Shell Oil News

Shell is suing Greenpeace for $2.1 million in damages after the environmental group's activists boarded the company's oil production vessel in transit at sea this year, according to Greenpeace and a document seen by Reuters.The British oil and gas major filed the claim in London's High Court. Greenpeace activists boarded the vessel in January near the Canary Islands off the Atlantic coast of northern Africa to protest oil drilling and traveled on it as far as Norway.In an email to Reuters…

James Fisher and Sons plc announced it has taken delivery of its second 6,000dwt LNG dual-fuel tanker, Lady Maria Fisher, which will be traded by James Fisher Everard (JFE) alongside its existing fleet.Built and launched at China Merchants Jinling (CMJL) shipyard in Yangzhou, China, the vessel is currently transporting cashew nut shell oil from Vietnam to Europe, where it will then be processed into bio-diesel.The newbuild and sister vessel Sir John Fisher delivered in November 2022 will replace two of James Fisher’s existing tankers and will be able to carry more cargo.

Shell's incoming Chief Executive Wael Sawan is set to accelerate the group's drive to build its renewable energy business, including through a possible "transformative" clean power acquisition, company and industry sources said.Sawan will from January take on a firm with a strong balance sheet after a surge in oil and gas prices, but whose renewables capacity has lagged peers like TotalEnergies and BP as green issues come increasingly into vogue. Shell aims to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to become a net-zero emitter by 2050…

Pieter van Oord is candid in discussing the future growth of his storied company’s activities in offshore wind with specific insights on challenging current jobs, Van Oord’s recent order of a massive and groundbreaking Wind Turbine Installation Vessel, and the company’s future working in the United States.Pieter, to start, can you give a ‘By the Numbers’ look at your company today using the metrics of your choice?Well, 2021 was a disappointing year for us. As we said in our annual report…

The founder of one of Singapore's biggest marine fuel suppliers has been charged for his involvement in a large-scale oil theft from Shell's refinery in the city-state, according to a charge sheet reviewed by Reuters.Pai Keng Pheng, the founder and managing director of Sentek Marine & Trading, was accused on Thursday of conspiring to dishonestly receive stolen property in a charge issued by the police's organized crime branch.Sentek and Shell employees and other third parties have been previously charged for their role in the theft, first uncovered in 2017.In total, about $150 million of oil was stolen over several years from the refinery…

The U.S. government's oceans and waterways agency will provide $30 million to improve coastal resilience, officials said, aiming to reduce the impacts of worsening storms, flooding and rising seas in nearly half of U.S. states.Grants through the program are designed to restore or expand coastal wetlands, dunes, reefs, mangroves and barrier islands that are key to coastal protection, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in an announcement.Coastlines worldwide are being damaged or threatened by more extreme and destructive weather…

Wärtsilä said it will provide a broad scope of products and solutions for a new articulated tug barge (ATB) that will be used to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel to cruise ships along the east coast of Florida, U.S. The 4,000 m3 capacity ATB is being built at the VT Halter Marine (VTHM) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. on behalf of Quality Liquefied Natural Gas Transport LLC (Q-LNG). When delivered, the vessel will be on a long-term charter with Shell Oil Co. The barge will be fitted with a Wärtsilä LNG cargo storage, handling and control system.

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NAT) announced that it has entered into two Time Charter arrangements (TCs) with Shell Oil for a period of 18 months for each vessel, commencing in August/September this year. The terms of the confidential contracts include upside for both parties as well as downside protection. NAT now has three TCs with Shell. NAT has six TC arrangements with large oil companies - from three months up to 18 months. "We are pleased to announce these important contracts which are examples of the confidence customers and partners in Big Oil have in NAT and our large fleet of Suezmax vessels. More or less all the time, we have ships in China. NAT is also doing work in India which is becoming increasingly more important," said Herbjørn Hansson, the Chairman & CEO of NAT.

As vessel many vessel operators are stacking vessels and reducing fleet size, Harvey Gulf International Marine said it has signed four non-cancelable, long-term contracts for stacked vessels and has taken delivery of two new vessels, as well as redelivery of a vessel reconfigured for subsea services. Harvey Gulf announced the signing of long term contracts for the MPSV Harvey Intervention, 175' FSV Harvey Hustler, 180' FSV Harvey Runner and 220' FSV Harvey Express. These charters…

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday banned new oil and gas drilling in federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, in a push to leave his stamp on the environment before Republican Donald Trump takes office next month. Obama used a 1950s-era law called the Outer Continental Shelf Act that allows presidents to limit areas from mineral leasing and drilling. Environmental groups said that meant Trump's incoming administration would have to go court if it sought to reverse the move.

James Fisher Subsea (JF Subsea), a world leading subsea services division of James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS), has reduced inspection downtime to 2% for Shell UK, through the innovative use of asset-based remotely operated vehicles (ABROVs) on oil rig inspection programmes in the North Sea. Traditionally, oil rig inspections are undertaken using a dedicated remotely operated vehicle support vessel (ROVSV), on which an ROV is secured. To remove the need of a ROVSV and the hazards involved with securing an ROV to the offshore platform, JF Subsea provided Shell UK with a gravity-based ABROV system. While the use of ABROVs is not a new concept…

Industry analyst and environmental consultant Dagmar Schmidt Etkin, PhD, takes a hard look at a rapidly shifting operational landscape in the Arctic. Always an honest broker of information, Etkin tells it like it is. Oil spill risk is present anywhere that oil is present in reservoirs, or is transported, consumed, stored, and handled in some way. The Arctic is no exception. Not only are there oil reserves in the Arctic, some of which are being or will soon be considered for exploration and production, there is also oil being transported as cargo or as fuel to Arctic communities.

For over one year the HUMMEL has been contributing to improved air quality at the port of Hamburg. Becker Marine Systems’ LNG Hybrid Barge will also be supplying lower mission power to the AIDAsol this year. The cruise ship has already made three calls since the middle of May and will have made a total of 16 stops at the Hafencity terminal by October. Operations of the HUMMEL LNG Hybrid Barge have started up again at the beginning of the new cruise ship season. “Due to some restrictions making the work more difficult…

Last summer, researchers began a five year study to monitor biodiversity in the Arctic Chukchi Sea from an ecosystem perspective, looking at microbes, whales and everything in between. health and critical ecosystem services that contribute to human life. Monitoring it improves our ability to interpret and forecast changes. The unprecedented effects of climate change combined with strong seasonal cycles and increasing human activities in the Arctic make this region particularly important to monitor. In August 2015, the AMBON team of researchers from the University of Alaska’s School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, the University of Maryland…

The Polar Pioneer oil rig arrived in Port Angeles on Wednesday. Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said Port Angeles was an “excellent location for load-out” before the drilling season and remains fit for that purpose. The 400-foot tall rig  is expected to spend a “handful of weeks” at the port for offloading, he said. Its final destination hasn't been determined yet. Due to legal wrangling and protests in Seattle, Shell Oil is sending the Polar Pioneer here for offloading instead of Seattle. In September, Shell announced it would cease its explorations in the Arctic for the "foreseeable future" when a well failed to produce the expected results. The drilling rig was greeted by protesters in Port Angeles and Seattle during the spring and early summer while the company prepped for its trip north.

Shell Oil's icebreaker MSV Fennica weaved through nine remaining protesters hanging from the St. Johns Bridge and made its way toward the Pacific Ocean. Authorities have removed protesters dangling from a bridge and in kayaks in Oregon, allowing an icebreaker to get through and head toward the Arctic, The Associated Press reported. Demonstrators had been trying to stop the Fennica from leaving Portland, Oregon, and heading for an oil drilling operation, the AP reported. The ship had tried to leave earlier Thursday, but was forced to turn around by the protesters dangling from the bridge. "The Fennica is now safely on its way to Alaska…

A small group of protesters and activists are gathering at the Cathedral Park boat ramp in Portland, preparing to stay for a 24-hour vigil as they wait for Royal Dutch Shell Oil's icebreaker ship, the MSV Fennica, to depart from Portland for the Arctic, reports Reuters. Following the lead of protesters in Seattle who tried to block ships headed for Shell's planned oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea, the Portland "kayaktivists" said they would conduct a vigil overnight on the Willamette River, which runs through downtown Portland. "Our goal is to basically demonstrate as much community resistance to Shell’s plans to drill for oil and secure new oil reserves in the Arctic,” said Meredith Cocks, organizer with environmental activist group Portland Rising Tide.

A piece of legislation aiming to stop offshore Arctic drilling was introduced last week by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. The legislation, entitled Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act of 2015, would prevent new or renewed leases for the exploration, development or production of oil, natural gas or any other mineral in the Arctic planning area. "A spill in the Arctic would be an environmental catastrophe of extraordinary proportions – and such a spill is inevitable if drilling proceeds," Merkley said.

Shell Oil Co. marine vessels Noble Discoverer and the semisubmersible drilling unit Transocean Polar Pioneer were inspected by two Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) personnel in Dutch Harbor, Alaska July 7-12, BSEE announced. BSEE said its inspectors were on board the vessels to review drilling equipment, assess overall readiness and test key safety devices, also verifying BOEM lease stipulations, environmental mitigation measures and air quality equipment, as well as Environmental Protection Agency National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements.

U.S. Coast Guard and police boats cleared a way through protesters in kayaks at a Seattle-area port on Tuesday so a drilling ship could head for the Arctic on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell. The Noble Discover is the second drilling ship Shell has sent to the area in recent days. The activists, who have staged frequent demonstrations during the past two months against Royal Dutch Shell's oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea off mainland Alaska, said 21 protesters in kayaks took to the waters just beyond the Port of Everett north of Seattle where the oil rig launched for sea. The activists had entered the safety zone around the Noble Discover and were intercepted by small boats of the U.S.

U.S. environmental activists said they planned to protest on Tuesday against the launch of the second of two oil rigs central to Shell's plans to drill for oil in the Arctic. The Washington state activists, who have staged frequent demonstrations over the last two months against Royal Dutch  Shell's oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea off mainland Alaska, said they expected the rig to leave a Seattle-area port in the early morning and were planning a water-borne protest. Shell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company could begin drilling for oil in the Arctic off Alaska as early as the third week in July, when it expects sea ice to begin clearing.

About 200 protesters gathered at the Port of Seattle on Monday to block access to a Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig headed for the Arctic this summer to resume exploration for oil and gas reserves. Holding signs reading "Shell No" and "Seattle Loves the Arctic," protesters gathered early to prevent workers from reaching the rig, one of two that Shell will store in Seattle before sending to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska. Environmental groups have planned days of demonstrations over Shell's plans, saying drilling in the icy Arctic region, where weather changes rapidly, could lead to a catastrophic spill that would be next to impossible to clean up.

Seattleites took a dramatic stand, er paddle, against Arctic oil drilling. Local Native Americans and concerned citizens took to kayak and canoe and surrounded a giant, Arctic-bound Royal Dutch Shell oil drilling rig currently making a layover in the Port of Seattle. The group that planned the event, called the “Paddle in Seattle,” said Saturday’s demonstration began a three-day “massive peaceful resistance,” the Associated Press reports. The group plans to block access to the oil giant’s rig parked in the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 and delay preparations for drilling on Monday. The Obama administration conditionally approved Shell's summer plans to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea, north of Alaska.