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September 20th, 2012:

Shell gets OK from Feds to drill in Beaufort Sea

The Kulluk conical drilling rig is docked in the Vigor shipyard in Seattle, where it has undergone refurbishments meant to ready the 1980s-era conical drilling rig for Arctic drilling this summer. (Jennifer A. Dlouhy / The Houston Chronicle)

Posted on September 20, 2012 at 1:50 pm by Jennifer A. Dlouhy

Although federal regulators today gave Shell the green light to begin initial drilling operations in the Beaufort Sea, that work will wait until native Alaskans finish their fall hunt of the bowhead whale migrating through 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.

WWF Statement on Royal Dutch Shell’s Decision to Scale Back Offshore Drilling in Alaska this Summer

Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to put off efforts to drill for oil in America’s Arctic Ocean this summer reiterates the difficulty – and elevated risk – of Arctic oil exploration. We’ve learned a critical lesson from Shell’s initial foray into the Arctic: despite billions of dollars in investments, it was still unable to overcome the natural and logistical challenges to safely operate in harsh Arctic conditions. While local communities and wildlife may be safe from spills for one more year, we remain concerned that future offshore oil exploration cannot be done without placing those communities at too great a risk. 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 Arctic Setback Shows Risks, Environmentalists Say

By Jim Snyder – Sep 18, 2012 6:13 PM GMT+0100

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)’s decision to abandon oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic waters this year underscores the risks of working in harsh maritime conditions, environmentalists said.

“We think it’s crazy,” said Niel Lawrence, senior attorney for the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, which has opposed exploring in the region. “And the evidence is mounting that shows it’s crazy.”

Sub-freezing temperatures, high sea swells and ice floes make the Arctic off the Alaska coast a particularly difficult location for offshore drilling, the NRDC and other critics of drilling in the region say. 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.

MPs’ call to halt Arctic drilling amid safety concerns

Shell has reputedly invested almost $5bn in its Arctic projects. It suffered a major setback at the weekend after a huge containment dome designed to corral any Arctic spill broke down under trials. Shell abandoned drilling for the winter.

By Roger Harrabin Environment analyst: 20 September 2012 Last updated at 02:21

A committee of MPs has called for a halt on drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic until safety is improved.

They say current techniques for dealing with any spill do not inspire confidence.

The Environmental Audit Committee fears that a spill could have caused unprecedented environmental damage.

The MPs want to see a standard pan-Arctic spill response standard, unlimited liability for firms and an Arctic environmental sanctuary. 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.

U.K. Lawmakers Call for Moratorium on Arctic Oil & Gas Drilling

By Alex Morales on September 19, 2012

Oil and gas companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Cairn Energy Plc (CNE) should be prevented from drilling in the Arctic until rigorous environmental regulations are in place, a panel of U.K. lawmakers said.

Oil spill response techniques haven’t been proven to work in Arctic conditions, the multiparty Environmental Audit Committee said today in an e-mailed report. It proposed a halt to drilling until stronger safeguards are in place in an effort to avoid leaks on the scale of BP Plc (BP/)’s Macondo disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Arrrr! Shell Tries to Plunder Human Rights

Posted: 09/19/2012 11:50 am

In case you hadn’t heard, today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Don’t worry if you’re feeling out of the loop; I didn’t know this day existed until recently. From what I have learned, the day is all in good fun, celebrating pirate culture and Johnny Depp movies, which is why we don’t associate things like slavery and genocide with this kind of lighthearted stuff.  But oil giant Royal Dutch Shell puts a different spin on it. They’re actually talking like a pirate, and to the U.S. Supreme Court no less. 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 Leads LNG Competitors Out to Sea With Biggest Ship: Energy

By Eduard Gismatullin and James Paton on September 19, 2012

For more than a decade, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas producers led by Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) plotted how to move their $170 billion industry onto barges at sea to tap remote fields. Now they’re finally doing it.

Shell will forge the hull of a floating LNG plant in South Korea by year-end that will be the world’s largest vessel, weighing six times the biggest aircraft carrier, a Nimitz-class warship. Some 5,000 workers will build the factory to produce LNG off Australia’s northwest coast in a $13 billion project that also will shield Shell from escalating costs it would have to pay at the country’s onshore plants. 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 Drawn by Auction for $5 Trillion of Oil

By Peter Millard, Rodrigo Orihuela and Juan Pablo Spinetto on September 19, 2012

Brazil’s first auction of oil licenses since 2008 is expected to lure companies from Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) to startup Niko Resources Ltd. (NKO) as producers seek to tap fields holding a third of the world’s new discoveries.

President Dilma Rousseff this week approved the plan to auction oil exploration areas as soon as May, including deep- water fields where Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4) made the world’s largest oil finds in more than a decade. Round 11, as the auction is being called, will include 174 blocks on shore and off Brazil’s northeastern coast. 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.

Ukraine to Potentially Triple Shale Output in Decade, Shell Says

By Kateryna Choursina and Daryna Krasnolutska on September 19, 2012

Ukraine could potentially double or even triple natural-gas production in a decade after it starts shale extraction, according to Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (RDSA)

Shell, which won a license in May to start commercial production at the Yuzivska field in eastern Ukraine, has submitted a draft product-sharing agreement to the Ukrainian government, said Graham Tiley, its country chairman.

Europe’s biggest energy producer is waiting for initial test results to assess how fast the deposit can be tapped, Tiley said in an interview last week. 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.

U.S. stands by Shell offshore Alaska plan

Published: Sept. 19, 2012 at 7:59 AM Advertisement

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (UPI) — The U.S. government will work with Royal Dutch Shell as it operates in the remaining drilling season in Alaska’s arctic waters, an official said.

Shell announced this week it was abandoning parts of its drilling program in the Chukchi Sea after a containment dome designed for a potential oil spill in arctic waters was damaged. The company recently scaled back its ambitions in part because of the threat of encroaching sea ice.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar applauded Shell for its commitment to what he said were “rigorous safety, environmental protection and emergency response standards” established for work offshore Alaska. 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.