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March 13th, 2007:

Times Online: US class actions are still a bigger threat to British business

EXTRACT: Shell, to cite the most high profile example, has already paid out $90 million to disgruntled investors for allegedly misstating reserves and is facing further litigation…

March 13, 2007
By Michael Herman

It seems curious that, at a time when the likes of President Bush, Michael Bloomberg and Eliot Spitzer are criticising America’s apparent obsession with class action law suits, we on the other side of the Atlantic seem to be adopting a more claimant-friendly attitude to litigation. 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: Nigerian youths seize Shell equipment at oil spill

Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:44 PM BST

LAGOS, March 13 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) has gained access to the oil spill that forced it to close 187,000 barrels per day (bpd) output in Nigeria but had equipment seized by community youths, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

The company is negotiating with youths in the Nembe Creek area of the Niger Delta to release the equipment and allow workers to carry out inspection and repairs to the trunk pipeline that feeds the Bonny export terminal. 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.

Media-Newswire.com: Attorney General Asks Shell Oil President To Abandon Broadwater Project At Meeting

(Media-Newswire.com) – Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked Shell Oil Company President John Hofmeister during a face-to-face meeting today to drop his company’s proposal to build the Broadwater liquefied natural gas facility ( LNG ) in Long Island Sound. Shell is a partner in Broadwater with TransCanada.

“I urged Shell’s president today to abandon Broadwater,” Blumenthal said. “Natural gas is a clean effective fuel, but this location is worst case, worst place – an environmental atrocity and a tempting terrorist target. There are better, safer alternatives – areas in Maine and Massachusetts, as well as Virginia and Maryland, where Shell already has the right to build. 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.

BBC News: Oil death partner settles damages

A woman who launched an £800,000 damages action over the death of her partner on a North Sea oil platform has settled out of court.

Jacqueline Ogilvie took out the civil case against oil giant Shell and services firm Wood Group following the death of technician Keith Moncrieff.

Mr Moncrieff, 45, and co-worker Sean McCue, 22, died after a gas release on Brent Bravo in September 2003.

Mrs Ogilvie, from Dundee, has agreed a “substantial” settlement.

Shell has already been fined £900,000 in court for health and safety breaches. 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.

MosNews: Russia Launches Environmental Probe into Total’s Siberian Oil Field

EXTRACT: Months of pressure last year on another vast hydrocarbon project in the Far East, Sakhalin-2, regarded by experts as the Kremlin’s drive to regain control of the country’s mineral resources, culminated in the purchase by state-controlled energy giant Gazprom of 50 percent plus one share in the project from Shell and two Japanese companies involved.

THE ARTICLE

Created: 13.03.2007 12:28 MSK (GMT +3),

Russia’s environmental and technological watchdog has launched a routine probe into the Kharyaga oil field operated by France’s Total in northern Russia, the agency said on Tuesday, March 13. 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 New York Sun: Poll Indicates Support for Divestment From Iran

EXTRACT: The campaign, modeled in part on the divestment strategy employed against South Africa during the apartheid era, may be a more effective way of punishing firms such as Royal Dutch Shell, Total..

THE ARTICLE

By ELI LAKE
Staff Reporter of the Sun
March 13, 2007

WASHINGTON — Nearly 80% of Americans would rather invest in mutual funds and other financial products that exclude companies that do business with state sponsors of terrorism, according to a new poll released today and obtained by The New York Sun. 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.

CNW: Canada’s oil and gas sector is slow to take action on their climate change responsibilities

Ethical Funds report evaluates how oil and gas companies are responding to climate change

VANCOUVER, March 13 /CNW/ – Canada’s oil and gas companies have failed to take action to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions, with only two Canadian companies responding appropriately to the risks presented by climate change, according to The Ethical Funds Company.

Despite the existence of global leaders in Canada’s oil patch, only Shell Canada and Suncor are well positioned to function in a more carbon-neutral environment reads the latest Sustainability Perspectives research paper from The Ethical Funds Company: “Head in the Oil Sands? Climate Change Risks in Canada’s Oil and Gas Sector.” The full paper can be viewed at www.ethicalfunds.com. 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 Washington Times: AIPAC pushes Iran divestiture

EXTRACT: AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr said the group will also press state pension funds in 10 states to sell their shares in companies doing business in Iran. AIPAC officials said U.S. pension firms have major investments in companies like the French oil giant Total and the British-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell.

THE ARTICLE

By David R. Sands
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published March 13, 2007
 
An influential pro-Israel lobby said yesterday it will expand its program to choke off new investment to Iran as a way to pressure the Islamic regime to give up its drive to acquire nuclear weapons. 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.

London Free Press (Canada): Shell explores idea of new Sarnia refinery

Tue, March 13, 2007
By HANK DANISZEWSKI, SUN MEDIA
 
A proposed refinery for the Sarnia area should substantially boost Ontario’s refinery capacity and could ease the tight supply of gasoline, says a Shell Canada official.

Shell Canada has proposed a refinery project with a capacity for refining 150,000-250,000 barrels of heavy oil each day from the Alberta tar sands.

Last month a fire sidelined the Imperial Oil refinery at Nanticoke which normally refines about 118,000 barrels a day. The fire triggered temporary gas shortages in some areas and high prices across the province which still persist. 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.

Lloyds List: Ormen Lange partners proceed with subsea plant

Published: Mar 13, 2007

NORSK Hydro and its partners in the Ormen Lange gas project off mid-Norway are set to invest NKr2.5bn ($405m) in a subsea compressions station to halve development costs, writes Martyn Wingrove.

The Norwegian group, plus Shell, ExxonMobil, Denmark’s Dong and state groups Statoil and Petoro have decided to proceed with a pilot plant at the Nyhamna processing plant near Molde.

The partners want to qualify the technology, supplied by Norwegian engineering contractors Aker Kvaerner and Aibel, before installing a four train gas compression system on the seabed in 860 m of water. 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.

Lloyds List: ExxonMobil to spend $20bn a year growing production profile

US major’s five-year plan for oil, gas and downstream projects should result in up to 5m boe per day output, writes Martyn Wingrove, Lloyds List
Published: Mar 13, 2007

US MAJOR ExxonMobil is planning to invest $20bn per annum over the next five years to develop a stream of new oil, gas and downstream projects.

The world’s largest publicly listed oil group has at least 20 upstream and liquefied natural gas projects in progress to start up by 2009, plus several more to undertake from 2010. 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.

AP Worldstream: Philippine oil firms appeal court order to remove depot from downtown Manila

Published: Mar 13, 2007

The Philippines’ biggest oil companies on Tuesday appealed a Supreme Court order to relocate a sprawling oil depot from the capital, saying it would result in an immediate fuel shortage.

The court last week ordered the Manila city government to implement a zoning ordinance _ enacted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. _ that reclassified the area where the depot is as commercial rather than industrial.

The area is densely populated and just a couple of kilometers (miles) away from the Malacanang presidential palace, and residents have said they fear it could be a target for terrorists. 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: EPA to hold hearing into Corrib licence

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent
Published: Mar 13, 2007

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed to hold an oral hearing into the licensing of the Corrib gas refinery in north Mayo.

Objectors to the preliminary licensing approval have been informed of the EPA’s decision, but a date has yet to be set for the hearing.

The EPA issued a preliminary integrated pollution prevention and control (IPCC) approval last January. Among the 12 appellants to the hearing are Corrib’s lead developer, Shell E&P Ireland, An Taisce, local priest Fr Michael Nallen, the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association, and members of the Shell to Sea campaign. 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: Oil services companies tap into rich seam

By Ed Crooks in London
Published: March 13 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 13 2007 02:00

In the gold rush of today’s energy business, companies such as Halliburton are the modern equivalents of Levi Strauss and Wells Fargo.

Providing services to oil companies has been an even better business than finding and producing oil in recent years. Since the start of 2003, ExxonMobil’s shares have roughly doubled; those of Royal Dutch Shell, now the runner-up among Western oil majors, have risen about 40 per cent. 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: BREEZY TALK: A Big Energy Gamble Shell, Others, Pile In Despite Regulatory Risk

The Wall Street Journal Chart

BREEZY TALK
The Texas Wind Powers
A Big Energy Gamble
Shell, Others, Pile In
Despite Regulatory Risk;
Poke Arnold’s ‘Rib Eye’
By JEFFREY BALL
March 13, 2007; Page A1

SILVERTON, Texas — Deep in the heart of Texas, multinational giants are gambling on a new supply of energy. The prize isn’t oil. It’s wind.

In this pancake-flat country, where the wind blows so relentlessly that the sagebrush and mesquite are permanently bent, Royal Dutch Shell Group, BP PLC and a wind-development company owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are racing to lease vast expanses of ranchland. In a bet on wind power’s long-term viability, they’re planning to erect what would be some of the biggest wind farms in the world, with thousands of wind turbines costing some $2 million apiece. 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: The New Seven Sisters

Posted by WSJ.com Staff

The Financial Times writes that the world’s oil industry is dominated by a new group of “Seven Sisters,” a reference to the old lineup of oil giants that dominated the world before OPEC rose to prominence: Esso (now Exxon Mobil), BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Mobil (now part of Exxon Mobil), Gulf Oil (now split between BP and Chevron) and Texaco (now also part of Chevron).

The new Seven, per the FT, are Saudi Aramco, Russia’s Gazprom, CNPC of China (parent of PetroChina), NIOC of Iran, Venezuela’s PDVSA, Brazil’s Petrobras and Petronas of Malaysia. 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 New Republic: How corporations are like cold war superpowers. Spy v. Spy

EXTRACT: The elusive firm Hakluyt–founded by former MI6 operatives and legendary for doing business over port and cigars in London’s Tony White’s club–has also seen its share of lawsuits. Shell Oil and EADS , the company that brought us the Airbus A380, are said to be among its most loyal clients.

The Article

By Ilana Ozernoy
Only at TNR Online
Post date: 03.13.07

Wal-Mart gets lots of bad press, but usually it’s about how the company treats wage laborers, not about how it treats the press. Yet, last week, CEO H. Lee Scott found himself calling an executive at The New York Times to apologize for having spied on their employees. In an effort to ferret out the source of a leak of embarrassing company memos, a Wal-Mart employee apparently intercepted text messages and telephone calls of other employees. Now, FBI investigators are on the case, and the Wal-Mart employee caught snooping was sacked (which may just be a token measure making him Wal-Mart’s Lynndie England). If this latest fiasco is anything like what happened at Hewlett-Packard last year–when Chairwoman Patricia Dunn resigned after it came to light that she hired spies to investigate a boardroom leak to the press–more heads are sure to roll. 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 New York Times: Whose Oil Is It, Anyway?

By ANTONIA JUHASZ: Op-Ed Contributor
Published: March 13, 2007
San Francisco

TODAY more than three-quarters of the world’s oil is owned and controlled by governments. It wasn’t always this way.

Until about 35 years ago, the world’s oil was largely in the hands of seven corporations based in the United States and Europe. Those seven have since merged into four: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP. They are among the world’s largest and most powerful financial empires. But ever since they lost their exclusive control of the oil to the governments, the companies have been trying to get it back. 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 Times: Letters to the Editor

Sir, The absurdity of the Tory proposal to “ration” air travel is that any such restriction on aviation fuel consumption will soon be overtaken by the event of oil depletion (“Growing costs ‘put Shetland oilfield plans in jeopardy’,” Business, March 12 ). This reports aligns you with the often scorned “peak oilers” club in heralding the rising costs of upstream oil production. Ominously, ExxonMobil, Shell and BP have opted to buy back their shares rather than increase exploration and development expenditure to augment their falling “booked” oil reserves. For nonOpec companies the peak in oil production was passed 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.

New Straits Times (Malaysia): Pearls within Shell

13 Mar 2007
SHANNON TEOH

Who doesn’t want to find the perfect company and work there happily ever after? Shell’s Gourami Business Challenge provides its participants and SHANNON TEOH an intimate look at how things would be if you were an employee in just such a company.

SET for life — isn’t that everyone’s dream? And short of coming up with an idea like clickable icons on a computer screen, or striking the lottery — including the rather morbid wish for an inheritance — how does someone achieve that fantasy of a retirement spent playing golf and going on cruises? 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.