September 5, 2006 4:19 p.m.
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The oil sector struck gold, after news that Chevron and two partners made a significant discovery that could boost the nation’s oil reserves by as much as 50%. The yield from the test wells in the Gulf of Mexico is undeterminable at this point, but Chevron still gained 3% on the day, and other oil stocks rose as well, boosting the Oil Service Holdrs exchange-traded fund by 1.9% on the day. Crude oil finished down 59 cents to $68.60 on the news.
–David A. Gaffen
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Deep-Sea Oil Fishing
1:54 p.m.: Oil drillers are abuzz today with news that Chevron, along with partners Devon Energy and Statoil, announced their first successful oil production from deep water in the Gulf of Mexico, with a production flow of more than 6,000 barrels a day. There’s talk this could end up boosting U.S. reserves by more than 50% and reducing America’s reliance on foreign oil.
But any new supply of oil will be small relative to global production, and today’s news does not augur for a huge supply of oil on the market any time soon. The first production may not be on line until after 2010, Oppenheimer analyst Fadel Gheit told the Associated Press. And Raymond James analysts this morning said the speculation of a 50% increase in U.S. reserves “seems aggressively optimistic, to put it mildly.”
But equity investors are hardly in a mood for such skeptical talk: Chevron has gained 3.3% today, Devon is up 12% and Statoil is up 2.1%.
However, while the partners directly involved in this discovery are seeing their stocks bounce — and deepwater driller Transocean is up 3.4% — the carryover effect hasn’t been significant for other companies with deepwater leases in the Gulf, including Petróleo Brasileiro, Exxon Mobil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell. Though Anadarko Petroleum, which also has an interest in the region, is up 3.9% today, shares of the rest have barely budged.
Crude oil, meanwhile, is down on the day — as one would expect — with the October crude-oil contract falling 74 cents to $68.45 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But the end of the peak U.S. driving season, as well as reduced worries about hurricanes and United Nations sanctions against Iran, are also playing into the malaise in the crude market.
–David A. Gaffen
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.
