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January 11th, 2007:

OilWeek Magazine: Micron Enviro Systems acquires 50% stake in Alberta oilsands properties (Micron-Oilsands)

Jan 11, 2007 9:33:00 AM MST
 
VANCOUVER (CP) _ Micron Enviro Systems Inc. has acquired a 50 per cent stake in six contiguous Athabasca oilsands properties in northern Alberta, near a package of land that Royal Dutch Shell (TSX:SHC) recently acquired for $450 million.

The acquisition is independent of the negotiations for more oilsands leases announced by Micron Enviro on Dec. 28, the company said Thursday, adding that a decision on those leases is expected before the end of January.

The six properties cover a total of about 1,540 hectares. Financial details were not revealed for the properties. 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.

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Shell Decries Lack of Access to Oil Fire Site

Daily Trust (Abuja)
January 11, 2007
Mohammed Shosanya
Lagos

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has expressed concern over the continous denial of access to the site of the Bomu wells 41 and 51 fires in Ogoni land, where it has not operated since 1993.

The company said this development is frustrating its efforts at putting out the fires. It said in a statement issued in Lagos yesterday that the continuing fire on the well head will compromise the Well Control equipment that is installed on the wells, and lead to total loss of control of the wells.
 
Second, It further said that in the event of a blow-out, there will be serious environmental damage and risk of injury or death to people within the area. According to the statement, SPDC had on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 received a report of the fires, and immediately sent formal reports of the incident to all regulatory authorities. 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: EBRD no longer considering Sakhalin investment

Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:00 PM ET

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Thursday it will no longer consider investing in the $20 billion Sakhalin II energy project after Russian state-owned Gazprom became majority owner.

“We can no longer consider this project because the new shareholder structure and because the majority shareholder has changed,” EBRD President Jean Lemierre told reporters.

He said the bank would however remain open to discussing future investments in the world’s largest liquified natural gas project (LNG) if approached by the shareholders. 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.

Associated Press: Shell May Sell Some Refinery Assets

Thursday January 11, 12:55 pm ET 
Shell Reviewing Some Refinery Assets for Possible Sale

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday it would conduct a “strategic review” of some refinery assets, an indication it may sell them.

The assets include the Petit-Couronne and Reichstett-Vendenheim refineries and the Berre-l’Etang refinery site complex in France, with a combined capacity of around 300,000 barrels per day, and the Yabucoa plant in Puerto Rico, which has a capacity of 79,000 barrels per day, Shell said.
 
Shell is also reviewing operations in the Dominican Republic, where it owns a 50 percent stake in the 30,000 barrels per day Refidomsa refinery. 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.

Resource Investor. com: Royal Dutch Shell looking to sell some assets?

By Jon Nones
11 Jan 2007 at 12:19 PM
 
Royal Dutch Shell plans to conduct a “strategic review” of some refinery assets, possibly looking to sell them.

The assets include the Petit-Couronne and Reichstett-Vendenheim refineries and the Berre-l’Etang refinery site complex in France, with a combined capacity of around 300,000 barrels per day, and the Yabucoa plant in Puerto Rico, which has a capacity of 79,000 barrels per day, Shell said.

Shell is also reviewing operations in the Dominican Republic, where it owns a 50% stake in the 30,000 barrels per day Refidomsa refinery.
  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.

Bloomberg News: BP oil production declines for sixth consecutive quarter

By Stephen Voss Bloomberg News

LONDON: BP said Tuesday that production declined for a sixth quarter because of delays in starting new fields in the Gulf of Mexico and pipeline leaks that shut down supplies from Alaska.

Fourth-quarter output fell 5 percent to 3.82 million barrels of oil equivalent per day from 4.02 million barrels a year earlier, and refining profitability also dropped, BP, which is based in London, said Tuesday. Shares of BP, the second- largest oil company in Europe after Royal Dutch Shell, slid to their lowest price since May 2005 after supply missed analyst forecasts at UBS and Citigroup. 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.

Rocky Mountain News: Former Norton deputy under investigation

EXTRACT: Norton… who recently started doing legal work for Shell Oil Co.’s energy exploration division in Colorado, last year defended Griles and said she had no knowledge of CREA’s interactions with Abramoff.

THE ARTICLE

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are focusing on J. Steven Griles, once top deputy to former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, in an ongoing investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Washington Post reported this morning.

Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the newspaper that Griles faced possible criminal charges of making false statements during his sworn testimony to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in 2005. 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.

CALGARY HERALD: ‘Big excitement’ in U.K. over Buzzard, similar finds

Alberta activity interests consul-general
By SHAUN POLCZER

11 January 2007

Western Canada and the North Sea are half a world apart, but share common appeal for oil and gas producers, the United Kingdom’s consul-general to Canada said Wednesday.

“I find it slightly intriguing that land-locked Alberta should be so interested in the stormy wind-tossed seas of the North Sea,” says Nicholas Armour on a particularly blustery day in Calgary.

Despite the distance, the two countries have managed to build a close trading relationship worth $16.6 billion per year, making the U.K. Canada’s third-largest market for exports and investment. 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.

UpstreamOnline: Daukoru spreads his wings

By Barry Morgan
11 January 2007

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria has relinquished direct control of the country’s petroleum portfolio while merging the Ministry of Petroleum Resources with that of Energy, creating a new department headed by Edmund Daukoru.

Obasanjo steps down in April after two terms as head of state during which period he has steadfastly refused to appoint a ‘full’ minister to the job.

Daukoru, an ethnic Ijaw and former Shell executive, has served for several years in the more junior office of Minister of State for Petroleum but for the duration of the present administration will now enjoy a more full-fledged role that will include the burgeoning power sector. 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.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: Oil firms could face class-action lawsuit

CANADIAN PRESS
11 January 2007

SUPERIOR COURT TO HEAR REQUEST Suit alleges that energy companies colluded
to raise gasoline prices by 1.3 cents a litre

The country’s major oil companies could face a class-action lawsuit alleging they colluded with each other to raise the price of gasoline in Quebec.

A Quebec woman is seeking permission in Quebec Superior Court to launch a class-action lawsuit against Petro-Canada, Shell Canada, Ultramar and Imperial Oil.

Catherine Savoie accuses the oil companies of raising the price of gasoline in the province by 1.3 cents per litre to offset a planned government tax aimed at financing Quebec’s new environmental plan. 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.

Irish Times: daras defends giving Shell use of premises

By: Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent, Irish Times
Published: Jan 11, 2007

Údaras na Gaeltachta has defended its decision to offer premises in north Mayo to the Garda SIochana and Shell E&P Ireland for the Corrib gas project.

The Gaeltacht development agency’s chief executive, Padraig O hAolain, has also said that no grant-aid or financial aid is involved in the arrangement and it is “perfectly within the agency’s mandate”.

In a related development, Shell E&P Ireland has advertised a 21- day public consultation period for its foreshore licence application, as part of its attempts to find a modified route for the project’s controversial onshore pipeline. 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.

Daily Telegraph: How the UK will reap the benefit from Kroes control

EXTRACT: Frankly, no energy company – however large – is immune from Russia’s influence. Our very own Royal Dutch Shell is just the latest oil major to feel the full force of Russia’s determination to dictate terms in energy deals.

Business comment
By Damian Reece
Last Updated: 12:26am GMT 11/01/2007

Neelie Kroes, the EU competition commissioner, announced that Europe’s energy giants, which include the likes of RWE and E.ON, must be broken up. Gas imports into the UK are likely to become cheaper but the implications for Britain are rather more subtle – and beneficial – than at first glance. 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.

Borneo Bulletin: Shell contributes US$5M for local health centre (*Generous gift or bribe to buy favour?)

By Kartika Rahman

A sum of US$5 million is to be donated by Royal Dutch Shell towards the development of a Health Promotion Centre. This commitment was formalised yesterday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Brunei’s Ministry of Health and Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP).

The donation was announced by the Company in July 2006 to mark the occasion of the 60th birthday anniversary of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

“This project is a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Health and Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd,” said the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Dato Paduka Serbini Ali, in his welcoming remarks. 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 Wall Street Journal: Crude Calculations

EXTRACT: Alienating friends like the Germans and scaring away investors like Shell, dumped last month from the lead in the Sakhalin-2 project, aren’t smart ways to address these problems.

THE ARTICLE

January 11, 2007

In authoritarian systems, rulers get limited information. Contradictory voices are quieted and cronies unable or afraid to speak the truth to the boss. Which in turn leads to ill-informed decisions, as Vladimir Putin and Aleksander Lukashenko are discovering in this new year. The presidents of Russia and Belarus yesterday ended a second round of boxing over energy in the span of a week. Both came away bruised — yet again. 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 WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE: Oil News Roundup: January 10, 2007 4:21 p.m.

Crude-oil futures closed with an almost 3% loss to push their benchmark contract to its lowest level in 19 months after a U.S. government report showed that supplies of distillates and gasoline rose for a fourth week in a row.

Here is Wednesday’s roundup of oil and energy news:

* * *
BELARUS MAKES A DEAL: An oil-pipeline dispute that prompted relations between Russia and Belarus to plummet and fueled doubts across Europe edged toward resolution, as the Belarus government backed down and canceled a transit tax on Russia oil shipments. A top Kremlin official said the decision was “cause for restrained optimism,” but it remained unclear when pumping would resume across the 2,500-mile-long pipeline network, which feeds Germany, Poland and other East European nations. 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.