September 13th, 2006:

By KATHARINE HOURELD Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria — Oil workers’ unions launched a three-day strike Wednesday over worsening security in Nigeria’s oil-rich region as Chevron confirmed the death of a subcontractor in the restive southern area.
 
The country’s two biggest petroleum industry unions had called the action to protest the death of another worker, killed three weeks ago in a shoot-out between government forces and militants amid rising violence in the Niger Delta. It began Wednesday, with both company and union officials saying staff were staying home although disagreeing over the impact on oil exports. read more

Comments by John Donovan relating to Shell and the controversial former High Court Judge, Mr Justice Laddie, are at the foot of The Times article

September 13, 2006
By Frances Gibb

The chance of a lucrative return to private practice would be allowed under a controversial reforms 
 
JUDGES would have the option of going back to work as lawyers under reforms outlined by the Government yesterday.

The plans are aimed at encouraging a greater diversity of people, including young people, women and ethnic minorities, to apply to be judges, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the Lord Chancellor, said. read more

By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) 5 Sept 2006 – Just days before being summoned to testify at a congressional hearing, British petroleum giant BP has asked a former federal judge to serve as its ombudsman and hear complaints from BP workers in Alaska and elsewhere about the company’s operations.

Former U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin is to give workers an outlet to express concerns about safety and environmental issues. Critics say BP PLC’s American division ignored warnings of problems in its Alaskan oil fields that led to an oil spill in March and the shutdown of its North Slope operations last month. read more

EXTRACT: Royal Dutch Shell PLC has to pay by far the highest fine in the road bitumen probe with euro108 million (US$137 million). In a statement, the EU Commission said the company was an instigator, took the leadership in the cartel and was a repeat offender. Shell’s fine was increased by 50 percent because of its involvement in previous cartels and another 50 percent for instigating and leading the cartel.

THE ARTICLE

Sept. 13, 2006, 7:33AM
By RAF CASERT Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press read more

13 September 2006

LAGOS -(Dow Jones)- Nigeria’s two oil unions Wednesday began a three-day warning strike over the lack of security in the Niger Delta, a union leader said.

“The strike has begun and there is nothing the government can do to stop it,” President of blue-collar National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers, or Nupeng, Peter Akpatason, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Members of the two unions are complying with directive from their leaders to stay away from work, oil company and government officials told Dow Jones Newswires. read more

(Sakhalin Island is not for the faint-hearted. The extreme Arctic conditions give an average winter temperature in the north of -24ºC (-11.2ºF). The sea is frozen for six months of the year and the region is also prone to typhoons and earthquakes.)

THE ARTICLE

ADVERTS from Shell feature a figure in a parka against a snow-covered landscape. Ivan Fedorchenko is in charge of production at Sakhalin Energy — he even has a page on the company website. Nothing against Ivan, but would that be the same Sakhalin project whose cost has doubled to $20 billion, and where environmentalists have protested over the possible extinction of the northwest grey whale? read more

Conservationists claim the Sakhalin project could put grey whales at risk

URL: http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=11986
published on 13-September-2006 by Environmental Data Interactive – UK

The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development should not give the controversial Sakhalin oil and gas project its blessing – and its cash – according to conservation charity the WWF.
 
Conservationists claim the Sakhalin project could put grey whales at risk

The Shell-led project, which will be the largest of its kind, has applied for a loan of around £500 million from the EBRD to help fund the project. read more

EXTRACT: Shell and KWS had their fine increased as they began and led the cartel, the commission said. Shell was fined an additional 50 pct for as it as a repeat offender, having previously been in PVC and polypropylene cartels.

THE ARTICLE

Headline: AFX News: EU fines Shell, Total, 12 others 267 mln eur in bitume pricing cartel

BRUSSELS (AFX) – The European Commission said it has fined 14 companies involved in the supply and purchase of road bitumen in the Netherlands 267 mln eur for participating in a price-fixing cartel from 1994-2002. read more

Created: 13.09.2006 12:26 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 12:26 MSK
 
Russia could lose $10 billion in the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project if operators continue to raise expenditures, the country’s Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev said on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

The Sakhalin-2 project, which is run by Sakhalin Energy and controlled by Royal Dutch/Shell, has had a history of controversy since its inception. In the latest challenge to its viability, development costs have reportedly doubled to about $20 billion as global commodity prices have risen. read more

By Upstream staff

Shell Canada has restarted its Scotford upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta after it was shut down following a hydrogen sulfide leak.

The company said that investigations into the cause of the leak are currently underway.

Shell had evacuated 1400 employees and contractors from the refinery and had warned its neighbours within a five-kilometre radius of the plant to stay indoors.

No detectable amounts of the gases remain and no one was reported to be injured.

By Upstream staff

12 Sept 2006

A Nigerian oil worker was killed and another was injured in an armed attack on a supply ship today at an oilfield operated by US supermajor Chevron off the Nigerian coast, an oil industry source said.

It was the latest in a string of attacks on industry workers in Nigeria, and comes the day before unions are to stage a three-day stoppage over rising security problems in the Niger Delta.

“Armed men came alongside the vessel at 0300 hours and got on board to look for things to take. They executed one of the crew when they didn’t find anything,” the source told Reuters, asking not to be named. read more

By John Donovan

Malaysia appears to be a perfect operating environment for Royal Dutch Shell where it is a major business partner of the Malaysian government.

The climate of repression of the population (free speech is not permitted) and strict control of the news media is exploited by Shell Malaysia to the fullest extent. 

Contrary to the impression created by recent manufactured news reports, Shell management has little regard for the health and safety of its Malaysian employees.  Documents prove that management ignored safety warnings in relation to its helicopter fleet and allowed the safety of Shell employees to be compromised. read more

Shell Malaysia received multiple awards at the recent Malaysian Society for Occupational Safety and Health (MSOSH) awards presentation ceremony under the Petroleum, Gas, Petrochemical and Allied Sectors for 2005.

In a statement on Sept 12, Shell said top honours went to Shell Malaysia’s exploration and production (SM-EP) facility Labuan crude oil terminal (LCOT) garnering the grand award, the top prize in the sector for 2005.

It said other Shell Malaysia facilities also received awards for its stringent occupational safety and health management system and commitment towards delivering an excellent safety and occupational health performance in its upstream and downstream business. read more

Says incentives would be more effective
 
Oil giant Shell is warning that government biofuel proposals would lead to increases of at least 5 cents per litre on petrol and diesel and result in New Zealanders paying an extra $300 million per annum for their fuel.

The government has put out a discussion paper which proposes introducing compulsory biofuel sale quotas for oil companies.

These would start at  0.25 per cent of sales in 2008, and rise to 2.25 per cent by 2012.

But Shell says that meeting the proposed minimum sales requirements would require major infrastructure modifications, including changes to fuel storage facilities and petrol stations throughout New Zealand, and these would have to be carried out over a short period of time. read more

20:22:03 EDT Sep 12, 2006
Canadian Press

FORT SASKATCHEWAN, Alta. (CP) – Residents northeast of Edmonton were told to stay indoors for nearly five hours Tuesday after toxic hydrogen sulphide leaked at Shell Canada’s (TSX:SHC) heavy oil upgrader.

It was the second leak at Shell’s Scotford plant in five days. Hydrogen sulphide started leaking from a valve in a hydrogen cracking unit at the plant around 10 a.m.

About 1,400 workers from the plant and surrounding chemical plants were evacuated to safe locations, said Shell spokesman Randy Provencal. There were no injuries, he added. read more

By: DAN UDOH,
Published: Sep 13, 2006

Nigerian oil unions were set to start a three-day strike Wednesday to protest growing insecurity, a day after gunmen attacked a boat carrying oil workers, leaving one worker dead.

The country’s two biggest petroleum-industry unions had called the three-day action to protest the death of a member, killed in a shoot-out between government forces and militants in the oil-rich south.

On Tuesday, gunmen attacked a boat carrying Chevron-affiliated workers in the waterways of the oil-rich southern Niger Delta, and one worker died in what a white-collar union called an act of banditry. Two private security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because their employers bar them from talking to reporters, said the slain worker was Nigerian. read more

EXTRACTS: Elsewhere, Nigerian oil unions prepared to begin a three-day strike Wednesday to protest growing insecurity in the oil-rich Niger Delta, where dozens of attacks and kidnappings have been responsible for helping pushing crude prices higher.

As many as 20,000 oil unionists will protest the killing of a Royal Dutch Shell employee three weeks ago and comes a day after the death of a Chevron-affliated employee, attacked by gunmen aboard a boat. Nigeria is the fifth largest supplier of crude to the United States. read more

Published: Sep 13, 2006

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) – China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec) group, the parent of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) (SHA 600028; HK 0386; NYSE SNP), is expected to sign a contract with Iran to develop the latter’s Yadavaran oil field soon, the official Shanghai Securities News reported, citing company sources.

The report said Iran would give China’s largest refiner a 51 pct stake in the oil field, the overseas subsidiary of India’s state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp would get a 29 pct stake, and the rest would be owned by National Iranian Oil. read more

Published: Sep 13, 2006

MOSCOW (AFX) – Russia’s Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev has criticized cost overruns at the vast Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in the Russian Far East led by Royal Dutch Shell.

Under the production-sharing agreement that governs the project, the state receives a share of revenues once the initial investment has been paid off. However, Shell announced in July 2005 that the investment required to develop the project had doubled to 20 bln usd from 10 bln usd, meaning that the Russian government will have to wait much longer for its share of revenues. read more

MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s natural resources minister said Tuesday that swelling production costs at an international oil project on the Pacific Island of Sakhalin that is led by Royal Dutch Shell hurt Russian economic interests.

The statement from Yuri Trutnev follows moves by an environmental regulator agency subordinate to him to halt the Sakhalin-2 project over alleged damage to the environment. “The Russian Federation simply must protect its interests,” Trutnev said Tuesday, according to his ministry’s statement. read more

(Walter van de Vijver right, with his then colleague Jeroen van der Veer in happier times. Both signed Form 20F returns to the SEC containing false information.)

THE ARTICLE

By Ian Bickerton in Amsterdam
Published: September 13 2006 03:00 | Last updated: September 13 2006 03:00

Walter van de Vijver, the former head of Royal Dutch Shell’s exploration and production division who was forced to resign amid an accounting scandal in early 2004, has founded a company to exploit unrealised oil and gas reserves. read more