July 19th, 2006:

EXTRACT: Shell is drilling in the seas north of Japan as dwindling energy supplies force producers to venture into increasingly hostile locations. Costs for the Shell-led Sakhalin II project, the company’s biggest single investment, have doubled to $20 billion, undermining Shell’s effort to convince investors it can replace the oil it pumps, two years after overstating reserves.

THE ARTICLE

July 20 (Bloomberg) — The photos on Samer Slim’s office wall catalog the hurdles Royal Dutch Shell Plc must overcome on Russia’s Sakhalin Island: ice-choked drilling rigs, snowmelt swollen rivers and wilderness so remote supplies are dropped by helicopter. His T-shirt warns of another: “Beware of Bears.” read more

To hear some folks talk about it, ethanol, which is already blended with almost every gallon of gasoline sold in Wisconsin, is some sort of holy nectar given to mankind by the gods.

It will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It will burn cleanly and won’t contribute to global warming. It will create jobs, and help struggling family farmers survive by creating a new market for their crops.

It slices. It dices. It removes stubborn stains. All it needs is some high-volume pitchman with a British accent, screaming its virtues on late-night cable TV, and the stuff will fly off the shelves. read more

July 19, 2006, 11:28AM
© 2006 The Associated Press

MOSCOW — Russia’s natural resources minister on Wednesday warned that BP PLC’s Russian joint venture could see a raft of licenses in Russia revoked, while simultaneously slamming Royal Dutch Shell PLC for cost overruns at its liquefied natural gas project off the far eastern island of Sakhalin.

Yuri Trutnev was cited by the Interfax news agency as saying that his ministry had complaints about low production at 24 of TNK-BP’s facilities. “All grounds exist to submit this issue to the commission for revoking licenses,” he said, according to Interfax. read more

We have received a number of emails from Shell insiders commenting on the Brent Fatal Accident Inquiry published yesterday. 

With the kind consent of the individuals involved, we have published the extracts unedited.

We apologise in advance for the strong language, but we felt it important to allow our readers to judge for themselves the strength of feelings held about these matters.  

There are comments and news reports (in Dutch) about a more recent accident – a tank explosion in which two more workers lost their lives.  We would be grateful if anyone can provide information in English about that accident.  read more

BP shuts down 12 Alaska oil wells 

The 12 wells being shut at Prudhoe Bay, North Star, and Milne Point fields pump a combined 8,000 barrels of oil a day.

BP’s move comes as the firm could face a criminal investigation in the US over a massive oil spill in Alaska in March.

It is under investigation by a grand jury over the spill of some 267,000 gallons (1 million litres) discovered at the Prudhoe Bay field, and the largest ever on Alaska’s North Slope region.

‘Arctic pack’

The leaking liquids in the latest claims are a freeze protection material used in well cellars. read more

E077:06 18 July 2006

The determination in a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the deaths of two workers on the Brent Bravo offshore installation in September 2003 has been published today (18 July 2006). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) extends its condolences to the families and loved ones of Sean McCue and Keith Moncrieff. HSE’s own findings have been born out in the determination and confirm the importance of our continued emphasis on plant integrity issues in the offshore industry.

HSE fully co-operated with the Inquiry and provided 11 witnesses who gave key evidence to help establish the circumstances of the two men’s deaths and the management failings that led to them. read more

EXTRACT: Darci Sinclair, a spokeswoman for Motiva, said the company was not immediately sure what the ship was carrying when the fire started. Sinclair said the cause was under investigation, and Motiva’s emergency responders were en route to the scene.
 
The Article

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 19, 2006
Filed at 12:34 a.m. ET

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Fire engulfed a tanker ship at the Port of Providence on Tuesday night, sending large plumes of smoke and fireballs into the air. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
July 19, 2006 12:02 a.m.

Crude-oil futures tumbled again, dropping $1.76 a barrel to settle at less than $74 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Some analysts say crude’s fall from a record high of more than $77 is just a technical correction, though an alarming report about the housing sector may have heightened fears that an economic slowdown could sap demand for crude. Still, with violence still roiling the Middle East, crude could jump again at any time. Here’s Tuesday’s roundup of oil and energy news. read more

By Carl Mortished
 
OFFSHORE oil unions have called for corporate manslaughter legislation in Scotland after the conclusion of a fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of two workers on a Shell North Sea platform.

The six-month investigation into the deaths on Brent Bravo in September 2003 concluded that the accident could have been avoided if Shell had done a proper repair of a pipe. The inquiry did not draw any wider conclusion from its finding. The OILC union said yesterday that Shell had been given a “Get out of Jail Free card”. 
 
The victims, Keith Moncrieff and Sean McCue, died from a huge gas escape from an illegal repair to a corroded pipe when they descended into the concrete leg of the platform to make an inspection. The repair, done with neoprene rubber and a hose clip, was against regulations, the inquiry found. read more

EXTRACT: The fire happened at a terminal owned by Motiva Enterprises, a Houston-based joint operation between Saudi Refining Inc. and Shell Oil Co. Darci Sinclair, a spokeswoman for Motiva, said the company was investigating.

THE ARTICLE

By: RAY HENRY, AP Worldstream
Published: Jul 19, 2006

Fire engulfed a dock area at the Port of Providence on Tuesday night when lightning struck as a tanker was unloading gasoline, sending large plumes of smoke and fireballs into the air.

Officials said the ship was able to safely pull away from the dock. read more

Published: Jul 19, 2006

SHELL’s safety record in the North Sea has been slammed in a Scottish sheriff’s report into the deaths of two workers on Brent Bravo, writes Martyn Wingrove.

The Anglo-Dutch oil major has been heavily criticised for defects on the 30-year-old production platform and operation failings to prevent the deaths in September 2003.

Sheriff Colin Harris said the deaths of Keith Moncrieff, 45, and Sean McCue, 22, in the platform’s utility leg may have been prevented if a temporary pipe repair was more effective and if the risks of working in the leg were properly assessed. read more

By Andrew Bolger
Published: July 19 2006 03:00 | Last updated: July 19 2006 03:00

Shell, the oil group, has been criticised by a Scottish inquiry over defects and failings after the deaths of two men on the Brent Bravo platform in the North Sea.

A fatal accident inquiry found the deaths of Keith Moncrieff, 45, and Sean McCue, 22, three years ago might have been avoided if the company had dealt properly with a temporary repair on a corroded pipe.

The men went inside one of the legs of the platform to inspect the repair – which had been in place for 10 months – and were overcome by a huge release of hydrocarbon gas. read more

By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: July 18 2006 22:01 | Last updated: July 18 2006 22:01

BP’s troubles in the US intensified when the company shut 12 Alaskan oil wells on Tuesday after whistleblowers said some 50 had been leaking.

Robert Malone, president of BP America, said it would close the wells after workers at its Prudhoe Bay oil field told the Financial Times about the leaks. Mr Malone said the wells would be shut “even though we have no reason to believe . . . the continued operation of these wells poses a risk to workers or the environment’’. read more

Oil unions have called for the swift introduction of new corporate killing legislation following the publication of an inquiry into the deaths of two workers on a North Sea platform.

A fatal accident inquiry found that the deaths of Keith Moncrieff and Sean McCue could have been avoided if the company had properly dealt with a temporary repair on a leaking pipe.

Mr Moncrieff, 45, from Invergowrie, Dundee, and Mr McCue, 22, from Kennoway in Fife, died on a utility leg of the company’s Brent Bravo platform on September 11, 2003.
  read more

RELATIVES of two oil workers killed in a North Sea tragedy yesterday attacked the findings of a probe into their deaths.

Keith Moncrieff, 45, of Inver-gowrie, Perthshire, and Sean McCue, 22, of Kennoway, Fife, died after a gas leak on the Brent Bravo platform in 2003.

In the Fatal Accident Inquiry ruling, Shell were told they could have prevented the deaths with a better safety system.

But Sheriff Colin Harris said some evidence was beyond the scope of the FAI, leaving the victims’ relatives fuming. read more

GRAEME SMITH July 19 2006
 
The oil giant Shell says it has learned lessons from mistakes which led to the deaths of two offshore workers on the Brent Bravo platform three years ago.

However, a sheriff has pointed to the company’s failure to properly implement a permit-to-work system as one of the causes of the deaths. The same problem was a major factor in the Piper Alpha disaster in 1989 in which 167 people died.

The OILC union said this clearly shows that lessons have not been learned and the sheriff has failed to grasp the opportunity to make a significant improvement in North Sea safety. read more