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January 27th, 2007:

The Independent on Sunday: Pity the giants of black gold. BP and Shell in for hard time from investors

Safety fears, Russian disputes, escalating costs, falling prices… It’s no time for ‘big oil’ to be going to the City

By Tim Webb
Published: 28 January 2007

BP and Shell face a grilling from the City, after enduring a year to forget, when they make their annual strategy presentations in the next 10 days.

The companies could also be forced to lower their profit forecasts for 2007 because of the slump in oil prices – to $55 a barrel for Brent crude – and rising costs. 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 Observer: Sakhalin blow hits Shell’s reserves

Oil giant faces new accounting crisis as surrender of Russian stake prompts fears of billion-barrel downgrade in declared capacity

Oliver Morgan, Industrial Editor
Sunday January 28, 2007

Oil giant Shell may be forced to cut the oil and gas reserves on its books by up to a billion barrels after the halving of its stake in the Russian Sakhalin-2 joint venture, according to analysts.

Shell was forced to cede its majority stake in the massive project off the east coast of Russia to state-owned energy group Gazprom before Christmas. 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 Sunday Times: Shell faces reserves blow

28 January 2007
 
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL will this Thursday come under pressure from investors to reveal the impact of selling half its share in the $22 billion (£11 billion) Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia. Analysts believe the sale could hit Shell’s oil and gas reserves by 1 billion barrels — almost 9% of its proven reserves.

Last month Gazprom, Russia’s state-backed gas group, paid $7.4 billion to take majority control of the Sakhalin project. The sale came after pressure from the Russian government and led Shell to halve its stake to 27.5%. 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: Russia to Prepare Bill Limiting Foreign Ownership Within Months

By Torrey Clark

Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) — Russia will submit to parliament a bill that limits foreign ownership in strategic industries, such as oil, gas, metals and defense, in the “coming months,” Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said today.

The bill will be “clear, fully balanced and answer all questions that arise in daily practice,” Medvedev said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos today. “The worst thing in business is opacity and unpredictability.” 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.

GRIPING AND GRINNING: REPUTATION NETWORKS START WITH ONE

By Max Lenderman

We all know the power of reputation networks. It is how eBay runs its business. A web of comments for or against a particular vendor drives its sales. Overall, people talking about their experiences with a brand, product or service is how commerce will function. Forget advertising. That’s just fluff. The real brand equity is in the reputation networks.

Case in point: this particular study shows that online customer product reviews drive satisfaction and loyalty and provide a competitive advantage for sites that offer them. No duh. 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 Daily Mirror: PIPELINE CRUSADER FIGHTS ON

ANDREW GREGORY, The Mirror
Published: Saturday Jan 27, 2007

A CAMPAIGNER who spent three months in jail battling oil giant Shell was defiant last night despite the latest setback.

The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday gave the firm permission to run a pipeline from the offshore Corrib gas field.

It paves the way for Shell to get a licence to start the EUR900million project.

But campaigner Vincent McGrath – one of the Rossport Five – vowed to fight on.

Mr McGrath, 58, told the Irish Daily Mirror he would return to jail if necessary. 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 Independent: Objectors vow to fight go-ahead for disputed refinery

Published: Jan 27, 2007

THE decision to grant a licence to oil giant Shell for the controversial Corrib Gas refinery will be fought ‘to the bitter end’ by local objectors.

While yesterday’s preliminary decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to give the green light to the 200m facility has been welcomed by Shell and its partners in the project – Statoil and Marathon Oil – a final decision has been delayed in the event of an appeal.

Objectors now have 28 days to lodge an application for an oral hearing into the intention to grant the licence for the terminal at Bellanaboy in north Mayo. 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 Independent: 28-day window to protest over pipeline project

Published: Jan 27, 2007

OPPONENTS of the Corrib Gas pipeline can still object to the project and stop Shell from getting a licence to develop facilities in Co Mayo.

Despite the Environmental Protection Agency proposing to issue the necessary licence, people opposed to the project still have 28 days in which to lodge objections.

Shell’s licence application was lodged in December 2004 and sought permission for the operation of a gas refinery and large combustion plant at the site.The firm was required to lodge an Environmental Impact Statement outlining the effects the refinery might have on the area. 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: Pipeline opposition groups unhappy with agency

Lorna Siggins,
Published: Jan 27, 2007

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision on an integrated pollution prevention and control licence for the Corrib gas project has been welcomed by the Corrib gas partners and criticised by An Taisce and the Shell to Sea campaign in north Mayo.

Leo Corcoran, consultant to An Taisce, said the 85 conditions attached to the preliminary licence ruling included “no practical provisions” to protect the drinking water supply for 10,000 people in the Erris region, drawn from Carrowmore lake. 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 Independent (UK): Hell hath no fury like a modern customer scorned

David Prosser,
Published: Jan 27, 2007

When commuters on rush-hour trains from Bristol to Bath returned to work after the Christmas break, they had no idea that within weeks they would be leading the fightback for disgruntled rail passengers around the country. Yet such was the anger about the performance of First Great Western (FGW), which took over the running of the line in December, many passengers felt compelled to protest.

A group of regular commuters set up More Trains Less Strain, a campaign to force FGW to reinstate the carriages cut from certain services and to restore its predecessor’s timetabling arrangements. When the company failed to respond, the group launched direct action. It printed fake tickets, dubbing the company Worst Late Western, and on Monday urged passengers to present the tickets to guards rather than paying their fares. 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.

Financial Times: The time lords

By Graham Bowley
Published: January 27 2007 02:00 | Last updated: January 27 2007 02:00

Andy Hines is stuck in traffic. Predictable enough for Houston at rush hour, but frustrating none the less. The 44-year-old gesticulates with a wiry, tattooed arm at the lines of red tail- lights forecasting a slow drive ahead, but focuses most of his ire on something less immediately tangible: the future. Or rather, the role of futurology – his chosen profession – in the corporate world.

“I should have just gotten an MBA,” Hines says, explaining that futurists are seldom given credit for their ideas within the big organisations where they work. “Even if you are the first one to see something, by the time it gets acted on, 15 other guys have intervened.” And it’s not just the mainstream that belittles the profession, he says. The big names in the field write a bestselling book and then quickly dissociate themselves from “the rest of us knuckleheads”. “It’s a new field,” he adds with a smile. “I wouldn’t do anything else. But it attracts some cranks.” 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 Guardian (UK): Elsewhere: Nigeria

EXTRACT: Many British residents work in the oil and gas sector for companies such as Shell, living on fortified compounds in the delta region, where they face the threat of kidnap by local militants. The armed gangs, who claim their communities reap no benefit from oil riches, have kidnapped about 60 foreign oil workers this year, all of whom were released without harm. 

Saturday January 27, 2007

Nigeria

Population: 131,530,000

British population: 16,000

From the chaotic, traffic-choked flyovers of Lagos to the sweltering creeks of the oil-rich delta, few expats see Nigeria as a cushy posting. Elsewhere in Africa, westerners enjoy epic scenery and wildlife safaris, but Nigeria offers the sultry, malarial climate of the west African coast, combined with a wobbly infrastructure and a notoriously corrupt state. In Lagos, the commercial capital, expats cluster in the affluent districts of Ikoyi and Victoria Island – the latter is the local equivalent of Manhattan, where fishermen in pirogues skim past high-rise office 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.

Irish Times: Environment watchdog agrees to Shell refinery

Aoife Carr

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed to licence Shell E&P Ireland to develop its €900 million gas refinery and combustion plant facilities at Bellanaboy Bridge, Co Mayo.

The licence will not take effect before a 28-day consultation period during which the public and Shell can lodge objections or requests for oral hearings.

In a statement released this morning, the EPA said the it was “satisfied that emissions from the refinery, when operated in accordance with the conditions of the proposed licence, will not adversely affect human health or the environment and will meet all relevant national and EU standards”. 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 Examiner: Protesters will take Shell fight to elections

By Juno McEnroe
27 January 2007

SHELL objectors yesterday pledged to continue their fight to move gas works offshore despite an environmental watchdog’s key approval of the Mayo Corrib project.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday gave the green light for Shell’s Bellanaboy gas refinery in Mayo. It said the 400-acre site project “would not adversely affect human health or the environment”.

The approval for the onshore terminal comes with 85 conditions however, covering areas such as management, infrastructure, emission, monitoring, handling of waste, accident prevention and the size of the works. Objectors have 28 days to appeal the EPA decision. 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.