Royal Dutch Shell Group .com Rotating Header Image

May 25th, 2007:

The Guardian: HSBC profits hit by customer charge revolt

Jill Treanor
Saturday May 26, 2007

Further evidence that the profits of Britain’s banks are being hit by customers reclaiming bank charges emerged yesterday when HSBC admitted it was feeling the repercussions of a customer revolt.

Following Barclays’ admission on Thursday, HSBC told shareholders at yesterday’s annual meeting: “In Europe, revenue growth is constrained as a result of our credit appetite and competitive forces…” This was taken as a hint about the impact of customers reclaiming charges. 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.

A Shell of Democracy

The views and opinions expressed in the article below do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the owners of this website or any endorsement or confirmation by us of any alleged facts or allegations.

An article by Shawn Hattingh
 
On the 16th of May 2007, Father Kukah visited the University Cape Town to discuss the recent Nigerian elections. For those people who are not familiar with Father Kukah, he is the person who was appointed by the Nigerian state to ‘reconcile’ the Ogoni people and Shell. Indeed, he has been working around the clock to get Shell back in Ogoniland through ‘reconciliation’. Ever since Shell was kicked out of Ogoniland 13 years ago by popular protests, it has been desperate to get its grubby paws back on that area’s oil.
 
Being so close to the Nigerian government, Father Kukah had a skewed view of the recent elections. During the meeting in Cape Town, Father Kukah noted that even though the Nigerian election was flawed, it was a step forward from the previous military dictatorships that existed in Nigeria. What Father Kukah failed to mention, however, was that the rigged election results will not lead to an ounce of change in the lives of most Nigerians. For as long as the present system remains in Nigeria, the majority of Nigerian people will not see the benefits of Nigeria’s oil. Indeed, the majority of Nigerian people will remain impoverished and exploited. Along with this, he also failed to mention that the true holders of power in Nigeria are not the Nigerian people or the political parties that may claim to represent them; the real holders of power are rather the IMF, World Bank and the huge multinational oil companies that are sucking the resources out of that country. Certainly, these institutions are not about to let go of the lucrative stranglehold they have over Nigeria or its resources.
 
The World Bank and IMF have controlled the Nigerian economy for over two decades. They set the spending priorities of the Nigerian government, not the token figures who sit in the Nigerian Finance Ministry. Indeed, it is the IMF and World Bank that have dictated that Nigeria should focus its spending on debt servicing; rather than on education and healthcare. They are responsible for forcing Nigeria to liberalise every aspect of the economy. This has seen the Nigerian state clamping down on workers rights; privatising every government function including healthcare and education; relaxing environmental laws; and allowing multinational corporations to repatriate all of their profits out of Nigeria. All of this has been done in order to meet the desires of the multinational oil companies that are operating in Nigeria; at the direct expense of the majority of people.
 
Father Kukah, in his presentation in Cape Town, of course failed to note that the biggest beneficiary of the situation that exists in Nigeria has undoubtedly been Shell. Shell has been operating in Nigeria since 1958 and is responsible for over 80% of the oil that is extracted from the Niger Delta. This has seen Shell producing 400 000 barrels per day, everyday, since then. The result; Shell has made hundreds of billions of dollars. Most of this money has been whisked away by Shell, while a trickle has been handed on to corrupt Nigerian elites to keep the black gold flowing smoothly. The real cost of Shell’s practices, however, have been borne by the people of Nigeria and the environment in which they live.
 
Although Shell has drilling operations in over 28 countries, 40% of all its worldwide oil spillages occur in the Niger Delta. Since 1976, it has been calculated that Shell has been responsible for over 3 000 oil spills in the Niger Delta. The way in which Shell has dealt with these oil spills has been to set them alight. This has seen the land on which these spills have occurred becoming totally infertile and unusable. All of these spillages have also resulted in the death of aquatic life in rivers in the Niger Delta. Most of the water sources that are used for human consumption have been smothered with oil. In 1997, an environmental justice group based in Nigeria, Project Underground, found that petroleum hydrocarbons in the water sources of one part of the Niger Delta, Ogoniland, were 360 times the legal levels allowed in the European Union. Considering that most of the people in the Niger Delta survive through subsistence fishing and farming, the economic and health consequences of this pollution have been devastating.   
 
Shell also flares the natural gas in the Niger Delta that is associated with oil extraction. Indeed, 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas is flared in the Niger Delta every single day. This has seen massive amounts of greenhouse gasses, such as CO2 and methane, being pumped into the atmosphere. In fact, the Nigerian oilfields release more greenhouse gases than all of the rest of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa combined. Due to this massive amount of air pollution, the Niger Delta regularly experiences acid rain. The flares have also exposed the people of the Niger Delta to a cocktail of toxins. The morbid consequences are that premature death from respiratory illnesses, cancer and asthma have become a regular occurrence.
 
Shell, with the assistance of the Nigerian state, have also expropriated vast tracks of land from the indigenous population, with little or no compensation. By 1993, the people of the Niger Delta, spearheaded by the people of Ogoniland, struck back. They began to peacefully occupy the oil installations within the Niger Delta. The response from Shell, along with its allies in the Nigerian state, was swift and ruthless. Since 1993, over 2000 people in the Niger Delta have been murdered by Nigerian state forces at the bidding of Shell. These victims have included people such as the activist and poet, Ken Saro-Wiwa. His crime – questioning Shell’s right to pillage the Niger Delta. In fact, Shell’s involvement with the Nigerian state and the military is so extensive that it has even openly admitted that it funds the Nigerian forces that are deployed in the Niger Delta. Shell has also let it slip that on at least two occasions it has directly paid military officials to storm specific villages. On each occasion, people within these villages were murdered by these paid henchmen.
 
Events that took place in 1999 perhaps mostly clearly demonstrate how far multinational oil companies, and their state stooges, will go to further their interests. In January 1999, women from Ogoniland launched a massive peaceful campaign against Shell: Operation Climate Change. The Shell-backed military administration’s knee-jerk reaction was to deploy two warships and 15 000 troops against these peaceful demonstrators. During the course of this action, hundreds of these women were raped. This systematic violation of human rights was then followed with a full-scale onslaught on a group of environmentalists that were occupying one of the drilling rigs as part of Operation Climate Change. The soldiers that launched the attack used gun boats supplied by Chevron and were backed up by helicopter gunships. When the smoke subsided, over fifty unarmed environmentalists lay dead.
 
Naturally, being a government and Shell man, Father Kukah failed to mention anything about these atrocities that have been committed against the people of the Niger Delta. His solution to the problem of the Niger Delta is to tell the people of the Delta to stop resisting multinational oil companies, such as Shell. For Father Kukah there is simply no alternative. Fortunately, the peoples of the Niger Delta’s have not headed the advice of the Shell stooge, Father Kukah.  Indeed, struggle for environmental and economic justice continues in the Niger Delta. To be sure, the struggle of the people of Ogoniland, and the wider Niger Delta, will continue. The oil companies, the IMF, the World Bank, the Nigerian government and Father Kukah leave them with no other choice. 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: Russia tries to keep politics out of business

By Andrew E. Kramer
Friday, May 25, 2007

MOSCOW: The Kremlin is hoping it can put a positive gloss on economic developments here at a coming forum for business leaders in St. Petersburg, highlighting gains in the Russian economy that have been overshadowed recently by a flurry of negative political news from Russia.

The Russian government has billed the June 8-10 gathering in St. Petersburg as a sort of World Economic Forum for emerging markets, with a focus on Russia’s oil-driven economy.

Indeed, economic growth in Russia has been defying critics who said the worsening political climate between the Kremlin and the West might stunt investment. In the first quarter of this year, for example, gross domestic product grew 7.7 percent; foreign investment is up 150 percent over the period a year earlier. 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.

Fool.com: Russia: Bigger Than Big Oil

By David Lee Smith May 25, 2007

For nearly two decades, the U.S. has believed that it emerged victorious from its Cold War against Russia and its Soviet minions. That may be true politically, but I hope that emerging changes in the global energy market don’t prove that we won only a skirmish, with the real war still unresolved.

Just 10 years ago, the United States produced 6.4 million barrels of crude oil a day. Today, we’re down 20%, to about 5.1 million barrels daily. At the same time, we consume a whopping 20.8 million barrels daily — more than four times what we can produce. 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.

PR Newswire (US): Royal Dutch Shell plc: Buyback of Own Shares

Published: May 25, 2007

LONDON, May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Royal Dutch Shell plc announces that on 25 May, 2007 it purchased for cancellation 390,000 “A” Shares at a price of 27.77 euros per share. It further announces that on the same date it purchased for cancellation 210,000 “A” Shares at a price of 1880.27 pence per share.

Following the cancellation of these shares, the remaining number of “A” Shares of Royal Dutch Shell plc will be 3,672,800,000.

As of 25 May, 2007 2,759,360,000 “B” Shares of Royal Dutch Shell plc were in issue. 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: On London: Stable long-term outlook of a cyclical sector

EXTRACT: The big standout exception, however, is oil and gas. The sector has seen a hefty 4.3 per cent share price jump over the past two weeks amid a rise in oil prices and a brief of speculation of a merger of BP and Royal Dutch Shell. However, the sector still trades on a sharp discount to the market.

THE ARTICLE

By Tony Tassell
Published: May 25 2007 19:48 | Last updated: May 25 2007 19:48

The cyclical stock has become a fading species in the UK. It used to be the case that a company that had earnings that rose and fell more with the economic cycle would be valued quite differently to a more defensive stock with more stable profits. 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.

PR Week: API targets bloggers as prices at the pump rise

Michael Bush PR Week USA May 25 2007 09:50

WASHINGTON: The American Petroleum Institute’s (API) recent outreach in the wake of record-high gas prices last week featured traditional media relations, but it has also added pitching to bloggers, a relatively new strategy, to its pre-driving season PR.

Gas prices reached a record high of $3.18 last week, the start of the summer driving season.

Jane Van Ryan, senior manager of communications at API, which represents all aspects of the country’s oil and gas industry, is heading up the association’s blog-related efforts. 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.

Gulf-Times (Qatar): US bill seeks to ‘name and shame’ firms eyeing Iran

Published: Friday, 25 May, 2007, 12:49 PM Doha Time 
 
EXTRACT: Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Lantos, D-Calif, has also filed legislation that would force the Administration to enforce the Iran Sanctions Act, which penalises international firms such as Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and Total that conduct business with Iran.

THE ARTICLE

WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Wednesday passed a bill that would “name and shame” companies investing in Iran and allow public and private pension funds with hundreds of billions of dollars in assets to divest from such companies. 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: Exxon Mobil reportedly mulls sale of some U.K., U.S., Canada assets

By Benoit Faucon
Last Update: 6:42 AM ET May 25, 2007

LONDON (MarketWatch) — ExxonMobil Corp. has earmarked for a possible sale several mostly gas interests in the U.K., Texas and Canada, according to documents published on a Schlumberger Ltd. website.

ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil and gas company, is “soliciting bids for the sale” of its operated gas fields in the Baffin Bay Field area of Texas, one document says. Bids are due June 18 and the “effective time of the sale is September 1,” it adds. 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 among Peru hopefuls

By Upstream staff

Royal Dutch Shell is among 37 companies to have expressed an interest in bidding for oil exploration concessions in Peru, according to Daniel Saba, head of state agency Perupetro..

Shell sent a letter of interest to the Peruvian government, said Saba, adding howeve, that he was not sure yet whether Shell would finally take part.

Saba declined to name the other 36 but said they were all large or medium-sized companies.

Companies have until 8 June to enter the bidding process for the 19 concessions and the results will be announced on 12 June, Saba said, adding he expected the number of bidders to rise as the deadline neared. 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: Delta gunmen kidnap Polish engineer

By Upstream staff

Gunmen have kidnapped a Polish engineer near the oil city of Warri in the Niger Delta, security sources said today, bringing the total number of foreign hostages held in the Nigerian region to 16.

Six gunmen seized the Polish man, who is the chief engineer for a dredging company, at Orugbo Creek near Warri port, security experts working for oil companies were quoted as saying by Reuters.

Abductions for ransom or to press political demands are frequent in the impoverished Niger 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.

International Herald Tribune: Crude oil prices rise on Nigeria strike, worry over Iran

The Associated Press
Published: May 25, 2007

LONDON: Crude oil prices rose Friday amid worries about supply after Nigeria’s powerful oil unions went on strike and gunmen kidnapped six oil workers in the nation’s south. Concern about more tensions with Iran was also a factor.

Potential conflicts in Nigeria — Africa’s biggest oil producer and a top supplier of crude to the United States — and Iran could affect global supplies and are buoying prices after a sharp drop-off Thursday, analysts 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.

BBC News: Gunmen kidnap Nigeria oil workers

Friday, 25 May 2007, 10:17 GMT 11:17 UK 

Gunmen have kidnapped six oil workers in Nigeria’s main oil-producing region, sources in the region say.

The six were reportedly in a boat laying pipelines off the Bayelsa State coast when they were attacked.

The nationalities of those seized is not yet clear. Such kidnappings are fairly common in the Niger Delta.

The hostages are usually released unharmed after ransom deals between the kidnappers and oil companies – although this is officially denied. 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 Mail: Is Airmiles Andy earning his keep at last?

After the Easter weekend, the Prince criss-crossed the country on a chartered jet, meeting the President, pushing Rolls-Royce, BP, Shell and BG Energy, before flying back to UK on a scheduled British Airways flight.

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.

Shell Development in Beaufort, Chukchi Seas and Bristol Bay Threatens U.S. Native Whaling Traditions

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is being issued by Alaska Wilderness League:

WHAT: On Friday, May 25, at 10 am AK time, Alaska Native whalers and conservation groups will host a press briefing to discuss U.S. native whaling interests under threat in the Bush administration’s 5-Year OCS Plan for Shell development in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and Bristol Bay of Alaska.

Despite local and national opposition, Shell Oil advocated for the withdrawal of a moratorium protecting Bristol Bay from offshore oil and gas development, and has an aggressive exploration plan, including harmful seismic testing and shallow well drilling, in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. 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.

Sioux City Journal: How about an investigation?

IDA GROVE, Iowa — According to the Energy Information Administration, in 2004 we paid 33 cents in refinery costs and profit for a gallon of gas, in 2005, 43 cents, in 2007, it is 80 cents. This is just the refining cost and profit, separate from crude oil cost, and distribution costs. Apparently the oil companies have figured out that by restricting supply with “refinery outages” they can make a lot more money. Is anybody investigating this? — Randy Miller

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.

Houston Chronicle: Oil executive responds to outcry: Rob Routs calls on Americans to cut demand

By BRETT CLANTON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

With gasoline prices topping $3 nationwide, many U.S. drivers and some lawmakers are accusing oil companies of intentionally keeping pump prices high to increase profits.

But Rob Routs, Royal Dutch Shell’s top executive over global refining operations, said the situation the U.S. finds itself in today has been years in the making and has to do more with the country’s shortage of refining capacity than any profiteering on the part of oil companies. 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: Shell, Exxon to Sell Several North Sea Oil and Gas Prospects

By Stephen Voss

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s two largest oil companies, are seeking buyers for their stakes in several undeveloped North Sea discoveries, according to a Schlumberger Ltd. oil-services marketing Web site.

Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, plans to sell its stakes in six blocks in the central North Sea, including the Jackdaw, Bligh and Bacchus discoveries, with estimated reserves of about 500 million barrels of oil equivalent, the site said. A data room will be open for prospective buyers from May 29 till July 23, it 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.

Business News Americas: Shell launches new diesel product – Chile

Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell (NYSE: RDS) launched its new diesel fuel on the Chilean market on Thursday, the company said in a statement.

The new diesel is designed to burn faster than standard diesel, thereby producing more efficient combustion in automobile engines, according to the company. – (Business News Americas)

Published: May 24, 2007

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.

Bangkok Post (Thailand): Getting cosy with gasohol

ALFRED THA HLA,
Published: May 25, 2007

The Shell Company of Thailand and the Bangkok Post are within five minutes walking distance from each other, which is why both companies can lay claim to the city’s most delicious duck noodle shop just around the corner of Na Ranong Road.

Folks, having a panoramic view of a fuel depot isn’t high on my wish list. But such proximity allowed yours truly to walk back to his office in the drizzle in order to “refuel” with alkaline batteries for the S9500 digital camera, writing pad and pens before running back to make it in time for this exclusive with Chaovalit Mahatumaratana, Senior Technical Advisor Asia Envelope for Shell. 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 Daily Record (Scotland): pounds 110k fine for death on oil ship

Published: May 25, 2007

A NORTH Sea oil company were fined pounds 110,000 yesterday for safety breaches that led to a worker’s death on a drilling ship.

Derrick Love, 34, of Invergowrie, near Dundee, was hit by tool-string assembly equipment.

The deck operator was on MSV Seawell, which is owned by Cal Dive International and was carrying out work for Shell, on February 20 last year.

Aberdeen firm Well Ops (UK), formerly Cal Dive International, admitted failing to control the lowering and lifting of the mandrel and toolstring assembly. 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: BP’s Russian gas licence ‘to be revoked’

Oleg Mitvol

(Oleg Mitvol: no guarantee)

By Russell Hotten
Last Updated: 1:22am BST 25/05/2007

BP’s role in a huge Russian gas field may come to an end as early as next week, a top Moscow official has warned.

Russia’s environmental agency has stepped up pressure on the UK energy group’s joint venture, TNK-BP, saying that its licence to operate at the Kovykta gas field may by revoked by June 1.
 
TNK-BP’s subsidiary working the field, Rusia Petroleum, has gone to the courts to clarify the terms of its Kovytka licence, a process that could take several weeks. But yesterday, Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor, said “the likelihood” of TNK-BP’s licence being revoked was “100pc”. 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.

Mayo Advertiser (Ireland): Shell offers college scholarship to four Mayo schools

Current Publication Date: 25/05/2007
by Fiona McGarry

Pupils at four Mayo secondary schools are being offered the chance to win third-level scholarships from the developers of the Corrib gas field.

The programme, which will begin in autumn this year, will offer ten scholarships a year to pupils of Coláiste Chomáin, Ros Dumhach; Our Lady’s Secondary School, Belmullet; St Brendan’s College, Belmullet; and St Patrick’s College, Lacken-Cross.

The scholarships are valued at €4,000 per annum each and will cover the entire duration of the course undertaken, up to a maximum of four years. The programme will run in 2007, 2008 and 2009, but will be subject to review after that 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.