Oil News Roundup
May 18, 2006
Crude-oil prices slid to less than $69 a barrel on Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Here is today's well of news about oil and energy.
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GADHAFI MEETS WITH CHAVEZ: Libyan leader Moammar al-Gadhafi, who has recently strengthened his ties with the U.S. and other Western nations, had a sit-down with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has been busy burning his bridges with the same nations. Both men lead OPEC member nations and the topic of their discussion, according to Mr. Chavez, was how to “maintain oil prices and avoid that they hit the floor again.” That should do little to help his popularity in the U.S. The men met at Mr. Gadhafi's Tripoli house, still damaged from a 1986 U.S. bombing attack. It was Mr. Chavez's fourth visit to Libya. Though both men have had very different relationships with the U.S. of late, they have long admired each other.
•Untapped Energy: Arab oil ministers called for more of their oil revenues to be reinvested in exploration in order to realize the full potential of their countries' reserves.
•Japan Hikes Reserves: Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to boost national oil reserves about 40% from current levels, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.
•Thai IPO: Next week's initial public offering by Thailand's Rayong Refinery PCL should be well received and will be the biggest, in dollar terms, in Thailand's history.
•Plugging Plug-Ins: A group of scientists urged the House Science subcommittee on energy to fund research for plug-in hybrid vehicles, cars that can recharge by simply plugging into an electrical socket.
•Alaskan Spill Lingers: Oil spilled in Alaska by the Exxon Valdez in 1989 is still around and hurting wildlife in the area, according to a study by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
•Texas Goes After “Gas Pills”: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sued BioPerformance Inc., a Dallas company that makes a “gas pill,” a small ball of chemicals it claims can boost a car's gas mileage by 25%. Mr. Abbott said the company was running an illegal pyramid scheme.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
