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July, 2006:

PRNewswire: Shell ‘Million Gallon Giveaway’ Promotion to Award Free Gasoline to More Than 200,000 Drivers

Six Lucky Winners Will Each Receive Lifetime Supply of Free Gasoline

HOUSTON, July 31 /PRNewswire/ — Drivers nationwide who stop by their local Shell stations now have a chance to win free gasoline for life through the Shell “Million Gallon Giveaway.” Starting today and continuing through October 1, Shell will give away more than $2 million in free fuel and instant- win prizes — including six grand prizes of a lifetime supply of free gasoline — and hundreds of thousands of $10 Shell Gas Cards in the “Million Gallon Giveaway.” 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.

Accountancy Age: Shell project faces tax haven criticisms

Oil giant seeks financial support for troubled Sakhalin project from UK taxpayers

Alex Hawkes, Accountancy Age, 31 Jul 2006

Shell is facing opposition in its attempts to raise finance for its overspent Sakhalin oil and gas project because the consortium behind it is based in a tax haven.

The group, which is owned by Shell, is seeking cash from UK taxpayers to help fund the project.

James Leaton of WWF told The Observer: ‘It is unacceptable that taxpayers’ money is being spent to endorse projects based in a tax haven that contribute to climate change.’ 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.

UpstreamOnline: Agip hostages ‘walk free’

EXTRACT: News of the Agip incident and of a Shell pipeline leak that shut down a further 210,000 bpd pushed world oil prices up last week.

THE ARTICLE

By Upstream staff

Attackers have vacated an Agip oil pumping station in Bayelsa state in southern Nigeria and freed all hostages they were holding there after they were paid off by government, police said today.

A spokesman for Agip declined to comment and there was no word on when operations at the Ogbainbiri flow station might resume. Agip’s parent, Italy’s Eni, said the attack last Tuesday had caused a “significant decrease” in output. 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.

RealTimeTraders.com: Royal Dutch Shell Releases Proposal To Expand Athabasca Oil Sands Project

Monday, July 31, 2006; Posted: 02:23 AM 
 
(RTTNews) – Royal Dutch Shell announced that Shell Canada has issued a formal proposal to proceed with Expansion 1 to the other Athabasca Oil Sands Project joint venture owners. The company stated that Shell Canada completed an extensive feasibility study followed by a rigorous cost estimate and assurance review process in support of this formal proposal.

Royal Dutch added that the heated markets for labour, materials and equipment have impacted all facets of this 100 thousand bpd expansion project. Although the capital intensity of the project, estimated at between $275 and $350 per annual flowing barrel, has increased significantly from earlier estimates, Expansion 1 remains viable under a wide range of pricing scenarios. 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 New York Times: Oil Steady Above $73 on Mideast

EXTRACT: In Nigeria, the world’s eighth-biggest exporter, there was no apparent progress toward restoring the more than one-quarter of production shut in by militants, with attackers who closed an Agip pumping station last Tuesday still in talks. Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said it did not expect a significant recovery in output before the end of the year.

THE ARTICLE 

By REUTERS
Published: July 31, 2006
Filed at 1:59 a.m. ET

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil held steady above $73 a barrel on Monday, with traders torn between hope for a Middle East truce and fear of escalation after the bloodiest attack in the nearly three-week war between Israel and Hizbollah. 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 Guardian: The question: Which are the world’s most profitable firms?

By: JULIA FINCH, The Guardian – United Kingdom
Published: Jul 31, 2006

Exxonmobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Total – collectively they have always been known as Big Oil. But the recent rise in the oil price to around $74 a barrel has made them a whole lot Bigger.

Exxonmobil – the world’s biggest company – has just became the first ever firm to unveil sales of more than $1bn a day. That is pounds 540m every 24 hours. Or pounds 6,250 a second. Every second. Exxon, based in Irving, Texas (where else?), was reporting sales up more than 12% to $99bn and profits up 36% to more than $10bn – and that was just for three months. That probably ensures it will once again top the global corporate rankings when the numbers are totted up at the end of this financial 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.

Asia Pulse: SHELL TO DECIDE ON INVESTING IN IRAN’S SOUTH PARS NEXT YEAR

Published: Jul 31, 2006

TEHRAN, July 31 Asia Pulse – International oil giant Shell will make its final decision on whether to invest in Phase 13 of South Pars gas field development project in 2007.

According to Tehran based English-language newspaper Iran Daily in its Sunday edition, managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company Akbar Torkan said the final investment decision (FID) on Phase 13 of South Pars gas field which pertains to Shell will be made available next year, adding that the FID on Phase 11 will also be available at the end of this 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.

Irish Times: Shell pipeline protesters walk to Dublin

By: Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent, Irish Times
Published: Jul 31, 2006

Shell to Sea campaigners have set out on a walk to Dublin to highlight their concerns, and among walkers on yesterday’s second leg from Bellanaboy to Bellacorick was marathon runner Patricia Murphy, who had climbed Croagh Patrick first in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, Shell E&P Ireland’s legal action against north Mayo landowners is due back in the High Court today when Ms Justice Mary Laffoy rules on aspects of the case’s full hearing in the autumn. 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.

MarketWatch: Chevron Nigeria: 23,000 barrels per day affected by pipeline attack

(This article was originally published Friday.)

LAGOS (MarketWatch) — Chevron Nigeria, a unit of ChevronTexaco (CVX), says 23,000 barrels per day of its production are affected by a recent attack on a pipeline belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, but explained it has not declared force majeure on its commitments to buyers.

“Our production of approximately 23,000 bpd cannot however be sent through the Shell line to Bonny Terminal,” Chevron said in an e-mail to Dow Jones Newswires Friday. 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: Shell, Exxon May Drill Off New Zealand in World’s Highest Waves

July 31 (Bloomberg) — Energy prices have risen so high that New Zealand is inviting Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and other natural gas producers to send rigs to one of the most inhospitable seas on Earth.

Next month, New Zealand will seek bids to explore in the Great South Basin, off the nation’s southern coast. The area was last explored during the oil shocks of the 1970s, when drillers found the cost of battling 15-meter (50-foot) waves too high to merit exploiting the area’s gas fields. 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.

SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE: Gas stations repeatedly cited for air pollution

EXTRACT: ..regulators confronted Shell/Equilon officials after issuing a string of citations to its gas stations in 2000. Company leaders signed a legal agreement with the air district that year, promising to start an enhanced inspection and maintenance program. Since then, however, records show that the air district has cited Shell/Equilon 371 more times.

Fines may be too small to spur pump upkeep

By Mike Lee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 30, 2006

Most drivers filling up at a gas station lately probably focus on the pump’s fast-rising money counter. But the pump is doing more than selling gasoline – it’s fighting air pollution. 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.

Niger Delta : An Open Letter To Oil Companies

EXTRACT: Since this is not going to be a very long letter I intend to address one of you who I assume is the most culpable of the lot. That is the British and Dutch oil interest known as Shell Petroleum Development Company. You are all guilty of the same offences to some degree but Shell is seen as the King Kong of injustice in the region and it deserves special mention and attention in this patriotic letter.

Letter published by The Daily Independent (Nigeria), on Monday 24th July, 2006

By Michael John, [email protected] 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: More Earnings Roll In; Senate May Pass Energy Bill

EXTRACT: Oil Profits Gush: Exxon Mobil’s profit jumped 36%, to $10.36 billion, the oil company’s second-highest quarterly profit ever. Shell’s profit rose 40%, to $7.32 billion. BP’s earnings jumped 30%, to $7.27 billion as the firm unveiled measures to improve U.S. operations following safety and regulatory problems. Chevron reported an 18% rise in profit to $4.35 billion on surging oil prices.

THE ARTICLE

July 30, 2006

INVESTOR’S CALENDAR

This Week

Profit Patrol: Look for earnings reports from United Airlines’ parent UAL tomorrow; Archer-Daniels-Midland, Burger King, Eastman Kodak and Verizon Tuesday; Procter & Gamble and Starbucks Wednesday; Tyco International and Unilever Thursday, and Toyota Motor Friday. 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: Return of the wildcat oilmen

July 30, 2006

Special Report

Prospectors are scouring Africa and the US deserts in search of black gold.
By Tarquin Hall
  
 
“FOLKS call me Cactus on account of a friend of my dad’s,” said Charles E Schroeder III, as he emerged from a Texas steakhouse where he had devoured an enormous plate of prime rib for lunch.

“When I was born he took one look at me and said, ‘that boy don’t look like no baby! He looks like a cactus!’ So the nickname kind of stuck.” 
 
Cactus is the real deal: one of the last independent oil prospectors in northwest Texas — a genuine wildcatter. He sports a Stetson, ostrich-skin cowboy boots and drives around with a .308 rifle in the cab of his SUV (bumper sticker: “Don’t mess with Texas!”). 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: Focus: Browned off (plan hatched last year for BP to merge with Shell)

EXTRACT: It was not the first time Browne and Sutherland had clashed. They also failed to see eye-to-eye over a tentative plan hatched last year for BP to merge with Shell. The potential mega-merger, which could have created a global energy giant worth more than £250 billion, was discussed between board members, but the idea was dropped. Browne was thought to be in favour but Sutherland argued it would be impossible to execute. BP has also cast its eye over French oil firm Total.

THE ARTICLE

July 30, 2006 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 Telegraph: The Friday night bombshell

(Filed: 30/07/2006)

BP’s decision requiring him to step down as chief executive in 2008 came as a blow to Lord Browne. Sylvia Pfeifer describes the events leading up to the announcement and looks at the potential successors

It never gets too hot in the Andalucian mountains in southern Spain, even during the brutal summer month of August. A cooling breeze will no doubt be welcome when Lord Browne, the chief executive of BP, meets his chairman, Peter Sutherland, there next week.

Browne will be staying with Sutherland and his wife at their house. It was a holiday that had been arranged long before last week’s extraordinary events at the oil company, which saw two of the biggest personalities in British business clash. At issue was nothing less than the succession at Britain’s biggest company.
 
Peter Sutherland told Lord Browne: ‘John, you need to give people a retirement date’  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: Oil execs speak out

July 30, 2006, 12:07AM

LYNN J. COOK
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

John Hofmeister:
President,
Shell Oil Co.

High prices, war in the Middle East and global warming concerns have transformed energy from a dull industry taken for granted by many Americans into a top-of-the-mind pocketbook issue for consumers.

The Chronicle posed 10 questions to several top executives of the world’s major oil companies on topics ranging from gasoline prices to U.S. energy security to hefty company profits.

Some of the CEO answers — delivered by e-mail last week as BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips were reporting their second quarter financial results — might be surprising. 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.

Chicago Tribune: Oil Safari: A Travelogue of Addiction

What does it take to quench America’s mighty thirst for gasoline?

Pulitzer-winning correspondent Paul Salopek traced gas pumped at a suburban Chicago station to the fuel’s sources around the globe. In doing so, he reveals how our oil addiction binds us to some of the most hostile corners of the planet—and to a petroleum economy edging toward crisis.

STORY BY PAUL SALOPEK, TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT
RESEARCH BY BRENDA KILIANSKI, TRIBUNE RESEARCHER
PHOTOS BY KUNI TAKAHASHI, TRIBUNE PHOTOGRAPHER

About the project
Paul Salopek (left) and photographer Kuni Takahashi traveled to the distant sources of the South Elgin Marathon’s gas.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-oil-about-story,0,7014967.htmlstory
Chapter 1: The pay zone
A Marathon station in South Elgin, Ill., serves as an ideal prism to examine the coming end of the oil age.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-oil-1-story,0,2482956.htmlstory
Chapter 2: The frontier
Americans have hitched their 210 million autos to Africa, forcing the planet’s last superpower to rattle its half-empty oilcan at the world’s poorest continent.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-oil-2-story,0,2941709.htmlstory
Chapter 3: The war
The hidden costs of our oil addiction include everything from U.S. job losses to the medical bills of American troops wounded in Iraq.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-oil-3-story,0,80570.htmlstory
Chapter 4: Last call
An energy cold war over oil threatens to become the defining struggle of the 21st Century. An early flash point: the United States and Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-oil-4-story,0,539323.htmlstory

Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
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.

Iranian.ws: Shell oil company to decide on mullahs’ blood money in 2007

International oil giant Shell will make its final decision on whether to invest in Phase 13 of South Pars gas field development project in 2007. Mullahs’ Managing Director of Pars Oil and Gas Company Akbar Torkan said the final investment decision (FID) on Phase 13 of South Pars gas field which pertains to Shell will be made available next year, adding that the FID on Phase 11 will also be available at the end of this year.

He said that based on talks with the managing director of Shell, the company is not going to finalize its decision on investment in Phase 13 this year, however, according to the plan, the company is expected to make its final investment decision in 2007 instead. 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.

Taipei Times: Oil prices down on slower US growth, slack demand fears

EXTRACT: The market was still feeling the ramifications after Royal Dutch Shell declared force majeure on crude deliveries from Nigeria’s Bonny oilfield for this month and next. The move means contracts might not be honored during those two months.

THE ARTICLE

AFP , NEW YORK
Sunday, Jul 30, 2006,Page 10

Advertising Oil prices slumped on Friday following news of slower economic growth in the US, which prompted fears for demand in the world’s biggest consumer of energy, traders said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, plunged US$1.30 to close at US$73.24 a barrel. 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.

Edmonton Journal (Canada): Athabasca Oil Sands gears up for major expansion

By Gordon Jaremko,
CanWest News Service

EDMONTON — Alberta’s youngest oilsands mega-mine set out Friday to grow briskly by 65 per cent even though expansion costs have skyrocketed.

About 6,000 to 7,000 construction workers will build a 100,000-barrels-a-day addition to the Athabasca Oil Sands Project over the next four years on a schedule laid out by senior partner Shell Canada. The giant job will be divided equally between the three-year-old operation’s Fort McMurray open-pit mine and Scotford bitumen upgrader east of Edmonton, Shell president Clive Mather and oilsands vice-president Brian Straub told a conference call for financial analysts and media. 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: Shell’s Bermuda arm seeks money from UK taxpayers

Nick Mathiason
Sunday July 30, 2006

The Shell-owned consortium behind the $20bn oil and gas project in Sakhalin off the east coast of Russia is seeking UK taxpayers’ money to help pay for the scheme, even though it is based in the tax haven of Bermuda.

Campaigners are demanding the Export Credits Guarantee Department deny funds to Sakhalin Energy. James Leaton of WWF said: ‘ECGD was set up to promote UK exports. Less than 5 per cent of the project is British and it is already 75 per cent complete. It is unacceptable that taxpayers’ money is being spent to endorse projects based in a tax haven that contribute to climate change.’ 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 Business Post (Ireland): Corrib: Does David need Goliath?

30 July 2006 
By Richard Curran

The growing momentum to solve the issues over the Corrib gas field might see the multi-billion-euro project actually move forward sometime soon. The publication of the report by the mediator in the dispute, Peter Cassells, into finding a solution may not in itself fix the problems but it is another step in the direction of finally landing new Irish gas on Irish shores.

At a time when gas prices for consumers and businesses are set to rise again, progress on Corrib couldn’t be more welcome. But pumping Corrib gas into Irish homes will not necessarily be the panacea that many might think. 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: Shell set to reroute pipeline

July 30, 2006
Stephen O’Brien
 
SHELL is to announce within two weeks that it is prepared to reroute the Corrib gas pipeline in Mayo, in an attempt to end the local protests that have stymied the €900m project.

The state-owned Bord Gais is expected to become involved in the selection of a new route when it joins forces with Shell in the project. 
 
The rerouting is likely to involve moving the pipeline about 200 metres from local homes. The nearest house to the current route across the Rossport peninsula is 70 metres away. 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.

Petroleum News: Total, Hess confirm deepwater Gulf finds

EXTRACT: Last November Total began to expand its deepwater Gulf of Mexico position in a “like kind” exchange with Shell Exploration & Production. Under the agreement, Total would convey its interests in four onshore fields in South Texas for Shell’s 17 percent interest in the deepwater Tahiti field, among the largest finds in the Gulf of Mexico.

THE ARTICLE

Both Hess Pony, Total Alaminos Canyon discoveries are oil; sidetrack planned on Hess acreage; Total well confirms structure

Ray Tyson
For Petroleum News
Headline: Total, Hess confirm deepwater Gulf finds
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.

Petroleum News: BP’s Browne to step down: “Shell a target?”

EXRACT: Shell a target?: According to Britain’s Financial Times and other publications, Browne had an even bigger transformation up his sleeve — a merger with arch-rival Shell. Just how serious that plan ever became isn’t clear. It appears the idea was brought up to Shell leaders in the second half of 2005 and didn’t gain much traction.

Admired CEO will take another job as he’s ‘absolutely hooked on business’

Allen Baker
For Petroleum News

John Browne’s recent announcement that he plans to step down as BP CEO at the end of 2008 came amid a flurry of rumor and speculation. There were reports he had hoped to escape the company’s mandatory retirement policies and stay on past the age of 60. In point of fact, he has managed to escape that policy to some extent, since he’ll turn 60 in February of 2008, 10 months before his planned 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.

Petroleum News: Scattering some of the oil sands gloom

By Gary Park

Imperial Oil-ExxonMobil Canada, a Shell Canada-led partnership and Husky Energy are pushing ahead with various aspects of large-scale oil sands projects, taking the high road during a time of accumulating negatives.

The joint effort by the ExxonMobil sister companies involves the 300,000 barrel per day Kearl project that carries an initial cost projections of C$4.5 to C$6.5 billion to recover 4.41 billion barrels of bitumen over 50 years, is ready to enter the regulatory approval stream. 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.

Live Chat: Jeroen van der Veer: Why does he not step down himself and admit he was not up to the task?

Guest 2770: 28 July 2006

Shell Shocked: “This company has been losing ground now for many years, and I don’t like that,” says Jeroen van der Veer, the 58-year-old chief executive. “I didn’t see the reserves crisis as something isolated–no, I think the whole company was losing ground. We knew it, but we kept on doing more of the same.”

Any other minion who knew he was losing ground but still continued in same fashion would have been sacked. Why does he not step down himself and admit he was not up to the task? Or does he like the status and is convinced the others are even worse? With bright micromanagers like Brinded around he may well be right. And not being in control may increase the chance of having to go to jail? 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 New York Times: Chevron, Like Its Rivals, Reports Higher Profits Amid Global Concerns

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Published: July 29, 2006

Chevron reported yesterday that its second-quarter earnings climbed by 18 percent, marking the company’s highest profit for any three-month period. But the results paled next to the earnings announced this week by other large oil companies, and Chevron’s stock price dropped substantially on a day when American markets otherwise soared.

Like Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP and ConocoPhillips, who have all reported a banquet of riches in recent days, Chevron said that it had been profiting from the rising price of oil, which is now more than $70 a barrel, and strong refining margins. 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 Independent: Judgment reserved over Shell leak row

Published: Jul 28, 2006

THE High Court has reserved judgment in a multi-million claim for damages by a county council against energy giant Shell.

The legal action followed the leakage of petroleum products from a Shell petrol station which halted construction of new civic offices in Trim, Co Meath.

Damages estimated at between 5m-6m are being sought by the Meath Co Council after a hydrocarbon discharge in 2001 from a petrol station owned by Irish Shell Ltd at Watergate Street, Trim, contaminated an adjoining site previously used as a car park for the local swimming pool. 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: Shell says gas partners will ‘respond positively and in full’ to report

By: Lorna Siggins, Irish Times
Published: Jul 29, 2006

Shell E&P Ireland has said that the Corrib gas partners will “respond positively and in full” to the report on the Corrib gas pipeline published yesterday by Government mediator Peter Cassells.

In its strongest indication yet that it would review the high-pressure pipeline’s onshore route, the company has welcomed the publication of the mediator’s “detailed and thorough” document. However, it says that it needs to consider a number of its recommendations. 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: Exxon Profit Leaps, Adding Fuel to Political Fire

EXTRACT:  Meanwhile, Shell is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission about whether reserves held in gas-to-liquids projects should be booked under the regulator’s rules, Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said Thursday. The issue of booking is sensitive for Shell, which was forced to restate reserves fives times in 2004 and 2005. 

Net Tops $10 Billion, a Gain
That Could Intensify Anger
About High Prices at Pump
By JEFFREY BALL and BENOÎT FAUCON
July 28, 2006; Page A2

Exxon Mobil Corp. reported its second-highest quarterly profit ever, a result likely to intensify political anger at the oil industry at a time when many U.S. consumers are paying more than $3 a gallon for gasoline. 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 News Roundup: July 28, 2006 7:36 p.m.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE

Crude-oil futures tumbled by more than $1 a barrel, settling at $73.20 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, on renewed hopes of a resolution of the violence in the Middle East. Here is Friday’s roundup of energy-related news:

* * *
CHEVRON’S MISS: Chevron did its part to dissipate some of the public rage being directed at Big Oil these days, reporting — get this — disappointing quarterly earnings. Not that a $4.35 billion profit, on $53.54 billion in revenue, is anything to sneeze at. But Wall Street analysts, on average, expected a little more from Chevron’s earnings per share, and its stock fell 2.5%. A big expense to repair equipment damaged by last year’s hurricanes hurt results. 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.

Gulf Times, Qatar: Shell says plant cost could triple to almost $18bn

By Andy Critchlow & Stephen Voss

DUBAI: Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s second-biggest oil company, yesterday said the Pearl GTL project may cost as much as $18bn, triple earlier estimates.

The project will cost $4 to $6 per barrel of oil equivalent to produce, The Hague-based Shell said yesterday in a statement. The venture is expected to produce the equivalent of 3bn barrels of oil during its lifetime, the company said in a separate statement.

Oil and gas project costs are climbing amid shortages of equipment, labour and raw materials such as steel. A year ago, Shell said costs for its Sakhalin II venture in Russia’s Far East doubled to $20bn. Shell yesterday cut its 2006 output target. read more

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Toronto Star: Shell Canada plans to expand in oil sands despite rising bill

Jul. 29, 2006. 01:00 AM

CALGARY—Shell Canada Ltd. aims to proceed with expanding its oil sands mining operation despite surging costs, and has given its partners 90 days to respond to its proposal, it said yesterday.

Shell Canada, which owns 60 per cent of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, said it believes boosting the production to 255,000 barrels a day from the current 155,000 could cost between $10 billion and $12.8 billion.

That is up from last year’s $7 billion estimate, with the huge increase driven by a squeeze on labour and materials supplies in Alberta’s heavy construction boom. read more

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Daily Telegraph: Database: Energy: 29 July 2006

• British Nuclear Fuels, the UK government’s nuclear services company, stopped production at Unit 4 of its Wylfa nuclear plant.

• Interconnector (UK), owner of a natural gas pipeline linking England and Belgium, will export the fuel from mainland Europe into the UK starting tomorrow to meet demand.

• Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s second largest oil company, may reroute a proposed gas pipeline in western Ireland to end an impasse over a facility that could meet almost two-thirds of the country’s gas needs. read more

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Dow Jones Newswires: Shell Books $500 Million Charge On Yet-To-Settle Class Actions-2

Shell said the provision was in connection with the putative shareholder class actions filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

A Shell spokeswoman said the class actions were two separate action filed in the U.S. on behalf of foreign and U.S. shareholders.

In January, Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP and 25 other Dutch public pension funds filed a complaint seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in the U.S. from Shell following the reserves restatments.

A separate consolidated class action had already been filed in 2004, led by Pennsylvania State retirement funds. read more

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Bloomberg: Shell Says Athabasca Project May Cost C$12.8 Billion (Update3)

July 28 (Bloomberg) — Shell Canada Ltd., the country’s fourth-largest oil company, said costs to expand an oil-sands venture will rise 75 percent to as much as C$12.8 billion ($11.3 billion) on higher equipment and labor costs.

A boom in oil-sands projects in Alberta has raised all facets of expanding the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, in which the company owns 60 percent, Shell Canada said today in a statement. The revised estimate includes additional spending to boost efficiency and lower operating costs, Chief Executive Officer Clive Mather said today during a conference call. read more

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Daily Star: Shell’s £270m law bill

ROYAL Dutch Shell has set aside £269 million in an attempt to settle a massive lawsuit in America.

The class action relates to the reserves scandal that rocked the company two years ago.
A settlement would finally draw a line under the debacle, when the company admitted 3.9 billion barrels of oil had been overbooked.

It would leave all the major legal actions resolved in the United States and only one – a separate European lawsuit – still outstanding.

Profits

Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said Shell still doesn’t admit liability for overbooking the reserves, and legal talks will have to continue. read more

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The Independent: Exxon makes history as revenues exceed $1bn a day

Rising prices help oil giants pump out massive profits Royal Dutch Shell earnings soar to £3.4bn.

Exxon makes history as revenues exceed $1bn a day

By Gary Parkinson, City Editor
Published: 28 July 2006

Two of the world’s biggest oil companies posted massive profits yesterday on the back of soaring oil prices, making $16bn (£8.6bn) between them in just three months.

At $6.3bn (£3.4bn), Royal Dutch Shell’s underlying profits for the three months to the end of June were 36 per cent higher than over the same period last year, despite serious disruption to production in Nigeria. read more

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Reuters: Shell Nigeria starts repairs on leaking pipeline

Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:32 PM GMT
 
ABUJA (Reuters) – The Nigerian arm of Royal Dutch Shell has started work on repairing a pipeline where a leak has forced the shutdown of 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) in oil output, a spokesman said on Friday.

Shell is losing 180,000 bpd because of the leak discovered a week ago in a section of its Nembe Creek trunk line in Rivers state in the Niger Delta, while Chevron is losing 30,000 bpd that should be going through the same pipeline.

“We are going ahead with repairs at this time,” a Shell spokesman said, adding that the firm could not tell how long the repairs might take. read more

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Malcolm Brinded Powerpoints Presentation supplied by a Shell Insider

A laugh for the weekend…

For adults only

Malcolm Brinded spoof

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PressandJournal.co.uk: Shell Brent Bravo: UNIONS CALL FOR WATCHDOG TO FACE PROBE:

KEITH FINDLAY

27 July 2006
 
A Union leader yesterday called for a thorough inquiry into the role of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on North Sea oil and gas platforms.

Graham Tran, regional officer for Amicus, claimed the HSE had neither the resources nor the independence it needed to improve and police safety offshore.

He was speaking as representatives from the TGWU, RMT and OILC unions met a top HSE official to raise their general concerns about safety following the conclusion last week of a fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of two men on Shell’s Brent Bravo platform almost three years ago. read more

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Press & Journal.co.uk: Talks on offshore safety concerns

Trade unions have held a meeting with health and safety officials in Aberdeen to discuss concerns about the offshore industry.

The talks followed a report into the deaths of two workers on Shell’s Brent Bravo platform in which a sheriff criticised the company.

The Oil Industry Liaison Committee, Transport and General Workers Union and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers raised a number of issues at the meeting with the Health and Safety Executive.

They called for more independent offshore inspections, a stricter enforcement of improvement orders on install- ations and greater consultation with workers. read more

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MENAFN: Qatar Petroleum & Shell GTL project to cost $18 billion

MENAFN – 28/07/2006  
  
(MENAFN) Qatar Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell announced they would proceed with the Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) project, an integrated development, transport and processing hub for Qatar North Field gas resources, Gulf News reported.

Just months ago the status of the project was cast in doubt amid rising costs worldwide for oil and gas projects, due to shortages of equipment, labour and raw materials such as steel.

The Pearl GTL project may cost as much as $18 billion, triple earlier estimates, based on company-supplied figures. read more

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IrelandOnline: Mediator recommends re-routing of Corrib gas pipeline

28/07/2006 – 08:34:04 

The man appointed by the Government to mediate between Shell and the Rossport Five has recommended that the Corrib gas pipeline be re-routed.

Former trade union leader Peter Cassells was appointed in an effort to find a solution to the long-running dispute, which saw the five Co Mayo men spend more than 90 days in prison last year for refusing to obey an injunction ordering them not to obstruct work on the pipeline.

Earlier this month, he said his talks had failed to find any common ground between the two sides. read more

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Daily Mail: Reserves scandal still haunts Shell… signals readiness to sort out last remaining big lawsuit.

28 July 2006

Doing well: The oil giant’s rising fortunes have been prompted by the soaring price of crude

By Brian O’Connor
 
ROYAL Dutch Shell put a £270m price on settling a US legal action over the reserves scandal two years ago.

This is just an accounting provision, but signals its readiness to sort out the last remaining big lawsuit.

The provision is just a week’s profits for the oil giant, which made a record £3.4bn in the quarter to June, up 36pc, though its oil and gas production tumbled 13pc. read more

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London Evening Standard: Shell’s massive profits mirror BP

Jim Armitage,
28 July 2005

SHELL’S profits surged by more than a third in the first half of the year, thanks to record oil prices.

With crude currently hovering around $60 a barrel, the company enjoyed profits of $10.2bn (£5.8bn) – up 39% on the same period last year. Shell is not alone in enjoying a big boost to earnings on the back of rampant oil prices. BP said earlier this week it made £6bn in its half-year.

Shell is attempting to win back investor confidence following the scandal last year when it was found to have been grossly exaggerating the amount of oil it had in reserves, waiting to be pumped out of the ground. Today it stressed it would be spending $1.8bn a year for the next two years in its hunt for new reserves. read more

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ShellNews.net: …are we witnessing the death throes of Shell?

From “Live Chat” 28 July 2006:

EXTRACT: “Production down, reserves down, merger rumours, white elephants in Qatar, and expropriation of Sakhalin…are we witnessing the death throes of Shell?

THE ARTICLE

Extract from “Live Chat” posted on Thursday 27 July 2006

RoyalDutchShellPlc : We can see that people are getting hooked on this site. When is someone going to make a positive posting about Shell? We haven’t seen one yet!

guest_6780 : Positive: company actually admits that will cancel/postpone some projects if costs are too high! read more

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An outspoken prophetic email from Hans Bouman to Shell Executive Malcolm Brinded

We recently became aware from Shell insiders of a treasure trove of emails from a former, highly respected senior Shell manager, “Hans” Bouman”. His emails have been widely circulated as collector items by Shell insiders because of their outspoken, prophetic and eloquent content, often on controversial subjects.

Printed below is one kindly supplied to us a few minutes ago by a Shell insider. As you will see, it fully meets the above description. It was sent to Malcolm Brinded during the darkest days of the crisis which arose from the reserves fraud – from which Shell management has clearly not recovered. read more

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