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May, 2012:

Motiva expansion cost ‘in range of’ $10 billion: Saudi Aramco CEO

Reuters: Motiva expansion cost “in range of” $10 billion: Saudi Aramco CEO

PORT ARTHUR, Texas | Thu May 31, 2012 2:37pm EDT

(Reuters) – Saudi Aramco SDABO.UL Chief Executive Khalid Al-Falih said the total cost of expanding the Motiva Enterprises MOTIV.UL Port Arthur, Texas, refinery to 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) was “in the range of” $10 billion, double its original estimate.

The Port Arthur refinery is the largest investment Saudi Aramco, which is a 50-50 partner with Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) in Motiva, has made outside the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Al-Falih told reporters on Thursday. read more

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Petroleum Development Oman Takes Steps To Resolve Strike

May 30, 2012, 11:51 p.m. ET

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA)-led Petroleum Development Oman is taking steps to reach a speedy resolution to an industrial dispute with contracting staff that began last week, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

“Operations at Qarn Alam have started to resume and further talks are taking place at Fahud,” the company said, adding that the strike had resulted in a small reduction in oil production.

The company is currently working closely with the government, Royal Oman Police, contractors and other authorities in an effort to resolve the dispute that has caused significant disruption to the workforce. read more

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Brazil Seeks $496 Million From Shell, Cosan, BASF

By Adriana Brasileiro – May 31, 2012 1:10 AM GMT+0100

Brazilian prosecutors asked a court to order Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Cosan SA Industria & Comercio’s joint venture Raizen and BASF SE (BAS) to pay 1 billion reais ($496 million) in compensation for workers who were allegedly sickened from work at a pesticide plant, according to a statement from the Labor Prosecutor’s office.

Prosecutors say the plant’s conditions caused severe health problems to workers employed at the facility in Paulinia, Brazil, from 1977 to 2002. The workers came into contact with substances such as aldrin, endrin and dieldrin, which can cause cancer and other diseases, according to the statement. 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.

Brazil prosecutors seek payment from Shell, BASF

Brazilian prosecutors said Wednesday that they asked a court to force oil company Shell and the world’s largest chemical company, BASF, to immediately pay $500 million into a compensation fund for hundreds of workers who may have been contaminated at an agricultural chemicals plant.

Originally published Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 12:57 PM

By MARCO SIBAJA

Associated Press

BRASILIA, Brazil —

Brazilian prosecutors said Wednesday that they asked a court to force oil company Shell and the world’s largest chemical company, BASF, to immediately pay $500 million into a compensation fund for hundreds of workers who may have been contaminated at an agricultural chemicals plant.

The companies were earlier ordered to pay that amount by two courts. But the case revolving around a plant in the city of Paulinia, 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Sao Paulo, was appealed and is now before a higher court in Brasilia. 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.

Greenpeace vs. Shell: Alaska Judge Restricts Activists From Boarding Offshore Drilling Vessels

AP  |  Posted: 05/30/2012 11:28 am Updated: 05/30/2012 12:48 pm

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge has made it more difficult for representatives of Greenpeace USA to board Shell Oil’s drilling vessels.

In March, Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage ordered the group to stay a kilometer away from Shell Oil’s drilling ships destined for Arctic waters off Alaska’s northern coast. The restrictions applied to U.S. territorial waters up to 12 miles from shore.

On Tuesday, Gleason extended the restrictions to 200 miles offshore. Shell intends to drill 18 miles off the Beaufort Sea coast this summer, and 70 miles off the Chukchi coast. read more

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Why Environmentalists Should Support Oil Exploration In Alaska’s Arctic Waters

Why Environmentalists Should Support Oil Exploration In Alaska’s Arctic Waters

5/30/2012

Christopher Helman Christopher Helman, Forbes Staff This is a guest column by Bob Reiss. He is author of “The Eskimo and the Oil Man,” just published, for which he spent three years reporting with many trips to Alaska. Reiss has written for Smithsonian, Outside and Parade Magazines on the Arctic, and is the author of 18 books.

I never figured I’d end up siding with the oil company. When I started research on “The Eskimo and The Oil Man” – a book following the battle over offshore oil in the rapidly opening U.S. Arctic – in 2010, I saw no reason to change my mind. I’m green. I wrote a book blaming carbon emissions for global warming. I figured the oil company would turn out to be a bad guy.

Things didn’t turn out the way I thought.

As you read this the battle over Arctic oil heats up. Shell plans to send drill ships north this summer. The company has poured over $4 billion into buying undersea leases and preparation for work in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Shell believes that up to 27 billion barrels of oil – three times as much as has been taken from the Gulf of Mexico in the last two decades – lies off northern Alaska, and claims that energy can be extracted safely, will cut foreign dependence and create thousands of jobs. 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 drops Bond Helicopters contract plans

30 May 2012

Oil giant Shell has abandoned plans to sign a major contract with Bond Offshore Helicopters, BBC Scotland has learned.

The oil firm said it was not able to achieve sufficient assurance about Bond’s operations.

Shell is conducting an ongoing review of its helicopter services contract across its North Sea operations.

Bond temporarily suspended helicopter flights after one of its Super Pumas ditched in the North Sea.

All 14 passengers and crew involved in the incident on 10 May were rescued. read more

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Does Hydrogen have a future in the world of energy?

FROM A CONTRIBUTOR

About two decades ago the US DoD ran some tests designed to test the efficacy of a propulsion system for shallow draft/shallow water vessels. These tests failed, and they failed miserably. However, there was a surprise that came out of these tests. The experimental propulsion system produce large amounts of gas – hydrogen and oxygen gas. In fact, so much gas was produced that it became an explosion hazard.

Why is this interesting? Well, it demonstrated (albeit accidentally) the feasibility of a ‘new’ method for the production of hydrogen gas. Today most hydrogen gas is produced from methane gas. read more

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LETTER SENT TO MR GARY THOMSON, SHELL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Because of the royaldutchshellplc.com domain name, we receive job applications, business proposals, pension enquiries, even threats meant for Shell (as supplied today). We deal with all such matters as agreed with Mr Brandjes, sometimes corresponding with the parties on behalf of Shell, occasionally passing on correspondence to him.  We have been offered oil wells and coalmines.

LETTER SENT TO MR GARY THOMSON, SHELL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED ON 30 May 2012: FROM ALFRED AND JOHN DONOVAN

Dear Mr Thomson

Data Protection Act 1998 – Subject Access Request (SAR)

Thank you for your letter dated 14 May 2012.

Please find enclosed completed application forms together with cheques based on a fee of £10 per applicant, if that is appropriate.

The application is made on an annual basis in joint names; the formula requested by your former colleague Mr Richard Wiseman and agreed to by us. Mr Wiseman informed us that after his retirement as Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc., the Company Secretary and General Counsel Corporate, Mr Michiel Brandjes, would be our designated contact with Shell. This has been the case since Mr Wiseman’s departure. 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 reports fewer oil spills, but more bribes

FROM OUR ARCHIVES…

Shell staff or intermediaries paid or accepted 16 bribes last year, contravening company policy, the report said. That was double the number in 2003, and four times the reported number for 2002.

Gulf Times (Qatar): Shell reports fewer oil spills, but more bribes

30 May 2005

By Stephen Voss

LONDON: Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Europe’s second-largest oil company, reported fewer oil spills and worker deaths, no change in greenhouse gas emissions and an increase in bribes in an annual assessment of its corporate responsibility.

The company, which operates in 140 countries, spilled 6,600 tonnes of liquids in 2004, down from 6,700 tonnes in 2003. US offshore pipelines damaged by Hurricane Ivan spilled 1,500 tonnes alone, making it overshoot a global target of 6,100 tonnes. “The growth of energy companies in the decades ahead will depend on their ability to operate with integrity and to listen and respond to society’s expectations for their operations and products,’’ Shell Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said in a report published on Shell’s website. 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 mum on details of planned seismic surveys

Shell mum on details of planned seismic surveys

May 29, 2012 – 7:32pm By JOANN ALBERSTAT Business Reporter Shell says it plans to begin 3-D seismic surveys in Nova Scotia’s offshore next April.

The global energy giant includes the time frame in an expression of interest issued last week for an environmental consultant to work on the company’s nearly $1-billion exploration project here.

But the Calgary company wouldn’t elaborate Tuesday on its exploration plan, filed with the regulator May 17, beyond previous public statements.

“Shell has filed a high-level plan for the next three years for offshore Nova Scotia in which we would like to conduct seismic acquisition activities in 2013,” a Shell Canada spokesman said in an email. 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.

President of Royal Dutch Shell says BC LNG could be ‘pilot’ for federal streamlining

President of Royal Dutch Shell says BC LNG could be ‘pilot’ for federal streamlining

By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press May 29, 2012

CALGARY – There is a “narrow window” of opportunity for Canada to take advantage of the lucrative global market for liquefied natural gas, the president of Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Tuesday.

Shell and three Asian partners plan to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Kitimat, B.C. that would connect Canada’s vast supplies with energy-hungry markets on the other side of the Pacific.

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant announced earlier this month it will have a 40 per cent stake in the project, called LNG Canada. PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. will each hold a 20 per cent interest. No pricetag was disclosed. read more

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Canada must act fast or miss LNG window-Shell CEO

Tue May 29, 2012 6:58pm EDT

* Shell’s Voser says Canada can’t weather regulatory delay

* Supports Ottawa’s plans for streamlining

* Can add Athabasca oil sands volumes for under $50/bbl

By Jeffrey Jones

CALGARY, Alberta, May 29 (Reuters) – Canada only has until the end of this decade to build up its liquefied natural gas industry or face being overtaken by other countries looking to cash in on booming demand for the fuel throughout Asia, Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s chief executive said on Tuesday. read more

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9th Circuit gives final approval to Shell exploration plan

May 29, 2012 – 10:09 AM AKST

9th Circuit gives final approval to Shell exploration plan

Tim Bradner, Alaska Journal of Commerce

A federal appeals court upheld the government’s approval of an exploration plan filed by Shell to explore its outer continental shelf leases in the Arctic in 2012.

The unanimous May 25 decision was by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society and two Alaskan Inupiat groups had appealed the approval of the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea drilling plans given by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last August.

The challengers had claimed that Shell’s proposal for a well-capping stack and containment system in the event of an oil spill was incomplete and that it had failed to fully inform the government about its oil spill response 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.

Shell sees low cost expansion in Canada’s oil sands

CALGARY, Alberta | Tue May 29, 2012 5:05pm EDT

May 29 (Reuters) – Peter Voser, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Tuesday that the company expects to expand production from its 255,000 barrel per day Athabasca Oil Sands Project by as much as 90,000 bpd by the end of the decade.

Voser told reporters in Calgary that Shell plans a series of debottlenecking operations that will add new production at a cost of less than $50 per barrel.

He also warned that Canada has to become competitive in Asia’s liquefied natural gas market during the current decade. 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.

Forbes.com: S&P may still cut Shell Group entities

FROM OUR ARCHIVES…

Forbes.com: S&P may still cut Shell Group entities

Reuters, 05.28.04, 10:39 AM ET

Posted 29 May 04

(The following statement was released by the ratings agency)

NEW YORK, May 28 – Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that, following the release of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies’ (Shell) audited 2003 annual report, its ‘AA+’ long-term ratings on Shell and the group’s fully owned subsidiaries Shell Oil Co., Shell Petroleum N.V., and Shell Petroleum Co., Ltd., remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed on Jan. 9, 2004.
read more

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HAGUE TRIES TO HALT SHELL ‘MURDER’ CASE

“The allegations are grave: rape, systematic and widespread torture, extrajudicial killings.”

THE SUNDAY TIMES: HAGUE TRIES TO HALT SHELL ‘MURDER’ CASE

27 May 2012

WILLIAM HAGUE has been accused of hypocrisy after the government intervened on the side of Shell, Britain’s biggest company, over court claims the oil giant was complicit in torture and murder.

The foreign secretary is facing pressure from human rights groups over Britain’s role in a case in America’s highest court being brought by the families of 12 people from Nigeria’s Ogoniland community.

The case puts Britain in conflict with President Barack Obama’s administration, which argues the families should be allowed to sue Shell over claims their relatives were tortured and killed by Nigerian troops in the Niger delta in the 1990s. 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 Tackles Gasoline Pump Fraud

CSP Exclusive

Shell Tackles Gasoline Pump Fraud

Sees a “significant reduction” in skimming from security initiative
By Carole Donoghue CSP Daily News | May 28, 2012

HOUSTON A Counterfeit Skimming Initiative has produced a “significant reduction” in gasoline pump skimmers being placed on equipment at Shell-branded gas stations.

Acknowledging that pump fraud has become a constant battle ground as gasoline prices hit new peaks each year, Shell Oil has been proactive in tackling the issue at the pump through new programs, proprietary anti-fraud tools and closer collaboration with card issuers and law enforcement.

“Organized crime is well financed and highly mobile, so they can move easily between cities when they start feeling the heat in one,” Mike Swillo, U.S. credit-card operations manager for Houston-based Shell, told CSP Daily Newsin an exclusive interview. “It’s like having 10 fingers and 15 pegs: You hit it on the head here and it pops up over there.” 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 Is First Major To Exit Oil Blocks In Post-War Libya

Published May 28, 2012 Dow Jones Newswires

LONDON –  Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) Monday became the first major to exit oil and gas exploration blocks in post-war Libya, amid concerns over insecurity and contracts.

The Anglo-Dutch giant insisted it was still interested in the country, which holds Africa’s largest oil reserves.

But the move casts a cloud on Libya’s oil recovery as Shell had originally planned sizable investments in the blocks.

Shell “intends to suspend and abandon drilled wells and stop exploration in [its] Libyan licenses,” a company spokesman said, confirming an internal e-mail seen by Dow Jones Newswires. read more

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Shell Puts Orion Oil-Sands Project In Alberta Up For Sale

Published May 28, 2012 Dow Jones Newswires

CALGARY –  Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) has put its Orion oil-sands project near Cold Lake, Alberta, up for sale.

Orion is an underground steam-injection project that produces 5,000 barrels a day of oil and generated operating income of C$15.6 million (US$15.2 million) during the first quarter, according to the investment bank Scotia Waterous, which is organizing the sale.

Scotia didn’t say what the estimated value of the Orion project was, and representatives of Scotia and Shell weren’t immediately available to comment. read more

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We’ll miss our target to stop ‘flaring’ in Nigeria, admits Shell

FROM OUR ARCHIVES… WE NOTE THAT SHELL WAS STILL MAKING PROMISES ON THE SAME SUBJECT AT THE 2012 AGM LAST WEEK

The Guardian: We’ll miss our target to stop ‘flaring’ in Nigeria, admits Shell

Vandna Synghal

Saturday May 28, 2005

Shell, which recently announced record profits for 2004, admitted yesterday that it would miss its own targets to bring to a halt the harmful practice of burning unwanted gas in Nigeria.

The company said it would not stop the process of “flaring” – that is, burning off gas produced as a by-product from oil wells – in Nigeria until 2009, rather than by 2008, as previously promised.

The Anglo-Dutch company said it had spent $2bn (£1.1bn) and expected to invest another $1.85bn in the project to gather the gas rather than burn it. 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.

INFORMATION FROM DELTA RIGHTS GROUP 28 MAY 2012

May 28, 2012

Dear John,

Find attached SHELL’S strategy to counter Delta Rights Group. This email below was inadvertently sent to us by Raphael Obasogie while attempting to send to his cronies. They are planning a massive media campaign and to use their “Divide and Rule” tactics to break the rank of the NECONDE 115. Typical SHELL!!!

The email…

“Charles,

Seems we have to step up our media response very quickly and also engage subtly/ informally the ex-Shell union officials who are now the union leaders in Neconde. read more

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Eni, Exxon, Shell to Fund $986 Million Kazakh Share for Kashagan

By Svetlana Antoncheva and Nariman Gizitdinov – May 28, 2012 6:48 AM GMT+0100

Eni SpA (ENI), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) agreed to fund the $986 million costs owed by Kazakhstan’s state energy producer for one of the world’s biggest oil fields, Oil and Gas Minister Sauat Mynbayev said.

The foreign partners will pay Kazmunaigaz’s share of the costs for Kashagan this year and next, Mynbayev told reporters in Astana today. It wasn’t clear if Kazmunaigaz will repay its foreign partners out of future revenue from the project. 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.

Australia’s Woodside not looking to buy back Shell stake

MELBOURNE | Mon May 28, 2012 2:34am BST

(Reuters) – Woodside Petroleum (WPL.AX), Australia’s largest oil and gas company, said it is not considering buying back Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) 24 percent stake in the company, despite a recent share price drop.

Chief Executive Peter Coleman said the company would consider share buybacks if it was considering returning capital to shareholders, but said Shell had not approached it to buy back the stake.

“I don’t see us specifically targeting Shell’s equity in that instance,” Coleman told analysts and investors at a briefing. read more

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Fill her up, please…petrol pump attendants are back: Shell recruits staff at 300 UK forecourts – and they will even check your tyres

  • Shell says the service will save precious time for busy motorists 
  • The free, friendly service is expected to encourage customer loyalty

By David Gerrie

PUBLISHED: 22:25, 26 May 2012 | UPDATED: 00:10, 27 May 2012

To drivers of a certain age, they are remembered fondly. After motorists pulled into a garage, a man would emerge from a tiny kiosk, ask how many gallons were required and then proceed to ‘fill her up’.

Today, the drive for profits means they have been phased out and garages have become the 24-hour self-service forecourts we all know.

But in a remarkable turnaround, Shell is to reintroduce forecourt attendants at more than 300 of its sites by the end of the summer. read more

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British Prime Minister David Cameron Acting Dangerously Against Nigeria

MOSOP STATEMENT ISSUED 28 May 2012

British Prime Minister David Cameron Acting Dangerously Against Nigeria

MOSOP President/Spokesman, Dr. Goodluck Diigbo has described British Prime David Cameron’s government amicus brief in the Ogoni case of Kiobel v Shell in the United States of America as an ill-advised and short-sighted colonial tactics.

Diigbo said the prime minister’s action has deeper implications for destabilizing Nigeria. “What it means is that victims of oil operations that have no way of seeking equity and justice should take the law into their hands instead to use the legitimate judicial process available in the United States for requisite redress against violations by multinational oil companies in which Cameron’s government has vested interest,” Diigbo explained. read more

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Motiva pretense over employee safety

Comment in response to the article:

 Fatal Accident at Motiva Enterprises oil refinery: When a Worker’s Life Is Worth Less Than Dead Fish

Motiva preaches safety, safety safety, but the bottom line, at least at the location where I was employed, was how much will that cost? The company rolls out all these programs with fancy names, such as safe start, barrier thinking, etc. which are supposed to teach employees how to work safely. the courses are O.K. and I’m sure Motiva paid a lot of money to implement them, BUT if the management doesn’t adhere to the purpose of such training, then why bother? as soon as you walk out of the training, it’s back to business as usual! my guess is Motiva will try to hide behind all this training, and be able to say, “we trained these people, but they didn’t do the right thing, so blame the employees, not Motiva” in the event of an incident. what a bunch of B/S. one of the main reasons why I left Motiva. the old saying practice what you preach does not apply at Motiva. read more

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Heavy ice could delay start of Shell Alaska’s Arctic drilling

By KIM MURPHY 26 May 2012

Los Angeles Times

SEATTLE — The heaviest polar ice in more than a decade could postpone the start of offshore oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean until the beginning of August, a delay of up to two weeks, Shell Alaska officials said.

Unveiling a newly refurbished ice-class rig that is poised to begin drilling two exploratory wells this summer in the Beaufort Sea, Shell executives said Friday that the unusually robust sea ice would further narrow what already is a tight window for operations. The company’s $4-billion program is designed to measure the extent of what could be the United States’ most important new inventory of oil and 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.

Lloyd’s of London preparing for euro collapse

The chief executive of the multi-billion pound Lloyd’s of London has publicly admitted that the world’s leading insurance market is prepared for a collapse in the single currency and has reduced its exposure “as much as possible” to the crisis-ridden continent.

2:50PM BST 27 May 2012

Richard Ward said the London market had put in place a contingency plan to switch euro underwriting to multi-currency settlement if Greece abandoned the euro.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph he also revealed that Lloyd’s could have to take writedowns on its £58.9bn investment portfolio if the eurozone collapses.

Europe accounts for 18pc of Lloyd’s £23.5bn of gross written premiums, mostly in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The market also has a fledgling operation in Poland. read more

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Putin Tells Shtokman Partners to Decide Faster

27 May 2012: Reuters President Vladimir Putin urged partners in the Gazprom-led Shtokman gas project to speed up a final investment decision.

“So far, there has been no final decision on Shtokman, but we have to move actively,” he said Friday.

Putin also said that a decision could be made during an international economic forum in St. Petersburg in June.

Earlier Friday, sources said Royal Dutch Shell might join the project and Norway’s Statoil may leave it. Statoil owns 24 percent of Shtokman, France’s Total owns 25 percent, and Gazprom has a controlling stake of 51 percent.

“I take [the meeting with Putin] as a signal of the importance of the energy sector for Russia and the world,” said Statoil chief executive Helge Lund. “Shtokman is a pioneering project, the first of its kind in a very harsh environment. It’s a big opportunity, but there’s also many challenges which we have to solve on the way.” read more

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Appeals court green-lights Shell Oil’s drilling in Alaska Arctic this year

Posted on Sat, May. 26, 2012 09:41 PM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An appeals court has sided with the federal government in giving the go-ahead to Shell Oil Co. to move forward with drilling in the Alaska Arctic this year, according to a ruling issued Friday night.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected challenges by Alaska Native groups to Shell’s exploration plan in the Beaufort Sea, and, in a separate memorandum, also denied petitions challenging its plan for the Chukchi Sea.

The Native Village of Point Hope and the Inupiat Community of the North Slope asserted the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management failed to properly consider the risks of drilling in the Arctic in approving Shell’s plans. A number of environmental groups, including Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society, also challenged the federal approval. 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 executives paid no bonuses in 2003

Jeroen van der Veer told staff in Houston, Texas, this week that he would not tolerate “bullying” within the company, and admitted that its dealings with business partners had often been “arrogant”.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES…

Financial Times: Shell executives paid no bonuses in 2003

By Adrian Michaels

Published: May 28 2004

Royal Dutch/Shell, the embattled oil company, on Thursday said it had paid no bonuses to senior executives last year, seeking to reassure investors after months of turmoil and resignations as it published its annual report.

The report, which was publised two months later than usual, also contained expanded information on Shell’s controversial oil and gas reserves. Reserves were separated out geographically by continent for the first time and there was a fuller explanation of reserve accounting policies.
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.

Dark Arts, Dark Energy

FROM A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL CO

It has been awhile since anything appeared in your blog regarding Shell’s alleged espionage efforts targeting US DoD classified material in the States. Whatever the case may be there are ‘rumors afloat’ about what Shell may have been after. I have no confirmation of the accuracy of these rumors, but generally where there is smoke this is some fire.

Rumor has it that the technology Shell was targeting was of a highly innovative nature, some related to basic science, some to nuclear weapons perhaps, and some related to acoustics and stealth technologies. 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 launches LNG plans for British Columbia

Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada’s oil and gas industry

Vol. 17, No. 22 Week of May 27, 2012

Lifts curtain on largest of Canada’s ventures, warning there is no time to lose

Gary Park For Petroleum News

Royal Dutch Shell is leading three Asian firms in rolling out plans for by far the largest of the projects to export LNG from British Columbia.

The newly titled LNG Canada venture, carrying an estimated cost of C$12.3 billion, is tentatively scheduled for startup late this decade, with initial capacity of 12 million metric tons a year of capacity. 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 nearly finished modifying Arctic drill ship

Shell nearly finished modifying Arctic drill ship

From the air, the Arctic drill ship Kulluk looks like a giant bowling pin seated on a shallow bowl.

By TED WARREN and DAN JOLING

Associated Press: Friday 25 May 2012

SEATTLE —

From the air, the Arctic drill ship Kulluk looks like a giant bowling pin seated on a shallow bowl.

With the centerpiece of the ship, the 160-foot derrick, Shell Oil hopes to send down drill bits and pipe to tap vast oil reserves below the Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s north coast. But it’s the funnel-shape hull, with its flared sides, that makes the ship appropriate for Arctic Ocean waters, according to the company. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell Crimes Against Humanity?

By a Guest Contributor

Royal Dutch Shell may have a serious problem if they are found to be guilty of violating international ‘human rights’ law, etc. Perhaps this is why the British and Dutch governments have moved to try and shut down a decision on the part of the US Supreme Court that would allow the original case to proceed.

It would appear to me, given your article on the effects of Shell’s pesticide pollution, that Shell could also find itself facing charges of ‘crimes against humanity’, etc., for the continued sale and marketing of pesticides they knew were dangerous to man and animal, and which were very long lived in the environment. I am referring to the case in Brazil where Shell clearly knew what kind of harm they were doing to their workers, the local environment, and through the sale of pesticides whose sale and manufacture had been banned in the mid-1970’s within the US and other countries. 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 seeks to draw a line after fourth cut in reserves

FROM OUR ARCHIVES…

Shell seeks to draw a line after fourth cut in reserves

By Michael Harrison, Business Editor

25 May 2004

Royal Dutch-Shell, the crisis-torn oil giant, yesterday cut its proven reserves for the fourth time this year but then sought to reassure the City that it had drawn a line at last under the fiasco.

The latest downgrade means that Shell has now removed 4.5 billion barrels of oil from the proven category, equivalent to just under a quarter of its total reserves.

Malcolm Brinded, the head of exploration and production for Shell, said he was as sure as he could be that this would be the last revision to reserves estimates. “We are not planning to make further changes but you can never say never,” he added.
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.

Call for Ogoni to occupy Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC

OCCUPY NIGERIAN EMBASSY in DC!

The African Cultural and Fundamental Rights Council (AFCRC) USA is, on behalf of the Ogoni people of Nigeria organizing a peaceful rally/protest, picketing at the premises of the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC., USA. Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012; time is 10 am to 1230 pm. The Nigerian Embassy is located at: 3519 International Court, NW Washington, DC, 20008.

Meanwhile, members of the public are free to call the embassy ahead of time and after at 202-986-8400 to express their  concerns and request that Ambassador Adebowale Adefuye dialogue with his home government on the need to immediately clean and restore the dying Ogoni environment. Please join in and occupy, protest and put pressure on the embassy, ambassador to pressure the government of Nigeria to work with $hell Oil and clean the Ogoni environment they both degrade. 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 may join Russia’s Shtokman gas team: sources

By Olesya Astakhova and Vladimir Soldatkin

MOSCOW | Fri May 25, 2012 5:12am EDT

(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) may join a Gazprom (GAZP.MM)-led initiative to extract gas from the Arctic seabed off Russia’s coast, several sources said, in an attempt to inject new impetus into the huge project delayed by years of talks over financing.

Located in the freezing waters of the Barents Sea, the Shtokman gas field is one of the world’s largest with reserves of almost 4 trillion cubic meters – enough to meet global demand for about a year. However, the project to extract gas has been mired in prolonged and painstaking talks over billions of dollars of investment, timing and the make-up of the consortium. 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 influence in the White House

By John Donovan

Interesting article published by “THE HILL” reporting that high level Shell representatives, Marvin Odum, the President of Shell’s U.S. operations, and Sara B. Glenn, a top Shell lobbyist, have visited the Obama White House almost 20 times pushing the oil giants controversial plans to drill in Arctic waters. Odum At least 7 times, plus 13 visits by Sara Glen.

Shell’s Alaskan drilling has DC lobbying roots

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.

Why Shell is betting billions to drill for oil in Alaska

May 24, 2012: 9:19 AM ET

This summer, the energy giant will begin exploring off the icy coast of Alaska — after years of resistance by environmentalists. The payoff could be the largest U.S. offshore oil discovery in a generation.

By Jon Birger, contributor

In Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost city in the U.S., it’s hard to tell where the land ends and the frozen Arctic Ocean begins. The average temperature stays below freezing for eight months of the year. Photo: CORY ARNOLD

FORTUNE — Pete Slaiby is eating breakfast with an Eskimo businessman at a Mexican restaurant across the street from the Arctic Ocean when two Coast Guard admirals happen to walk in. It’s 8 a.m. on a Tuesday in late March. Outside the temperature is an extremity-tingling, -35° F. Look 100 yards north, and it’s not at all clear where the snow-covered land ends and the ice-covered ocean begins. Slaiby, Royal Dutch Shell’s vice president for Alaska, rises to give the Coast Guard brass a warm welcome before they grab a nearby table. “Welcome to Barrow,” he says wryly as he sits back down to his plate of huevos and reindeer sausage. 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.

Spectre of Shell Reapers hangs over AGM

22 May 2012

At today’s Shell AGM link at the Barbican the suits on the Shell board were given a 3 hour grilling, with questioners focussing attention on its environmental and human rights crimes around the world. Spread throughout the auditorium, hooded London Rising Tide & friends’ grim Shell reapers stood silently awaiting direction from the board toward their next appointment with Shell induced death and environmental destruction.

The grim figures stood motionless for almost an hour while Messrs Ollila and Voser, Chairman & CEO, attempted to defend Shell’s ravenous pursuit of profit above all else at the expense of:
– the pristine Arctic, where drilling and probably spilling will begin in the summer;
– the Canadian boreal forest, where Tar Sands “extraction” has increased by 100k barrels per day
– the once beautiful fish spawning grounds of the Niger Delta, now clogged with a “Deepwater Horizon’s” worth of oil every year 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.

Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum

By a Guest Contributor

I have been following this sorry saga of the British and Dutch governments filing a brief with the US courts claiming that a ‘corporation’ could not be held liable for human rights violations and was therefore not subject to human rights laws.

Excuse me, but I think it may be time to revisit the legal proceedings that we commonly refer to as the ‘Nuremberg Trials’ that were held shortly after the Second World War. As I recall a number of German industrialists were in fact placed on the list of wanted ‘war criminals’ for their complicity with the Nazi government in the commission of what we (the civilized Western World) considered to be ‘war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity’. As I recall German industrialists were also prosecuted for those acts. However, it has been many years since I have gone through those proceedings (I studied them in my college history classes), so my memory is a bit fuzzy. 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.

Kashagan’s Foreign Partners to Finance State’s Share of Costs

By Nariman Gizitdinov – May 24, 2012 11:02 AM GMT+0100

Eni SpA (ENI), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) agreed to shoulder the investment costs owed by Kazakhstan’s state energy producer for one of the world’s biggest oil fields this year and next.

The international partners, which also include Total SA (FP) and ConocoPhillips (COP), will bear KazMunaiGaz National Co. costs in the offshore Kashagan field for 2012 and 2013, the Kazakh oil and gas ministry said in a statement late yesterday.

“The parties agreed that the consortium will finance the share of KazMunaiGaz’s investments in the project in the period in 2012-2013,” it said. 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.

What Does Shell Have in Common With General Ratko Mladic?

That does Royal Dutch Shell have in common with General Ratko Mladic, former commander of the Bosnian Serb army? More than you’d think…

First off, they’ve both appeared in the Hague in the past week. Shell was there Tuesday for its Annual General Meeting with shareholders, and Mladic just days earlier for the opening of his trial before the International Criminal Court.

More importantly, Shell and Mladic are both facing court proceedings for allegations of “aiding and abetting” egregious human rights abuses. Shell is accused of complicity in torture and killings of Nigerian environmentalists in the Kiobel vs. Shell case, which the U.S. Supreme Court will re-hear in the fall, and Mladic is accused of 11 counts of crimes against humanity, including the massacre of more than 7,000 Muslims in Srebrenica. 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.

Every employee is an innovator: Royal Dutch Shell CEO

http://www.youtube.com/v/aULgVi4ESAw
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 and Frozen Frontier Awaits Offshore Oil Drilling

The Kulluk, seen in Seattle, is one of two Shell drilling ships in the city undergoing final preparations before going to the Arctic.

By and

A version of this article appeared in print on May 24, 2012, on page A1 of the New York edition

WASHINGTON — Shortly before Thanksgiving in 2010, the leaders of the commission President Obama had appointed to investigate the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico sat down in the Oval Office to brief him.

After listening to their findings about the BP accident and the safety of deepwater drilling, the president abruptly changed the subject. 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.

Heywood Murder Thrusts Employer Hakluyt Into Limelight

The firm was accused in a 2001 Sunday Times article of helping BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc spy on Greenpeace using a German agent called Manfred Schlickenrieder, who posed as a left-wing film-maker. Free University’s Blancke, who studied the incident, has computer files taken from Schlickenrieder’s room by environmental activists who became suspicious of his behavior. Those files include e-mails from Hakluyt.

By Kit Chellel and Jeremy Hodges – May 24, 2012 12:00 AM GMT+0100

Hakluyt & Co., the corporate investigations firm that hired British businessman Neil Heywood as a consultant in China, has been thrust by his death into a place it promises clients it will never be: the limelight.

“We guarantee complete confidentiality,” Hakluyt director Christopher James told Enron Corp.’s then Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling in 2001, according to an e-mail exchange that was released during a U.S. investigation into the bankrupt energy company. Hakluyt, James wrote, “places an unparalleled private intelligence network at the personal disposal of senior commercial figures.” 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 self-insurance of Arctic drilling risk

COMMENT BY A FORMER SHELL EMPLOYEE

I just read your blog about Shell not being able to obtain disaster insurance for its operations in the Arctic. I interpret this to mean that the insurance underwriters, who are pros at this sort of thing, find the probability of an ‘accident’ on the part of Shell during drilling operations to be so high that they are unwilling to risk their own financial well being.

This is essentially a vote of ‘no confidence’ on the part of the insurance industry in Shell’s contingency plans, and Shell’s engineering and management capabilities, i.e., the competence of Shell staff, technical as well as administrative. The insurance industry simply finds that Shell is not up to the task at hand and the risk of a major accident is too great. 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 oil plans irk Canadian tribes

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, May 23 (UPI) — Plans by Shell to expand operations in oil fields in the Canadian province of Alberta are threatening the environment, a tribal group said.

Leaders from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation presented a report to Shell shareholders at The Hague, Netherlands, highlighting concerns about the environmental impacts of oil development in Alberta.

Eriel Deranger, a spokeswoman for the group, said Shell’s plans for the region are harming traditional tribal lands, including sensitive watersheds in 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.