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May 20th, 2006:

Petroleum News: MMS director scolds industry

MMS director scolds industry

Burton blames errant rig anchors for major pipeline damage in Gulf of Mexico; no lives lost, no major pollution from offshore facilities, and sub-sea values held

Ray Tyson

For Petroleum News

U.S. Minerals Management Director Johnnie Burton is clearly unhappy with the damage caused by drilling rigs set adrift in the Gulf of Mexico during last year’s devastating hurricanes. Moreover, the director says MMS is not as prepared as it would like to be going into this year’s hurricane season. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Petroleum News: Chevron to build 55-mile oil pipeline to serve deepwater Tahiti field

Chevron to build 55-mile oil pipeline to serve deepwater Tahiti field

Chevron has approved the construction of a 55-mile deepwater oil pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico that would connect the Chevron-operated Tahiti field to the existing Amberjack pipeline for delivery to shore.

Chevron said it also approved expanding the pipeline from a 20-inch diameter to a 24-inch diameter design that can handle 300,000 barrels of oil per day and accommodate additional discoveries in the Walker Ridge and Green Canyon areas. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Petroleum News: Sempra LNG expansion gets lots of interest

Sempra LNG expansion gets lots of interest

Company says potential customers want 2.9 billion cubic feet daily in new supplies from Baja California facility

Allen Baker

For Petroleum News

Sempra’s new LNG terminal under construction near Ensenada, Mexico, has plenty of interest from shippers if the facility is expanded — interest for a staggering 2.9 billion cubic feet of daily capacity, or nearly half the amount California now consumes.

Initial capacity of the Energia Costa Azul plant is a billion cubic feet daily, about a sixth of California’s current demand. That capacity is already pledged to BP and Royal Dutch Shell in long-term contracts. Sempra has a pipeline nearby that could take some of the terminal’s natural gas to the east, and says a substantial portion will go to Mexican customers. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Petroleum News: Nigerian fuel pipeline blast kills up to 200

Nigerian fuel pipeline blast kills up to 200

Increased security, investigation into May 12 gasoline blast in southwest Nigeria; villagers killed were scavenging for fuel

Dulue Mbachu

Associated Press Writer

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered stepped-up protection for pipelines traversing Africa’s oil giant after a gasoline blast killed up to 200 people, but Nigerians said rampant poverty will continue to drive villagers to tap the pipes and pilfer fuel.

Rescue workers had aimed to finish collecting the estimated 150 to 200 dead for burial in mass graves by sundown May 13 but at least 22 charred bodies floated in the tidal mangrove swamps east of the main city of Lagos — many miles from the May 12 blast site at Ilado village. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reuters: Shell gets Nigerian deadline for $1.5 bln damages

Reuters: Shell gets Nigerian deadline for $1.5 bln damages

20 May 2006 15:46:43 GMT

Source: Reuters

LAGOS, May 20 (Reuters) – A Nigerian court has given Royal Dutch Shell a Monday deadline to pay $1.5 billion in damages for pollution in the oil-producing state of Bayelsa, the energy giant said on Saturday.

Shell said it had appealed against the order by Justice Okechukwu Okeke, who in February upheld a resolution by parliament that the firm should pay the money to ethnic Ijaw communities in Bayelsa in the Niger Delta, which produces all of Nigeria's output of 2.4 million barrels of oil per day. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Scotsman: Kenya annuls Shell buyout of BP j-v stake

Sat 20 May 2006

Kenya annuls Shell buyout of BP j-v stake

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya has annulled an agreement by Royal Dutch Shell to buy BP's 50 percent stake in their oil products marketing joint ventures in the east African nation, Shell said on Saturday.

“We were surprised and disappointed,” Mwaura Ngaari, regional external affairs manager of Kenya Shell, told Reuters, confirming the decision.

“We are actually going to appeal.”

Media quoted Finance Minister Amos Kimunya as announcing rejection of the deal in the official government gazette, and suggested the reason was to avoid Shell becoming over-dominant. read more

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TMC.net (Ireland): Shell's 'regret' over Corrib is a PR move, warns Owens Wiwa

Shell's 'regret' over Corrib is a PR move, warns Owens Wiwa

(The Irish Times Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Nigerian activist Dr Owens Wiwa has said the north Mayo community must make “no compromise” in relation to its opposition to the Corrib gas onshore pipeline.

Dr Wiwa, brother of executed Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, also believes Shell E&P Ireland's recent statement of “regret” over its handling of the project was a “public relations” move timed to assuage shareholders before the parent's annual meeting in The Hague earlier this week. “I have seen this pattern many times before,” Dr Wiwa, a Toronto-based medical consultant, told The Irish Times. read more

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Milberg Dealt Blow as Indictment Fallout Grows

Milberg Dealt Blow as Indictment Fallout Grows

Firm Is Fired as CounselIn Ohio Class-Action Case;Other Challenges Expected By NATHAN KOPPEL and PETER LATTMANMay 20, 2006; Page A3

Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP suffered a serious setback as a result of its indictment, with the Ohio attorney general firing the powerhouse law firm as counsel in a class-action case.

The New York law firm, indicted Thursday in an alleged conspiracy to pay kickbacks to plaintiffs, had been representing Ohio's public college-savings fund in class-action litigation in a mutual-fund case. In a letter to the firm, Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro, a Republican, said he was taking Milberg off the case because the indictment meant its representation of clients “will be severely compromised.” read more

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Oil-News Roundup 20 May 2006

Oil News Roundup

The WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINEMay 20, 2006

Crude-oil futures tumbled again on the New York Mercantile Exchange, settling at $68.53 after an OPEC minister hinted the oil cartel wouldn't cut production any time soon. Here is today's well of news about oil and energy.

* * *

THE PRICE OF FEAR: Geopolitical tensions have added roughly 20%, or about $15 a barrel, to the price of crude oil, OPEC acting secretary general Mohammed Barkindo told an OPEC-International Energy Agency workshop in Oslo. Mr. Barkindo pointed out that there was “absolutely no supply shortage” of oil and that global inventories were at five-year highs. That means there must be some other explanation for oil prices staying stubbornly near $70 a barrel, Mr. Barkindo said. Some analysts suggest that speculation has helped, but clearly the sticky issues surrounding Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria and other oil-producing nations have played a big part. Mr. Barkindo warned it is also getting harder to predict demand, making exploration projects riskier. read more

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THE NEW YORK TIMES: Oil Falls Toward $68 as Metals Slide

Oil Falls Toward $68 as Metals Slide

By REUTERS
Published: May 19, 2006

Filed at 11:20 a.m. ET

Skip to next paragraph Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil fell by more than a dollar toward $68 a barrel on Friday, close to a five-week low, as renewed concern about rising inflation and slower economic growth prompted selling across commodity markets.

The drop in crude came alongside a slide in prices of industrial and precious metals, which have hit record or near-record highs in the past month. Copper fell over 6 percent and aluminum, zinc and gold also slid. read more

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London Evening Standard: Top class action lawyers to face fraud trial in US

Top class action lawyers to face fraud trial in US
Bill Condie
Evening Standard – London: KRTBN; May 19, 2006

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Class action legal firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, which has sued some the biggest US and UK companies, has been indicted on fraud, perjury and bribery, and accused of paying kickbacks to people who served as professional plaintiffs. read more

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The Australian Financial Review: Gorgon

Gorgon looking good as gas goes global
The Australian Financial Review (abstracts); May 19, 2006

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Gorgon stakeholders Chevron Australia, Shell and Exxon Mobil have signed a number of preconstruction sales commitments for their liquefied natural gas venture, due to the changed fundamentals of the global LNG market. read more

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Financial Post (Canada): Calgary-based oil producer may invest up to $7.4-billion to develop oilsands crude

Calgary-based oil producer may invest up to $7.4-billion to develop oilsands crude
Financial Post – Canada; May 19, 2006

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North American Oil Sands Corp., a closely held Calgary-based company, may spend as much $7.4-billion by 2015 to develop heavy-crude deposits in northern Alberta. read more

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Financial Times: Nigerian militants win oil drilling licence

Nigerian militants win oil drilling licence

By Dino Mahtani in Lagos
Published: May 19 2006 17:59 | Last updated: May 19 2006 17:59

Nigeria auctioned 17 new oil drilling licenses on Friday to companies from China, India, Britain and Nigeria, reserving one oil bloc for a company linked to militant activists in the turbulent delta region.

//

The auction is intended to follow up on a 2005 bidding round in the world’s eighth largest oil exporter that saw many winners default due to funding problems. Nigeria raised about $1.2bn in preliminary signing fees last year, less than half of what was originally promised, and a fraction of what is expected to be invested in the blocks. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BusinessInAfrica.net: Shell must stay out of our oil’ – Nigerian militants

NIGERIA‘Shell must stay out of our oil’ – Nigerian militants

Lagos – Nigerian militants on Thursday warned Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell against resuming operations in areas where it has shut production in the restive Niger Delta region. The warning followed reports that the company plans to resume production within a few weeks.

“They are welcome to test our resolve, but we promise you they will pay a hefty price for their foolishness,” the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), said on Thursday. read more

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Houston Chronicle: (PRN) Shell Energy to Sell Assets to MXenergy

(PRN) Shell Energy to Sell Assets to MXenergy

PRNewswire

Advertisement

–>

HOUSTON, May 19 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Energy Services Company, L.L.C. (Shell Energy) has entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of its assets to MxEnergy Inc. (MXenergy). The sale is expected to close mid-2006 subject to state and federal regulatory approvals.

Shell Energy residential and commercial customers will continue to receive reliable and uninterrupted natural gas supply service during this transition. No action is required from customers in order to transition from Shell Energy to MXenergy, and all contracts will be honored in full. As the closing date approaches, customers will receive a letter providing additional information. read more

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Petroleum News: Kaktovik accuses Shell of insincerity

Kaktovik accuses Shell of insincerity

North Slope community authorizes mayor to defend village from company’s ‘hostile and dangerous’ intentions

Rose Ragsdale

For Petroleum News

The village of Kaktovik has issued a stinging rebuke to Shell Oil, which is planning to conduct seismic work in nearby whaling waters this fall.

In a strongly worded resolution, passed unanimously by Kaktovik’s city council, villagers described Shell Oil as a “hostile” force in the community.

“Until such time as it becomes apparent that Shell Oil wishes to work reasonably and sensibly with the City and people of Kaktovik, the City of Kaktovik, on behalf of our people, has no choice but to treat Shell Oil as a hostile and dangerous force,” the resolution stated in part. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.