Raymond J. Learsy
Mon Jun 19, 6:30 PM ET
Yesterday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” we were treated to a heavy dose of oil patch pablum by the likes of the chairmen of ConocoPhillips, Chevron Corp., and the president of Shell Oil. We “learned” a great deal.
Mr. John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil informed us that “If we didn’t have this level of profitability, I don’t think we could get supplies to where they need to get to.” The clucking noise of acknowledged contentment you heard in the background, was that of Lee Raymond, erstwhile chairman of Exxon-Mobil, counting his $400 million retirement package for having personally pumped gas into your car.
Mr. O’Reilly, chairman of Chevron advised us that “profits are in the mid-range”. This after ringing up billions at levels never experienced before by his company or the oil patch generally for that matter. Mr. O’Reilly was clearly an “A” student at the feet of his current OPEC headmasters who learned their craft well from Mr. O’Reilly’s predecessors. After all, Chevron’s profits are chump change compared to those of say, OPEC kingpin, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi’s, with production costs at less than $1.50 per barrel, with their infrastructure capital costs having long since been amortized, and now selling some 10 million barrels a day at the prevailing $70 per barrel to world markets, you do the numbers.
Next up was James A. Mulva, the chairman of ConocoPhillips. Mr. Mulva reminded us that in Europe gasoline prices are more like $5.00 a gallon. This has become one of the oil industry’s favored ploys as though this differential was the doing of the industry’s efficiencies and civic commitment. The differences, as many of us know, has to do with variances in tax structures, and not the beneficence of the oil companies. Those big fat profit margins remain big and fat on both sides of the pond. But thanks Mr. Mulva, just being reminded that someone pays more does help.
And on and on it went. Talk about television fatigue. But one point where Mr. Mulva was right on target, is when he reminded us that we as a nation have 5 percent of the world’s population and consume 25 percent of the world’s fossil fuels. Now Mr. Mulva, if you would help us get our arms around that dilemma, without simply raising prices and adding to your bottom line, that would be something we would really want to sit up and listen to.
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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.
