common words, such as 'walk', 'hill', and 'park'.

Left turn or right turn at a red traffic light [ ] Left Turn In Singapore, it is illegal to turn left (into the nearest lane, due to the left-hand driving) during a red light. This rule, however, does not apply if a 'Left Turn on Red' sign is present at the junction, allowing left turning motorists to turn left, provided they stop before the stop line and give way to pedestrians and incoming traffic. Right Turn It is illegal to turn right during a red light in Singapore. Right turns are permissible only when one's lane has the green light signal and the opposing traffic lane, travelling in the opposite direction, is clear and favourable to execute a right turn. However, green turning signals (the outline of a right-pointing arrow) are installed onto some traffic lights.

These rules in Singapore are similar to many countries that employ, and unlike countries which permit turns on red. Special Roads [ ] Due to the limited land space in Singapore, selected roads, especially those with more lanes have been specially designated as runways for aircraft in the event of emergency or when needs arise.

Traffic safety [ ] Driving safety [ ] Driving after consuming alcohol, using a phone while driving, dangerous driving, and car racing are all illegal. Car safety crash tests [ ] The Singapore government accepts the crash safety standards of the EU and Japan. Cars made in the EU and Japan do not need to pass additional safety standards to be sold in Singapore. Cars may be privately imported into Singapore if they have an EU Certificate of Conformity or the Japanese Completion Inspection Certificate, both of which incorporate emissions and safety standards. Not all cars sold in Singapore have been tested by the, a car-safety testing organisation jointly operated by several European government agencies, that crash tests cars that can be legally sold in several European countries. Buying a car [ ] Many regulations concerning buying and driving a car are administered by the, the successor to the Registry of Vehicles. Certificate of Entitlement [ ].

Main article: New car buyers are required to buy a (COE), which is valid for ten years. The typical car lifespan is 10 years. Extension for two or three years of the typical car lifespan is only for those who have special difficulties. Car buyers can scrap the car earlier than the typical car lifespan. The term 'bidding' is often used, but in practice new car dealers assist in the process. The fee of each COE is added on to the costs of a new car based on engine size—Category A is 1,600 cc engine and below; Category B is 1,601 cc engine and above—and is generally lower for Category A vehicles. There are provisions for a rebate of the COE if the car is scrapped before 10 years.

Preferential Additional Registration Fee [ ] A car owner may apply for a portion of the Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PARF) if a car is de-registered before 10 years. The term 'Additional Registration Fee (ARF)' is calculated from 110% of Open Market Value (OMV). If a car is less than 5 years old, then the PARF is 75% of the ARF. Open Market Value [ ] The Open Market Value (OMV) of a vehicle is determined by Singapore customs and is equivalent to the price of the car, including freight and other incidental charges.

Licence plates [ ] in Singapore are the same 520mm x 110mm size found in many European countries. Red licence plates indicate that the car may be driven only during off-peak times unless a daily fee is paid.

Off peak times are from 7 p.m. On weekdays and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. Since the end of January 2010, off-peak car usage is no longer restricted on Saturday, Sunday, and the days before public holidays. Off-peak licence plates cost less than regular ones. Standard licence plates in Singapore are usually black with silver or white lettering or the newer white front/yellow rear plate combination and Off-peak licence plates are white on red. Car market [ ] Domestic car market [ ] Car brands are typically sold by only one dealer although there are rare exceptions where two dealers sell the same brand.

Several dealers have more than one location. Some dealers sell more than one brand, unlike the situation in some western European countries in the past where some manufacturers prohibited dealers from selling competing brands. Negotiation during car purchases is customary but limited due to the lack of competing dealers. The limited size of the Singapore market results in some brands not offering the full model line in Singapore. Unlike in Australia, where the US and the Japanese (re-badged as the in the United States) are sold, only the Japanese is sold in Singapore. Some brands, such as and (except the ) are only offered with even though cars are sold in the car's home market.

Although car prices are high, servicing costs are reasonable compared to in the United States and Western Europe in terms of labour charges. (SUVs) and are not as common in Singapore as in the United States and Canada. So, pick-up trucks in Singapore are relatively expensive compared to other countries, and some dealerships do not import pick-up trucks like the and at all. Japanese car manufacturers have the largest market share. Some Japanese cars are imported from countries other than Japan.

For example, the is imported from, whereas the version is called. Initially the sold in Singapore was a, while the facelift version is a wider and longer from Thailand.

(like the,, and ) are common in Singapore, but not as popular as in as most Japanese car manufacturers seldom release Kei cars in Singapore. Beside this, there are some grey imports of Kei cars like. European car manufacturers are well represented. On the more expensive segment of the market, European cars sold in Singapore include,,,, and others.,,, and are among the less expensive European cars sold in Singapore. American cars have a low market share.,, and vehicles are sold in Singapore, such as the C,,, and.

Markets only Korean-made Daewoo cars, but not its American-made models. Markets some cars from its European line, not its American product line.

Even, a Japanese car maker, did not do well with cars made by a US-based subsidiary,, which exported the US-made to Singapore. Non-Japanese Asian car brands sold in Singapore include,,,,,,,,, and. Used cars that are more than three years old cannot be imported into Singapore. In 2005, there was significant local press coverage of the death of a car saleslady when a customer was involved in a collision during a test drive, reportedly after aggressive driving. The driver's licence was suspended in April 2007 for this incident although the court case was still pending at the time of licence suspension. Aftermarket [ ] Because Singapore does not have a domestic automobile industry and thus has a very small domestic market for remanufactured and reconditioned auto parts, it has become an especially important for businesses exporting automotive parts and accessories.

This is magnified by high automobile turnover, a preference for new parts, and a high demand for 'accessories, car-care products, prestige items, and new spare parts'. In fact, Singapore has become a major automotive components manufacturing base, as several leading multinational corporations (MNCs) have established international procurement offices as well as their Southeast Asia distribution centres. Singapore as an automobile exporter [ ] The peculiarities of Singapore's car market has made Singapore the second largest exporter of used cars in the world (approximately 100,000 cars exported per year) after Japan.

[ ] Singapore exports its cars to many countries, including African countries. Used cars are often exported to other countries with right-hand driving, but there are exports to left-hand-driving countries as well. New Zealand allows used cars previously registered in Singapore to be imported without any modifications.

This is due in part to the reduction in the costs of COE and PARF between 2000 and 2005, which has incentivised owners to purchase new cars before their ten years is up. Previously, the COE and PARF represented around 80% of the cost of a medium-priced car like the.

With the COE and PARF less expensive than in the past, in some cases the yearly drop in the COE and PARF rebate becomes significant compared to the pre-tax (OMV) price of a new car. Furthermore, with the PARF rebate starting to diminish after a car is five years old, the net amount of credit (similar to resale value or trade-in value) compared to the OMV becomes less favourable for owners of older cars. In contrast, in countries with low taxes, the most economical ownership strategy is to keep a car as long as possible until repair costs exceed a new car's costs or financing costs.

Left hand drive Vs Right hand drive [ ] In Singapore, only right-hand-drive cars are permitted on the roads. There are exceptions for special-purpose vehicles, diplomatic vehicles, and foreign-registered vehicles, with the label placed at the back windscreen of the vehicles indicating 'Left Hand Drive' to alert other motorist that the driver's seat is on the left side instead of on the right side. Petrol market [ ] Major companies in the retail petrol market [ ] Unlike some countries with a significant number of petrol dealers operating under their own, independent brand, petrol dealers in Singapore sell petrol under the brand of multinational companies., marketing petrol under the 'Shell' brand, has the largest retail network of stations. Has 23 stations and 19 stations., formerly a joint venture between and, but now a subsidiary of Chevron, which acquired Texaco has stations in Singapore., marketing petrol under the 'SPC' brand also has significant numbers of petrol stations in Singapore. Four grades of petrol are commonly sold in Singapore. Diesel and unleaded petrol with levels of 92, 95 and 98 are widely sold. Octane levels conform with European octane ratings and roughly correspond to American octane levels of 87, 90, and 93, respectively.

Shell also market a fifth brand of fuel under the V-Power label, in addition to 98 octane petrol. 98 octane V-Power is marketed as having an FMT additive and 'formulated to improve performance and responsiveness', and sells for approximately 15 cents per litre more than Shell's other 98 octane fuel. Petrol stations frequently have loyalty schemes, such as Shell's Escape points. The price of petrol is usually standardised such that the cost of a particular brand of fuel is the same regardless of which station sells it.

Petrol is not rationed in Singapore. Petrol is cheaper in Malaysia than in Singapore, but opportunities are limited because cars registered in Singapore crossing over into Malaysia are legally required to have at least three-quarters of a tank of fuel.

Net exporter of refined petrol [ ] As a result of the high petrol refining capacity in Singapore, Singapore is a net exporter of refined petroleum. ExxonMobil's refineries in and Singapore has a 605,000 barrel capacity. Shell's 500,000 barrels-per-day refinery exports 90% of its products to other countries. The Singapore Refining Company has a 285,000 barrel capacity refinery, a 50/50 venture between Chevron and SPC, though part of Chevron's stake was previously owned. The United States, in contrast, has a shortage of oil-refining capacity, resulting in about 10% of petrol being imported as a refined product, as opposed to crude oil, some of it being imported from the, a country that lacks significant oil drilling activity. Effects of the price of petrol in Singapore on the Australian market [ ] The wholesale price of Mogas 95 unleaded petrol is the regional benchmark, including the benchmark price for Australia. This is a result of Singapore having a large refining capacity.

In 2005, Australia imported 29% of its petrol and diesel needs, of which 80% came from Singapore. The retail price of Australian petrol is thus influenced by the wholesale price of petrol in Singapore. Foreign assessment of Singapore motoring [ ] The (GTZ) submitted a report on Singapore's (ERP) system to the.

The report praised ERP as fair, convenient, reliable, and effective in congestion reduction. It also described its positive ramifications such as revenue collection and pollution control. An expatriate advice website states that driving and owning a car in Singapore is very expensive. Described Singapore as a 'living laboratory for, a catchall phrase for high-tech strategies to gather data, manage flow, and inform drivers of congestion ahead', noting that traffic 'does indeed move noticeably smoother here than in American metropolitan areas of comparable size—, for instance.' Measures to reduce vehicle usage [ ] Several steps have to be completed before a car-owner can drive a vehicle in Singapore. A (COE) is required, costing more than 80,000 to successful bidders. This permits ownership of the vehicle for a period of 10 years after which the vehicle must be scrapped or another COE paid for allowing an additional 5 or 10 years of usage.

COE is technically a lease at an inflated cost. Only ten-year COEs may be further renewed to another 7-10 years and no extension of the car is given. Historic vehicles are exempted from these requirements. Certain roads and expressways in Singapore are subject to the (ERP) system. COEs and the ERP system are intended to encourage people to use public transport such as the and public buses instead of driving. The increasing parking charges in HDB carparks from 1 December 2016 in electronic parking and selected season parking also deter people from driving and encouraged to take public transport.

See also [ ] • References [ ]. Archived from on 26 February 2015.

Retrieved 11 June 2007. Archived from on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-04. AloRide - Singapore Motorbike Rental.

Singapore Police Force. Archived from on 7 June 2007.

Retrieved 11 June 2007. Angloinfo Singapore.. Retrieved 2016-06-15. • • • Ng, Haw Cheng (November 2010).

Archived from (PDF) on 20 March 2014. • • •, Kiplinger.com • (PDF). • • Retrieved 26 April 2007. Reference notes price of 16 April 2007 • • • •, •, MSNBC •, Office of United States Senator •, WorldCity Annual Report •, BP Australia • • •. External links [ ] • • Schematic drawing of ERP system which uses pair of gantries and 5 step detection sequence • to check and calculate Fuel, ERP and Taxi Fare amount needed for a motorist's driving trip or taxi trip in Singapore •.

Mr D I make the reference of a link with police heroin dealing inquiry on this fact Athlone police station ( Heroin hub ) was the chosen destination for the balance of the Shell alcohol consignment on the instruction of Garda Sub Aqua SUPREMO Liam Grimes so that’s drugs and alcohol meeting in the same police station “of all the police stations in all the world you had to walk into mine “is there a ” link. “Time will tell we recognise that 99 out of 100 Irish police personnel are amongst the finest in Europe.however.

• Shell Corrib Corruption on Dec 21st, 2017 at 06:50. As previously advised on this Shell Info site NEW MINISTER FOR INVESTIGATION OF POLICE CORRUPTION Links HEROIN DEALING COPS with SHELL ATHLONE ALCOHOL STORY full investigation to follow ( see Irish Times under Minister Flanagan Drug dealing in Police Force ) Comment by John Donovan Can you please state the exact headline of the relevant article as I have been unable to find any such story in the Irish Times? Further comment by John Donovan Apparently the article in question – – was published by RTE, not the Irish Times. I cannot see the claimed reference to Shell or the alcohol story. • Bogus group on Dec 20th, 2017 at 01:08.

Having worked for BG, the ‘bad penny’ will be well versed in unpalatable culture, he conveys he’s the “accountable person” for Glencore operations. Could this be a buffer for the chairman, better known for his nocuous statement following the Deepwater Horizon tragedy ‘I’d like my life back’? The chairman is a member of the health and safety committee? The committee reviews every fatal incident with the senior management of the department and asset affected, and circulates any relevant lessons across the Group. The rhetoric sounds all too familiar, statements about ‘loss of life being unacceptable’ and ‘transforming behaviour at all levels” seem worlds away from the reality of 16 fatalities in 2016. • The Chav from Chad on Dec 19th, 2017 at 22:26. Another BG ‘bad penny’ that has turned up is John de Lange who is now Head of Operations at Glencore (PetroChad) which is probably the best place for him.

Having left Shell in 2007 where he was Chief Well Engineering, this Shell itinerant fumbled his way through two roles at BG, Head of Well Engineering BG Group and VP Well Engineering and Operations BG Brazil. A ‘very wealthy man’ by his own words he must be enjoying the high life in n’Djamena where the dust never settles. • Bonus Group on Dec 19th, 2017 at 21:41. Further to Bogus Group’s post, it is interesting to see how BG diaspora have spread like anthrax throughout the UK Oil and Gas Industry withering everything they touch. In respect of Spirit Energy, it should not be forgotten that Centrica E&P was the third of the companies spawned by privatisation of British Gas in the 1980s.

The other two companies, Enterprise Oil and BG Group, have already fallen to Shell. Consequently, Spirit Energy is the ‘Holy Ghost’ in the Trinity. Will merging with Bayerngas Norway and changing it’s name from Centrica E&P to Spirit Energy disguise Shell’s long term strategy of taking over all of the British Gas spin offs? Indeed, is it Chris Cox’s mandate to prepare the company for take over in 5 to ten years time? What neater way than for Shell to segue from the UKCS to Norway? The bonuses will be large! • Bogus Group on Dec 14th, 2017 at 02:21.

Two thought provoking events occurred recently. The first was the exit of Neil McCulloch, Enquest COO “by mutual agreement”, reported by Alys Key (City A.M). Ms Key also reports on white-collar crime. The second was the Scotsman article hailing the launch of a new exploration and production business, Spirit Energy, a venture combining Centrica E&P and Bayerngas Norge. The chief executive of Oil & Gas UK also welcomed the arrival of the new operator to “the basin” proclaiming the need for “a diversity of companies with fresh ideas and innovative thinking”. Spirit Energy chief executive Chris Cox commented on the opportunities “right across the region to maximise combined assets and build the portfolio”. It may be a new player, but the rhetoric is the same, as is the leadership.

Cox “stepped down” from the executive committee of BG Group November 2014, prior to moving to Centrica a few months later. Both he and McCulloch served as asset managers with BG Group (UK Upstream), before the acquisition by Shell.

• KeithMacdonald on Dec 12th, 2017 at 16:09. Robin- sorry to hear of your dealings with Shell. I too had considered reporting an issue to the ‘tell shell’ line but was put off by outsiders who had said that whistleblowing never ends well for the whistleblower.

And I guess their advice was right. However it made no difference to me as I lost my job anyway and now with hindsight I wished I’d had reported it just so as to get the bloody bean counters and Human Remains department to do some work for a change. Anyway, if they treated you like that, your better off out of Shell.

You sound like you are more upstanding then them and actually have principles. Dust yourself off and get back on that wagon. Forget about for Shell although I am sure it feels pretty raw right now. Time will make it better. • Robert Eringer, Spymaster on Dec 4th, 2017 at 23:00. I was interested to read the Sunday Times article yesterday headlined “.” It identifies former Monaco spymaster Robert Eringer as the most likely person to be the unidentified author of an 88 page intelligence report about the Russian links (including Gazprom) of a billionaire backer of a Brexit think tank.

Robert Eringer is a former FBI counter-intelligence agent and later an associate of Clair George, the retired Deputy Director of Operations of the CIA. Does not mention Eringers’ past relationship with a KGB Chairman. In more recent times Eringer has worked under cover of being an investigative journalist and book author sometimes writing about Shell. Ask Mr Donovan. REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN Yes, this is the same Robert Eringer – the author of a book and American newspaper article about this website and my unusual relationship with Shell.

One of many spooks with whom I have come into contact over the years in this regard, some working for Shell Corporate Security outfits such as CAS, some investigating Shell’s nefarious activities. • Bogus Group on Dec 3rd, 2017 at 17:42. The former BG operating model suppressed challenge and fostered a breeding ground for sycophant’s, whose main role was to communicate only good news for the corporate image. The need for flatterers’ far outweighed the need for competency. Bonus Group noted one of the traits of the Asset Leadership Team (ALT).Lacklustre, the other two were Apathetic and Technically-inept. An unstable and hazardous combination. The bad news for Shell is that there are more of these BG “migrants” still in on their books.

• Bonus Group on Nov 30th, 2017 at 12:17. Good news and Bad news! The good news is that Shell have got rid of five BG sycophantic Asset Managers and one more. The bad news is that they were parcelled off to Chrysaor in Aberdeen where they have now formed a BG club, similar to The Riot Club.

We can look forward to more lacklustre performance from these five as they lurch from one untruth to another with no technical foundation and plausible Geoscience, as per the former BG operating model. Chrysaor is in for a rocky road with these five at the helm. Expensive times ahead for Chrysaor as technical disasters unfold. • Shell Corrib Corruption.

On Nov 28th, 2017 at 14:53. If US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and Europe want to sell crude oil at 20 dollars per barrel then please do develop oil and gas wells, refineries in Iran and Iraq. I guarantee you what ever money Iraq and Iran gets from selling oil and gas would directly go to fund Iranian Missiles, which are increasing at the rate of 10 missiles per day. Money would be used to fund terrorists Hamas and Hezbollah. It would also help Iran develop long range missiles to target and threaten your country, just like how North Korea does.

One thing you know for clear is Iran and Iraq, after Saddam Hussein, have become conjoined twins, because of shia ideology. So if you want to be targeted by Iranian missiles plus ruin your economies by selling crude oil at 20 dollars per barrel, then invest in Iraq and Iranian oil and gas fields. Choice is yours.

• Minister for Shell Alcohol on Nov 24th, 2017 at 13:24. While previous articles have reported on the vast sums being “extracted” from the energy sector, spare a thought for those apparently at the other end of the scale, as the oil and gas industry may be going through a bigger downturn than first thought. Following a Freedom of Information request by a national newspaper, the chief executive of the OGA has apparently been supplementing his £335k salary, with expense claims for a bag of crisps 98p, a drink 99p, a chocolate bar £1.55 and a packet of nuts £1.65. • Irish Shell Police Corruption on Nov 5th, 2017 at 13:18. I find it fascinating how so called Shell experts who visit this website (not mentioning any names, Armada) can so nonchalantly dismiss safety critical risks/factors as being overstated. I hope that these people are not in technical or HSE type roles. Its these type of company cronies who were falsely handing out permits to work like sweets or allowing for corners to be cut if it meant money being saved and bigger bonuses during my time working on Shearwater.

At that time there were auditors like Bill. Now we get wet behind the ear financial auditors who come round with giant spreadsheets.

It does not surprise me at all that we are getting these Safety Notices. I only hope that the cost reductions and subsequent corner cutting doesn’t end up in lives being lost. • Appalled on Aug 31st, 2017 at 18:25. Only on the flare stack!!!! “Blowdown and Pressure Relief” is a safety critical system and as such had a BG Performance Standard (Ref: PSB-80). The Functionality Criteria for the Written Scheme of Examination states, “Thermal radiation from ignited vent or flare tip to be less than 4.7Kw/m2 (1,500BTU/ft2) at manned areas and helidecks”. Any breach of the flare system could have released huge volumes of gas (from an emergency blowdown) well before it reached the flare tip.

Very much an explosion risk. • Armada on Aug 31st, 2017 at 10:22. BG was the parasitic flea on the back of Petrobras’ elephant.

BG’s Brasil Asset was not their smartest, with shoes, trainers, confidential company and personal documents, and open handbags littering the open plan office in Drake Building. Run with a lack of probity, some got off scot-free, some were not as rock solid as their name might suggest and others were enough to give you the collywobbles, and all that along with a ragtag assortment of refugees from Syria and Iran. • Bogus Group on Aug 28th, 2017 at 20:56. Another Energy Voice “exclusive” (February 17) with Martin Houston, on how he had no regrets about “turning down” the CEO role with BG Group. I’m surprised EV didn’t validate this claim, as a FT article (2013) noted he’d “lost out” on a race for the top job to Chris Finlayson. Upstream also published an article (2013) on how he left BG Group “with immediate effect” having been overlooked for the CEO role. Houston is now embroiled in a lawsuit with Cheniere Energy, for defaulting on a US$46 million loan, paid to a company wholly owned by him.

See LNG Boil-off. • Bogus Group on Aug 28th, 2017 at 16:40.

So Shell has been caught with its pants down again, telling blatant lies, this time about the cleanliness of gas. All so that it can improve its clean credentials and make even more $$$. Can we believe anything they tell us? Where would we be without the likes of Friends of the Earth who bring Shell to task. Where does it say we are allowed to lie and mislead in our business principles?

This is a great message from the leaders to the worker bees “Do as we say, not as we do”. Im sure the paid Shell apologists will come on here and tell us we shouldnt pick on Shell and they are a caring company and we should be greatful for working for them and that John Donovan is to blame.

• Bogus Group on Aug 9th, 2017 at 23:01. A media article has revealed that Shell is already suffering from the legacy of BG Group negligence in maintaining safety critical equipment.

The HSE have issued an improvement notice for failing to install gas detection equipment on the Lomond Platform, despite recommendations from two separate studies. A second improvement notice was issued for failing to test a High Integrity Protection System (HIPS) since 2014, despite the associated Performance Standard requirement to test annually. It could be assumed that Finlayson encouraged the infamous Brent TFA during his tenure at the helm of BG to maximise production volumes (an obsession with executives), at the expense of safety system testing. That assumption would not be entirely accurate, the same culture was evident in BG Group long before.

Previous failures of a HIPS testing regime had been exposed at another BG operational location, yet despite this no one was held accountable. Maybe if they had been the ‘management team’ in question would not have been implanted in Aberdeen in 2012. SEE: • Who ya kiddin?

On Aug 9th, 2017 at 22:56. As much as I like some of Bill Campbell’s articles this latest one is just going a bit too far.

There are so many variables which will change the prognosis here that its almost impossible to predict the leakage potential of Prelude. The major ones are location and hydrocarbon profile. I wonder what Bill Campbell would advocate as a solution? It almost appears as if he wants to be in a position to say “I told you so” and not in a supportive mode of “this is what you could do”. The safety cases for Prelude do of course look at spill scenarios and remediation is the key, none of us at Shell is naive enough to believe in the 100% carbon loss free situation but common sense, good engineering and good training will do a lot to combat what Bill sees as the inevitable. Armchair criticism at its best.

• SFA (Say F All) on Aug 2nd, 2017 at 22:36. You have to laugh when you read these documents which HR have produced.

It must have been written by someone with verbal diarrhea. Expressions like “Focusing capability from both an organisational and locational design perspective to drive productivity, ideation and promote Agile ways of working” show just how far these people are away from the rest of us at the coal face. Some of the invented words (ideation) are superb! I guess this is all to protect the jobs in HR as someone has to translate this BS into what happens in the real world. It appears we have regressed into the bad old days of buzzword bingo, how many buzzwords can we put into one document. • The Fugitive on Jul 31st, 2017 at 18:06. I am grateful for the information I read in the New York Times as being in the US we are far from whats happening in the American hating HQ.

Such job culling decisions are made behind the scenes without just cause or any consultation and then we are told about it when all the decisions are already made. As for this being stolen property, I would love to see Shell try to take John Donovan to the courts again. I’m sure he and his attorney are licking their lips at such a (butt kicking) prospect. REPLY BY JOHN Sorry, no prospect of Shell suing me.

I have a Shell internal communication stating that they. Too much “” that they do not want revealed in open court.

So I have a free hand to say and publish whatever I want about Shell without fear of retribution. Always sticking to the truth, but perhaps prone to exaggeration as “Cash All Gone” suggests in the nicest possible way. • Cash All Gone on Jul 31st, 2017 at 17:40. The “leaked” document is not so dramatic as you make it seem – every Shell employee can freely access it, including all the to-be org charts. Everyone should already have had a 1-on-1 conversation with their line manager on whether their job is at risk or not.

So Shell is actually very transparently approaching this. On the VP musical chairs – numbers quoted are 50% of VPs would have to leave, and GM level even more.

So the cull really cuts right through it • Shell Job Cuts on Jul 31st, 2017 at 16:30. How do we know that the Shell document referred to in the Reuters article is not fake? If genuine, and therefore stolen property, why would Shell allow you to publish any of the content? REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN Shell was given the opportunity days ago by myself and more recently by Reuters to take issue with the authenticity of the 88 page document. I supplied extracts and offered BvB sight of the whole document in a security sanitised form. Shell had the option to ask me not to publish (I have accommodated high level requests from Shell previously when grounds were provided) or could have sought an injunction. Shell knew it was authentic and kindly provided comment for Reuters to use in their article.

• Good News on Jul 31st, 2017 at 15:41. Cadfael, clearly you’re living in the past.

It sounds like you are one of those folks who expect you have a job for life. The staff numbers especially in the Head Offices have always been bloated and a legacy of high oil prices.

Ben and his management team have taken what most sensible boards would have done. Look, for example, at the costs in Deepwater which have been reduced by over 50% by prudent management and getting rid of the ‘good old boy’ network. I agree it is not nice for people to lose their jobs, thankfully a lot of the losses have been with the older guys who ran laughing all the way to the bank leaving some of us in good positions.

Yes I will look over my back but Shell isn’t the only company in the world and people need to realize that protection of jobs comes at a cost. As for Ben looking “an aging, sorry, tired figure”, I have never heard so much rubbish. I saw him two days ago and your statement could not be further from the truth.

Sad false news I’m afraid. • Cadfael on Jul 27th, 2017 at 21:58. Please have a bit of heart, or have you been too brainwashed that you cant tell right form wrong anymore? Its definitely not good news when profits are put ahead of peoples livelihoods. Tell the hordes of great colleagues who have lost their jobs as a result of the heartless cost cutting drive in order to make more profits that its *good news*. As for van Beurden, he looks an aging, sorry, tired figure as the job seems to have really taken its toll on him. And Mr Good News, before you get too comfortable keep watching over your shoulder, it could very well be you that receives the “good news” next.

• Good News on Jul 27th, 2017 at 11:32. It’s about time we had some good news and comments on this blog. Congratulations to Ben and his team for delivering an outstanding quarters results. Dividends covered by cashflow and debt/equity reduction is all good news for sure and one in the eye for all those analysts (hoping) who predicted a dividend cut and probably sold the shares short. Now cue the haters with their comments. Have at it boys. REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN I suspect that many will share view my view that Ben van Beurden is the best leader Shell has had for a very long time.

He had the guts to gamble on the BG Group takeover. Says which is an interesting comment for an oil company CEO to say. Many legacy problems left at Shell for him to tackle. That is about as much positive comment about Shell that I can muster at this time. Hope it will do.

• HR Watcher on Jul 21st, 2017 at 00:04. I feel sorry for that young lady who is making claims against shell oil. Here across the US discrimination is common place in shell locations. Its part of normal life. It is just always swept under the carpet unless if there is physical contact involved or a guy they want to fire already.

I have lots of examples of this happening. I one day hope i can say more but at the moment i have kids to feed and i don’t want shell to track me down! Yes shame on me i know. • Fegalo Nsuke on Jul 19th, 2017 at 14:32.

The Nigerian state pretends not to know the truth about the pains of the Ogoni people and the discrimination against the minorities of the Niger Delta whose resources have funded our federal budgets and supports our predominantly poor states which cannot survive without federal subventions. Shell and Nigeria has consciously and completely destroyed the Niger Delta and particularly Ogoniland. Today, one Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) is shamelessly making moves to re-enter Ogoniland for oil. It is ridiculous to imagine that despite repeated warnings and a rejection of this pest-like company, the NPDC continuous its corrupt traits for which it is widely known and want to get the Ogoni oil through the back-door. The NPDC is Nigeria’s oil drilling company, it epitomizes the true attitude of the Nigerian state towards the Ogoni people. Shamelessly and callously looking at the face of a dying population and telling them “we will kill you and take your oil”. And as usual, Nigeria will certainly be willing to provide its security forces to shoot and kill any resistance just as they have always done.

It is quite disturbing to see our country not bother about its mighty army showing its strength against a small and peaceful struggle like that of the Ogoni while the government offers amnesty to Niger Delta civilians who managed to gain access to arms and will perpetually look for negotiators with the Boko Haram insurgents. I see it as a national shame to send our well trained army against a peaceful and civil protest. All Nigeria care about is the Ogoni oil. They want it at all cost and will kill for it like we saw in 1995 with the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 others. For over 50 years, they have shown this brutal attitude towards the oil producing Niger Delta and that attitude has not changed. On Sunday, July 16, 2017, I was in Biara in Gokana local government area where reports of pipe laying activities had surfaced.

One Kagbara (full name withheld) came with the complaint. We confirmed the massive land grading in parts of Biara in Gokana local government area. In Nigeria, I see a government that should promote human dignity, care and protect becoming so oppressive acting in utter disregard to the sensitivities of its own people. But Nigeria, Shell or the NPDC can be sure that Ogoni will not surrender to this harassment and intimidation.

We will all match down to the oil fields to protest this unending abuse and disregard for our rejection of all forms of oil production in Ogoniland for now. Unfortunately, our leaders do not seem to bother about our dignity and the need to protect the integrity of our armed forces.

They continue to abuse and ridicule our soldiers. As the struggle for a better society continues, the current moves regarding the un-permitted invasion of parts of Ogoniland should be seen as an invitation for the people to fight for what belongs to them. As a people, we cannot be silent in the face of this affront. Shell and her ally, the NPDC are at it again and let it be known that another round of bloodshed is about to take place in Ogoniland because as a people, we are bound to say “NO” to any form of oil production activity in Ogoniland. The writer, Fegalo Nsuke is the Publicity Secretary of The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) He wrote from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. • extankerdriver on Jul 15th, 2017 at 21:45. Several years ago, shell made the mistake of disbanding their trucking fleet, and leasing the retail locations to wholesalers, who now control the rents, and the price of the fuel the dealers pay.

The wholesalers purchase the fuel from shell, and resell it to the dealers, adding on a few cents profit, plus a charge to have a carrier deliver it to the station. This leaves the shell dealers unable to compete with the other area stations. In my local area, the shell station is charging 38 cents more per gallon for regular, self service cash, and up to 60 cents more for credit, while 3 other major brand stations are the same price (38 cents less) for cash or credit! 3 or 5 cents a gallon is not a big deal, but 38 cents has sent many long time loyal customers defecting to the competition.

• Shell EP Irish Exit on Jul 14th, 2017 at 19:12. I am surprised that Shell is still able to operate the way it does despite OPL 245, illegal cover up of oil spills, spectacular uturn on the arctic, animal testing, being the cause of earthquakes in Groningen, spying by Shell Security and Government teams, screwing over its pensioners and many many more disgraceful actions. Bad management and refusal to listen to staff concerns is whats destroying the company. The company has lost its way and its morals and what it used to stand for. • Money Laundering on Jun 22nd, 2017 at 12:19. I commend you on your article As the NGO Global Witness pointed out earlier this year in relation to the OPL 245 corruption scandal, nobody should be above the law, even the mighty Royal Dutch Shell enterprise. Global Witness and The Corner House have campaigned and exposed the corruption around the OPL 245 deal for several years.

In 2011, Shell and Eni paid $1.1 billion to Malabu Oil and Gas, a front company secretly owned by a former Nigerian oil minister. Prosecutors have alleged that over US$500m went to “fronts for [former] President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria”. This crooked deal deprived Nigeria’s people of a sum worth 80% of its 2015 healthcare budget. Shell and Eni have always denied that they knew the money would go to Malabu, but documents seen by Global Witness show that the companies constructed the deal knowing that the money would flow ultimately to Etete’s company.

• John Donovan on Jun 20th, 2017 at 09:05. Message to “Jazmin Anderson” We published your appeal for information concerning “Patrick Blinks”. You have followed this up with various allegations in a further posting submitted for publication. Before we proceed further, please provide a detailed account of the background to this story, ideally in chronological order and with supporting evidence.

We would then put the allegations directly to Shell CEO Mr Ben van Burden so that Shell has the opportunity to investigate and respond if it wishes to do so. Any further publication by us will depend on the information you supply and any response by Shell.

Please send to • Jazmin Anderson on Jun 16th, 2017 at 22:53. Hello All, I have read some of the blogs here from former employees of Shell and I would like to ask if you know someone by the name of “Patrick Blinks”. He is a Purchasing Officer / Contractor with Shell and currently has a project in the Gulf of Mexico (in a rig called “Taiwan Ocean”). My husband is the Project Manager and he and his workers have been there for five months now. The project is done. Although there were some issues with the pipes being damaged, my husband’s team were able to extract barrels of crude oil. Right now, the problem is, “Patrick Blinks” would like to get his workers paid BEFORE letting my husband and his team to leave.

This is not possible at all since they don’t have any access to any bank. My husband asked Mr.

Blinks to let him go to his bank so he could get some money out and Mr. Blinks don’t want to do that and does not even answer phone calls or emails. I have been searching for “Patrick Blinks” so I could speak to him either in person or by phone and to let my husband leave the Gulf for health reasons. If any one of you, by any chance, who knows this person or know someone who may be associated with him, please inform me right away. I have limited communication with my husband and I am helping them to get out of the Gulf. Moreso, since there was contract signed, Shell and its legal department cannot assist. Thank you all for your time and effort and with sincere gratitude for your help • Trekkie on Jun 14th, 2017 at 23:28.

Hello all, I am new to this site. I have been following a company called Ossl on another forum, they were a contractor to shell E&P Ireland Limited on the Corrib project, I also remember the investigation re. The Garda (Irish police) and alcohol supplied to them by Ossl on SHELL’s instructions ( which found no alcohol— i can only think they drank it alll) Now that the Irish police force seems to been coming apart thread by thread over the past few months, surely a proper investigation would be required to get to the bottom of this whisky barrel of corruption and collusion. I think its in the interest of the Irish people and to stop these large Multinationals puppeteering our Government Ossl have never veered or indeed backed down from their allegations and one can only think that it happened. There is also many other parts to the dismissal from the project.including not changing a statement to GSOC to protect a Supt.

Joe Gannon.I think these guys need RTE slot to get the proper story heard MAKE IRELAND GREAT AGAIN • on May 27th, 2017 at 18:02. Agree with the last point by The real Shell- my take is that employees take on a cult status and are actually proud of it (this is sad by the way, but understandable as they all want to feel some sort of safety in numbers; group think springs to mind, and it smacks of some massive level of insecurity in these individuals). Management loves this too as they breed staunch supporters at the lower levels, protecting them from anyone who wishes to stand up against something they see which is not right. Same old shit, different company.

• The real Shell on May 23rd, 2017 at 18:27. As a dutchman and having worked in the upstream of Shell, I take exception at the false and devious statement of ‘annoyed’. I know Bill Campbell was a very good auditor and not a ‘miereneuker’. He did expose systemic weaknesses during his audits rather than amplifying unimportant findings in order to reach a minimum number of findings as preached by the then head of HSE Koos Visser. (As the head of such an outfit one often has to take more extreme views in order to get the message across and Koos managed to irritate a great many directors in Shell but he did improved the standard of HSE with his often dogmatic stance!) His team of auditors largely consisted of true professionals. Bill, himself a top professional from the maintenance sector, always put the finger on the sore spot and the good thing is he did not back down under pressure.

And when you expose a systemic weakness the pain is immediately felt at the very top. And then things start to happen, either the problem is fixed or more devious actions of self preservation commence. These ALWAYS are detrimental to some minions. Many auditors back down in such a situation. I assume that the annoyed dutchman never has put his finger on a weak spot important enough to be invited for an interview with the CEO of Shell. And believe me, this only happens if there is a real issue REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN Many thanks for your posting. Please note that Bill Campbell has replied to the comment in question.

See “Annoyed” below. • Annoyed on May 20th, 2017 at 13:59. It’s about time Bill Campbell stops commenting, especially about stuff he knows little (aka nothing) about. He was a useless auditor at Shell (us Dutch called him a mierenneuker) and is a useless contributor now. REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN Readers might give more credence to your attack on Bill Campbell if it was not done hiding behind an alias.

Something Bill and I never do. No attempt to discuss the issues. Just a blanket condemnation.

Thus, not only rude, also lazy. REPLY BY BILL CAMPBELL I was such a poor auditor that I was asked back to carry out audits for SIEP after I retired but anyway you are entitled to your cowardly opinion. I comment often in frustration that Shell does not appear to learn from its past experiences. It is not hard to understand the latest claims by the Head of Legal, here is someone who declares publicly to investors etc that we RDS had no visibility, no knowledge or understanding that monies in the deal would go to individuals but on 10 April this year RDS said they did, they knew up to Director level. Only forced into this admission by the surfacing of the emails called stupid and unhelpful by Simon Henry, what else is there to know, it’s not complicated. • regular browser on May 20th, 2017 at 09:57.

On that we are totally in agreement! The difference between Voser and BvB in indeed like night and day. Not that far off the quiet life myself and its reassuring to see some of the terrible EVP’s and VP’s displaced so i can share in your glass half full hopes.

What I fear is that there is now an entrenched culture that is detrimental to progress and i believe that will be very hard to shake, not to mention the animosity between the Shell and BG staff over the ‘packages’. I think that will end up costing the company dearly when it boils over, but we shall see. • Hello Haterz on May 18th, 2017 at 22:31. Well Regular Browser I guess we just have to agree to disagree. I am probably labelled an optimist by my staff and most likely because I only have a few years left to go. I do however see.a step change in the management from Vosser to BvB.

Its like a light has been turned on and the failings of the past CEO’s have been absorbed and gradually things are changing for the better. For me the glass is half full and maybe one day it will even be brimming over! • regular browser on May 17th, 2017 at 19:40. I am not sure Donovan would necessarily disagree – there were shysters then and there are shysters now, that at least has been consistent. As I mentioned in my reply, the accountability existed in a different framework and are not equitable I should also point out that Shell and companies like it were not peddling one set of principles while living another. Deaths are a bit of a red herring, industry across the board has got a lot safer due to regulation and interventions after some painful lessons learned – if you think that this has anything to do with anyone at Shell you are seriously deluded.

One only needs to take a walk around the buildings and sites where management flouts their own rules and even calls up people on mentioning it. The often lamented ‘hold the handrail’ policy has been broken on numerous occasions by SEC members and when over anxious staff have pointed this out to the the SEC members they are treated with contempt – this is a prime example of “do as I say and not as I do” and is categoric of the double standards that management hold themselves to compared to the general population, particularly when the latter is adding the value for shareholders. As for Nigeria we are still polluting there and doing great damage on a daily basis, yes there is more transparency but there has been no movement or desire on the company’s part to address any of the issues which are going on there and which management have been advised time and time again. I lose count of the amount of work groups and think tanks that report perfectly actionable plans to the SEC but due to financial expediency are ignored.

I have no problem with BvB as an individual, he is a smart guy and did a great job in Downstream and was a much more palatable choice than Brinded or anyone else for the top job. Like I said I also had great hopes that this would be the guy that broke the poor leadership mould but after a positive start he has gone into the same tired and failed policies that all of his predecessors fell into. Can he turn it around? Maybe, but after the contempt he showed for the OPL245 raids I doubt it. One thing we are definitely aligned on and agree on is how much leaner the company is. Technical competence has been gutted from the organisation and all the sycophants have been promoted beyond their capability.

It has gone back to the bad old days of who you know rather than what you know and the company will reap what it sows. I will be the first to admit that there was some “dead wood” that needed cutting, even so the callous disregard with which people were treated was absolutely disgraceful.

Families coming home from expat assignments to find a letter telling them they were fired, competent senior people ‘retired’ to make way for the diversity pick, bullies promoting bullies and BG plants being elevated beyond the incompetence they showed in their own organisation. A cursory walk around any of the main offices shows you how well this has turned out with a toxic and uncollegiate atmosphere. This stands in stark contrast to what I referred to as the ‘halcyon days’. That was a time to be proud to work for this great company, now they have now EVP different from any other two-bit operation. Those of us who want the company to succeed look around at what has been done and shake our heads and if you read the comments closely on here you will see that while most of us have gripes it is because we have a love for the company and want it to reach its potential, not be frittered away on a whim. As for the gold plating that still goes on, where there is any spending at all.

The problem with cutting corners here is that you pay for it later. Talk to the clever folks who cut corners on Bonga FPSO and have now screwed up the wells, or the clever managers over at Sakhalin who abandoned the WFRM plan and for which the recovery will never be what was promised, or better still the clever commercial managers who purchased acreage in the Eagleford with no eagle ford (not to mention the $40billion that was poured into that particular black hole). It is this that we remaining technical people with integrity want challenge to, not because we have any particular axe to grind, or did not get promoted (some of us are happy doing solid technical work), but rather we desire to do the right thing and deliver for our shareholders. As for BG, if you read other posters here the concern is not that it was a poor choice but rather it was overpaid. BG was not all it promised to be and this deal had a very long burn on it and was probably the only deal Shell could do to remain competitive. As for the integration, we will see, Enterprise was also a smooth acquisition and has hung a number of albatross around the company’s neck. Ultimately the BG deal was the acceptance by management that they had failed in their ability to grow the company organically through poor leadership on the Upstream side over many years.

Much of the acreage that Shell paid billions more than it needed to was looked over by Shell time and time again and management opted to ignore the recommendations of technical people in favour of playing financial games or dabbling in business that Shell could never hope to master – all under the auspices of doing things on the cheap. I welcome the optimistic counterpoint that you bring to the table, for sure it livens up the discussion and gives readers a chance to see a different side of the company, although on most points it is clear that we will have to agree to disagree. As I have mentioned in my contributions in the past (well before the time of BvB) at its heart the company is a great company, full of many talented, capable people who have done some wonderful things over a century. On the flip side it is ruled by a generally incompetent, vacuous, short sighted, group think management team that does not welcome any dissenting opinion (despite the rhetorics) and is not open to the fact that the world is changing and business as usual won’t cut it. For as long as these people continue to prosper in positions of power throughout the company and promote more of the same type of people the company will always underperform and this particular site will always have a pool of people who get just frustrated enough to shine a light on the dark corners that the same management team try and keep in the dark.

• Hello Haterz on May 17th, 2017 at 14:25. Thank you Regular Browser for your interpretation of the Halcyon Days but I am sure that the owner of this site would totally and categorically disagree with you, especially as in the days you refer to there was very little public accountability. These were the days when the Donovan’s were take for a ride, when all people could do was protest outside Shell Mex house before the days of the wild internet when people like you and I could debate in open forum. So I respectfully have to disagree these were halcyon days.

They may have appeared to be all singing all dancing fun days but there was far less accountability in those days, we killed more than 20 people a year with little public outcry, we polluted wildly in Nigeria without the visibility and true we were led by technical professionals. Ben’s degree is in chemical engineering not financial planning or anything similar so I presume you will allow him that accolade.

I do agree though we have had some shockers in the past including Vosser who was a pure bean counter. As for what Ben has done I think you only have to look around the company to see how much leaner we are now, the days of hundreds of men building things to way above any known standards and gold plating projects has long gone. The GHG numbers continue to tumble, our incident frequency rate continues at an all time low, our process safety incidents also near an all time low. You may scoff and say things are covered up but you can’t hide body bags or Tier 1 incidents. You say the industry was leading this progress again I disagree Shell was out there as a leader, we invented the Golden Rules now seen throughout industry, we pioneered Tier 1 and Tier 2 reporting metrics and used them to drive performance and Goal Zero was ground-breaking in its day.

They are out there for all to see. Ben’s greatest achievement will of course always be the acquisition and amalgamation of BG, this has been a relatively smooth transition with very little disruption to normal business and blending nicely into our new age gas portfolio. I hope we can revisit this debate in a couple of years time when I hope you will (even grudgingly) agree BvB is doing a pretty good job. • regular browser on May 16th, 2017 at 11:06. The Halcyon Days were when this great company was led by technical professionals instead of bean counters. I can talk about many things such as the early North Sea discoveries, the first steps towards GTL, the days when there was a hum of excitement around O75 and Shell Centre, the exciting innovations coming out of Kessler Park and Bellaire. Yes, there were problems in those days too but the system was different and the company was not pushing its credentials through a set of business principles that it does not adhere too.

This led into the era of fundamental mistakes starting in the late 80’s-early 90’s which is when I start to have a problem with the how the company conducts itself and for which I blame the purge of technically competent people in favour of the sycophants. From that point on we have the Nigerian problems (although I would argue they began before this and concur they were badly managed from the beginning), the hollowing out of technical capability, the selling off of parts of the business which made a difference, the reserves crisis all the way through to the Brinded, Van der Veer and Voser era. After what I thought was a promising start and a fresh approach BvB seems to have decided to tread this well worn route. Don’t fool yourself on the deaths and goal zero, yes it is tragic when anyone loses their life as part of work for Shell however I can tell you if half as much time was spent in prevention and education than in covering up and deciding how to classify ‘incidents’ goal zero would be a much more effective tool by now. That said it should be praised that the HSSE function has made a significant dent in major incidents such as deaths over the last decade or so.

Much of this has come off the back of greater scrutiny and learnings from incidents such as piper Alpha so it is not an island in itself and I would argue the industry is generally safer not just Shell – although we see the consequences when these things are ignored. You are right that many of the transgressions come to light due to greater scrutiny and the internet is a great enabler of this.

I would counter that these are choices made by management and the SEC though as time and again the Shell People Survey tells them what is wrong and they choose to ignore it because it is inconvenient. That is why this site exists as there is no other outlet to vent frustration when the SEC does not listen. The general population of Shell is much more ethical and wants a much better company than the SEC do, yet nothing changes and things only seem to get worse. Walk around any of the main buildings and you see this in peoples actions and faces. The atmosphere in C16 is toxic, as with Bank Street, Woodcreek and Shell Centre and this was the case long before the current crash in prices and the BG merger.

As a counterpoint perhaps you can provide us with some of the ‘wins’ of BvB or examples of celebration for the company over the last few years, it would make a difference to celebrate success for sure. • None Shell Cop ( Corrib ) on May 16th, 2017 at 10:52. Regular Browser, I too welcome debate and glad you also despise the trolling. I do however disagree with your concept of the Halcyon days, are you referring to the period when we killed more than 20 people a year but made massive profits, perhaps you can enlighten us. What were the ‘halcyon years”? In my opinion the ‘spin’ is just a result of faster, more rapid communications like the internet and other electronic means.

In past years this forum would not have even been possible and so handling of the negative viewpoints will always require some spin to undo the ‘anti-spin’. I’m glad you re prepared to give BvB some credit, who knows perhaps in 20 years time he will be a super hero! • uscitizen on May 16th, 2017 at 00:22. Trolls is not name calling merely pointing out a particular type of action. I think you will find that downstream does not post the largest profits – perhaps you should look further than one year. Downstream should be making a profit when upstream is down as feedstock is lower – the advantages of vertical integration. Yes the fundamentals are not straightforward but there is a clear linkage as the refineries and chemical plants use crude derived feedstock aside from Pearl and some of the others.

I think it is a bit of a leap to assume that natural gas is going up all evidence points to a world awash in both natural gas and LNG – the analysts and people whose job it is to forecast these things do not share your rosy picture. I of course welcome debate and I agree some of what BvB has done is to be commended on other things he has fallen short, just like any other company. What I don’t agree on is the spin and the mismanagement that falls at his door from a great deal of unspectacular sycophants. As regular watchers of the company will note it has substantially underperformed compared to its halcyon days and while that is not all to do with BvB and the SEC those people play out the same failed policies and strategies and learn nothing from the wealth of data that being around for over a hundred years provides. This is what I rail against as well as nepotism, sycophancy and ineptitude. If you have read my posts you see that I am fair and reasonable and credit where credit is due. Like many posters on this blog however we get tired of “do as I say, not as I do” approaches and the same violations of ethics over and over again.

There is a lot to celebrate as well as to criticise and perhaps you can have a role as countenance here to pointing out all these positives beyond the financials so that people can draw their own conclusion. I am sure Donovan, I and others would welcome the opportunity. • Hello Haterz on May 14th, 2017 at 22:14. Regular Browser, before calling people names like trolls perhaps you should look at your own posts! Downstream nearly always produces the largest profits in Shell, but if you too look closely you will see the turnaround in Upstream from a 1.4B loss in 2016 to a 540 Million profit in 2017, also the rise in natural gas which will only continue as dependancy on gas increases.

The downstream increases are not directly linked to crude oil prices as you incorrectly state its more complicated than that. I was suggesting that instead of people being so critical of the current management they should perhaps give them a break and see what a great job Ben and the SEC is doing. • None Shell Cop ( Mayo ) on May 11th, 2017 at 06:17. Perhaps you should look again at the results Hello Haterz all of the profit has been in the Downstream which is to be expected in a low price environment where raw materials are low. The Upstream earnings are abysmal considering the deal was predicated on buying plum BG assets. The results have also come off the back of stripping the combined company of assets and staff so we will see how sustainable they are moving forward, especially when the balance sheet cannot be massaged by creative accounting and when there are reserve write downs and asset repricing based on BG Groups poor cost control and project management. M&A can only be judged over the long term not in one quarters results so I would be cautious about gloating too soon.

I hope that you are proved correct and over the long term the hefty price tag was worth it but make no mistake the jury is still out and thats even without accounting for all of the troubles in the courts the company is facing. Contrary to your trolling I would also say that most people on this site desire the company to succeed and only ask that the company live up to its own principles which would ensure long term profitability, BP showed what happened when you put short term gain ahead of sustainability. • BogusGroup on May 4th, 2017 at 20:58. No need for an apology BonusGroup, glad to see others dragging the skeletons from the closet. Unfortunately many of Chapman’s “disciples” have evaded the accountability noose (so far) and continue to contribute little to industry. Even the remuneration committee’s ethics were questionable as they acted with impunity by awarding obscene annual bonuses to executives, despite multiple fatalities at operational locations. Life may have been a continuous garden party for some, sadly others were not so lucky.

Chapman sits on the board of Rolls-Royce, ironically chairman of the Safety and Ethics committee. • BonusGroup on May 4th, 2017 at 20:13. BG Group was founded on very little credible geoscience. Frank Chapman’s precious ‘treasures’. Technically inept staff promoted to heady heights as a reward for longevity, loyalty and willingness to play corrupt corporate games. Probity was a word never heard in the corridors of the pavilions of Thames Valley Park.

As long as there was production and accompanying revenue stream it didn’t matter if they understood where it came from or not. Life was a continuous garden party on a ‘Knight to be remembered’! • Relieved on May 1st, 2017 at 14:36. John, re the Cable/Brinded letter you have got the wrong end of the stick. It was HM Govt who created the role of ‘contact minister’ and not just for Shell; other ministers handled other big companies.

So describing this role as an underhand attempt by Shell to gain influence is ‘spin’ on your part and factually wrong. REPLY BY JOHN Hello Factman. Nonetheless, it was entirely inappropriate for a former high-level Shell official to act as contact minister for Shell.

See this article –. Also, from which these extracts are taken: “These revelations once again show the shocking amount of access that Shell has to government ministers. Shell are not only one of the world’s most environmentally damaging companies but, as Platform’s research shows, their continual payments to armed militant groups in the Niger Delta has had a serious negative impact on human rights.” Cable worked as Shell’s Chief Economist from 1995 to 1997, a period in which the company allegedly paid and supported the Nigerian military to commit international crimes. In 1995 the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other leaders of the southern Nigerian Ogoni ethnic group were executed by the Sani Abacha military government. In 2011, relatives of the assassinated Ogoni 9, as they became known, began legal proceedings against Shell resulting in an out-of-court settlement [3] in which Shell paid the victims’ families $15.5m, rather then face a New York Federal court. Vince Cable has remained quiet about his time at Shell and denies any knowledge of the company’s alleged links to the assassinations. Last month, the oil watchdog Platform revealed [4] how Shell’s funding of armed militant groups in Nigeria has continued in recent years.

In 2009, during the height of insurgency in the region, Shell paid $65m to government forces and a further $75m in “other” unexplained security costs. • TotallyHackedOff on Apr 25th, 2017 at 06:44. I guess what we have all realised is that Shell and BG (as with most other big, ancient blue chips) hire based on personality traits- alpha males and females, in the vain hope that they create healthy competition and motivation amongst the lower job groups who aspire to lead bigger teams with more control (power).

What has happened however as witnessed in the current downturn is the malingering presence of alpha’s who cling on to their jobs whilst the collaborative team players doing the grunt work are let go. Can’t blame them too much as we all wish to survive but what it does is erode integrity and authenticity- behavioural traits, codes of conduct and company value can only but be destroyed with this sort of crappy culture. Anyone who has been let go from Shell- trust me, it’ll be the best thing that’s happened to you. • Old Fossil on Apr 24th, 2017 at 19:51. Cannot see why a prosecution could not go ahead and be successful, it appears abundantly clear from the correspondence that handouts to certain individuals would be required to secure a deal and many senior officers in the RDS organisation were aware of this and were complicit indirectly or directly.

Their defence may be well that’s what it takes to operate with Nigeria but that is not a pertinent defence in international law and dare I state the obvious that this behaviour is a million miles from the intent of those wonderfully worded but completely ignored business principles that all in RDS from Chairman to office boy are supposed to hold as sacrosanct. My experience after many years especially as a Auditor for the then SIEP and then RDS is that compliance with the aforestated principles diminishes exponentially the nearer you get to the Boardroom. Time will tell. Bill • On the Street on Apr 18th, 2017 at 16:53. Finlayson was clearly a Shell plant, who was supposed to oversee the sale of BG Group to Shell. There was a pseudo competition as to who would be the next CEO after Frank Chapman, but it was clear from the outset that it could only ever be Finlayson. However, he got too comfortable in the role, had a falling-out with Andrew Gould and left in a huff, probably because he did not want to sell to Shell.

This left Gould holding the baby when the share price was rock bottom. One might ask one’s self why did Shell not pounce when Gould was Executive Chairman? He desperately needed a CEO to oversee the sale to Shell,and he eventually set-up Helge Lunde as his ‘fall guy’ as the whole house of cards was rapidly falling down. Even demanding that Helge start with BG Group earlier than planned. The whole scenario was transparent from the outset.

And what of Andrew Gould? Is it not rather odd that the previous Chairman and CEO of Schlumberger should end-up as Chairman of a tin pot outfit like BG Group? Or, perhaps, he thought that by working for a British plc he might be in with a chance of a Knighthood? And what better way of getting a Knighthood than by selling a failing company and, thereby, achieving shareholder value.He knew where BG Group was in its life cycle and also when Frank Chapman was due to retire. With the limited truths upon which BG had built its foundations, it was a safe bet that the illusion would fail sooner or later. • Shell People Survey on Apr 17th, 2017 at 19:45. I had to smile when I read the comments about this worthless piece of HR BS.

Every year the same answers come back about speed of decision making, working environment (the chicken cubes) and effectiveness of management communication. Each year we, the long suffering staff, are told this is not stuff we can affect and to concentrate on trivial items lower down the list. That piece of HR BS should be laid to rest and senior management made to read this site to see what the real issues are.

• BogusGroup on Apr 17th, 2017 at 13:41. Regular browser.I concur with your response, my comment was from an ex BG (purged) employee perspective. A number of senior executives ‘left’ BG under the facade of re-structuring, some slithered through the revolving door of unaccountability to join other organisations, while some slipped the net to join Shell. You’re correct about the former Shell pets, I was aware of the TFA culture in Brent but gave Chris Finlayson the benefit of the doubt when he joined BG group.

However having dealt with him first hand on organisational failings and deficiencies in safety management, the causal factors for fatalities and serious injuries in BG operations, his intransigence in dealing with the issue showed his true colours. Hopefully he is still on someone’s culpability radar. • From the Shadows on Apr 16th, 2017 at 22:15. Don’t be so sure bogus group the key players and wasters are all still there along with their sycophants. Plus a lot of BG managers were former Shell pets too. The more things change the more they stay the same. Only folk who could make a difference tend to get purged so the inept status quo is maintained.

One can only hope that there is a severe clear out if guilt is proven in the OPL245 case really every manager JG1 and above should go, trouble is the ‘stars’ have been hand picked by the rotten management for greatness so the carousel continues. • BogusGroup on Apr 16th, 2017 at 11:47. I suspect a lot of folks are getting fed up with the hijacking of this site by Nigerian activists who continually make false claims against Shell rather than pursue their own government.

I guess Shell is the easy target. Most of the spills in Ogoniland have been created by the Nigerian folks drilling into pipelines and trying to steal oil and yet this is passed off onto Shell in an attempt to extort money from the corporate world.

I wonder where that money would go to in any case. Libro Aprendizaje Y Memoria Un Enfoque Integral Pdf To Excel on this page. Continual lengthy sermons are getting boring. • Armageddon in Ogoniland on Mar 28th, 2017 at 13:35. The expected cleanup of Ogoniland may save the land but many may never recover from the terminal diseases pervading Ogoniland and increasingly killing our people. Shell’s lies and irresponsibility has left an irreparable damage on the health on thousands in Ogoniland necessitating an urgent need for a health audit. We are getting more revelation about Shell’s wickedness in Ogoniland. German Geologist hired by Shell, Kay Holtzmann, has recently revealed Shell concealed data on the level of environmental contamination of Ogoniland.

Shell’s immediate response suggest that Holtzmann’s revelations did not require emergency measures. The company is largely irresponsible and will rather wish all Ogonis die.

I call this an Armageddon. It is a shame that Shell tried to conceal atrocities against the Ogoni people for over 50 years and will not get any punishment from the Nigerian state outside a meager $1billion dollar clean up funding. Recommended by UNEP. Livelihoods have been destroyed and none will be compensated, Shell and the Nigerian government continue to launder their image with a lazy-loaded clean-up programme after many have died from heavy pollution and many currently suffer from terminal illnesses.

Shell should have been ashamed of her actions in Ogoni and act quickly to address this mess. The neglect of a people who have contributed over $50 billion dollars to the Nigerian economy, a small minority whose current input to the Nigerian economy still exceeds those of 20 Nigerian states put together. A people callously neglected because of their small size, the poorest of Nigeria’s poor and yet they live on a richly endowed land whose benefit they never feel is definitely a sad tale to tell about a state in the twenty-first century. Ogoni is faced with ultimate death. Grappling to survive in an environment that can no longer sustain families, decreasing agricultural output, increasing insecurity and recourse to stealing to survive, and even more shameful is the conscienceless attempt by Nigeria’s drilling company, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, to resume oil production in the area. The story of the Ogoni should not be told about any civilized society.

Nigeria’s failure to resolve the Ogoni problem especially as related to our environment and right to self-determination signals a failure on the part of our country’s leadership to build a united and progressive Nigeria. The world must continue to be made aware of the story of the Ogoni, a small minority that had been exploited to death by Shell. We will continue to prick the conscience of the world and highlight the injustices perpetrated against the Ogoni people until they are addressed. We will not let Shell hide her crimes against the Ogoni people nor shall we be persuaded by political manoeuvres which do not address our concerns for a safe environment and our right to self-determination. About the Author: Fegalo Nsuke is Publicity Secretary of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People(MOSOP), He wrote from Bori, Ogoniland. • Beginning of the end on Mar 27th, 2017 at 00:46.

There is definitely a stench of discontent in the office where I work. Everyone I know has one eye on a new job and have accepted that shell is no longer the great employer it once was.

The crown jewels are being sold to fund BG deal and pay dividends. Staff are being treated atrociously, unless you are prepared to brown nose and turn a blind eye to the deplorable and corrupt behaviour of the prison guards (EVP’s and VP’s). It surprises me not that HR management like Mr Darcy are reading this. John you got any jobs going? • TotallyHackedOff on Mar 24th, 2017 at 12:46. Wikipedia “Mr.

Darcy is a proud and arrogant man to whom those are lower classes than him. He thinks he is better than them in rank and connections so he does not wish to interact with them”.

Someone has a chip on their shoulder! Come join the real people instead of living in the cloudsoh but hang on, you’ve been at Shell for so long you forgot how the rest of the world lives. Time to bring yourself down to earth and recognise what is really important to people. Keep the blog going John. Its gives us an avenue straight to the top. • regular browser on Mar 22nd, 2017 at 13:31. @Corrib Shell Police Corruption – If they ran for the hills I would question whether they had integrity at all.

It is very easy to be a ‘fair weather friend’ you only truly know people have integrity when they stand up for what is right. Sadly Shell never cleaned up the whole Corrib fiasco post takeover of Enterprise and continues to pay the price today. As I pointed out the same corrupt management sycophants are put in charge of trouble projects as they will toe the party line instead of actually fixing the problems. You only get promoted to JG2 and above these days if you actually leave your moral compass and own mind at the door each day.

• Corrib Shell Police Corruption on Mar 21st, 2017 at 11:32. Well it is refreshing that there is tacit acknowledgement of the ‘culture of fear’ not just in Norway but more broadly in the company.

Although Shell does indeed welcome ‘alternative viewpoints’ to do so is a career ending decision. This is supported by numerous Shell People Surveys over many years where this has been raised as an issue time and again. Management ‘listen’ but the status quo remains.

Like all large corporations Shell is not interested in anything which disrupts the existing power structures and fiefdoms – though there are some places where the culture is a little more open. Those who do choose to speak out either get sanctioned via their IPS or CEP and are marginalised, while the sycophants and nepotists rise to the top to ingrain the culture. This has been particularly apparent since the merger with BG and the message is Shell folk should be grateful that they have a job and should put up and shut up. Rocking the boat on HSE, the pay freeze, filling of jobs with unqualified graduates or brown losers etc. Management have succeeded over a number of years in taking a once great company and turning it into a mediocre shadow of its former self characterised by mismanagement and poor strategic choices.

This is a great shame as there are a lot of dedicated and talented employees across the company, though they do not stand a chance in a culture that does not reward competence but sycophancy. • Freedom of Speech on Mar 18th, 2017 at 01:21. John, Looking back at the same period of time over the last three years (1 January to 15 March) there were 60 postings in 2015, 45 in 2016 And 14 this year. Clearly a downward trend. You’re insinuation that anyone who challenges this site must be a Shell management lackey exposes a degree of paranoia. I’m in the industry – an industry that has served many and driven the wealth and well being of nations.

You yourself have done well from it. Have a good weekend. RESPONSE BY JOHN Thanks for your comments. Good of you to create this sudden surge but seems rather counter-productive to your suggestion that it should be closed based on the lack of use. If you really think that, why do you continue to visit such a supposedly boring forum on a regular basis, as you self-evidently do? Hence my suspicion about your background and the integrity of your postings. We are used to regular DoS attacks and other covert activity (including by Shell).

891,714 blocked malicious login attempts and 1,015,968 spam comments at the last count. Some people do not like what we are doing, yet keep returning, as you do. Your postings remind me of comments made long ago by Musaint and LondonLad who happened to be one and the same. A former senior Shell executive. Do the aliases seem familiar? If your objection is just the Shell Blog, then visit which does not have one. The way this is going, I am anticipating a complaint from Zik that you are hogging the forum.

• Bored on Mar 15th, 2017 at 21:02. Has this blog curled up and died? Why is it still nailed to its perch? 14 posts so far this year – same old tired, worn out complaints. Even Paddy Briggs has given up. Come on Mr Donovan, Do the decent thing.

Time to say goodbye? RESPONSE BY JOHN DONOVAN Over 3,500 comments posted overall, over 2,800 on the Shell Blog. Why do you want me to close down this free speech forum available to Shell employees and other parties interested in Shell? It costs nothing and no one is compelled to look at it or post comments on it. Since you obviously don’t like it that on its own is a good reason to keep it.

Do you by any chance have a connection with Shell management, which has tried very hard to close down this website? • Police Corruption Ireland on Mar 6th, 2017 at 12:00. NIGERIA OIL SECTOR LOSES N200BN TO PRODUCTION DISRUPTION – IF ONLY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WOULD LISTEN AND DO THE NEEDFUL It was recently reported that Nigeria has lost over N200 billion in the last 11 months due to the force majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) as a result of the vandalism of the 48-inch Forcados export line in 2016. But the truth of the matter is that this issue regarding the disruption of oil production can be tackled and addressed appropriately if the Federal Government and the relevant authorities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are ‘genuinely interested’ in addressing it in the first place. Rather than ‘playing politics’ with such matters. The NNPC put the monthly loss to the damaged pipeline, which was shut down February last year at N20 billion monthly. But like we said, the issues that have led to these oil production disruptions are obvious, however, the Federal Government and its Oil Corporation – NNPC, are busy beating around the bush, playing politics with these issues and dilly-dallying with the whole problem.

The truth of the matter is that both the Federal Government and the Nigerian lawmakers, including the relevant authorities of the NNPC; know exactly what and what to do to put an end to all these disruptions of oil production in the Niger Delta region, as well as other issues adversely affecting the host communities’ stakeholders. It is an established fact that the issues bothering the Niger Delta region are well known globally and by all, and as such, the solutions to these issues, which have been “long proffered” and how to resolve them for ‘sustainable growth’, is all that is required and expected of the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari to address/implement/execute with all sincerity of purpose. And not all these, for instance, so called fact-finding visits and dilly-dallying by the Presidency to score cheap political points and make it look like they are doing something to address the Niger Delta situation.

What other ‘facts’ are they looking for with these visits? What exactly are they looking for when all the issues are there for all to see.

When we still have the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) hanging in the corridors of the National Assembly for close to a decade without being passed/signed into law, and even the reported, attempted removal of the strategic 10% Host Community Development Fund as enshrined in the PIB document; the Government and the lawmakers should not be surprised when these things are happening in the region. Besides, how would oil and gas host communities’ locals and stakeholders ‘trust’ and ‘believe’ regarding its ‘plans and intentions’ for the region’s development when such sensitive bills like the PIB are used to play politics? The Nigerian Governments (both States and Federal), should realize that since they have failed, and still failing in its statutory roles to address all the issues daily adversely affecting the oil and gas host communities’ locals and stakeholders, the people have shifted their attention and have decided to hold the Oil and Gas companies responsible for what they see wrong in their communities, so as to attract the Governments’ attention.

The Oil and Gas companies on the other hand (which includes both IOCs and Indigenous Oil and Gas companies), should wise up and overwhelmingly carry the community people along and make them ‘benefit more’ from the oil and gas exploration and production activities in the region. The Oil and Gas Companies, including the Federal Government should realize that no matter the ‘heavy presence’ of the military in the region, “they still need the cooperation and active participation of the host communities’ locals.

They should bear this in mind and probably change some of their policies and operation-practices in favour of the host communities’ people. The Oil and Gas company policies that work in Europe and US may not work here in the Niger Delta region; hence they should adopt policies that are friendly and accommodating to the host community locals and elites. Since the Federal Government is not doing enough to ‘sustain peace’ in the Niger Delta region, then the Oil and Gas companies if they should remain in business, then they should carry the interest of the people in all they do. They should not use force or coercion to try to drive their business because this will be counterproductive, as has been seen in the past. The Federal Government, the lawmakers and the Oil and Gas Companies should realize that these oil and gas host communities’ people in the region have given their farmlands for oil and gas production. Most of them have even had their rivers (meant for fishing business) polluted and damaged for good due to oil and gas exploration and production activities.

So, in order to ‘buy peace’ and keep it sustainable, they need to “change their policies, style of approach and manners of doing things”, to favour the ‘overall interests’ of the oil and gas host community locals. The Oil and Gas companies operating in the region should take and treat the host communities’ people as ‘real stakeholders’ that ought to be carried along in their operations and not just ‘stakeholders on paper’. All our farmlands, rivers and creeks have been rendered ‘unprofitable’ and ‘environmentally hazardous’ due to the over five decades of oil and gas exploration and production in the Niger Delta region. So, the Federal Government and relevant authorities need to put themselves in our shoes to fully understand what we are saying here. For instance, by removing the said 10% Host Community Development Fund from the PIB, what then does the host communities locals in the region have to hold on to as benefits, to atone for their sufferings from the extractive industry all these years? These and many more are some of the issues that Government needs to start looking into. • SCAN on Feb 19th, 2017 at 16:28.

Just read that Shell wants to sell the share in the DUC (Dansk Underground Consortium for ca 1 billion dollars.) It was a well kept secret that the DUC had a marvellous tax deal in Denmark, in the past Shell Denmark was often the number 3 or 4 cash earner for the group due to this tax deal. Only the NAM with the huge gasfields made far more money.

(Norway was a lot harder on the oil companies and kept most of the proceeds themselves.) Not sure whether the tax system has changed the last few years. And if they can get a lot of money for it, it is a good time to leave the ship there, Maersk has little ideas how to go about milking the licence that was renewed a few years ago. They had mentally accepted the licence would come to an end when the old man Maersk McKinney Moller fixed an extension with the government. He died soon afterwards • Corrupt Irish Police. On Jan 28th, 2017 at 07:08. OPL245 The latest blog on this website asks if there is any evidence that Brinded benefited personally from his role in the alleged fraudulent deal? This we assume will come out in the wash if this affair ever gets to trial.

He certainly would have indirectly benefitted if the 240 odd oil blocs increased the reserves significantly because this would have been one of his principal goals as Upstream Director now doubt contributing to bonus rewards etc. But whether he benifited personally or not is not the key issue at this stage but rather whether he was aware that the monies paid over by Eni and Shell were being directed, all or in part, to the private bank accounts of corrupt officials, and if so he, if this can be established by legal process, would be an accessory to such corruption.

Bill • OPL 245 on Jan 10th, 2017 at 09:00. Can someone tell me when Shell turned into a lovable attention seeking charity by using potential dividends (for shareholders like me) to pay 100k + to charity. Next we will be told that OPL dirty $$ was a charitable donation to needy Nigerian ministers. I’m not a Scrooge but I hate this despicable way of trying to fool the public into liking it.

Be more like Exon! We don’t get porn mags at US gas stations. I wouldnt be surprised if Trump forces Shell to sell em here too. • Totally Hacked Off on Dec 17th, 2016 at 16:00. If asked Mr Donovan will confirm we had no hand in your current posting on Shell police corruption on the Corrib project I would like however to correct a mistake, it was not a “Shell Manager” who demanded the falsification of an honest statement.it was a Shell CEO called Terry Nolan who called in person on that “black day” accompanied by his senior local liaison officer John Cronin another man who has lost his tongue causing much pain to former allies.time to reflect Mr Cronin. #uknowthetruth • SMELLS on Dec 16th, 2016 at 12:43.

It reminds me of the ‘poh-boy’ shrimp sandwich in New Orleans. A colleague once told me I had to try at least one during my life.

So we went from Shell Centre#1 to one of many lunchrooms in the various basements some blocks away. About 6-8 hugely fat black girls were frying up the shrimps.

I got a plate with a full french loaf split open and I assume a kilo of fried garlic shrimps on top. I believe there was a leaf of lettuce too. Plus a pint of Coke. It tasted delicious but I managed less than half, still about 5000 calories Had constipation for three days!

There were hugely fat americans who ate two of these things per day. Mankind never ceases to impress me. • Kapsalon on Dec 10th, 2016 at 20:41. It is amazing that these “difficult choices” are all falling at the door of the lowest paid employees of Shell and yet the vastly inefficient and “fat” middle and upper level management just seems to keep on expanding. With such low activity levels due to the transition away from oil and gas, low oil price and smaller geographic focus of Shell one would have thought that these highly paid meeting organisers would face the chop rather than the people doing actual work. It is sad to say but it seems BvB has truly lost the plot after such a promising start and now tries to dig himself out of his own hubris after so many poor choices prime of which is the overpaying for BG. • Deadly Corrib Gas on Nov 8th, 2016 at 22:20.

I have an interesting factoid that your readers might be interested in reading. In 1980 proven US oil reserves were at about 37 billion blls. Today, depending upon who you reference, they are somewhere between 35 billion and 240 billion bbls thanks to the oil shale boom. However, during the time period 1980 – 2016 over 110 billion bbls of oil were produced in the US from various basin, both onshore and offshore. What is my point? My point is that we are not ‘running out of oil’ by any stretch of the imagination.

• Shell Police Corruption Eire. On Oct 21st, 2016 at 10:28. Peter Vosser must be wondering what happened to his Transition 2009 plans. Shell now has more SEG category staff (nearly 170) for 13 lines of business. This compares to just over 100 post transition 2009. The ratio of SEG to junior staff has got out of control with these highly paid executives pulling in nearly $150 million per annum surely now is the time to start pruning the top of the tree.

I’m surprised Ben has let this top heavy organisation continue. I wonder who were making the decisions about which staff to let go, could it have been the SEG group? • Safety dude on Oct 6th, 2016 at 20:31. @Bill Campbell. I applaud your bravery to stand up to the Shell bullies.

I can’t recall anyone having the principles and courage to stand up to the bullies in that disgustingly rancid place. Where are all the people that stood for something?

Now staff are treated like numbers (cattle) with the constant threat of the sack hanging over them. Guantanamo C16 has even announced that it will start charging inmates to use the gym facilities. Our prison comrades in Houston have had their cells taken away from them and condemned to home incarceration. Someone mentioned core values. I fear a ban on using those words is not far away. RDS RIP • The Escape Committee on Sep 21st, 2016 at 02:49. RELATED ARTICLE: Safety KPIs (re various comments on your website) It is interesting that during the utter collapse of safety standards on the Brent field (TFA et al) they were able to demonstrate ‘improvement’ in safety by the misuse of the worst kPI known to man, that is lost time incident frequency.

I am reminded of the world of Deepwater Horizon prior to the incident. Transoceanic staff were patting each other on the back at the time of the explosion for their sustained good performance re safety represented by the metrics of this KPI. This despite the installation being flooded with gas on several occasions in the months prior to the incident, the fact that the medieval gas sensing system did not and could not take executive action, that the drill crew had never trained for a blowout type incident despite the previous drill kicks, and when it happened on the fateful day rather than maintaining well flow via the appropriate surge diverted sent it fatally to the mud treatment skid. Also that just before all hell broke loose that during the back flowing of the well and displacing the mud with water no one was monitoring the mud returns, a cardinal sin in the Drillers 101 course. Dutchdude I agree completely. And it should come as no surprise that this van Beelen talked some common sense. I worked with his father and the stupidities by the drilling community in Alaska would simply not have occurred when he was head of Drilling!

Shell appears to follow the rest of the society that has decided to get all professionals bogged down in filling in metrics rather than doing their job. Only to allow the great many apparatchicks to write pompous reports and demand more monitoring!

In the past society followed Shell, times have changed. • Dutchdude on Sep 17th, 2016 at 06:29. Well “going out smoothly” it is indeed a “dirty job” at the coal face – it is also very dangerous. So I assume you are someone who has zero knowledge of the oil industry or its products?!?! Do you drive a car?

Do you ride a bicycle? Do you fly to other countries? Do you live in a house? Do you own a pair of shoes? All of these and many many more things from our daily lives rely on the oil industry and their products.

It is dick-heads like you and Greenpeace who have virtually no idea about the oil industry. Why even John Donovan made a fortune out of working with the oil industry until he fell out with Shell. Oh it’s great to be back and being able to comment on some idiot comments. • going out smoothly. On Aug 28th, 2016 at 22:43. Amused Non Expat – A bit surprised at your rationale. Because you perceive expats to be overpayed, it is ok for Shell HR to impose a new HYPOtax?

Get the wording, this is not a tax, it does not go to a government, will not go to funds to build schools, housing, healthcare. No this hypotax goes to Shell general funds (who knows to pay the high dividends). I have been on both local and expat side, and agree Shell has been a good employer as a whole, I just have issues with unscrupulous HR staff who trod decency so easily. I know numerous staff who have been send to a location with certain promises, only to find out the reality is much less. If you work in HR, please do some self reflection on who in Shell actually earns your sandwich for you Sadly I do agree with Shareholder, that it appears this time around the smart people are cashing in on Shell, signs all around that the ship is aiming for big rocks. • totallyhackedoff on Aug 18th, 2016 at 19:43.

To Amused non expat- am thinking you might know how much the redundancy payments are in cash terms to be able to comment.are you in HR? (probably has a high CEP and a Shell tattoo somewhere on your behind).

Last time I checked, this is a forum for people to speak openly about ALL and ANY issues relating to Shell, whining or otherwise. Consider it cathartic for people to get it off their chest, and be included in conversation that creates a bit of camarardarie, lest it happen in the corridors of Shell.

• Amused non Expat on Aug 15th, 2016 at 16:52. “Expat Staff” were you so innocent as to believe Shell promised you job for life.

If Shell has really given you promises in contractual terms then you re very lucky. I did disagree however that you would have been better off as a contractor, whose life and work is always at the will of the employing company and can be changed at a moments notice. Expats were immune from that exposure and you should be grateful for that. As for Shell only having the “people who can’t cut it in the real life” to imply that is a totally ridiculous statement and belittles the many of us left. I would suggest it is the expat who doesn’t know what the ‘real life’ is all about and is just finding out. • Expat Staff on Aug 13th, 2016 at 16:15.

I have worked for shell in over 12 international posting over my time. At present i am on garden leave waiting for the redundancy paper work, and have been told that i will not have any real option of securing a position in my home country. When i left on expat conditions some 27 years ago, there were lots of promises, and even more conditions expressed in contracts / agreements. One central theme to this is that the company would have my back and ensure that i would have a job when i came home. Part of the carrot associated with the sacrifice. Now, its just a numbers game. Tax equalization agreements in my contracts covered taxes while in overseas locations.

I agree that the current approach could be considered fair and just, but not when the terms and conditions and HR staff always stated i would always have a job at home after my many years of service in remote locations. Anyone who worked in Nigeria, Oman, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, China for long periods of time much of it away from friends and family will understand. We have been shafted. It would have been better to be a contractor for hire over this period, as they have had been able to just walk away from assignments, work for Exxon or BP for a stint and come back to packages often better than staff. With the expectation that staff will be protected, contractors are just hire and fire.

Heaven forbid you or a family member get sick How many cancer deaths have left the families with extremely difficult repatriation, and much smaller sums than promised? I for one will now go back to being a contractor, lots of our suppliers and service companies will be paying top money when the pendulum swings, and shell will have only the people who can not cut in the real world left. • Amused non expat on Aug 13th, 2016 at 09:27. I find it amusing that we have highly (over) paid Expats now whining about having to pay tax on what will be considerable redundancy payments. This whole entitlement/greed attitude is one of the problems which has got Shell into this overstaffing situation. Just remember that a lot of the redundancy payments are WELL in excess of statutory minimums and are ex gratis payments and can be taken away at a moments notice.

This whole expat ‘entitlement’ attitude is sickening and people should look in the mirror sometimes. Most of you have had a good ride on the gravy train but the train is about to hit the buffers. Time to step off and walk away. • Shareholder on Aug 13th, 2016 at 03:48. Concerned about unscrupulous HR careerists being (again)in charge of the current downsizing operation. Do they understand (or do they care) when they are cutting too deep into the framework of technical expertise and loyalty that used to be the foundation of The Company and the envy of its competitors? Do they really know for sure that the oil price will stay low for longer?

I sense that a lot of staff have had enough and are following the lead of Mr Van Burden (5.3mln EU salary + 9.7mln performance shares in 2015) and are now preoccupied filling their own bank accounts with as much voluntary severance pay as possible before the whole thing collapses. • Shame on you Shell on Aug 10th, 2016 at 22:33. Former Shell: Most of my career with Shell I have worked in countries where no income tax is paid. Midway my career Shell introduced the hypotax. They claim this is for equal treatment. Well, had I worked in the Netherlands I would have build my AOW, I would have participated in tax free saving schemes, free house loans (try to get a mortgage as expat), etc. This equal treatment argument by Shell is just another way of getting half back of a bonus, reward, severance scheme, etc.

Nothing fair about it. If you still work for Shell have a look at all the suddenly changed policies under HR (june/July), the world is changing.

HR is charged, it seems, with getting rid of staff the most cheap way. Many expats are half the cost of regular Dutch staff to get rid off. Who still looks at competence these days • Sacked on Aug 9th, 2016 at 22:22. Count me in guys! I’ve also been treated disgracefully. It’s times like this I wish we had a union to speak to.

I’ve been given a date, told ive not options but to take the package and forget about the two decades i’ve devoted to the company. What happened to People Values?

I don’t mind too much about leaving but being treated like dirt wasn’t part of the Employee Value Proposition. HR @ Shell are the biggest whores of all. No principles, a bit like the hired guns of the wild west. • Relieved on Aug 9th, 2016 at 14:27. On the whole Expat pay-offs and tax thing – pretty sure that with a few examples (UAE) etc, what’s now happening is that the tax bill that Shell has to pay when it makes the severance payment to the employee is just recovered by Shell. Until then, basically what happened if you were made redundant in a host country, you could (in some cases) get payment tax free.

Indeed, many many people were helped to move to those countries for “half an hour” before the decision was made. The reality is that there is still real money going through payroll, and so tax is really payable (with the exception of tax free countries) and Shell used to pay that for staff. I kind of get why they don’t want to do this anymore • totallyhackedoff on Aug 8th, 2016 at 19:55. Surely there MUST be something we can do about this? Aside from thieving of government taxes, I heard that the reorg in Rijswijk had hit a wall after a group of Employees got it halted on grounds of it not following the established process. Can anyone who is in that group extend the investigation so as to cover all Shell companies and JV’s in the Netherlands? I’m sure they would love to hear some of the stories that have been flying around!

Somebody ought to be having a field day regarding the legality of this reorg- it defies belief. I feel sorry for the people who will be left working for this monster. GET OUT however, whenever you can. There is life outside Shell by the way 🙂 • regular browser on Aug 5th, 2016 at 19:19. Unfortunately Dutchdude both the UK and Dutch governments are so deep in the pocket of Shell that nothing would happen.

It would take extraordinary publicity and public pressure to get anyone to pay attention and given that these payoffs even with the tax theft are out of the realm of possibility for most of the populace there is likely to be little sympathy. It is not the first time and won’t be the last that ‘creative’ HR types have found ways to screw the worker out of monies.

They have done it with ‘Local’ terms for people who are clearly expats, LNN terms, the Dutch 30% ruling, Expat assignments for home country staff, mandatory offshore banking for a number of territories and assignments and the list goes on. Even Deloitte is culpable in the way it prepares tax returns to benefit Shell. My personal view is that although sad the ones that can get out with any kind of payment are probably better off outside of what is clearly becoming a sinking behemoth that will realise too late the value that many of those it is shedding bring to the company – all of whom have largely been sacrificed on the vanity project that is the overpriced BG acquisition and the reluctance to accept that the days of high oil price (at least stable and sustained) are over. • totallyhackedoff on Aug 8th, 2016 at 19:48. A few weeks ago there were some posts about Shell pocketing the tax relief of those taking the severance package. I had expected a bit more comments on this?

Is the principle of tax not that it goes to the government? Since when do we allow companies to impose their own tax? Apart from the unfairness to the employees who worked for this and made sacrifices, it feels incorrect and arrogant. Tax should go to the government and tax relief to the person who is entitled to it. It should not be allowed to be taken away by unscrupulous HR staff.

If there is a reader here who works for the government tax department please raise this with your employer (UK, Holland, ). I bet that each severance employee rather pays tax to his government than to Shell. • Mayo News on Jul 29th, 2016 at 15:47.

Shell not only greedy but discriminate racially between Asian and European works with respect to severance pay. When in Netherlands it is offered minimum 3 years salary, in Asia it is only a months pay per year of service. Since in Asia Shell has started business in some countries only a decade ago, this severance pay comes only a few months salary for staffs of those countries.

Time has come Shell should start cut jobs from top which is not done till date. By cutting a few lower rank jobs company will not benefit as saving will not be substantial.

Only if EC, EC-1, EC-2 jobs are cut as well as the pay and benefit of remaining members of these bodies are cut substantial amount can be saved. But since this will involve the pay of the CEO, he will never agree with this and continue his drive from bottom. Even as racial overtures, highly paid expats are not being touched only local employees are being targeted in Asia where severance package is also poor compared with Europe. ALSO COMMENT ON THE ARTICLE: SHELL NORTH SEA STRIKE: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR This was inevitable after discrimination and rigid attitude of Shell management of only targeting lower rank staffs and their benefits without touching senior staffs. Discrimination between region to region in severance pay is making staffs boil and other staffs will also go to strike after North sea. • Relieved on Jul 10th, 2016 at 02:07.

Peter Robins it somewhat diminishes your argument to refer to BvB as a ‘Dutch idiot’. Whilst you and I might agree on the fallacy of some of the choices made he is not an idiot and is responding on the counsel of his EC. We might also agree on the unfairness in relation to the packages being offered but like it or not Shell like anyone else is a business it does not exist to be charitable. Part of the reason the Dutch terms are so generous is due to the lobbying of the staff unions – something which could also be done in other locations if there was the energy and commitment to do so. I would point out that many locations are being offered much more than what the law requires which, for all its faults, is a credit to the company as it is going beyond what its legal requirements are. I would also point out the axe is falling disproportionately to the BG employees, so whilst anyone losing their job is a tragedy (particularly in this environment) some people are feeling more pain than others.

The unfortunate fact is that the majority of the EC and higher management are wedded to a world of higher rents which oil and gas affords them. The business is not structured culturally to accept the much lower returns that other avenues offer.

It is regrettable that the company does not have the vision to see past short term operating goals but the blame there also lies with the institutional shareholders whose indifference contributes to the impasse. The BG deal, whilst hideously overpriced, is the right strategy in the very near term to shore up that high rent behaviour but I will agree that over the long term it will seem like a less sensible decision. • Peter Robins on Jul 5th, 2016 at 20:31.

Van Beurden is a Dutch idiot who knows nothing outside fossil fuel when the need of the hour if renewable. Five years down the line, the decision of van Beurden to take over BG will be considered as blunder by his predecessors like he is doing now. Job cuts due to company’s benefit is understandable. But hi is ot doing it in company’s interest, then why no top level EC, EC-1 jobs have been cut?

Why expats are not losing jobs inspite of non-productive and costly. It is Dutch bluffing to investors in the name of BG integration, taking benefit for their own countrymen of 3 years salary for every Dutch retiring whereas offering a few months pay for other countries. • Peter Robins on Jul 4th, 2016 at 19:53. Shell job cuts till now are only cosmetic one targeting only lower rank low cost employees leaving the higher rank high cost non-productive expats and job group A, B and 1 ranks. The powerful EC and EC-1, EC-2 rank employees is done their best to retain their jobs untouched and made fool the investors through job cut numbers without divulging the exact saving due to these cuts.

But in 2009 transition the situation was different under stewardship of then CEO Peter Voser. He ensured to cut jobs from higher rank targeting the costly employees of costly countries and ring fenced cheap country staffs. But this Shell management is too busy to save their own jobs than thinking of company benefit. This management also doing racial discrimination in paying severance package among employees of Europe and Asia. Let us see how long these management can save their jobs through such corrupt exercise. • Peter Robins on Jul 3rd, 2016 at 16:34.

Shell is always a company doing discrimination although they write “an equal opportunity company” as their policy. The recent example of such discrimination is their severance package offer for their Netherlands staffs and Indian staffs.

Governed by strict Govt. Rule, presence of staff council and CEO is a Dutchman Shell has declared severance package for their Dutch staffs with three years pay, although the pay package Dutch staffs receive among highest in the world. But the same company has offering one month salary for each completed year of service for Shell’s Indian permanent staffs taking advantage of corrupt Govt., no staff council and native staffs at receiving end of this discrimination.

Shell has history of more than 100 years of such discrimination and racism in this modern world although their management team bit the drum of equality, inclusiveness and fair treatment. Join our drive to denounce such hegemony by an international company of civilized world. • Peter Robins on Jun 23rd, 2016 at 15:01. Comment on the article: Royal Dutch Shell Set to sink? With poor management, rampant corruption and racism this is inevitable within short time.

The situation of low crude price is being handled by Shell management shabbily. They are trying to show the shareholders action by cutting jobs in thousands, but actually the job cuts are not being done without any rational or transparent manner to reduce cost and enhance efficiency. When costly expat employees are being retained due to their skin colour, cheap and efficient local employees are being targeted. With such poor management the fate of the company is known to world. • Realist on Jun 20th, 2016 at 22:03. Relieved, with so much emphasis put on self serving careerist moves and ensuring their high CEP there is no time for forward planning or thinking.

Part of managements problem is it has a very short memory and has been corrupted by ‘group think’. The model for progression does not allow for dissenting views – something not unique to Shell amongst big oil.

As a result any semblance of commercial savvy is lost on folks who are only interested in making an impact in the 2-4 years before they get rewarded for sycophancy. It does an enormous amount of discredit to the competent and smart people working to make the company better but they certainly do not have the management and executives they deserve.

Personally I see it as a direct consequence of the choices and ‘advice’ that was embraced from the 90’s onwards, BvB would do well to sweep the deck if he wants to cut the fat but we know that will never happen so the great con continues, a shame really. • Relieved on Jun 8th, 2016 at 14:25. The job cuts in Shell India means only for lower rank staffs. All JG-2 and above staffs or the expats are not touched. It is cosmetic with respect to cost reduction as local staffs are the cheapest among all other regions and country. In India there is no protection from their corrupt Govt.

Nor there is any social security. India base country staffs are cheapest among whole Shell with respect to salary and benefit thanks to low Indian Rupee exchange rate with dollar.

Still only 10% of lower rank local staffs have been targeted without touching the high cost expats or JG2 and above. This shows Shell’s dishonesty and insincerity to cut cost. In face for India it is naked racism is being followed for job cut. • Shell Insider on May 29th, 2016 at 03:54. Relieved: spot on! When he arrived in SIEP he told us that Shell had the best resourcing system in the world. And he was right.

Next thing he did was to destroy that model completely by importing a bunch of no-good americans (there also are some very good americans), pushed the remuneration of the top to extreme levels and then was parked as ‘president’ in the USA. He loves travelling in style and surrounding himself with sycophants. Plenty of those in the US of A, the land of the ‘free’ and the weasels.

He left a ‘Me First, screw the rest’ attitude throughout and the results speak for themselves. He reminded me most of the evangelist Billy Graham, with the difference that Hofmeister was a complete windbag claiming to be an Amish. An insult to the Amish! • Relieved on May 20th, 2016 at 15:39.

The Dutch have always been protected by their ‘Staff Council’ which is a trade union by any other name. The staff hide behind this and have been immune to cuts and redundancy despite being grossly over staffed with high job group people.

This will hopefully come home to roost soon as they start to fight amongst themselves to make the savings in the centre as there is nothing else left. Those of us left count ourselves lucky we still have a job but the workload just went up 5 fold!! Oh yes, that article by Prabhat Sakhya is probably one of the best examples of lazy journalism I have seen for a long time.

His prediction of the demise of Shell and BP is laughable as it is based on just two consecutive periods when the oil prices has floundered. Of course it does come from the aptly named Motley Fool.

• Relieved on May 19th, 2016 at 03:32. Interested to know if any current Shell employees have picked up on the unfair approach to the current reorganisation. Management in Netherlands are seeking RFA’s and operating to a different timeline to the UK and Australia, with Australia being able to steam ahead with their reorg plans as they do not have the same constraints. So much so, that impacted employees are being asked to second guess whether they need to apply for jobs in their base countries or to stick tight and see out the brutal and unfair approach to reducing staff numbers in their current host countries. What gets me is the fact that Shell talks about being a global organisation yet works very much to a local agenda- presumably because of the various employment laws which are stronger in the westernised world contrasting with the slacker legislation in others which make it cheaper in the long run to fire staff.

I wonder how long it took the bean counters to work that one out? • Relieved on May 10th, 2016 at 14:41. In 2007 we were informed we had to pay back 128 million out of our pension because the UA 488 out of Edmonton lost it on a bad investment but when you do the math and run the numbers it doesn’t make sense. Every member, travel card and permit sacrifice their pension for 4 years to pay it back and from what I been told were still paying back their loss to date.I talk to retired members and soon to retire member that are still waiting on their pension and a total of their funds.If they don’t have our pension and spent it we want them to pay the tax on it. Say in 2007 20,000 members working full time $24,000 a year for each member Turns into $480,000,000 a year. And that’s just half of your members. Where did all the money go?

And that’s 20000 men and they had what 70000 men working in 2007.Your union had Suncor, Syncrude, Albion, Scottsford, Kearl, Firebag, cnrl, Dow Chemical, and Petro. So where did 1,680,000,000 go? Our working dues is 128$ x 70,0000 men x 12 = $107,520,00. Now what did your union do with everyone’s money and that goes for your members money? How can they loose government-regulated pension and if they spent it, shouldn’t they pay taxes on it bc it tax-free money they spent. 10 percent of that is a lot of tax money. • Relieved on May 8th, 2016 at 20:44.

Come now Relieved, for once Mr Donovan should be praising Shell for philanthropy. It is very clear that almost everyone on Earth would prefer to walk than to get into that glorified Fisher Price car. I find it ludicrous that with all the brainpower in Amsterdam and Rijswijk focussed on such a product the best they could come up with was, as you put it the glorified Smart Car (with a fisher price paint job) that still for some flabbergasting reason runs on Petrol despite the fact that there is no city on Earth pushing for this type of car that is not anything other than electric. Shell is in total denial about the disruptions it is facing, I think the axe should be swung higher up the food chain than the poor folks in The Hague, Rijswijk, Reading, London, Aberdeen, Houston, Calgary and Perth who are currently facing an uncertain future. • Relieved on Apr 28th, 2016 at 16:19.

ON GAS DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA – WHAT PRESIDENT BUHARI NEEDS TO DO With the prevailing harsh economic realities facing the Nigerian economy due to the free fall of oil price in the global market, which has practically affected every sector of the country, there is need for more attention to be diverted to the development of other energy sources to revitalize the energy industry. This is where the development of Nigeria’s abundant natural gas reserves comes into play. Unfortunately, not much has been witnessed in this direction in terms of developing it to what it should be. As an environmentally friendly and efficient “energy source”, natural gas is today considered the cleanest-burning conventional fuel, producing lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions than heavier hydrocarbon fuels such as coal and crude oil. Natural gas fuels power stations for electricity supply, heats buildings and is used as a raw material in many consumer products, such as those made of traditional plastics. But despite its importance, the Nigerian Government over the years has not been given natural gas development in the country the rightful attention it deserves.

With a proven reserve of more than 260 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Nigeria’s gas reserve is triple the nation’s crude oil resources as at 2013. Hitherto, Associated Gas encountered during the normal course of oil production has been largely ‘flared’. Nigeria is reputed to be the largest gas-flaring country in the world.

By not fully harnessing its gas resources, Nigeria loses an estimated 18.2 million U.S. Dollars daily according to some reports. Would like to add to the good post from relieved.

I feel going forward that the biggest technical obstacle limiting the high side of oil prices may well be oil fracking. At $50 or$60 a barrel huge state sized fields are profitable in the U S with huge reserves. It’s hard for me to understand how long term prices can break thru that ceiling when hundreds of rigs then show up and start flooding the market a few months later. It really makes me wonder if deep water, especial offshore Brazil, projects aren’t really going to be hurt with limited long term prices and only short term upsides. • Outsider on Mar 24th, 2016 at 10:04. Presumably Shell and Inpex were hoping to offload the Prelude vessel onto the Indonesians.

The announcement of the indefinite delay to the Browse FLNG development was apparently delayed until Shell and Inpex were sure that the Indonesians would not take the Prelude vessel I wonder if there are any other unsuspecting countries who would be interested in buying an unfinished prototype “cyclone proof” FLNG barge. There’s no shortage of stranded gas out there. • Relieved on Mar 21st, 2016 at 15:17.

I almost don’t care what the latest rise in the price of oil may be. The industry is beginning to face the inevitable consequences of the advance in new technologies and those are inevitably going to have a very large impact on the long term future of the oil industry. Hybrid vehicle sales are continuing to climb even when gasoline sells below $2/gallon US. We have not yet reached the time when oil and coal are no longer the economic kings that fuel our economies, but we are getting there, and at a rapidly increasing pace. • Slava on Mar 16th, 2016 at 07:55. ON NIGERIA OIL WORKERS SHUT DOWN OF NNPC OVER ‘UNBUNDLING’ – NOT IN THE INTEREST OF THE NIGERIAN COMMON MASSES We strongly condemn the recent shut down of all offices and facilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), by its oil workers, in protest of the recent splitting/restructuring of the nation’s oil company into Seven Independent Units by the Federal Government. If the restructuring of the NNPC into several units is intended by the Federal Government to make it more effective, efficient and to drastically reduce the bureaucratic bottlenecks evident in the NNPC as the independent units will be made to ‘manage their own resources and workforce’, then we do not see anything wrong with this.

Hence, we do not see the reason for the so called shut down of operations by its workers. Firstly, let us correct the impression already created by the media that what the Federal Government has done is an “unbundling of the NNPC into different parts”, which many (especially NNPC) has thought might adversely affect/reduce the workforce. But what we believe the Federal Government has done is a “restructuring” of the NNPC to make it more functional, effective and efficient in their services. There is a difference between the two terms ‘unbundling’ and ‘restructuring’.

This was also highlighted by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and GMD NNPC, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, when he announced the restructuring of the NNPC into seven independent units, namely Upstream, Downstream, Gas & Power Marketing, Refineries and Ventures, Corporate Planning & Services and Finance and Accounts. Each of the Units would be headed by Chief Executive Officers, namely Bello Rabiu for Upstream; Henry Ikem-Onih (Downstream); Saudu Mohammed (Gas & Power Marketing); Anibor Kragha (Refineries); while Babatunde Adeniran would be in charge of Ventures. The CEO in charge of Finance & Services would be Ishiaka Abdulrazaq, while the Executive Head, Corporate Services will be Isa Inuwa. On the workers’ obvious fears, the Minister clearly said the exercise has “zero sum in terms of job loss.

The principle of restructuring approved by the President is that nobody losses work. I do not have everyone gets busy, unless for reasons of bad staff performance and fraud. There is no mass attempt to let people go.” He said the decision to embark on the ‘restructuring’ followed an analysis of the number of staff, which revealed that the corporation was overstaffed, and therefore the need for them to be meaningfully engaged. The only way to realize that objective, the Minister said, was to create jobs for everybody in the system to enable him has something doing. In his words: “We don’t want people coming to the office to read newspapers.

We want everybody to get busy and earn money. If we do that we will realize that there would be adequate staff to man the different units, and that we don’t really have the problem of over-staff after all.” With this understanding, it is plainly seen that what the Federal Government want is to do in the NNPC with this restructuring, is to make more effective, proactive, efficient and functional. So we do not understand why there appears to be so much discontent amongst workers of the oil corporation. As far as we are concerned, all those kicking against the restructuring of the NNPC as planned by the Federal Government, are doing so for their own selfish interests and not in the interests of the plebeians (common masses) and the Nigerian economy.

This includes the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), who are the two major unions in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. For PENGASSAN, they have argued that the union was not carried along in the decision to split the company. While for NUPENG, they said the union would not accept the decision without knowing how the manpower that would operate in the restructured units would be managed. We believe these are flimsy excuses used by these unions to justify their strike action.

With the explanations given by the Presidency about its plans for engaging in the said NNPC restructuring in the first place, any sane industry player in sector should back the government efforts and not make things worse with a strike action. Also, must these unions use strike actions to communicate their grievances towards the government? What happens to a round table dialogue/discussion or other corporate means to address issues? The nation’s oil and gas sector is already heated-up and under pressure for a while now over the downward trend of oil price, depleting foreign reserves and pressure on the Naira; why should the NNPC workers make things worse with their ill-advise strike action? If they really mean well for the nation’s economy, then they would realize what the Presidency is trying to achieve with its planned restructuring and they would give the President the needed support.But like we said, it is obvious that some few persons in the circles of country’s oil company are ‘massively benefitting/gaining’ from the status quo and the NNPC as an “umbrella corporation” where Executive decisions are tied to some individuals. Hence, these set of people are using the NNPC workers to frustrate the plans of the President who is trying to address the loopholes in the industry. This group of persons and the said NNPC workers that are currently on strike are obviously ‘anti-people’ and ‘anti-government well-intended objectives’.

We strongly condemn their industrial actions, which is not in the interest of the nation’s economy but for their selfish gain.We therefore urge that they promptly call off their strike and support the good intentions of President Muhammadu Buhari. Zik Gbemre, JP. National Coordinator Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC) We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes • Another insider on Mar 10th, 2016 at 03:52. You could argue that Relieved were he not 57.

No, Marvin FINALLY got called out for his incompetence. His presiding over the disasters in the Arctic and in the $40 billion shale misadventure finally caught up with him as all those who took the fall earlier had gone and BvB finally saw him as the liability he was. That was why he was ‘moved’ into the departure lounge position in the first place. I cannot think of a single executive offhand who willingly got off the gravy train before their time regardless of what Corporates press writers spin.

The interesting thing will be to see how many of his equally culpable lieutenants (particularly in commercial) follow him to the exit as the BG merger progresses. • Relieved on Feb 27th, 2016 at 16:38.

I have worked for Shell for more that 10 years and have always defended our business principles even in Nigeria where it is tough not to submit to temptation to move things along easier. The Shell Business principles have always been a cornerstone of the principles by which we work and now we find Ben and his cohorts have not paid any Corporation tax in the UK.

Simon Henry, as a British citizen you must be ashamed if this is just slightly true, if not get the lawyers to issue statements and put the Sunday Times in its place. • MOLE on Feb 1st, 2016 at 04:10. Dear Sir/Madam, Two contrasting views on Corrib Gas published by your paper makes interesting reading: Corrib gas a ‘template’ for ‘how not to undertake a development’ British engineers’ group say more democratic approach could have avoided cost overruns. And Brendan Cafferky’s opinion of the Corrib Gas Project – “This project is, in my opinion, an example of how to protect the environment” is the expression of his decade long unstinting support of Shell. The Pro Gas Mayo group has three or four members, none of them living in the vicinity to the terminal or gas pipeline which may explain why safety issues did not arise for them. Cafferty seems not to be aware that Corrib Gas Partners can sell their share of gas to whomever they wish but not the Irish Nation. Once Corrib gas is pumped into the Bord Gais gas network it can be sold by way of sale, gas swap and virtual trading – even outside of Ireland.

Just because the terminal is in Ireland does not guarantee security of gas supply to Irish customers. It’s a free market. Cafferty is not very good on Norwegian history. Norway’s policies on oil and gas were decided at a time when Norway was told that the nation will never be an oil and gas rich nation, luckily for the Norwegian people they decided to stay in control of their resources just in case. That was in the early 70th and by now they can afford to reduce royalties and tax. Unfortunately, the Irish decision makers decided in the late 1990 to change fiscal terms and hand all Irish natural resources to the industry, lock, stock and barrel.

Time will tell how much Ireland will have lost. I rather agree with the British Engineers – Corrib Gas is a story of how not to undertake a development. If it is left to Mr. Cafferty = I guess he would do it all again, in the same way.

Regards, Monica • LondonLad on Jan 27th, 2016 at 18:47. Me thinks that Lorna Siggins of the Oirish Times needs to name the actual “several Shell managing directors who have acknowledged mistakes” over the Corrib project.

I didn’t think Shell had that many Group Managing Directors!! It remains the case that it is the few NIMBY’s who did not want this project to go ahead for the benefit of the country who continue to cause trouble. Just look at the picture posted on this website – far less than 50 people seem to be demonstrating about the project. These people need to get into the real world for the sake of their children and grandchildren. Maybe they want to run the country on potato fuel as the green alternative? • Outsider on Jan 26th, 2016 at 11:08. January 29, 2016 UPDATE Forces, whom I believed aligned with lawbreaker, SHELL, and the Supreme Court of the Philippines whose inaction to prosecute and/or discipline SHELL, Te, Lapitan et al, evidently proved to be their protector, were successful in their effort to stop me from posting to my personal blog by invoking violation of User Content and Conduct Policy.

Though this restriction could give a major debacle in my effort to expose SHELL and the SCP symbiotic relationship, this incident in fact gave me a major victory in the sense that my campaign had yielded a remarkable psychological advantage. It got my needed media attention. I hope the Supreme Court move quick not to lock me up but to institute the much needed reform to effectively rid out inefficiency, incompetence, gross inexcusable negligence and corruption in the judiciary and the whole government machinery that the Filipino people dreamed of in a long time. • WhataBerger on Jan 21st, 2016 at 09:14. Shell Oil must cut all Contractors from WIPRO, ACCENTURE AND IBM since these contractors are all under performers and these Wipro, Accenture and IBM Contractors are not having relevant experience but they bring all freshers/ Zero experienced people to work on IT projects and claim huge hourly rate that is equal to be paid for highly experienced people.

These WIPRO, ACCENTURE AND IBM companies including its PMO staff must be fired immediately to save future investments on business improvements. The work/task that can be completed in one day will be completed in 10 days by these Contractors since they get paid for all these days and Looks like Shell Oil is paying for under performed employees that needs to be paid for highly performed employees.

Shell must have job cuts with immediate affect by giving Pink slips to all Contractors of Wipro, IBM and Accenture including all PMO Staff. • Billy Whiz on Jan 20th, 2016 at 12:16. As one of the many let go by Shell in the recent cull in November I was not impressed by the way senior leaders clung to their jobs. This is now going to get even worse in my opinion as Shell announces more job losses.

Even the inmates will be turning on each other as there is nobody left in the asylum and yet strangely the senior leaders still remain in place. The same senior leaders who got us into this mess seem to think they are the best to get Shell out of it.

Good luck boys, its great watching from the outside for a change. Oh yes and don’t expect New Orleans to survive as Andy Brown’s boys come to town. • LondonLad on Jan 19th, 2016 at 19:36. Wow I am once again in agreement with my old mucker “Relieved”. This low oil price is yet another blip in the oscillation of oil price.

This basically still shows a gentle increase as shown in numerous websites: I am sure that these sort of charts have been used by the various “planners” of RDS for the BG bid. Mind you, when working for RDS I never really trusted some of the scenarios used by these Central Office “boffins”. As far as I am concerned the purchase of BG remains a good deal.

Exxon next purchase for Mr. • Relieved on Jan 19th, 2016 at 16:20.

Strange that Shell pulls out of a ADNOC gasproject but continues with the BG deal (if the shareholders allow it). Project costs must be at an all time low now and over 30 years this should be a good deal with the same arguments as used for the BG deal!

More gas, more reserves, growing market, prices will increase, shift towards gas, etc etc. And with Prelude coming along, I worry that in this depressed market there will be tremendous costcutting.

This is always good as long as it does not involve cutting corners. But who can guarantee this??

The pressure on the top of Shell must be significant judging from their forced smiles! • Drum Major on Jan 17th, 2016 at 11:33. It’s curious that, according to press reports, global production of oil is increasing to record levels, and the surplus is being stored offshore in increasing numbers of tankers. The price can supposedly only go down. It is strange to hear first hand reports from the field that suggest the opposite: production supposedly collapsing due to a lack of well maintenance and field development. Oil price rises may be much nearer than some of the traders are assuming • Old EP hand on Jan 11th, 2016 at 16:22.

The number of hydbrid gasoline/electric vehicles in the US is expanding dramatically.This is happening simply because of economics – its pays to buy one of these vehicles even when the retail price of gasoline is at US2.00/gal or less. Mileage improvements for passenger vehicles are dramatic, depending upon make and model, but are on the order of 80%.

For heavy commercial vehicle it is on the order of 50%. So, not only does the oil industry face a glut of supply it faces the advance of technology that is radically improving consumption efficiency. That translates into lower demand or, in the near term, declining demand for crude. I don’t know as if I would trust Shell crystal ball regarding the increase in crude prices. It will increase, no doubt, but the rate and the degree of increase may not be what Shell wishes it to be.

• Fegalo Nsuke on Jan 9th, 2016 at 10:01. The author of this comment is Fegalo Nsuke, publicity Secretary of The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). The situation in Ogoni is very pathetic. Pain, anger, frustration, sicknesses, malnutrition and poverty are dominant with no signs of relief. The memories of state-sponsored persecution live with us and successive governments continue to prosecute the agenda of hatred against the Ogoni.

The people have been underestimated, considered to be small and weak and adjudged incapable of any negative impact on the economy. This contemplation has empowered our tormentors to unleash the most inhuman treatment on the Ogoni. In a supposed federation of 36 states, the Ogoni do not have a state of their own. The right to self-determination enjoyed by the majority ethnic groups in Nigeria is denied the Ogoni.

The revenue generated from Ogoni, is more those of 20 states in Nigeria, yet the Ogoni, a distinct people with unique language and culture are not allowed to determine their future in their own state. Ogoni is not cared for, denied every thing enjoyed by the majority ethnic groups in Nigeria and subjected to the most inhuman conditions that assure them of no future. Death is for Nigeria, the sure end of the Ogoni. In seeking to reclaim their rights, Ogoni leaders in 1990 came up with a historic document, The Ogoni Bill of Rights, which spells out their demands on the Nigerian federation. Nigeria did nothing to address the issues and a series of protests from the Ogoni were to follow.

The protests were targeted at Shell’s racist business practices in Ogoni. Shell’s usual response was to invite the Nigerian security forces whose ruthlessness left the Ogoni with an unending pain. Thousands killed, women raped, children killed and abused, thousands imprisoned and living conditions only get worse.

Ogonis had been’ battered by a government that should have protected them. The climax was the November 10, 1995 hanging of nine of our leaders including Dr. Barinem Kiobel, Rev. John Kpuinen, Ken Saro-Wia and 6 others. Convicted by their conscience, the Nigerian government ordered an environmental audit of Ogoniland and on August 4, 2011, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) released the audit report on Ogoni environment. The UNEP report represented the first major success for the Ogoni as a scientific study by an independent body justifying the complaints of environmental damage leveled against The Shell Petroleum Company. Shell had operated in Ogoni for over 50 years and left nothing other than a completely devastated land.

The U.N report said the pollution of Ogoniland would take 30 years to cleanup. Prior to this report, Shell had persistently claimed innocence of any wrongdoing in Ogoni. Over four years later, the Nigerian government is yet to implement the report. The non-implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoniland points the fact that the Nigerian government is indeed committed to the systematic destruction of Ogoni. The government has taken over 30billion dollars worth of oil between 1958 and 1990 and have left oil spills to damage the area without any positive response.

The 30 day ultimatum issued by The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) on January 4, 2016 in Bori, calling for urgent action to implement the Ogoni environmental audit report or face series of mass action has come at the right time. MOSOP has spoken the minds of the Ogoni people. A people with no other alternative but to march against genocide and confront a seemingly insensitive Nigerian government.

Ogonis cannot wait to see everyone die before they move to save and secure their future. We have a responsibility to stop the genocide! With two refineries, two seaports and two power plants in Ogoniland, I am sure the government cannot risk an “occupy campaign” from Ogoni. Ogonis will consider occupying the oil and gas free zone, seaports and refineries endlessly until we are heard.

We will come out with our foodstuffs, cloths and take over these territories to force the Nigerian government to act now. The time to act is now. The Nigerian government has to address the Ogoni problem, beginning with the cleanup of the environment. Author: Fegalo Nsuke is publicity Secretary of The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).

Buensuceso Jr. On Jan 7th, 2016 at 08:47. JANUARY 7, 2016 UPDATE_SHELL Follow the Law or get out. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (SHELL) greed and unlawful endeavor extend even to the point of robbing employee retirement pay by circumventing the Retirement Pay Law.

I have called the attention of the Supreme Court of the Philippines through Atty. Theodore Te, the PIO Chief, since September 2015 about this matter, but up to this time January 2016, the good PIO Chief refused to give my complaint against SHELL due course. I even tweeted the honorables CJ Sereno and Justice Leonen about my plight that SHELL ROBBED MY RETIREMENT PAY but after a couple of days their tweeter accounts disappeared and as I feel it, both justices gone into hiding, perhaps to deny knowledge of my predicament and consequently, escape blame for their inaction. With these experiences dealing with SHELL and the Supreme Court I have reasons to believe that SHELL will not be bold enough to disregard the law without the protectors in the Supreme Court and this protection, of course is not free. However, these “honorable” people though have learned to transfer shame from their faces to the soles of their feet, could not withstand the mounting pressure for reform from the enlightened citizenry. • georgie on Jan 7th, 2016 at 01:02.

COMMENT IN RESPONSE TO ARTICLE: “Chris Blackhurst: Shell and BG’s £47 billion merger could really pay dividends” Yes, Lloyd’s amalgamated with HBOS to produce one big bad bank. And so why did the Lloyd’s shareholders vote it through by 90%?

Well maybe it was because the majority were also HBOS shareholders, much like this case where many institutions hold both Shell and BG shares. Do you really think they’ll vote NO and risk a collapse in the BG share price and resignation of the Shell BOD? You think Shell won’t be tempted to cut the dividend if the deal collapses and oil stays this low? Are the media so incapable of joined up thinking? Exxon would just love a NO vote, in fact they’re probably IMO, sponsoring a lot of the negative media stories over the past 12 months. • Ben's Luck on Jan 4th, 2016 at 14:17.

Bad luck in offshore Alaska. Dry well after Ben van Beurden approved another ill-fated attempt at Arctic drilling. Misfortune in the Dutch courts with a precedent-setting decision that Shell can be sued in the Netherlands for alleged pollution and human rights claims arising in other countries. In the case in question, Nigeria. Was the unexpected decision a consequence of Ben firing Shell’s top lawyer Peter Rees two years ago? The court decision could cost Shell many billions. More bad luck with the collapse in oil prices after Ben made a takeover bid for BG Group.

Would he have made today the deal he offered last April with the oil price factored in at $67 per barrel? I think we all know the answer.

Why is he not attempting to renegotiate? Boldest Shell leader for many years but dogged by miscalculation and misfortune. • Relieved on Dec 27th, 2015 at 18:45.

December 19, 2015 UPDATE My close family relative who now lives in my home address in the Philippines reported to me that at least on four occasions this past month of November 2015 men coming to interview them guised as LPG inspectors, census surveyors or my old friends and asking questions seemingly far beyond they supposed to be asking like personal information about the members of my family and place where they can be found and about myselfwhen I will be coming back home. My close relative felt something is not going right.

As SHELL being portrayed from several of John Donovan’s article like the case of Ken Saro-Wiwa, it is not far that what happened to Ken Saro-Wiwa, could be done best in the Philippines given the culture of impunity they enjoyed, as I experienced and being observed, under the protection of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Buensuceso Jr. On Dec 14th, 2015 at 07:11. December 14, 2015 UPDATE Up to this time the Supreme Court of the Philippines PIO Chief, refused to respond on my inquiries and worse I feared that my messages are not reaching Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. So I searched for her tweeter account and I found it together with another, for Associate Justice Marvin Leonen tweeter account, where I tweeted them both my article “SHELL ROBBED EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PAY”, a couple of days ago. But now that I am about to tweet them again, I could not find their tweeter accounts anymore. I have a suspicion that both Supreme Court Justices hides to avoid answering complaint against SHELL and the PIO Chief.

• LondonLad on Dec 13th, 2015 at 19:35. Say “Bogey Boy” did Mike Napier (never heard of him but I assume he is / was your boss / ex-boss) fire you and that is therefore your main gripe? You are correct about Shell wanting to make money – surely all companies want to do this (and are required to do this by their shareholders)? That said, all companies must adhere to the law of the land in doing so.

Global warming?. Too much time spent on this subject, seems to be an easy excuse by government representatives, show-biz people and media reporters to go on a jolly trip around the world to pontificate and burn up the planet by flying there!! • MOLE on Dec 12th, 2015 at 19:46. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation misappropriated my retirement pay for their obligation for the payment of separation pay. This is against the Retirement Pay Law in the Philippines. Now that I am retired I started claiming my retirement pay from Shell but Shell refused to honor the company’s obligation under the law. I filed petition to the Philippine Supreme Court but the high ranking personnel, the PiO Chief is delaying and/or preventing the petition due course.

• Relieved on Dec 9th, 2015 at 16:20. Have to agree “Cowboy” – it’s for that reason I sometimes put some end-of-the-week postings to stir some input!! So here goes. (1) Has all this Corrib NIBY (not in my back yard) stuff stopped progress in Ireland? – same sort of people that you see objecting to bombing ISIL etc. (2) the RDS buying of BG has gone ahead despite all the gloom merchants, (3) what about my old mucker in Malaysia who tried to take SSB/SSPC to court?

Jeez, and we are still 3rd in the Premiership!! • Cowboy on Dec 2nd, 2015 at 14:14. Lorraine Mitchelmore is really leaving because Shell is disgusted with MARVIN’s strategy to gut Shell CANADA.

Shell CANADA is now but a mere shadow of the strong company it was prior to the RDS takeover. RDS has systematically dismantled and reduced Shell CANADA to a small player in Canada to the point where it has dropped to number 3 or number 4 in Canada.

This is a JOKE and will only get worse as MARVIN and the other global clowns prepare to further weaken and destroy Shell CANADA. That is the true story. • Hey Manny on Nov 13th, 2015 at 00:53. The Saudis have chosen Poland for a reason. With Poland’s total oil imports a bit above 24 million tons per year, with 20 million tons coming from Russia, this is a historic opportunity to not only shake off its energy dependence from Russia, but also to become an major Saudi oil hub in Europe. Poland’s Northern Port in Gdansk can receive up to 35 million tons of oil per year with a possibility to increase this capacity by at least 25%, i.e.

To some 44 to 45 million tons per year, what leaves some 20 million tons per year of excess capacity. As the most recent reports state, the Saudis extended an offer to Poland to co-finance the construction of oil storage facilities and pipelines redirecting the oil to the Baltic States, Ukraine and the Visegrad Group member states. This alone would reduce Russia’s oil exports to Europe by a whopping 13%, thus reducing its annual export revenue by $12 billion (at $30 per barrel) to close to $20 billion (at $50 per barrel). Poland, of course, will be more than happy to throw as much sand into the Russian financial gears as possible, since it’s the main driving force behind the creation of the European energy union and stripping Russia of its all monopoly pricing power on the EU energy markets. Germany and France, as well as the Scandinavians will likely comply.

• Burger Prospect on Oct 14th, 2015 at 20:12. INTERESTING ARTICLES From these two articles it is clear that the big problem for Shell was the lack of oil and the now low prices for both gas and oil. This prospect contains a huge amount of gas and gas condensate but it is not economic to develop at current commodity prices. Shell’s hope (if it ever existed) of finding oil was probably futile wishful thinking and doomed from the outset. If this prospect were located onshore it would probably be economic to develop, even if the gas were re-injected and only the condensate was produced. This field falls into the category of a ‘super giant’ field.

Given all that is and was known about this prospect, it would appear someone at Shell really goofed in deciding to commit the kind of financial resources that were committed to this project. From an economic standpoint this was a very high risk project from the beginning. The big problem for Shell is that the accumulation is mostly gas and gas condensate, with little or no oil. Given current gas prices in the US and the low price of oil there is simply no way that Shell could make development of this prospect pay off, no mattter what the politicians in Alaska might claim. • Relieved on Oct 14th, 2015 at 14:48. Oct 11,2015 – Sullivan Reacts to Shell Arctic OCS Announcement WASHINGTON, DC – U.S.

Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) released the following after Shell’s announcement that it is abandoning its Arctic drilling program, citing high costs and the “challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment.” Senator Sullivan said: “Shell’s announcement is being cheered by environmental groups, but it’s a very sad day for Alaska and for working Alaskans and Americans across the country. From the beginning, through unprecedented regulatory hurdles and delays, the Obama administration and its environmental allies have created the conditions for Shell to abandon its Arctic drilling program. And they succeeded.

Shell spent seven years and $7 billion trying to drill a single well in America’s Arctic, where hundreds of exploratory wells have been successfully drilled. Under such circumstances it would be extremely difficult for any company to move forward. “Now, countless jobs will be lost, American’s energy security will be diminished, and the Arctic environment will be degraded with the least environmentally responsible countries leading development. Make no mistake: Countries like Russia and China will continue to develop the Arctic’s natural resources, but will do so with little regard for the environment. “The Obama administration hit the trifecta: killing jobs, undermining energy security, and degrading the environment.

Now more than ever we must work to create an efficient, timely and certain regulatory regime for the United States that helps create jobs, energy, and infrastructure, and promotes partnership with the private sector to grow the economy. As Alaskans, we must start weighing each and every regulatory and policy decision as if our economic future depends on it – because it does.” • LondonLad on Oct 7th, 2015 at 18:32.