News and information on Shell PLC
Wednesday 20 December 2006
• Royal Dutch Shell, Total and eight other construction and oil companies are appealing €267m in EU fines for fixing prices of bitumen, a petroleum by-product used to make asphalt.
• Russia’s proposed acquisition of a majority stake in the Royal Dutch Shell-led Sakhalin-2 oil and natural-gas project may hurt Shell’s goal of replacing reserves, Fitch Ratings said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/12/20/cxbloom20.xm
Wednesday, December 20, 2006. Issue 3565. Page 8.
By Yulia Latynina
Royal-Dutch Shell is going to end up handing half of its shares in the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project to Gazprom. When Gazprom first said it wanted a stake, it could not reach agreement with Shell on a price. That is when Oleg Mitvol, the head of the Natural Resources Ministry’s environmental inspectorate, appeared. Mitvol’s presence influenced Shell in the same manner that thugs influence a stubborn street vendor to sell his business on the cheap.
By Tom Miles and Dmitry Zhdannikov
Reuters
Wednesday, December 20, 2006. Issue 3565. Page 5.
Shell and its partners in the $22 billion Sakhalin-2 project have accepted cash and a promise of future cooperation with Gazprom in a deal to let the Russian firm into the venture, a source close to talks between the companies said Tuesday.
Shell and Gazprom have both signaled that their negotiations may yield a deal later this week, with Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer expected to make a third visit to Moscow in as many weeks on Thursday or Friday.
Crude-oil futures rebounded to more than $63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, boosted by expectations that U.S. government data due Wednesday will show crude inventories fell last week and by gasoline prices, which hit a three-month high. Here is Tuesday’s roundup of oil and energy news:
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TRANSITION AT BP: BP’s board is considering creating a high-level post for the heir apparent to Chief Executive John Browne — a job designed to smooth the transition at the top of the oil giant ahead of his 2008 retirement, according to people familiar with the situation.
By Kamarul Yunus
[email protected]
December 20 2006
KUALA LUMPUR-based Shell Global Solutions (SGS), a unit of oil giant the Royal Dutch Shell, expects its Malaysian operations to register a double-digit growth in sales next year.
However, the company declined to reveal any financial details.
SGS provides business and operational consultancy, technical services and research and development expertise to energy and processing industries worldwide.
For instance, it could help oil refineries to cut costs and improve their processes, which in turn would help them boost their profits.
Last Update: 3:29 PM ET Dec 19, 2006
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s (RDSB.LN) reserves replacement may be under pressure if it cedes control to Gazprom (GSPBEX.RS) in Sakhalin-2, its largest oil and gas project, credit agency Fitch Ratings said Tuesday.
Cutting some of the Sakhalin reserves would be bad news for Shell, which has struggled to replace barrels following a reserves scandal.
Under International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, it uses to report earnings, Anglo-Dutch major normally books 100% of the reserves brought from the units it operates.
By: Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent,
Published: Dec 19, 2006
North Mayo fishermen have turned down a 1 million plan to restock lobster grounds which would have been paid for by Shell E&P Ireland.
The proposal could have involved additional funding and support from An Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the State’s fisheries development board.
A shellfish grouping within the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association said it could not accept money from Shell until the issue of a discharge pipe from the Corrib gas terminal was resolved.
By: Brand concerns beat catastrophes as top bugbears, writes James Brewer, Lloyds List: Published: Dec 19, 2006
BIG energy companies are far more worried about damage to brand and reputation than natural catastrophes that can hit their installations, a survey by Willis broking group has shown.
Willis asked senior risk managers from, BG, Chevron, Borealis, Shell, Petroplus, Hess Corp and MOL to list their most pressing risk management concerns.
Reputation issues were top of the list, believed to be spurred by such crises as the Enron meltdown, potential environmental disasters, refinery explosions, pipeline corrosion, a failure to find oil in promising areas and disruption of the integrated gas chain.
Published: December 19 2006 02:00 | Last updated: December 19 2006 02:00
If there is one word that sums up 2006 for the global energy industry, it is nyet. The year kicked off with Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy giant, briefly cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine. By December, Royal Dutch Shell was painfully aware that legal contracts in Russia count for only so much when the Kremlin says “no”.
The rise of so-called national oil companies (NOCs) has been punctuated by the sound of doors slamming – mostly in the faces of traditional energy companies. Control of energy supplies has re-emerged as a geopolitical priority. Look at how the European Union’s ideal of an untrammelled, unified energy market has descended into several member states promoting vertically integrated national champions and striking bilateral deals with big external suppliers such as Gazprom.
Published: December 19 2006 02:00 | Last updated: December 19 2006 02:00
Today the Financial Times publishes the second part of a long investigation into the environmental and safety record of BP, one of the largest companies in the world. The investigation highlights a worrying series of accidents in the US. For oil companies, faced with the challenge of increasing profits in a world where new reserves are hard to come by, it shows that there are limits to how far costs can be cut.
In March 2005 an explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery killed 15 workers; a March 2006 oil spill at BP’s operations in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, led to a complete shutdown of the field in August. But as the FT investigation reveals, doubts over BP’s safety performance were being voiced long before the most recent problems.
By ANDREW HILL
Published: December 19 2006 02:00 | Last updated: December 19 2006 02:00
The Russian regulatory epic has placed Peter Hambro Mining, the gold miner, somewhat uncomfortably alongside Royal Dutch Shell, still wrangling with Moscow over its Sakhalin-2 project. Rosprirodnadzor, the natural resources ministry’s environmental watchdog, has been casting an eye over both companies’ Russian operations. But, in spite of its British blue-blood name, Aim-listed PHM arguably has more similarities with Polyus, the much larger Russian gold miner whose American Depositary Receipts were admitted to a listing on London’s main market yesterday, than with Shell.
Region welcomes foreign investors
By HEIDI VOGT
Associated Press
DAKAR, Senegal – Angola is joining the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, African oil exploration is booming and China is investing. The stampede for African oil has continued, even as militant attacks in some countries and precarious governments in others make returns uncertain.
Though much of the continent is just as conflict-ridden as the Middle East, analysts say Africa is increasingly attractive because it’s one of a diminishing number of regions still welcoming foreign corporations.
13:26 | 19/ 12/ 2006
MOSCOW, December 19 (RIA Novosti) – International rating agency Fitch Ratings said Tuesday a mooted deal on the acquisition by Gazprom [RTS:GAZP] of a controlling stake in the vast Sakhalin II energy project in the country’s Far East would certainly benefit Russia’s energy giant, but could have a credit impact on Royal Dutch Shell.
Project operator Sakhalin Energy, in which the British-Dutch major holds a 55% stake and Japan’s Mitsui and Mitsubishi own 25%, and 20%, respectively, is developing the $22 billion oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) project under a production-sharing agreement (PSA) with the Russian government, signed in 1994.
By Stephen Voss
Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — Russia’s proposed acquisition of a majority stake in the Royal Dutch Shell Plc-led Sakhalin-2 oil and natural-gas project may hurt Shell’s goal of replacing reserves, Fitch Ratings Ltd. said.
Shell executives have said they expect to reach an agreement to give state-run energy company OAO Gazprom a controlling stake in the $22 billion project in Russia’s Far East by the end of this week, following months of scrutiny from Russian authorities over environmental violations.
Gazprom is to supply gas directly to French homes and firms for the first time through a deal with Gaz de France.
The Russian firm will start supplying French customers in July, providing 1.5 billion cubic metres a year to them.
The two firms have extended existing supply contracts to 2030, enabling Gazprom to deliver an extra 2.5 billion cubic metres a year to western Europe.
Gazprom is expanding rapidly across Europe and has been linked with a bid for British energy firm Centrica.
Long-term partners
MORGAN CITY, La. — A Morgan City man who claimed that Shell Oil Co. fired him in retaliation for whistleblowing has received more than $600,000 in tripled back pay and pension benefits, and interest on the award.
William C. Overton Jr. said he was fired because he reported alleged violations involving both pollution and paperwork on Shell offshore rigs.
Shell spokesman Fred Palmer did not have immediate comment.
Overton got a check for just under $614,000 on Friday, nearly a month and a half after the Louisiana Supreme Court refused to hear Shell’s appeal. The total award was nearly $921,000, but his attorneys got one-third.
Tue Dec 19, 2006 7:29 AM ET
By Tom Miles and Dmitry Zhdannikov
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and its partners in the $22 billion Sakhalin-2 project have accepted cash and a promise of future cooperation with Gazprom in a deal to let the Russian firm into the venture, a source close to talks between the companies said on Tuesday.
Shell and Gazprom have both signaled that their negotiations may yield a deal later this week, with Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer expected to make a third visit to Moscow in as many weeks on Thursday or Friday.
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor
Last Updated: 7:11am GMT 19/12/2006
A licence to build the world’s largest offshore windfarm in the Thames estuary was granted by the Government yesterday.
The London Array windfarm, 12 miles off Kent and Essex, should eventually consist of 341 turbines, occupying an area of 90 square miles between Margate and Clacton.
London Array, a consortium of Shell WindEnergy, E.On UK Renewables and Core, is behind the £1.5 billion, 1,000 megawatt project.
• Hardman Resources shareholders voted in favour of a £588m takeover offer from Tullow Oil, an oil and gas explorer on three continents.
• Royal Dutch Shell expects to reach an agreement by the end of this week that will give the state-run Gazprom a stake in the $22bn Sakhalin-2 project in Russia’s far east.
• The government approved two offshore wind farms planned for the Thames Estuary, including one that will become the world’s biggest.
• Shares of Cairn Energy, an Edinburgh-based company that drills for oil and gas in South Asia, fell after the company announced a plan to sell shares in its Indian unit at the lower end of its targeted range.
Associated Press
December 19, 2006 12:16 a.m.
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria — Militants seeking a greater share of oil revenues for their impoverished region detonated two car bombs nearly simultaneously Monday in southern Nigeria, the latest in a series of attacks that have cut crude production in Africa’s oil giant by one quarter.
No casualties were reported at either site.
One blast, at a compound belonging to Italian oil firm Agip, blew out windows of a medical facility and cracked compound walls. Agip said the car bomb was parked outside the compound wall and that no injuries were reported.
Wald, Now Retired, Seeks Help
From Allies in Defending
Caspian Line, Africa Coast
Pondering Doomsday Scenario
By CHIP CUMMINS
December 19, 2006; Page A1
STUTTGART, Germany — Gen. Charles F. Wald has been projecting American power all his career. As a young air controller, he flew target-scouting missions over Vietnam. More recently, he led bombing runs in the Balkans and commanded the air war in Afghanistan.
But in his final military post, as deputy commander of U.S. forces in Europe, Central Asia and Africa, the Air Force general awoke to a vulnerability at the heart of that power: oil.
The modern economy runs on petroleum, which powers 98% of the world’s cars, trucks and planes. Gen. Wald realized that two regions under his watch, West Africa and the Caspian Sea, were emerging as major sources of crude — and potential sources of trouble.
Oil-Rich Norway Emerges
As a Power With the Heft
To Compete on Global Scale
By ELIZABETH COWLEY, MICHAEL WANG and CHIP CUMMINS
December 19, 2006; Page A12
Statoil ASA’s $30 billion share swap for Norsk Hydro ASA’s petroleum business makes the government of tiny but oil-rich Norway the majority owner of a bulked-up and acquisitive player in the global oil industry.
The deal, which the two companies announced yesterday, would create a European oil giant with a market capitalization estimated at more than $80 billion. That would be Europe’s fifth-largest oil company by market value, placing it behind Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC, London-based BP PLC, Total SA of France and Italy’s Eni SpA.
December 18, 2006 6:25 p.m.
The following are excerpts from public statements, speeches and articles by Vladislav Surkov. Translated by The Wall Street Journal.
EXTRACT RELEVANT TO SHELL SAKHALIN II
Comments to a July 2006 conference in Moscow on the application of sovereign democracy to business
Surkov: I was deeply moved by the title of the report ‘The Economic Model of Sovereign Democracy’. In preparing for this forum and studying the works of the classic, I found the spiritual precursor of today’s discussion. Surprising as it may seem, it turned out to be Ernesto Che Guevara. In 1960 he delivered a speech, entitled, ‘Political sovereignty and economic independence.’ I think it has much in common with the topic of today’s discussions.
Crude-oil futures fell to less than $63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as the benchmark contract for natural-gas futures dropped near a two-year low, in reaction to forecasts for warmer-than-average temperatures in the Eastern U.S. Here is Monday’s roundup of oil and energy news:
* * *
NORWEGIAN CRUDE: Statoil ASA, Norway’s state-owned oil company, has agreed to buy the oil and natural-gas division of Norsk Hydro ASA for nearly $30 billion, in a deal that gives the company control of more than 70% of Norway’s petroleum output. The deal would create a European oil giant with a market capitalization estimated at more than $80 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. That would be Europe’s fifth-largest oil company by market value, placing it behind European rivals Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Total and Eni.
Published: December 19, 2006
President Vladimir Putin believes that a powerful, state-controlled energy sector is the key to Russia’s economic future, even if he has to strong-arm foreign investors to get it. But trampling property rights is risky. It is as likely to leave Russia an economic pariah as an energy superpower.
The latest intrigue centers on a huge oil and natural-gas project off of Russia’s eastern coast. The project, Sakhalin 2, includes offshore platforms and the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas plant. It is also the single largest foreign investment in Russia. Royal Dutch Shell owns a 55 percent stake, but won’t for much longer from the looks of things.
This is not a Shell website. That fact should be abundantly plain from the overall content of this home page and our sister Shell-focussed websites, including shellnazihistory.com. Click on the Disclaimer link at top of this page for more information. You Can Be Sure Shell does not endorse or approve of this website. There are no subscription charges nor do we solicit or accept donations. It is an entirely free to use website drawing attention to the negative side of Shell while also publishing positive news about the company. The Shell logo image with the white text used on this website, as per the above example, is in the public domain because its copyright has expired and its author is anonymous. It can be found on WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. Our shellenergy.website publishes Shell Energy customer complaints posted on Trustpilot where there is an ample supply. Use this link for Shell’s own website.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA – HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
MORE DETAILS: After a solicitor acting for Shell threatened to make the litigation "drawn out and difficult" with the intention of draining the resources of a financially weaker opponent, my late father (Alfred Donovan) and I decided to mount a wide-ranging campaign as a counter-measure. We jointly founded the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, which nearly 15% of Shell UK retailers joined. We regularly conducted ethical surveys involving up to 1500 Shell petrol stations. All responses were opened and authenticated by an independent solicitor who supplied Affidavits confirming the results. In whole page announcements in trade magazines (examples above) we challenged Shell to commission and publish the resuits of independent research asking the same questions and offering respondents GUARANTEED anonymity. Shell never took up the invitation. Instead it asked the UK Advertising Standards Authority to investigate our Shell surveys. No problems were found. The head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal. 
See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission website etc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
