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July, 2007:

Shell to Sea: MESSAGE TO SUPPORTERS

29 July 2007

Dear friends,

Our efforts to expose and prevent the devastation of our community, heritage and environment continues. Everyday we join together and face intimidation, slander, mis-information and violence.

Our community now faces renewed jailings and jail threats from politically driven legal judgements on key members of our ongoing campaign. The spin-masters are now trying to shut down the solidarity camp, which has stood bravely with us during 2 hard years.

Ruling politicians continue to peddle the ‘all development is progress’ mantra and try to keep nformation and the right to protest at bay whilst Shell and Norway (via Statoil) get set to boom from Irish gas. 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.

Baltimore Sun: Who’s ahead: the winners of the war in Iraq. In rough order, they are Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell…

July 29, 2007

It’s not too soon to declare the winners of the war in Iraq. In rough order, they are Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Hugo Chavez and Vladimir V. Putin.

When U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003, a barrel of crude oil sold for $27. On Friday, it was at $77. It makes all the difference.

Is the war entirely responsible for the high prices? Of course not. But the run up to what are now near-record prices began just weeks after the U.S. invasion, helped along, somewhat, by the decline in Iraq’s production. Jitters in the greater Middle East play a role, too, reflected in a market war premium and the reluctance of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to lower prices by increasing production. 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.

Shell to Sea Campaign plans for August 2007

Friday August 3rd

West Armagh Community Festival Shell to Sea information evening.

Mícháel Ó Seighin, who spent just over three months in prison as one of the Rossport Five, will join a discussion panel comprising Tommy McKearney, Northern Regional Organiser of the Independent Workers’ Union, and Barry McElduff, All Ireland Affairs Spokesperson for Sinn Féin as a part of the West Armagh Community Festival. 
Cathedral Road Recreation Centre in Armagh City at 8pm on Friday August 3rd
 
The evening will also feature a dvd screening, traditional music and a light supper.
 
For more information  send an email to [email protected]
 
Wednesday August 8th 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: Moscow targets British firms in wake of Litvinenko affair

Alex Brett
Sunday July 29, 2007

British Energy companies in Russia are coming under more intensive scrutiny from Moscow in the aftermath of the Litvinenko affair.

The Russian ministry of national resources has accused JKX Oil and Gas and Dana Petroleum of exaggerating their own reserves by claiming they have deposits in other Russian-owned fields. The deputy chief of the federal natural resources use supervision service (Rosprirodnadzor), Oleg Mitvol, said Dana attracted their attention when it said ‘it had reserves that belong to [Russian oil firm] Lukoil’. 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: Russia leads race for North Pole oil

The Arctic’s untapped resources include huge reserves of fuel and minerals. Now Moscow has raised tensions by dispatching an expedition to annex a vast expanse of the ocean.

Jamie Doward, Robin McKie and Tom Parfitt
Sunday July 29, 2007

In the darkest depths of the Arctic Ocean a new Cold War is brewing. American and British nuclear submarines lurk in the shadows, preparing for company.

‘Why has Britain been sending submarines into Arctic waters?’ asked Rob Huebert, associate director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies in Calgary. ‘Because it wants to retain its capability to deal with the Russian threat.’ 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.

Sunday Telegraph: Savvy investors are picking up blue chips

By Iain Dey, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 2:17am BST 29/07/2007

The moment many feared and predicted finally came on Thursday, when shares took their biggest tumble since the dark days of 2003. In this series of articles, we look at what the wider knock-on effects are and find it’s not all bad news.

BUYING OPPORTUNITIES

While the FTSE was falling through the floor last week, a number of savvy investors were picking up large stakes in British companies at knock-down prices. Collapsing share prices were not a sign of impending doom for everyone in the market, but a buying opportunity. 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: A bad time to go green

July 29, 2007
John Stepek

IT HAS been a hectic week in world stock markets. I’ve found it hard to tear my eyes from the car crash that is the American housing market, and the increasing likelihood that we’re going to see a big private-equity deal collapse any minute now.

Even so, one of the most telling quotes this week wasn’t in the financial press at all. It appeared in a nice fluffy interview with supermodel Laura Bailey, one of the many faces of Marks & Spencer. Talking about her favourite fashions, she said: “Today it is easier to be cool and green than cool and not green.” 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.

PressTV Iran: Economic reasons delay Iran-Shell deal

TV Iran image

Economic obstacles hindering the multi billion dollar deal with Iran

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 22:48:31
Sources: Reuters, SHANA 

The Royal Dutch Shell multinational oil company says the delay in reaching a deal with Iran is due to economic issues rather than political developments.

“Economic obstacles are hindering the multi-billion dollar gas project,” Shana news agency cited Reuters quoting the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, Jeroen van der Veer, as saying in a press conference.

Shell has been attempting to reach an agreement with Iran to carry out its first LNG project, to be fed by the giant South Pars gas field, in the energy-rich southern region of the country. 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.

Report warns against too many ‘Net rules

By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 27, 7:53 AM ET

VIENNA, Austria – Kazakhstan and Georgia are among countries imposing excessive restrictions on how people use the Internet, a new report says, warning that regulations are having a chilling effect on freedom of expression.

“Governing the Internet,” issued Thursday by the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, called the online policing “a bitter reminder of the ease with which some regimes — democracies and dictatorships alike — seek to suppress speech that they disapprove of, dislike, or simply fear.” 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.

Tricks of the trade in PR battle: …world’s most powerful businesses, eg Shell… badly hit by ‘popular uprisings’ facilitated by the internet

Irish Times Article By John Fanning
Published: Jul 28, 2007

EXTRACT: Some of the world’s most powerful businesses, eg Shell, Nike, McDonald’s, have been badly hit by “popular uprisings” in recent years, facilitated by the internet.

Public Relations The editors of this wittily titled book are sociologists from Strathclyde University and they set out their stall with admirable clarity. Not only is the subtitle “Corporate PR and the Assault on Democracy”, but the first sentence reads: “public relations was created to thwart and subvert democratic decision-making”. 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: Garavan complaint on Corrib gas to be studied

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent
Published: Jul 28, 2007

The European Commission’s environment directorate is to conduct a preliminary investigation into the Corrib gas project, following a request from the European Parliament’s petitions committee.

The committee has deemed as “admissible” a complaint lodged by former Shell to Sea spokesman Dr Mark Garavan and intends to begin an examination “as soon as possible”.

As part of this inquiry, it has asked the commission to conduct a preliminary investigation into “various aspects”, as raised by Dr Garavan, relating to alleged breaches of several EU directives. 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: Internet censorship spreading: OSCE study (*In August a Malaysian court will hear Shell’s application to have whistleblower Dr John Huong jailed)

Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:14AM EDT

VIENNA (Reuters) – State restrictions on use of the Internet have spread to more than 20 countries that use catch-all and contradictory rules to help keep people off line and stifle feared political opposition, a new report says.

In “Governing the Internet”, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) presented case studies of Web censorship in Kazakhstan and Georgia and referred to similar findings in nations from China to Iran, Sudan and Belarus. 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: The Best Global Brands For 2007: Shell ranked 93 out of 100

Sat 28 Jul 2007

The Best Global Brands For 2007: Shell ranked 93 out of 100

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/07/27/bcnbrand227.xml

http://www.tellshell.net/blog/_archives/2007/7/28/3124069.html

Related Daily Telegraph article: Google’s policy keeps brand ahead of Yahoo!

By Ben Bland, Online City Reporter
Last Updated: 9:26pm BST 27/07/2007

Search giant Google has developed the fastest growing brand in the world by expanding exponentially while appearing to stay true to values such as the belief that “you can make money without doing evil”. 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: Russia stakes its claim on North Pole in underwater search for oil

July 28, 2007
Tony Halpin in Moscow

Russia is making an audacious grab for the vast energy riches of the Arctic with an underwater mission to plant its flag beneath the North Pole.

A team of explorers plans to descend 4,300 metres (1,400ft) to the seabed in a miniature submarine tomorrow to stake Russia’s claim to an area of ocean the size of Western Europe. The polar expedition aims to prove that the Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater shelf that runs through the Arctic, is an extension of Russian territory. 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, TXU plan world’s largest wind farm

Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:46 PM BST

HOUSTON, July 27 (Reuters) – Shell WindEnergy Inc., a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC and TXU Corp., have proposed to build the world’s largest wind power project in the Texas Panhandle.

Shell and TXU’s power generation unit, Luminant, have proposed building a 3,000-megawatt wind project in Briscoe County, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Amarillo.

At 3,000 MW, the project would double the current wind generation in Texas, which last year surpassed California as the state that generates the most power from wind. 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.

oneworldtrust.org: Accountability in Practice: Royaldutchshellplc.com – The power of a website

One World Trust: Accountability in Action: Extract From Global Accountability Newsletter: Issue 15, July 2007
 
The website Royaldutchshellplc.com is a gripe site established by John Donovan and his father, Alfred, to stream information to the public about the Shell Group, a collection of oil, gas, and petrochemical companies.  John Donovan’s use of the website to blow the whistle on Shell’s environmental abuses in the Sakhalin project exhibits the power an individual website can have in holding a global organisation to account.
   
 
A ‘gripe site’ is traditionally one “devoted to the critique and/or mockery of a person, place, politician, corporation, or institution.”1  However, with the right contacts, a gripe site can become much more than simply a soap box.  As The Royal Dutch Shell plc website shows, a gripe site can have a profound impact on global organisations. 
 
Donovan’s battle with Shell began over breaches of contract with regards to sales promotions campaigns he and his father devised that were used to attract customers to Shell petrol stations.  Shell and the Donovans settled out of court.  But it was after Shell apparently made disparaging remarks about the Donovans that John set up Royaldutchshellplc.com. 
 
Donovan “wanted the site to become a magnet for people who had a problem with the company.”2  The site has not only cost Shell billions of dollars in Russia, but Prospect Magazine reports that the Ogoni tribe of Nigeria also use the website to spread information about Shell’s activities in the Niger Delta, and that even Shell insiders unhappy with the company use it.3
 
Royaldutchshellplc.com is just one of many examples of how the Internet makes it possible for concerned individuals to initiate discussion about global organisations, post and share information about organisational actions and their impact, and provide a common forum for affected stakeholders.  At the very least, ‘gripe sites’ such as this have a valuable watchdog function and remind global companies of the power of public opinion – thus forcing them to confront weaknesses in their own accountability.
 
1 Wikipedia, ‘Gripe Site,’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gripe_site
2 Brower, Derek, ‘Rise of the Gripe Site’, Prospect Magazine, February 2007, http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?search_term=shell&id=8209
3 Ibid.
  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.

Accountability in Action: Between exposé and libel: online activity and the lack of institutional accountability

One World Trust: Accountability in Action: Extract From Global Accountability Newsletter: Issue 15, July 2007

Accountability debates often focus on powerful organisations, whether formal or informal.  This makes sense – the benefits of accountability can be most felt when powerful organisations adopt the necessary policies and put them into practice.  However, with the focus on organisations, the growing power of the individual has often been overlooked.
 
As online publication becomes easier, through innovations such as blogs and websites such as YouTube, millions of people are finding a voice.  With the right combination of luck, judgement, timing and the Internet an individual can have a great deal of influence.  Yet, this individuality of the Internet means users are often acting outside of an institutional framework.

 
Whilst most bloggers have readers in the tens or hundreds, some have acquired followings in the hundreds of thousands.  With such large readerships these bloggers are starting to challenge the dominance of traditional media outlets.  Their online editorials signify a progression from the commentating on news stories reported by the mainstream media to setting the news agenda themselves. 
 
A notable example is the attention brought by US bloggers to the remarks of Senator Trent Lott, then Senate Minority Leader, at the 100th birthday party of Senator Strom Thurmond in December 2002.  Speaking of Thurmond’s run for President, which was on a segregationist platform, Lott said:
 
… if the rest of the country had followed our lead [that of Mississippi, which had voted for Thurmond in the election], we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years…
 
Whilst reporters from mainstream media outlets were present at the party, it was the action of bloggers that brought consistent attention to the remarks and eventually forced Lott to resign as Minority Leader.1
 
Similarly, the use of videos posted through YouTube is having a remarkable impact on the way in which the American 2008 Presidential campaigns are being run, with greater online content and the emergence of “attack ads” unaffiliated with any campaign.2  Another example is the “gripe site” of www.royaldutchshellplc.com.  The site has played a watchdog function on the activities of Shell, and has acted as a central point for the gathering of complaints.3  With the power of the internet harnessed for both whistleblowers and scandalmongers, it is clear that such great influence can be positive or negative.
 
Whereas traditional media organisations have internal accountability – with editors being ultimately accountable for published material – bloggers are independent and lack such an institutional framework.  There is no editor, no lawyer, and no proprietor to be persuaded of the public interest case for a story.  Even under the UK’s notoriously strict libel laws bloggers are effectively able to circumvent the risk of the large financial penalties that can come with an adverse court judgment. They can limit liability through a company that holds few assets, as little is needed to publish a blog.  In the USA, where the Constitution places great value on the freedom of speech, there are even fewer legal risks.
 
This lack of internal accountability and the possibility of circumnavigating legal accountability brings into question how bloggers, and other individuals online, are accountable.
 
To address the absence of accountability mechanisms and concomitant concern that there is power without responsibility, there have been some attempts to develop self-regulating Codes of Conduct.  One of the most high profile is that started by Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, and Tim O’Reilly, who coined the term “Web 2.0”.
 
With a series of “opt-in badges” for different levels of enforcement, the O’Reilly-Wales proposal have proved very controversial, prompting attacks as well as support from within the blogosphere.  However, the proposal lacks any enforcement mechanisms – and it is unclear what form an effective enforcement mechanism could take.  With the ease of online anonymity, and the opprobrium of others worn as a badge of pride for some, forms of self-regulation that rely on social norms and pressure may be ineffective in this sphere where there is little to be lost.
 
It is not the case that the Internet is a lawless place; fraud is still fraud, and activities that would be criminal offline are criminal online too.  But where is the line drawn in the often casual, conversational manner of the Internet that can be accessed by millions not just heard by the few?  With the international and individual nature of the online world, it is difficult to transpose the accountability mechanisms of the offline world, from courts of law to social norms.
 
Furthermore, with the borderless nature of the Internet, who would enforce?  Is it the state’s responsibility? Consumers?  Registries?  Or even families and partners?  With the lack of the institutional frameworks of accountability present in traditional media organisations applying to bloggers, yet the unquestionable ability of such individuals to impact the ‘non-Internet’ society, these questions are starting to be asked and need to be addressed.
  Claire Wren
 
 
1 Scott, Esther, “Big Media Meets the Bloggers: Coverage of Trent Lott’s Remarks at Strom Thurmond’s Birthday Party”, Case Study, Kennedy School of Government, 2004 (http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/Research_Publications/Case_Studies/1731_0.pdf)
2 Wood, Gaby, “From the web to the White House,” The Observer, 8 July 2007 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2121069,00.html.
3 See Accountability in Practice. 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: Chevron Profit Rises on Divestiture, Gasoline Prices (Update3)

By Joe Carroll
 
David O’Reilly, CEO of Chevron Corp. July 27 (Bloomberg) — Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. oil producer, posted its highest quarterly earnings ever after gasoline prices rose to a record and the company sold its stake in Dynegy Inc. at a profit.

Second-quarter net income climbed to $5.38 billion, or $2.52 a share, from $4.35 billion, or $1.97, a year earlier, San Ramon, California-based Chevron said today in a statement. The profit increase, at 24 percent, was the biggest among the world’s five largest investor-owned oil companies. 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 Anchorage Daily News: Shell, whalers reach drilling deal

HUNTS VS. WELLS: Talks settle one impediment to drilling in Beaufort Sea.

By WESLEY LOY
[email protected]

Published: July 27, 2007
Last Modified: July 27, 2007 at 05:33 AM

Oil giant Shell and North Slope whaling captains this week struck a “conflict avoidance agreement” designed to keep offshore drilling from disrupting subsistence hunts.

The deal wraps up months of negotiation between the captains and Shell, which hopes to drill exploratory wells this year in the Beaufort Sea.

Both sides hailed the agreement, which settles one of several problems facing Shell before it can put its two drilling ships to work. 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.

ThisisAberdeen.co.uk: OIL CREWS CONCERNED BY SELL-OFF

27 July 2007

Workers for oil giant Shell have hit out at plans to sell off five North Sea platforms.

The OILC union said employees on Cormorant Alpha, North Cormorant, Dunlin, Alpha Tern and Eider installations are unhappy the company is considering transferring them to new owners where their working conditions could suffer.

OILC General secretary Jake Molloy said: “The workers are very unhappy and have suggested a variety of actions to make Shell rethink, including strike.”

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.

Offshore workers died as a result of a “Touch F*** All” safety regime at Shell

Oil Profits Before Safety

By John Donovan

Bill Campbell, a much respected former Group Auditor of the oil giant, Shell International, this week took the exceptional step of writing to all members of the UK Houses of Parliament – every MP and every member of the House of Lords – to bring to their attention a “Touch F*** All” safety culture at Shell.

He explained in his letter (reprinted below with his kind permission) how the lives of Shell employees working on an oil platform in the North Sea were lost after Shell senior management put profits before safely instead of taking appropriate action after a safety audit led by Campbell discovered a corrupted safety regime. 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.

Houston Chronicle: Even at top, Exxon Mobil feels earnings pinch: Other oil majors have reported second-quarter production declines as well

Even at top, Exxon Mobil feels earnings pinch: No. 1 oil company sees profit, production fall; Shell earnings rise despite drop in output

Kristen Hays, Houston Chronicle – Texas
Published: Jul 27, 2007

Even the oil industry’s mightiest can be humbled in a world with diminishing access to oil and ever-increasing costs of getting it.

Investors roughed up Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday when the world’s biggest oil company fell short of Wall Street expectations for the first time in six quarters, with a 1 percent drop in profits and production. 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 Mail (UK): Slick Shell wins battle of oil majors

By Sam Fleming
27 July 2007

ROYAL Dutch Shell trounced arch-rival BP with a bumper set of earnings, but boss Jeroen van der Veer failed to dispell doubts about the firm’s troubled production pipeline.

Profits stripping out one-time items rose 6pc to £3.4bn, thanks to a Rolls-Royce performance by Shell’s fleet of refineries, which benefited from record industry margins. Shell’s figures added to signs of a comeback almost as dramatic as BP’s decline.

Its shares have managed a 13pc gain over the past six months, twice the rise by beleaguered BP which is under attack from American Congressmen because of Alaskan oil leaks and the fatal Texas City fire. 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 Express (UK): Oil-price boom lifts Shell

ANDREW JOHNSON, The Express
Published: Jul 27, 2007

BOOMING oil prices sent Royal Dutch Shell’s profits soaring 17 per cent to nearly $15billion (GBP7.5billion) for the half-year to June.

A strong performance from refineries and petrol stations enabled the company to shrug off a 2 per cent drop in production to 3.2million barrels a day. The shares fell 42p to 1972p.

Shell did better than rival BP where profits fell 8 per cent because of refinery shutdowns. Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer expected the good times to continue. He said despite rising energy prices, demand remained strong in emerging markets such as India and China, as well as in the US. Shell is making progress in moving its refining focus from the United States to the Far East and in developing what van der Veer described as “new legacy assets” designed to fuel growth for decades to come. 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.

Business Times (Malaysia): Shell gets govt nod to buy ProJET assets

July 27 2007

ROYAL Dutch Shell said it has recently received government approval for the acquisition of the ProJET retail marketing assets comprising 44 service stations and 14 vacant land sites.

The 44 ProJET stations will be rebranded progressively to Shell stations over the next three months, Shell said in a statement.

“However, from today, as part of the transition from ProJET to Shell, all existing ProJET retail sites will begin to carry Shell fuels, even as rebranding work is under way,” said Datuk Mohzani Wahab, managing director of Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd and Shell Timur Sdn Bhd. 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.

International Business Times: Shell says expects to drill in Arctic this year

Three polar bears

 Friday 27 July 2007

Three polar bears are shown on the Beaufort Sea coast within the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in this undated handout file photo.

Royal Dutch Shell expects to drill in the Arctic off the north coast of Alaska this year, despite legal challenges from environmentalists and native groups, its chief executive said on Thursday.

REUTERS/HANDOUT/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Image Library

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: Shell’s Iran venture to continue

Daily Telegraph image of Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer

Jeroen van der Veer: final decision still 12 months away

By Russell Hotten, Industry Editor
Last Updated: 3:38am BST 27/07/2007

Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said there were no plans to halt preparatory work on possible investments in Iran, despite renewed pressure about the risks of operating in a country where America has imposed economic sanctions.

Speaking yesterday as he unveiled a 20pc rise in second-quarter profits, Mr van der Veer said a final decision about whether to embark on the huge gas project was still 12 months away, but work would continue. 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: Questor: Shell shows more signs of rejuvenation but a deal with BP still looks a non-starter

Daily Telegraph image

Last Updated: 2:13am BST 27/07/2007

Royal Dutch Shell
£19.72 -42p
Questor says Hold

The sixth straight quarter in which Royal Dutch Shell profits exceeded market forecasts is more confirmation for those who believe chief executive Jeroen van der Veer’s rejuvenation of the oil major is under way.
  
The refining and marketing side is very strong, as is the chemicals arm. Profit from the oil products division, which handles refining, leapt 42pc to a record $2.94bn. Record US gasoline prices have been driven by rising demand and refinery shutdowns. 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 Oil Profits Show Signs of Aging

wsj image

Despite Big Numbers,
Costs, Production Woes
Are Weighing on Growth
By RUSSELL GOLD and GUY CHAZAN
July 27, 2007; Page A2

•  The News: Exxon Mobil reported disappointing results on higher costs and somewhat lower production, despite near-record prices for oil.

•  The Big Picture: Oil-company profits have suffered as increasingly expensive rigs, equipment and services are used to tap bigger and more-complicated projects.

•  The Outlier: While rivals’ earnings were mostly lower, Shell’s net profit surged 18% in the quarter, as strong refining margins compensated for a production drop. 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: LNG lifts Shell earnings by 20%

Martyn Wingrove
Published: Jul 27, 2007

HIGHER refining margins and liquefied natural gas sales have boosted Royal Dutch Shell’s second quarter earnings by 20% to $7.56bn.

The Anglo-Dutch company’s strong downstream operating performance bucked the industry trend of falling earnings and beat analysts’ expectations.

Shell’s positive result compares well with its European rivals BP, Repsol of Spain and Eni of Italy which have all reported lower second quarter profits.

‘We have delivered another set of competitive results, driven by operating performance,’ said Shell’s chief executive, Jeroen van der Veer. ‘I am pleased with our progress in downstream and exploration. 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: Feile artists question Shell sponsorship

Lorna Siggins, Western Correspondent
Published: Jul 27, 2007

Artists participating in a festival which opens in north Mayo this evening have expressed concern over Shell E&P Ireland’s sponsorship of the event.

Galway poet Rita Ann Higgins and Leitrim singer Mary McPartlan said they had “no idea” that Shell was supporting Feile Iorrais 07, an annual international folk arts festival which runs until August 4th in Erris.

Shell’s sponsorship is not included in the festival programme, but it is on the festival website. read more

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AFX Asia (Focus): Australia’s Woodside approves 11.2 bln aud Pluto LNG project development -UPDATE

Published: Jul 27, 2007

(Updating to include CEO comments)

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) – Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Australia’s largest oil and gas producer, said Friday its board has approved an expenditure of 11.2 billion Australian dollars on the development of the Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in northwestern Australia.

The company, 34 percent owned by the Royal Dutch Shell group, said the project is based on Woodside’s Pluto and Xena gas fields located about 190 km northwest of Karratha, in permit WA-350-P. read more

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Financial Times: Shell exceeds City forecasts

By Rebecca Bream and Maggie Urry
Published: July 27 2007 03:00 | Last updated: July 27 2007 03:00

Royal Dutch Shell beat analysts’ expectation with an 18 per cent rise in second-quarter earnings, in contrast to BP, which reported lower earnings this week.

Shell yesterday announced second-quarter profits of $8.67bn (£4.22bn). On a current cost of supplies basis, stripping out the effect of changes in prices on inventories, Shell’s figures were 20 per cent higher at $7.56bn.

Downstream businesses, such as refining, marketing and chemicals, accounted for much of the rise in profits, but the results were also boosted by profits on divestments of $660m in thequarter, compared with a $232m loss in the same period of 2006. read more

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Financial Times: Moscow ‘to expel top UK trade diplomat’

By Neil Buckley in Moscow
Published: July 26 2007 08:31 | Last updated: July 26 2007 18:39

Britain’s top trade official in Moscow is one of the four diplomats being expelled by Russia, raising concerns that the dispute over the extradition of a murder suspect could start to damage commercial links between the two countries.

Andrew Levi, counsellor for economic, commercial and scientific affairs – one of the most senior diplomats after the ambassador and deputy head of mission – must leave Moscow by Sunday, the Moscow Times reported, quoting sources close to Mr Levi. read more

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The Guardian: Shell makes £1.5m an hour and defends drilling in Arctic

· Company says it will not bow to environmentalists
· ExxonMobil blames lower gas prices for fall in profits

Terry Macalister
Friday July 27, 2007

Shell made profits of £1.5m an hour in the second quarter of the year and said it would not turn away from drilling in environmentally sensitive areas such as the Arctic or producing from carbon-intensive tar sands such as those in Canada, where governments give it the go-ahead.

Combined cycle profits – the common way of measuring an oil company’s financial performance – soared 20% to $7.6bn (£3.7bn) on the back of high refining margins. Shell’s larger rival, ExxonMobil which has a long tradition of beating analysts’ forecasts, shocked Wall Street with an unexpected fall in earnings, revenues and production. read more

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The Times: Shell rakes in profits from Canadian oil sands unit

July 27, 2007
Carl Mortished, International Business Editor

The world’s dirtiest oil is producing the highest profit per barrel for Royal Dutch Shell, which yesterday said it would begin to report the earnings of its controversial Canadian oil sands operations as a separate business unit.

Shell showed a clean pair of heels to its competitors yesterday, revealing a profits surge from refining which helped to boost the oil group’s earnings from $6.3 billion to $7.5 billion in the second quarter. In contrast, BP this week reported a 1 per cent fall in profits to $6 billion owing to its weak US refining business, while ExxonMobil, attributed a slippage in profits to $10.2 billion to weaker natural gas profits. read more

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The Times: Even in hard times, you can still be sure of Shell

July 27, 2007
Nick Hasell: Tempus

The City can be hard to please, as Jeroen van der Veer, the chief executive of Shell, will doubtless tell you.

Yesterday’s second-quarter profits of nearly $7.6 billion (£3.7 billion) were the best produced by the Anglo-Dutch oil major to date, and $1.5 billion more than those unveiled two days previously by BP. Yet the overwhelming reaction from analysts and investors was disappointment.

They pointed out that over the past seven years Shell has beaten forecasts by an average of 4.6 per cent. Once $660 million of one-off gains are stripped out of yesterday’s numbers, Shell has beaten forecasts by only a modest 2 per cent. read more

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The Sydney Morning Herald: Shell reports big finds in Australia

Friday July 27, 2007 – 6:11AM

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has said it had made material finds in Australia and Malaysia in the first half of this year.

Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said the company had made the finds of gas at its Prelude and Persephone prospects off Australia’s northwest coast and of oil and gas offshore northwest Sabah in Malaysia.

The CEO singled out Prelude, in the Browse basin, for particular mention.

“We think it may be an important new resource,” he told a news conference in London. read more

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Reuters: Shell reports big finds in Australia, Malaysia

Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:05 PM BST

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) – Oil major Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday it had made material finds in Australia and Malaysia in the first half of the year.

Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said the company had made the finds of gas at its Prelude and Persephone prospects off Australia’s northwest coast and of oil and gas offshore northwest Sabah in Malaysia.

The CEO singled out Prelude, in the Browse basin, for particular mention.

“We think it may be an important new resource,” he told a news conference in London . read more

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Reuters: Apache doesn’t want Shell, Exxon N. Sea assets-CEO

Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:06 PM BST

HOUSTON, July 26 (Reuters) – The chief executive of independent oil and gas exploration company Apache Corp. on Thursday said he is not interested in buying the North Sea assets put up for sale in June by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp.

“Frankly, that’s not something we’d be interested in,” Steven Farris, Apache’s CEO, told analysts on a conference call to discuss the Houston-based company’s second-quarter earnings.

In June, Shell and Exxon put North Sea oil and natural gas fields with around 74,000 barrels per day of production up for sale. read more

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Daily Express (UK): RICHES THAT RUSSIA WILL GRAB BELOW THE ARCTIC

Thursday 26 July 2007: Page 11

A Russian submarine is on the way to the North Pole in a bid to capture the potentially lucrative oilfield beneath. But who actually owns the North Pole and who has a right to the oil? And what’s known about this mysterious and beautiful region?

JULIE CARPENTER reports

If Vladimir Putin’s plans go as expected, a Russian flag will soon be proudly flying at the North Pole – or rather, under it. A Russian expedition set sail on Tuesday for the Arctic with a view to sending a submarine junder the ice shelf to plant a special titanium flag and symbolically claim the area for the Kremlin. read more

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‘Simon’ comments on our article: How long until Shell admits defeat and pulls out of Sakhalin…

The article in question: –

How long until Shell admits defeat and pulls out of the $26 billion Sakhalin project in Russia?

John

I would like to differ from you on one point. Shell was a good Company when the likes of professionals like Van Sponsen, Greer and Bouman worked for them. They were all excellent professionals and I knew them all. Too bad for Shell that they have all gone.

Today, it is only the weak that rule the roost at Shell and it is they you should scrutinise and criticise. You only have to look at the calibre and incompetence of Chadwick, Craig, Botts, Brinded, Finlayson etc, etc, etc to get a flavour of who Shell values most today. read more

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The New York Times: Exxon Profit Slips, Surprisingly

By JAD MOUAWAD
Published: July 27, 2007

Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, reported an unexpected slip in quarterly profit today as refining gains failed to offset drops in oil and natural gas production.

Shell Net Profit Rises 18 Percent to $8.67 Billion (July 26, 2007) But its profit still remained substantial. The company reported net income of $10.26 billion for the second quarter, down 1 percent from $10.36 billion in the period a year earlier. Exxon has had quarterly profits of more than $10 billion for five of the last seven quarters. read more

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How long until Shell admits defeat and pulls out of the $26 billion Sakhalin project in Russia?

By John Donovan (written in association with a Shell insider)

Russian environmental authorities have instructed Sakhalin Energy Investment Co. Ltd (SEIC) the operator of the $26 billion Sakhalin-2 project, to suspend work on an onshore pipeline.

Lidia Vostretsova, chief inspector at the local branch of the Federal Environmental, Engineering, and Nuclear Supervision Agency has been quoted by RIA Novosti (news) as saying: “According to findings, the project operator has deviated from design-stipulated requirements on the drainage system at a tectonic fracture for the Sakhalin II project to develop the Piltun-Astokh and Luna fields”. Vostretsova said SEIC was “using the wrong kind of pipes and violating pipe-laying procedures” and that “construction would be suspended until the operator rectified the violations”. read more

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Pravda.ru: Russia begins to expel British diplomats

07/26/2007 16:42 Source: AP ©           

The head of the British Embassy’s economic section was one of four diplomats told to leave Russia in the tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions that have followed the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London.
 
Economic Counsel Andrew Levi is to leave Russia on Sunday, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing unnamed sources. The report said Levi is one of the four British diplomats sent home in response to Britain’s decision to expel four Russian diplomats after Moscow refused to extradite the main suspect in the killing of Litvinenko. read more

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Reuters: Shell finds new Nigerian oilfield

26 July 2007

ABUJA (Reuters) – The Nigerian arm of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) has made an oil discovery and a test well flowed at up to 5,000 barrels per day, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) said on Thursday.

The discovery was made onshore in the eastern Niger Delta in Shell’s Oil Mining Licence 17. The exploration well, Aghata-1, was drilled to a total depth of 4,679 meters and encountered 245 meters of hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs.

“Aghata-1 well is a material exploration success for SPDC and Shell,” said Basil Omiyi, the managing director of SPDC, a Nigerian arm of the Anglo-Dutch oil major. read more

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Reuters: Shell CEO says doesn’t expect “miracles” in Nigeria

Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:09 PM BST
(Adds fresh quotes)
By Randy Fabi

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) – The chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Thursday he didn’t expect any “miracles” in restoring lost oil production in Nigeria.

Shell said 195,000 barrels per day of its production in Nigeria was shut-in at the end of the second quarter due to security concerns, up from 177,000 bpd during the same period last year. The Anglo-Dutch company declined to provide a timeline on when it expected to return to normal output levels. read more

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Dow Jones Newswire: Shell Mulls Iran Deal Despite U.S. Pressure

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) is still studying the possibility of investing in a key natural gas project in Iran, Jeroen van der Veer said Thursday.

The statement comes despite pressure in the U.S. for the oil company to scrap the plans, including a letter from pension funds warning Shell against the risks of Iran.

Speaking at an earnings press conference, van der Veer said Shell would have to “take political considerations into account” when it gets closer to a decision on the matter. read more

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Times Online: Tempus: Pump primed

July 26, 2007
Steve Hawkes

The City can be a hard audience to please and Jeroen van der Veer will doubtlessly concur today.

Shell’s profits of nearly $7.6 billion are the group’s best ever for a quarter and $1.5 billion more than BP, yet the overwhelming reaction from analysts is one of disappointment.

They point out that over the past seven years, Shell has beaten forecasts by an average of 4.6 per cent. Once $660 million of one-off gains are stripped out of today’s figures, Shell has only beaten expectations by a modest 2 per cent. read more

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BankWatch.Org: Sakhalin II pipeline construction suspended again by authorities, catalogue of violations mounting

For immediate release: July 26, 2007

Sakhalin Island, Russia — The construction of the Sakhalin II onshore pipelines was suspended today by the Russian state agency responsible for industrial safety and environment protection –   Rostekhnadzor – because of violations during the pipeline construction through an active seismic fault in the Tymovskiy district in the central part of Sakhalin Island. [1]

Rostekhnadzor stated that the project operator, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company (SEIC),  has digressed from project decisions on the construction of drainage systems on active seismic faults and has used pipes which were not planned by the project. The suspension will remain in force until SEIC properly addresses the violations during the drainage system construction. read more

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