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August 10th, 2006:

MarketWatch: ATCO Awarded Phase Two of Albian Village for Shell’s Athabasca Oil Sands Project

CALGARY, ALBERTA, Aug 10, 2006

ATCO Structures Inc. has been awarded Phase Two of a major contract to manufacture, supply and install high quality workforce housing for an additional 1,660 tradespeople and management personnel at Shell’s Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP) Upstream Expansion #1 north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Manufacturing of the modules required for Phase Two will begin in ATCO’s Calgary facility in the fall of 2006, with the units scheduled to be installed by ATCO Structures and subcontractors in the third quarter of 2007. Once completed, the permanent, multi-storey facility will exceed 500 housing modules and accommodate a total 2,460 workers. read more

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Qatar Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell plc announced the launch of the world-scale integrated Pearl Gas to Liquids (GTL) project in Qatar.

EXTRACT: Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell, added: “Today’s announcement is another clear demonstration of our long-term commitment to partnering with the State of Qatar to deliver Qatari natural gas and GTL products to markets around the world. It is also evidence of our commitment to leverage leading Shell technology in order to increase the world’s supply of cleaner and more diverse liquid hydrocarbon products. Pearl GTL is just one example of Shell’s strong portfolio of growth opportunities, opportunities that offer scale, long producing life, exposure to commodity price upside and attractive returns for shareholders.” 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 Scotsman: Belgian, Moroccan oil workers kidnapped in Nigeria

By Austin Ekeinde

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) – Two oil industry contractors, one Belgian and one Moroccan, were kidnapped by armed men in Nigeria’s southern delta on Thursday, the fourth such abduction in a week.

The wave of kidnappings of foreign workers in the world’s eighth largest exporter follows a series of attacks on oil installations earlier in the year, which forced Western multinationals to cut Nigerian production by a quarter.

“Two foreigners working for a company in Borokiri were kidnapped by armed men,” said Samuel Adetuyi, Rivers state police commissioner in Port Harcourt. 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.

Environmental Finance: Russia mounts legal challenge to Sakhalin II

London, 10 August: The Russian government has said it will take legal action to halt the construction of oil and gas infrastructure on the island of Sakhalin, citing environmental concerns.

Sakhalin II is the second major oil and gas project to be built on the Pacific island by Sakhalin Energy, a consortium headed by Shell. Environmental groups object to it on the grounds that it threatens the survival of the Western Gray Whale and the local wild salmon population, which spawn in its network of rivers. read more

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Investors Chronicle: Leaky pipes force BP to close Prudhoe Bay (“BP’s reputation is severely damaged”)

11 August 2006

BP is shutting down its huge Prudhoe Bay oilfield, in Alaska, after a pipeline leak. And as Prudhoe accounts for around for 8 per cent of US domestic production, the impact on global markets has been immediate. Oil hit $77 a barrel, and shares in Europe and the US dipped.

BP has already closed 200,000 barrels of daily production, and is now making good progress in completing what Bob Malone, chairman and president of BP America, called “an orderly and planned shutdown.” No time frame for the length of the shutdown has been given, although US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has indicated that six months is likely. 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 Scotsman: Bill Campbell allegations regarding the Shell Brent Scandal

Published Comment 10 August 2006 

As a long term Shell shareholder I am extremely concerned by the serious allegations made by the former Shell International Group Auditor, Mr Bill Campbell, concerning alleged falsification of records in relation to the Shell Brent tragedy.

We really cannot have a distinguished former high level Shell official being allowed to make such accusations without Shell taking action against him for defamation if, as Shell claims, the allegations are untrue.

This is not a case of some outsider ignorant of the facts making wild accusations. The charges in this case are being made by a person of high reputation and considerable expertise following his authorised investigation as Group Auditor into the Shell Brent safety regime. 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 Scotsman: HSE ‘takes companies to task’ over North Sea safety levels

EXTRACT: The HSE has launched an investigation into a complaint from offshore workers’ union OILC that Royal Dutch Shell was slow to act on a report detailing corrosion at its North Sea Brent Bravo platform.

THE ARTICLE

Thu 10 Aug 2006
NICK BEVENS

DESPITE soaring profits and record oil prices, some oil and gas producers are falling behind with work to keep rusting North Sea infrastructure safe for workers and the environment.

Ian Whewell, head of the Health and Safety Executive offshore division, said he had already “taken some companies to task” over the issue. read more

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huffingtonpost: Bravo BP! Those Record Earnings Really Help. Alaska and the Nation Thank You!

By Raymond J. Learsy

Last quarter BP’s earnings stood at $7.3 billions. Another record. Earnings continue at stupendous levels yet much good that has done for the care and maintenance of their Alaska pipeline infrastructure. The level of mismanagement, purposeful or otherwise, has Rep. John Dingell (D. Michigan) calling for congressional hearings and expressing his outrage “It’s appalling that BP let this critical pipeline deteriorate to the point that a major shutdown was necessary”. 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.

Neftegaz.ru: New Zealand Ventured to Explore in Risky Region

New Zealand is inviting Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil Corp and other natural gas producers to send rigs to one of the most inhospitable seas on Earth.

New Zealand’s government has sought 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 15m (50ft) waves too high to merit exploiting the area’s gas fields.

Now, as record oil prices push countries to use more gas, explorers such as Shell are venturing into deeper waters and more remote locations to find new supplies. At stake below the seas south of New Zealand are fields that may contain as much as 7tn cu ft of gas. That’s enough to supply the UK for two years, according to the earlier tests. 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.

Neftegaz.ru: Shell, Chevron Lose $63m a Day in Nigeria

Nigeria is losing about 800,000 bpd of oil production because of militant violence and pipeline leaks at Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp.

The combined quantity of disrupted production is worth $63mn a day, or $1bn every 16 days, using the spot price for Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude oil.

The disruptions are eating into company and government revenues, and contributing to concern about global supply that’s keeping oil prices 30% higher than a year ago.

While the price rise has offset some of the effect of the cuts, companies are turning to Nigeria’s deepwater fields or nearby West African countries, further from violence in the Niger River delta. 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.

New Zealand Herald: Coal gains on oil as energy investment

EXTRACT: China, which has tripled oil imports in the last five years, has enough coal for 100 years. Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s second-largest oil company, and Sasol are investing in plants in China with domestic coal companies.

THE ARTICLE

Thursday August 10, 2006
 
NEW YORK – Coal, the hard, black byproduct of fossilised plants used as fuel since China’s Western Han dynasty 2000 years ago, may overtake oil as the best-performing energy investment, a range of analysts believe.
 
Because “coal is the cheapest, most abundant energy source”, from North America to China, “the surge in oil has encouraged people to plan new coal-fuelled power plants and to start using conversion technologies such as coal-to-diesel”, said Richard Price, of Westminster Securities in St Louis.
 
Wilbur Ross, the 68-year-old chairman of International Coal Group, is convinced the search for a cheaper alternative to oil and natural gas will enable coal to outperform oil.
 
Coal was poised to top its recent highs because of record oil and natural-gas prices, said Francisco Blanch, from Merrill Lynch in London.
 
In Europe, coal was US$62.55 ($100) a ton last week and reached a 10-month high of US$66.83 in March, broker ICAP said.
 
Prices paid by US utilities would climb 5 per cent in the next year and double by 2021, said Price.
 
Converting coal into liquid fuel or natural gas becomes economical when oil remains above US$40 a barrel, said Stephen Leer, chief executive of Arch Coal, the second-largest US producer.
 
Oil has not traded below US$40 since June 2004 and will fall 19 per cent next year to US$60, analysts forecast.
 
The US has enough coal to last almost two centuries and today imports two-thirds of the oil it uses.
 
Using more coal is part of President George W. Bush’s initiative to make the country less dependent on imports.
 
The US Energy Department said the country would build plants that increased coal’s share of fuel used to generate electricity to 57 per cent from 50 per cent today.
 
St Louis-based Peabody Energy says it needs Government-backed loans to build coal-to-liquids plants, each estimated to cost $4 billion, near its deposits in Montana and Illinois.
 
Africa’s biggest company by market value, South Africa’s Sasol, which developed coal-to-liquids technology, has won the endorsement of the airline industry for a jet-fuel mix half derived from coal.
 
China, which has tripled oil imports in the last five years, has enough coal for 100 years. Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s second-largest oil company, and Sasol are investing in plants in China with domestic coal companies.
 
However, investors value coal reserves at a fraction of oil deposits. That gap might narrow, raising the value of coal relative to oil, as more plants were built that allowed coal to compete with oil, one analyst said.
 
Although the recent drop in coal prices has depressed shares of producers, “that kind of a meltdown creates a lot of buying opportunities”, said Houston coal analyst James Rollyson. “It’s a short-term weakness because coal is the fuel of choice going forward.”
 
– BLOOMBERG read more

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The Wall Street Journal: Oil News Roundup: August 9, 2006 5:56 p.m.

EXTRACT: •BP Now No. 2: Adding insult to BP’s injury, Royal Dutch Shell has surpassed BP as Europe’s largest listed oil company.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
August 9, 2006 5:56 p.m.

Oil futures rose sharply, topping $77 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange in reaction to a report of a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories last week. But futures gave up their gains in late trading. Here’s Wednesday’s roundup of energy-related news:

* * *
PRUDHOE SHUTDOWN ROILS ALASKA: Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski instituted a state hiring freeze, citing the millions of dollars the state is losing in tax revenue and royalties due to BP’s Prudhoe Bay oil-field shutdown. Mr. Murkowski also said he would ask the attorney general to investigate the “state’s right to hold BP fully accountable for losses to the state.” 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 Times: Need to Know: Global Business Briefing: NATURAL RESOURCES

August 10, 2006 
 
NATURAL RESOURCES
Up 0.3%

Falconbridge, the Canadian nickel and copper miner, has formally backed a $21.2 billion (£11 billion) offer from Xstrata, the Swiss-based miner that it had once spurned as a suitor, as it closed the door on Inco, the rival Canadian bidder.

Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil group, said that it was making progress in repairing a pipeline in Nigeria to resume production there.

Russia may divide up the state’s shareholding in Rosneft, the oil group, which last month raised $10.4 billion in a stock market float, so that the company can meet exchange listing requirements. 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: Four Foreigners Kidnapped From Oil Ship Off Nigeria

EXTRACT: A series of attacks by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in February forced Royal Dutch Shell to evacuate hundreds of staff from the western delta, reducing output by about 500,000 barrels a day.

THE ARTICLE
               
LAGOS (Reuters) – Two Norwegians and two Ukrainians were kidnapped at gunpoint from an oil services ship off the coast of Nigeria on Wednesday, the latest in a series of abductions in Africa’s top oil producer, authorities said. 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.

Asociated Press: Shell Exceeds BP in Market Cap

(AP) – After suffering in recent years from one mishap after another, Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell has overtaken its cross-London rival BP PLC as Europe’s biggest oil company.

Shell boasted a market capitalization of 128.33 billion pounds ($244.61 billion) at Wednesday’s close in London, based on the number of shares in issue at the end of June. BP, meanwhile, ended the day with a market value of 123.96 billion pounds ($236.28 billion).

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.