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August 29th, 2006:

UpstreamOnline: Shell Nigeria sees 2005 output fall

By Upstream staff

Supermajor Shell’s Nigerian venture sees a “challenging” 2006 after its oil production fell 8% last year because of project delays and natural output declines.

Shell Petroleum Development Company production averaged 924,000 barrels per day last year, down from 2004’s one million bpd, the company said in its Shell Nigeria Annual Report recently posted on its website.

Oil output in Nigeria, the world’s eighth-largest exporter, is suffering further in 2006 because of militant attacks. The supply loss helped oil prices hit a record high of $78.40 a barrel earlier this year, Reuters reported. 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: Shell hopes to lift Bonny force majeure

By Upstream staff

Shell said today it hoped to lift a force majeure on exports of Bonny crude from Nigeria soon after a recent increase in output.

Last month Shell declared force majeure on exports of Bonny crude in July and August after a pipeline leak cut production.

“We don’t have a date for when it will be lifted,” Shell spokeswoman Eurwen Thomas said of the force majeure. “The hope is that it will be in the near future.”
 

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: Hostage to be freed ‘in hours’

By Upstream staff

An Italian oil worker kidnapped last week in Nigeria will be freed in a matter of hours, a state government spokesman said today.

The expected release of the hostage, a contractor to oil services company Saipem , follows the intervention of a powerful militant group which ordered his unconditional freedom in an attempt to end a spate of kidnappings for ransom, Reuters reported.

“The hostage will be released to the government in the next few hours,” a spokesman for Rivers State government 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.

China Economic Net: Royal Dutch suspends faulty pipeline: Russia looks at suing Shell

Last Updated(Beijing Time):2006-08-29 15:29
 
A consortium led by Royal Dutch Shell PLC has suspended pipe-laying work at a section of its giant liquefied natural gas project on Russia’s far eastern island of Sakhalin because of substandard construction work, a spokesman for the consortium said yesterday.

Ivan Chernikovsky said that work had been halted on oil and gas pipelines that traverse a mudslide-prone mountainous area due the company’s concerns that subcontractors’ work did not meet the necessary construction standards. He said the halt would not push back the project’s completion 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.

Bloomberg: BP’s Crude, Gasoline Trading Under U.S. Investigation (Update 4)

EXTRACT: BP lost its position as Europe’s largest oil company by market value to Royal Dutch Shell Plc after BP earlier this month said it had to shut down the Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska because of inadequate testing for pipeline corrosion.

THE ARTICLE

By Stephen Voss

Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) — BP Plc, Europe’s second-largest oil company, is being investigated by U.S. authorities for possible manipulation of crude and gasoline markets, a further blow to a reputation that’s already suffering from spills in Alaska. 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: Tropical Storm Ernesto Strengthens, Heads for Florida (Update1)

EXTRACT: Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it has prioritized delivery to its Shell and Motiva gas stations along evacuation routes to ensure drivers can refuel, according to a statement from the company. It also has generators in place ready to power pumps.

THE ARTICLE

By Alex Morales and Courtney Dentch

Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) — Tropical Storm Ernesto regained strength as it moved out over water after crossing Cuba and headed toward Florida, where watches and warnings were extended.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds accelerated to 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) from 40 mph earlier, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an online advisory at 8 a.m. New York time. The storm’s center was about 200 miles southeast of Key West, Florida, over the Florida Straits, moving toward the northwest at about 14 mph. 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: U.S. oil executives enjoyed biggest paychecks on record in 2005: report

EXTRACT: In contrast, leaders of giant oil companies based outside of the U.S., such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and BP PLC (BP), received more modest pay last year. BP CEO Lord Browne, for instance, pulled in $5.6 million in 2005, while Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer made $4.1 million. “While hardly suffering, their combined average pay was a mere 12.4% of the average pay of the top two U.S. oil company CEOs,” the report said of Browne and van der Veer.

THE ARTICLE

By Maya Jackson Randall
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 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: U.S. probes BP over crude, gas dealings (Whether markets were manipulated at heart of latest inquiries)

Aug 29, 2006: LONDON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. government has begun criminal and civil investigations into whether BP Plc manipulated U.S. crude-oil and unleaded-gasoline markets, as the British petroleum giant’s chief executive is being forced to testify under oath about safety problems.

The world’s second-largest publicly traded oil company, BP has acknowledged the investigations and said it’s cooperating with U.S. authorities, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. See Wall Street Journal story below. 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: BP Woes Deepen With New Probe

Public, Political Pressure May Rise
As Inquiry Looks Into Possibility
Of Manipulation in Gas, Oil Prices

By JOHN R. WILKE in Washington, ANN DAVIS in Houston and CHIP CUMMINS in London
August 29, 2006; Page C1

Federal investigators are examining whether BP PLC manipulated crude-oil and unleaded-gasoline markets, signaling a rise in regulatory scrutiny of the British energy giant, said lawyers and traders close to the case.

BP, which has been summoned before Congress next week over problems in its Alaska pipeline operations, already faces a civil complaint filed by federal commodities regulators for allegedly manipulating much of the U.S. market for propane. The separate investigations on crude oil and gasoline could intensify public and political pressure on BP because these markets are bigger and directly affect most American households.
 
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sent subpoenas to BP and energy traders in the crude-oil probe, which is focused on possible manipulation of the global over-the-counter market in 2003 and 2004, according to lawyers and traders who have been contacted or briefed in the civil investigation. (The over-the-counter market includes trades conducted over the phone or electronically in products not listed on exchanges, or in marketplaces that regulators can’t see.) 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: Irish firms win Corrib Gas contracts

Published: Aug 29, 2006

Irish construction companies have won contracts valued at 76 million for the construction of the controversial Corrib Gas terminal at Bellamaboy Bridge in north Mayo.

The contracts will cover civil works, structural steel works, mechanical engineering works and electrical and instrumentation.

According to Terry Nolan, deputy managing director of Shell E&P Ireland, the 76 million spend will include an investment of 10 million in Erris and over 14 million in Co Mayo.

PM Group was named as the construction management contractor for the giant terminal project last year. The other winning contracts have been submitted by Mercury Engineering, Roadbridge Limited and SIAC Butler Steel. 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.

AFX News Limited: Shell Consortium Halts Construction of Sakhalin Pipeline

The Sakhalin Energy consortium, led by Royal Dutch Shell, said it has halted construction of an oil and gas pipeline on Sakhalin Island due to landslide risk affecting a stretch of seven kilometers of the route in the Makarov region.

Spokesman for the consortium Ivan Tcherniakhovski told Agence France-Presse that Sakhalin Energy believes certain sub-contractors have not adhered to technical instructions and standards.

Of the total 1,600 kilometers of pipeline to be laid, 1,410 are completed, and the latest delay is not expected to have an impact on the general timescale of the project, Tcherniakhovski added. 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 Prices Fall Nearly $2 a Barrel After Hurricane Fears Recede

By MASOOD FARIVAR
August 29, 2006; Page C3

Oil prices dropped nearly $2 a barrel as Hurricane Ernesto weakened to a tropical storm and was forecast to miss the energy-production areas of the Gulf of Mexico.

The October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled $1.90 lower to $70.61 a barrel on light volume after hitting an intraday low of $70.15. Ernesto, which over the weekend grew into the first hurricane of a heretofore mild tropical storm season, was downgraded late Sunday, and is now forecast to veer east before making landfall in southern Florida. Natural-gas futures also fell, with the September contract settling 68.5 cents down at a month low of $6.472 a million British thermal units.
 
With the storm’s threat to oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico receding, traders bailed out of long bets established last week as the storm began to gather force, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., a brokerage firm based in Chicago. 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: Woodside’s Energy Partners Bid Shows Allure of Gulf of Mexico

By RUSSELL GOLD and IAN PEMBERTON
August 29, 2006; Page A12

Woodside Petroleum Ltd.’s $883.1 million takeover bid for Energy Partners Ltd., based in New Orleans, underscores the industry’s continued interest in the Gulf of Mexico despite recent hurricane activity and the challenge in finding lucrative new deposits in the well-explored area.

The bid by Australia’s Woodside, if successful, would foil Energy Partners’ agreement in June to acquire Stone Energy Corp. of Lafayette, La., for $1.4 billion. Energy Partners yesterday said its board will discuss Woodside’s unsolicited proposal and “in due course” advise stockholders of its position. Stone Energy said it will evaluate the move but still planned on moving forward with the Energy Partners deal. 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 Independent: Shareholder raps Shell’s ‘corroded’ gas pipes

By Julia Kollewe
Published: 29 August 2006

Royal Dutch Shell has come under fire over corroded gas pipes, just days after BP was forced to shut down production at an oilfield in Alaska due to severe pipeline corrosion.

A shareholder group has lambasted Shell for letting gas pipes corrode in Ireland. Canon Christopher Hall, a Shell shareholder and spokesman for the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR), said he had alerted Shell in May to the corroded pipeline sections which await installation to bring gas ashore from the Corrib field. They have been stored for years in the open air in a quarry at Killybegs, Co Donegal. 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.