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.
Western Oil Sands Inc., which has a 20 per cent stake in the development, warned earlier this month the cost of the expansion could be 50 per cent higher than previously thought. The other partner is Chevron Corp.
Shell Canada said it would make a final investment decision for the expansion in the fourth quarter, assuming it wins regulatory approvals. Production from the new facilities would start in 2009 and 2010.
CEO Clive Mather said Shell’s decision to proceed is “a key milestone” in Shell’s strategy to grow Athabasca production from its current 160,000 barrels a day to 550,000 barrels.
It is not Shell’s only exposure to the oil sands.
Earlier this week, the company revealed plans to rapidly develop its own in-situ oil sands projects that have come as a result of its recent $2.4 billion acquisition of BlackRock Ventures.
Shell hopes that the in-situ plants, which use steam technology to access oil sands reserves that are too deep for conventional open-pit mining, will produce 50,000 barrels per day within the next two years and 150,000 barrels a day in the longer term.
REUTERS news agency and canadian press
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.
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.
