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April 17th, 2007:

Associated Press: Chevron refinery’s flares still polluting, report says

RICHMOND, Calif. A new report says the Chevron refinery in Richmond is the only refinery in the Bay Area to show an increase in a procedure called flaring since new clean air rules went in effect nearly two years ago.

In June of 2005 the new rules were put in place requiring a cutback in the number of flaring episodes at refineries.

But according to a report prepared by an environmental group, since the stricter regulations went into effect the number of flaring episodes at the Chevron plant increased by 80 percent, when compared to the 18 months before they were in effect. read more

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RIA Novosti: Strike on Iran: will it harm the environment?

14:12 | 17/ 04/ 2007 

MOSCOW. (Yury Israel and Alexei Ryaboshapko for RIA Novosti) – A potential bombing of Iran might destroy two groups of installations that could cause problems for the regional environment: radioactive depots and other nuclear facilities, and oil industry infrastructure, including wells, refineries and huge tanks.

To start with, we should try to figure out how many nuclear plants Iran has. Judging by publicly available information, it has none. Russian engineers are building the first unit of a nuclear pant in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf coast, but it is still empty because Russia has not supplied it with fissionable materials. read more

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Vedomosti: Gazprom completes the purchase of Sakhalin 2 energy project stake

Russia’s state-controlled gas giant Gazprom has acquired a controlling stake in Sakhalin Energy, which operates the Sakhalin 2 energy project in the Russian Far East that is being developed under a product sharing agreement. The company closed the deal yesterday. Government officials simultaneously endorsed the project’s budget sheet till 2014. Investors’ spending has almost doubled compared to the previous proposals, from $10 billion to $19.4 billion.

The signing of the final agreement with Sakhalin Energy’s shareholders – Anglo-Dutch Shell and Japanese Mitsui and Mitsubishi – was postponed several times. Earlier this month, Bogdan Budzulyak, member of Gazprom’s board of directors, said that the parties could not agree whether Gazprom should shoulder responsibility for Sakhalin Energy’s environmental violations and ensuing economic sanctions. read more

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Bloomberg: Powerfuel Plans 900-Megawatt, Coal-Fired Plant in Yorkshire

By Bill Murray

April 17 (Bloomberg) — Powerfuel, the U.K.-based coal-mining company, plans to build a 900-megawatt, coal-fired power plant in Hatfield, in northern England, that will use Royal Dutch Shell Plc gasification technology and carbon capture.

Construction will take three to four years and may involve building a pipeline to transport carbon dioxide to storage sites in the North Sea, Powerfuel said in an e-mailed statement.

Kuzbassrazrezugol, a Russian mining company, bought a 51 percent stake in Powerfuel last year, providing the cash to start mining at the Hatfield Colliery coal mine, which was shut in 2004. Recent price increases and political support for coal-fired power plants are encouraging miners to consider opening U.K. coal mines that had been shut down. 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.

Associated Press: Groups seek halt to Shell drilling in Beaufort Sea

EXPLORATION: Critics say wells threaten resources for Native subsistence.

By DAN JOLING
Published: April 17, 2007

ANCHORAGE — Native American and conservation groups on Monday appealed a federal government decision to approve Shell Oil’s exploration plan for the Beaufort Sea.

The groups want to halt Shell exploration activities off the north coast of Alaska that are scheduled to begin in June.

Shell Exploration & Production Co., part of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, in 2005 spent more than $44 million for 84 offshore leases in the Beaufort Sea. read more

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Reuters: Oil rises on pipeline, inventory worries

Crude prices gain as a crucial Canadian pipeline is shut after springing a leak.

April 17 2007: 6:30 AM EDT

SINGAPORE (Reuters) — Oil gained Tuesday as a leak on a Canadian pipeline that pumps crude to the United States helped recoup deeper losses caused by news that a big Nigerian field was about to resume pumping after a year-long halt.

U.S. crude, rose 48 cents to $64.09 a barrel Tuesday, after ceding 2 cents on Monday.

London Brent crude futures on the ICE exchange rose 30 cents to $67.55 a barrel, after falling $1.38 on Monday. 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.

Reuters: Shell to import LNG via Rotterdam’s Gate terminal

Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:54 AM BST

AMSTERDAM, April 17 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has signed an agreement to use up to 4 billion cubic metres (bcm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity at a Dutch import terminal that is due to start operating in 2010, its owners said.

Dutch storage company Vopak and the national gas network operator Gasunie plan to build the LNG import terminal at the port of Rotterdam with annual capacity of between 8 bcm and 12 bcm, as energy demand is growing in Europe.

“Shell Energy Europe B.V. and Gate terminal B.V. have signed an … agreement for capacity rights for a maximum of 4 billion cubic meters of annual throughput in the Gate LNG regasification terminal in Rotterdam,” Gasunie and Vopak said in a statement on Tuesday. 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.

Reuters: Red tape holds up final Gazprom-Shell deal -sources

Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:20 PM BST

MOSCOW, April 17 (Reuters) – Only red tape is preventing Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom and Royal Dutch Shell from completing their $7.45 billion Sakhalin-2 deal, which is virtually sealed, industry sources said on Tuesday.

“There are no outstanding issues between the parties but the deal has to follow certain procedural steps for completion,” said one industry source close to the deal.

The two firms and Shell’s two Japanese partners struck a preliminary deal in December for Gazprom to take a 50 percent stake in the huge energy project and hoped to complete the details in the first quarter of this year. read more

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POGO.org: Oil Industry Scofflaws Honored by Interior Department

From Project On Goverment Oversight .Org. 

On April 17, the Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) hosts its big annual bash attended by as many as 700 (mostly) oil company executives  where awards are given. It’s a fabulous opportunity for everyone to pat themselves on the back.

Why the government spends taxpayer time and money to throw a big schmooze party for big oil in Houston, TX is a question for all of us to ponder. For more than a year now, the Congress and the public have learned from a series of stories in the news media that all is not right at the MMS. Whistleblowers and the Congress have expressed concern that the agency is too cozy with the oil industry, particularly over the issue of whether the agency is collecting all the drilling fees owed to taxpayers and Native Americans. Tomorrow’s big schmooze-o-rama only feeds into these concerns. 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.

International Herald Tribune: Gazprom seeks further expansion in Europe

By Judy Dempsey

BERLIN: After entering the lucrative distribution sector in major European Union countries, Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy monopoly, said Monday that it was expanding even further by building large storage facilities across the Continent.

The new strategy, outlined by officials from Gazprom and its European partners, involves establishing joint ventures to build large natural gas storage depots in Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Serbia and Romania.

Once in operation, analysts say, Gazprom could have an unassailable lead in production, distribution and storage systems throughout Europe, using the lure of long-term contracts for natural gas deliveries to establish a firmer foothold in European Union countries. 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.

Business Day (South Africa): Oil Report

17 April 2007
 
OIL rebounded from early losses yesterday after a leak shut part of a major crude oil pipeline between Canada and the midwestern US.

US crude for May delivery settled down 2c at $63,61 a barrel, after rising as high as $64,21 and falling as low as $62,55 in a volatile trading session. Pipeline operator Enbridge said part of its 450000 barrels per day (bpd) pipeline that carries crude oil from Canada to refineries near Chicago was shut on Sunday after a leak was detected.

A spokesman said the pipeline was still pumping oil but Enbridge did not have an estimate of how long the pipeline could be disrupted. 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.

allAfrica.com: Mugabe Not Entirely to Blame

By Jonathan Power, The Nation (Kenya)

Forty-two years ago the then named Rhodesia, a British colony, made its unilateral declaration of independence. The break with the mother country had come after an acrimonious period of resisting pressure from London to modestly widen the franchise.

For 14 years Rhodesia was a pariah state, boycotted by order of the UN Security Council, yet finding ways to circumvent the embargo and prosper. Even the big British oil companies, Shell and BP, connived in the sanctions busting with, if not a nod, at least a wink from Britain’s Labour government. 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.

AP Worldstream: Nicaraguan field workers to get $300,000 in sterility settlement with U.S. chemical company

EXTRACT: In 1997, Dow, Shell Group and Occidental Chemical Corp. settled one suit with 26,000 workers in Latin America and elsewhere for $41 million. Both men and women said they were injured by the chemical, but sterility has been proven only in males.

THE ARTICLE

A Southern California chemical company has agreed to pay $300,000 (A221,400) to Nicaraguan field workers who filed a lawsuit claiming one of the firm’s pesticides caused them to become sterile.

The agreement between Amvac Chemical Corp. and 13 plaintiffs still needs to be signed off on by a judge. Individual amounts from the settlement ranged from $2,000 (A1,475) to $60,000, (A44,280) according to court documents filed last month. 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.

Pensions Week: Opinion: Leader – Facing responsibilities, accepting challenges

EXTRACTS: The might of Shell, BP and Walt Disney have all been challenged by the world’s pension funds, proving no company is too large to face scrutiny. If big business genuinely feels accountable to shareholders, and those shareholders demonstrate a clear desire for sustainable, ethical behaviour, we could potentially enjoy a corporate world which is no longer solely governed by greed.

THE ARTICLE

By Gill Wadsworth

We have seen a flurry of shareholder action by pension funds in the past few months and it’s a trend that looks set to continue as institutional investors finally appreciate the value of engaging with investee companies. read more

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Lloyds List: Last Word

Published: Apr 17, 2007
EXTRACT

THE Chancellor of the Exchequer (and some say prime minister in waiting) Gordon Brown lent his weight to the rejuvenation of the UK oil industry as he visited Shell’s Mossmorran gas and liquids processing centre in Fife. Brown was given a guided tour of the facility that sits in his constituency and close to Kirkcaldy, his town of birth.

He unveiled a plaque to celebrate the start of the project. The Mossmoran plant is part of Shell and ExxonMobil’s GBP350m ($6.9m) rejuvenation programme that also involves upgrading the St Fergus gas terminal and Braefoot Bay tanker loading facility. 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 Guardian: Gas guzzler Russians close to deal

Published: Apr 17, 2007

Gas monopoly Gazprom was expected to sign a pounds 3.7bn deal last night to buy half of Shell’s Sakhalin 2 project after months of pressure, seen as motivated by the Kremlin, on the Anglo-Dutch oil company

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: Shell accused of using ‘less stringent’ standards

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent in Belmullet, Co Mayo, Irish Times
Published: Apr 17, 2007

Shell E&P Ireland has been accused of “trying to create an impression” that it will be discharging contaminants from the Corrib gas refinery “way out to sea”.

The company also appears to be resorting to less stringent environmental quality standards for treatment and volume of the discharge, the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association maintains.

Mr Eddie Diver, the association’s spokesman, made the claims at yesterday’s opening session of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oral hearing in Belmullet, Co Mayo, on awarding a pollution control licence for the Corrib gas refinery. 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 Examiner: Shell protestor released by Mayo gardaí

A protestor who was arrested at the site of the planned Shell refinery in Ballinaboy, Co Mayo was today released by gardaí.

It follows six arrests over the weekend of protestors who had entered the site to inspect water treatment works.

Meanwhile, an oral hearing organised by the Environmental Protection Agency has opened in Co. Mayo.

It will hear objections to its plan to grant a licence to Shell Ireland to develop the gas refinery and combustion plant.

The board will make the final decision whether or not to grant a licence for the facility. 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 Independent: Public hearing opens on Shell gas refinery proposals

Published: Apr 17, 2007

Environment agency will hear submissions before licence ruling

A PUBLIC hearing on the granting of an operating licence for the 200m Corrib Gas refinery opened in Belmullet, Co Mayo got underway yesterday.

The hearing, organised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will decide whether the refinery should be granted a pollution control licence.

Submissions will be taken over the next two weeks, from parties including An Taisce, the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association and members of the Shell to Sea campaign group who are objecting to the terminal on health and safety grounds. The EPA announced in January that it intended to licence the refinery, subject to 85 conditions. The EPA said it believed the terminal would not adversely affect human health or the environment. 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.

Financial Times: Opec softens tone on oil supply

By Carola Hoyos, Chief energy correspondent
Published: April 16 2007 08:38 | Last updated: April 16 2007 08:38

Opec, the oil cartel, on Monday softened its policy to withold oil from the market, saying it would supply more if necessary.

Mohammed al-Hamli, president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies about 40 per cent of the world’s oil, reiterated: ”Oil supply is adequate. The market is well-supplied.”

But he added: ”We are ready to supply more if the market needs more.” read more

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New York Times: Alaska Governor’s Gas Pipe Plan Gains Support

By REUTERS
Published: April 16, 2007
Filed at 12:53 p.m. ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Gov. Sarah Palin’s plan to encourage competition between companies interested in building an Alaska gas pipeline is gaining support with lawmakers despite the opposition of the oil majors that control the state’s gas reserves.

Alaska has struggled for decades to come up with a workable plan to build a multibillion-dollar pipeline to ship the 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas held on the North Slope to markets in the lower 48 states. read more

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The Wall Street Journal: Reserves Lose Their Power

Wall Street Journal Reserves Chart

Wall Street Turns
To Other Measures
For Energy Firms
By ANGEL GONZALEZ
April 17, 2007; Page A10

As a crystal ball into the energy industry’s prospects, proved crude-oil and natural-gas reserves aren’t as clear as they used to be, at least not for the biggest oil companies.

Reserves are an estimate of the quantity of oil and gas a company controls and will produce. Reserves and a company’s abilities to replace supplies of oil and gas pumped out of the ground have long been a gauge of future production and profitability and closely scrutinized by investors. read more

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The Wall Street Journal: Oil Futures, After Falling, Rebound As Valero Refinery Is Able to Restart

Wall Street Journal Chart

By MASOOD FARIVAR
April 17, 2007; Page C2

Near-term crude futures rebounded from an early decline and ended largely unchanged, strengthening relative to longer-term contracts, as a major U.S. oil refinery restarted.

The May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $63.61 a barrel, down two cents, after falling as low as $62.55 a barrel.

Valero Energy Corp. said it had begun partial operations at its fire-damaged McKee refinery in Sunray, Texas. The outage had cut demand for crude, lifting inventories to record levels and causing May crude futures to trade at a discount of more than $3 to the June contract and more than $7 a barrel to North Sea Brent.
 
With McKee’s restart expected to lift demand, traders closed bets those price differences would widen. As a result, the spread between crude futures for May and June delivery narrowed to less than $1.80 a barrel at one point Monday from $2.70 Friday. 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: Shell drills new well at Brazilian field to maintain output

By Bernd Radowitz
Last Update: 6:27 PM ET Apr 16, 2007

VITORIA, Brazil (MarketWatch) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC has drilled a new production well at its Bijupira and Salema oil fields in the Campos Basin, John Haney, vice president of exploration and production at Shell’s Brazilian unit, said Monday.

“We’re trying to manage the natural decline at the field,” Haney told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview during the Vitoria Oil and Gas conference that started here Monday and lasts through Wednesday. 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.

Expatica.com: Shell recalls petrol

17 April 2007

AMSTERDAM – Shell is calling on several hundred customers to contact its customer service department if they bought petrol from the petrol station on the Burgemeester De Zeeuwstraat in Ridderkerk this weekend. The petrol may be harmful for their engine. A Shell spokesperson announced this last night.

An error occurred during a delivery to this particular Shell station on the evening of Friday 13 April, the company says. Because of a human error diesel was mistakenly pumped into an underground petrol tank and petrol was pumped into the diesel tank. 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.

Edmonton Journal: Review panel member sold Shell stock

Archie McLean, edmontonjournal.com
Published: Monday, April 16, 2007

A former Shell Canada executive now sitting on the province’s oil and gas royalty review panel has sold his stock in the company, Finance Minister Lyle Oberg said Monday.

Opposition critics had accused Sam Spanglet of being in conflict because he held “millions of dollars” in Shell Canada stock options while serving on the panel.

Oberg said previously he had no problem with Spanglet’s financial holdings. “He brings a wealth of experience to the job,” Oberg 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.

Canoe.ca (Canada): Ex-oil exec sitting on Alta oil-rate review panel sells Shell stock options

2007-04-16 19:27:00 

EDMONTON (CP) – Controversy over a possible conflict of interest appears to have been staunched on a panel reviewing royalty rates on Alberta’s oilsands producers.

Panel member Sam Spanglet was accused by opposition politicians of conflict of interest because he was a retired Shell executive but still had millions of dollars in stock options in the oil giant.

But Finance Minister Lyle Oberg told the legislature Monday that Spanglet has sold all of his options.

The government had defended Spanglet’s appointment even with the stock options, saying his industry expertise makes him invaluable. 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.

Daily Telegraph: Investment column: Recipe for ongoing recovery? Or ‘mega’ cheap for a reason?

By Tom Stevenson
Last Updated: 12:32am BST 17/04/2007

BP’s annual meeting last week provided the usual unedifying, if democratic, spectacle of soap-box ranters haranguing the board. It confirmed that shareholders will put up with a great deal if their shares are going up, but woe betide a chief executive who is seen to be feathering his nest while the ordinary investor is losing money.

The shares have perked up a bit in the past month but over the year under review at the agm they have been a dog. They have fallen around 17pc while the FTSE 100 as a whole has risen 7pc. At their worst they were down by a quarter. Forget oil spills, delays at the Thunderhorse platform and safety, what is really needling the BP faithful is lack of performance. read more

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Daily Telegraph: ENERGY DATABASE: Tuesday 17 April 2007

• Shell, BP and Total, Europe’s three largest oil companies, are among bidders for a project to develop sour gas deposits in the United Arab Emirates.

• Shell agreed to buy the 44 gasoline stations in Malaysia operated by ConocoPhillips, expanding its retail network in the South-east Asian nation.

• Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural gas producer, has no plans to sell the fuel directly to UK homes.
 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/04/17/cxbloom17.xml 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.