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November, 2007:

Saturday Tribune (Nigeria): World HIV/AIDS Day: Shell Pledges Commitment

Martin Ayankola, Lagos – 01.12.2007

As Nigeria joins the global community in celebrating AIDS Day today, Shell Companies in Nigeria have restated their commitment to helping to contain the effect of the disease by raising awareness on its causes and management.

Celebrations marking the World HIV/AIDS Day is being held amid reports that the disease had so far claimed more than 25 million lives around the world in the last three decades.

The Executive Vice-President, Shell Africa, Ann Pickard, said, “Shell needs no prompting as it takes the issue of HIV/AIDS seriously. read more

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The Edmonton Journal: Shell Centre to create oil technologies

Edmonton Journal image

The Shell Manufacturing Centre opened at NAIT on Thursday. Watching an automated manufacturing line are, from left, NAIT president Sam Shaw, Western Economic Diversification Minister Rona Ambrose, and Shell oilsands vice-president Brian Straub.
Chris Schwarz, The Journal

Search is on for better, more efficient ways to extract harder-to-get crude

David Finlayson, The Edmonton Journal
Published: 8:37 am

EDMONTON – It’s got an automated manufacturing line with robots and some of the most sophisticated software anywhere, and it could be a key to extracting oilsands and shale more efficiently. read more

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OilVoice.com: Faroe Petroleum Acquires Cross Border Package of Shell Assets

Friday, November 30, 2007

Faroe Petroleum plc, the independent oil and gas company focusing principally on exploration in the Atlantic Margin, the North Sea and Norway, has agreed a cross-border package transaction with Shell. The transaction, which is in line with the Company’s stated strategic objectives of Atlantic Margin and Norway exploration drilling and asset portfolio diversification involves the following:

• the farm-in to the Faroe Islands high risk/high reward William exploration well;
• the acquisition of a 10% interest in the Norwegian Trym undeveloped gas field; and
• the acquisition of a 10% interest in the Norwegian Granat exploration licence. read more

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sympatico.msn: Kazakhstan wants $7 billion for Kashagan delays

Reuters
November 30, 2007

ASTANA (Reuters) – Kazakhstan demanded $7 billion in compensation from an Eni-led consortium on Friday for delays in developing the huge Kashagan oilfield, a source close to the talks said as a deadline for a settlement was hours away.

Kazakhstan has set the November 30 deadline for its negotiations with the group to resolve a long-running dispute over cost overruns and production delays at the Caspian Sea oilfield, but some officials have said talks may last longer. read more

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Live Chat comments today about the demented Shell Astronaut Sir Philip Watts: ‘the collective madness that gripped Shell’

Sir Philip Watts, Royal Dutch Shell Spaceman

“SPACE, VISION AND STRATEGY”: Sir Philip Watts, sacked Shell Group Chairman who once donned a space suit at a meeting in Maastricht, Netherlands, in 1998 to pump up his troops. General David Greer took a different but equally amusing approach earlier this year before his resignation as Deputy Chief Executive of Sakhalin Energy Investment Company.  

RELATED EMAIL FROM A SHELL INSIDER RECEIVED IN NOVEMBER 2006

Dear John

When I was cleaning up my old PC and migrating all data to a new model, I stumbled across some old stuff that I hope you will post on your site. I also have some comments to make as I have no other avenue to vent my frustration, anger and yes, sadness at what has happened to a company of which I was once proud to be associated. Now I am but one of many demoralised, disillusioned and disappointed employees waiting retirement.  read more

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ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL GROUP OF COMPANIES: 2001 Confidential Management/Market Analysis and Perception Study

Shell confidential reserves fraud discovery document published on Friday 30 November 2007

ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL GROUP OF COMPANIES: 2001 Confidential “Management/Market Analysis and Perception Study”

Some extracts:

“I like Phil Watts. He is an ‘upstreamer’ and has a good understanding of the business and is looking to grow it profitably.”

“RD/Shell’s management comes across as honest and credible.”

“Management’s weakness is that they got ahead of themselves in their promises.” read more

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Globe & Mail: TransCanada vying for $30-billion pipeline project

DAVID EBNER
Globe and Mail Update
November 30, 2007 at 7:35 PM EST

TransCanada Corp. is among the companies vying to build a $30-billion natural gas pipeline to connect northern Alaska with the continental United States.

Calgary-based TransCanada, the country’s largest gas pipeline company, said Friday evening that it has submitted a “strong application” to the state of Alaska to build a line from the north slope of Alaska, home to major stranded gas reserves, to link to the firm’s existing Alberta infrastructure. read more

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Reuters: Gazprom: No foreign help for major Arctic fields

Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:50 AM GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Russia’s Gazprom OAO (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Thursday it is not looking for foreign investment into two major Arctic projects on the Yamal Peninsula, but said it might welcome foreign oil companies at other fields there.

Gazprom, the world’s largest natural gas producer has said it plans to spend more than $1 billion (484 million pounds) at the Bovanenkov and Kharasavei fields in the Arctic peninsula as it speeds up exploration to replace declining Siberian production. read more

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Bloomberg: Oil Taxes Must Be Simpler to Spur U.K. Output, Lawmakers Say

By Gonzalo Vina

Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) — The U.K. Treasury must simplify oil taxation to spur output from the North Sea after high operating costs discouraged companies from working there, a panel of lawmakers in Parliament said.

The industry needs a more “consistent and predictable” tax system to ensure companies invest enough to keep undersea oilfields up to their potential, the Scottish Affairs Committee in the House of Commons said in a report in London today.

The findings are a criticism of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who lifted taxes on North Sea producers in 2002 and 2006 when he served as chancellor of the exchequer. Oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. have sold assets in the region to tap more profitable regions like Africa and Russia. read more

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Reuters: UPDATE 2-Kazakh oilfield talks under way as deadline expires

Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:49am GMT
By Raushan Nurshayeva

ASTANA, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Kazakhstan is pressing ahead with closed-door talks with a group of Western oil companies to resolve a row over the huge Kashagan oilfield before the Nov. 30 deadline expires, a senior government official said on Friday.

Kazakhstan has set the deadline for its negotiations with the ENI-led (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) group to settle a long-running dispute over cost overruns and production delays at the Caspian Sea oilfield, but some officials have said talks may last longer. read more

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cnbc: Gazprom sets stage for US expansion

30 Nov 2007 | 01:46 AM ET

NEW YORK – OAO Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, plans to operate a natural-gas entity in the US by 2014 as part of its strategy to expand its business outside of Russia, its deputy chairman said at a press briefing Thursday.

Alexander Medvedev acknowledged that the company faces regulatory hurdles in the U.S. and Europe, but said that Russia will use its economic strength to acquire assets there. Gazprom has faced resistance in Europe from critics who fear the company will have too much control over the energy markets there. read more

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The Guardian: In praise of … Vincent Cable

Leader
Friday November 30, 2007

This is Vincent Cable’s moment. The Liberal Democrats’ acting leader has shown himself to be one of the classiest politicians in the Commons since he had to step into Sir Menzies Campbell’s shoes without warning last month. While the two contenders for the party leadership have been squabbling, their temporary stand-in has performed with authority and intellectual independence.

His dry wit won at prime minister’s questions this week, but all his recent Commons performances have been first rate, starting with his response to the pre-budget report, which he dismantled with the confidence of an informed economist. More than any other MP he has grasped the causes of the Northern Rock crisis and has set out a considered response, calling for it to be nationalised to protect the taxpayer from “City spivs”. He has been warning of the risks of housing debt for years. read more

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The Guardian: Businesses call for climate pact

Press Association
Friday November 30, 2007 4:23 AM

The leaders of 150 major global companies have called for a legally binding and comprehensive international deal on climate change.

In a communique, the businesses said they needed a mandatory agreement on emissions reductions to give them the confidence to invest in low-carbon technology.

The statement, led by the Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, is being sent to environment ministers and heads of state ahead of UN talks in Bali aimed at beginning negotiations on a post-2012 climate deal. read more

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Economic Times (India): Shell to buy BPCL’s stake in Bharat Shell

30 Nov, 2007, 1053 hrs IST, PTI
 
NEW DELHI: Global oil major Royal Dutch Shell will buy Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd’s (BPCL) 49 per cent stake in lubricant marketing firm Bharat Shell Ltd (BSL) for Rs 152.40 crore.

BPCL is exiting the joint venture company, floated in 1993 to market Shell branded lubricants in India, as it has developed a competing product.

“The Cabinet (at its meeting yesterday evening) gave its approval for the sale of 49 per cent equity stake of BPCL in BSL to Shell or its affiliate for a consideration of Rs 152.40 crore in cash,” Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters here today. read more

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UPI Energy Watch: Sakhalin Energy sustains production levels

Published: Nov. 29, 2007 at 12:36 PM
By ANDREA R. MIHAILESCU
UPI Energy Correspondent

Sakhalin Energy, the operator of the Sakhalin-2 project, produced 1.68 million tons of oil in 2007 in its ninth production season, according to preliminary figures, the Sakhalin Natural Resources Committee told Interfax.

Oil production in the 2006 season totaled 11.58 million barrels (almost 1.6 million tons). Sakhalin Energy was forced to close the production season early at the end of November 2007 because of weather problems at the Vityaz complex. read more

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Shell confidential reserves fraud discovery document published on 29 November 2007

Shell confidential reserves fraud discovery document published on 29 November 2007

Exhibit 64: January 2002 Royal Dutch Shell Committee of Managing Directors Confidential Investor Relations Plan signed by Philip Watts (15 pages)

http://www.shellnews.net/classactiondocs/ex64_420.pdf

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IRISH TIMES: CORRIB GAS CONTROVERSY AND SHELL TO SEA

Thursday 29th November 2007

Letters to the Editor

Madam, – Your reprinting (“Shell To Sea Protests Too Much”) of Fr Kevin Hegarty’s Mayo News column of November 20th, without  acknowledgment, is also interesting in its timing, especially as your recent poll result showed an 84 per cent vote in support of Shell To Sea’s arguments. Perhaps it is Fr Hegarty himself who is protesting too much?

The Government’s first duty is to protect its citizens. This duty has consistently been breached, thoughtlessly and casually, during the current Corrib Gas controversy. Expert advice has been set aside; five men have been unjustly jailed, a community has been divided, a beautiful landscape defaced and the security forces of the State undemocratically employed in the protection of a profit-led corporation whose activities will provide 15 years of gas, at no discernible profit to the State, for Irish citizens in counties well beyond Mayo’s borders. read more

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The Mayo News: Shell to Sea

Wednesday, 21 November 2007 

“To use a phrase beloved of Shell to Sea supporters, there is no ‘community consent’ for the badgering of the Gardaí as they seek to maintain the rule of democratic law at the gates of Bellanaboy”

Second Reading
Fr Kevin Hegarty

Last Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency granted an operating licence for the Corrib gas refinery at Bellanaboy. It attached stringent conditions, which Shell must obey, to its approval. Shell to Sea reacted to the news with predictable negativity. Last April, when the agency held a lengthy oral hearing on the proposed refinery, I heard many Shell to Sea supporters praise its officials for the courtesy of their manner and the thoroughness of their approach. read more

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A widely predicated calamity on the High Seas

By John Donovan
29 November 2007

I cannot recall any previous occasion when so many people have warned of the likelihood of a disaster on the High Seas likely to cost many lives. Warnings of a North Sea calamity have come from people such as leaders of offshore worker unions and the Aberdeen South Member of the UK Parliament, Anne Bett MP, who raised the subject with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday 28 November 2007 on a live TV broadcast of PM questions.

However, the person who has rung the warning bells loudest and longest is Mr Bill Campbell, the former Group Auditor of Shell International who carried out a revealing safety audit on a Shell North Sea Platform before his early retirement in dubious circumstances. Since then, Shell’s attempts to intimidate, discredit and silence him have been unsuccessful. read more

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ABERDEEN PRESS & JOURNAL: OIL BOSSES GET A WARNING

North Sea is “on a knife edge”

08:50 – 29 November 2007

The Health and Safety Executive could press for a prosecution if the probe into the Thistle Alpha fire reveals defects – despite the fact no one was killed or injured in the blaze on Sunday.

The undertaking from HSE chief Geoffrey Podger was given yesterday shortly before Prime Minister Gordon Brown stressed the UK Government’s commitment to safety in the North Sea and flatly rejected First Minister Alex Salmond’s call for responsibility to be devolved to the Scottish Government. read more

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RadioFreeEurope: The Green Card

Critics, however, claim that the government seems to play the environmental card when it suits Russia’s interests. The $20 billion Sakhalin-II gas project in Russia’s Far East, for example, came under fire in October 2006 when the Natural Resources Ministry threatened to halt the undertaking unless Russian environmental laws were adhered to.
 
Russia has also been criticized for bulldozing environmental concerns as it engages in the massive transformation of the Black Sea resort of Sochi ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
 
The foreign companies involved in the massive Sakhalin-II project — Britain’s Royal Dutch Shell and Japan’s Mitsui and Mitsubishi — faced huge fines for their environmental failures relating to the construction of an 800-kilometer gas pipeline, a liquefied natural gas plant, two oil platforms, and an oil terminal.
 
Environmentalists supported the claims that damage was being done to the environment, but the move was also widely seen as a clear sign that Moscow wanted to take over the foreign-led venture.
 
Eventually, the three companies sold off about half of their joint stake in Sakhalin-II to Gazprom, Russia’s state-run gas monopoly.
 
“Starting in 1997, ecologists began campaigning against this project,” explains read more

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Daily Telegraph: Business diary: Nothing slick about this right Regal mess

Edited by Simon Goodley
Last Updated: 1:22am GMT 29/11/2007

More on the fall-out at Regal Petroleum, the oil explorer that surprised the City last week when it gave the top job to former Royal Dutch Shell executive, David Greer.

The company had just signed what looked like a cracking deal with Shell – an agreement that the City viewed as part of Regal’s rehabilitation after a share price collapse in 2005 when it struck water, not oil – but the sudden management changes spooked everybody. read more

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The Detroit News: Wildlife photo exhibit premieres at Detroit Zoo

Thursday, November 29, 2007

ROYAL OAK — The 2007 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, a collection of images from the world’s largest and most prestigious wildlife photography competition, makes its North American premiere at the Detroit Zoo’s Ford Education Center on Dec. 13.

The exhibition features 107 photographs dramatically displayed as illuminated large-format color transparencies.

The winning images were chosen from a record 32,318 entries by photographers of all ages from more than 55 countries. read more

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Financial Times: Shell looks to sell two Nigerian oil licences

By Dino Mahtani in London and Matthew Green in Lagos
Published: November 29 2007 02:00 | Last updated: November 29 2007 02:00

Royal Dutch Shell is privately negotiating the sale of its stake in two offshore oil licences in Nigeria, with China’s state-controlled offshore company and Nigeria’s largest fuel retailer among the front-runners for the acquisition.

Sources familiar with the situation said CNOOC, China’s leading offshore producer, and African Petroleum, controlled by one of Nigeria’s top business oligarchs, were considering making bids for the acreage that could reach up to $1bn (£483m). read more

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BBC News: Offshore safety on ‘knife-edge’: The HSE said prosecutions would be considered

Wednesday, 28 November 2007

Safety is on  a “knife-edge” in some parts of the North Sea oil industry, MPs have been warned.

The message from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) came after two platform fires north east of the Shetland.

HSE chief Geoffrey Podger said prosecutions would be considered as part of the investigations, which would be a matter for the procurator fiscal.

Aberdeen South MP Anne Begg described the claims as “quite a damning indictment of lack of investment”. read more

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kyivpost.com: Shell pulls out of deal with Regal

By John Marone, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Nov 29 2007, 00:21
 
Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell has pulled out of a $410 million preliminary agreement to buy a majority stake in the Ukrainian assets of a small, controversial energy company.

Shell was the first multinational to get a foothold on the Ukrainian hydrocarbons market two years ago and has been expanding aggressively ever since. Last week, it appeared as if Shell had taken a major step expanding further into Ukraine. But within days, Shell announced it had withdrawn from a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Regal Petroleum, a UK-based producer of oil and gas that is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. read more

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The Times: Brazil reaps billions from oil block sale

November 29, 2007
Carl Mortished, World Business Editor

Brazil reaped a billion-dollar harvest yesterday with a frantic sale of oil and gas exploration concessions, despite a boycott of the auction by the major multinationals.

The first sale of exploration acreage by Brazil since the discovery of the Tupi field excited keen interest, generating bids worth $1.14 billion (£550 million) for 117 blocks – but the removal of 41 blocks from the auction by the Government kept the heavy-hitters on the sideline. read more

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Shell confidential reserves fraud discovery documents published on 28 November 2007

Shell confidential reserves fraud discovery documents published on 28 November 2007 

Exhibit 132: SPDC Restatement 1998-2002: Confidential (9 pages)

http://www.shellnews.net/classactiondocs/ex132_419_7.pdf

Exhibit 133: Note for Discussion: Group Investor Relations: Strategy and Plan to 2004: Every page marked “Confidential” (20 pages)

http://www.shellnews.net/classactiondocs/ex133_419_8.pdf

Exhibit 134: 2002 Executive Summary: Most Confidential: Signed by Walter van de Vivjer (12 pages) read more

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Fortune Magazine: Chevron’s CEO: The price of oil

Fortune magazine: Chevron CEO David O'Reilly

November 28 2007: 11:06 AM EST

Love it or hate it, argues David O’Reilly in an interview with Fortune’s Geoff Colvin, the world is going to run on oil for several more decades.

By Geoff Colvin, Fortune senior editor-at-large

(Fortune Magazine) — Oil companies are blamed (unjustly) for high gas prices, loathed for profiting from them, and criticized for their environmental record. So it’s no wonder that most industry CEOs have made themselves scarce. Chevron’s David O’Reilly is the exception. He regularly talks to reporters and appears on television to answer questions about Chevron and the industry. read more

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The American Spectator: Back to the Future With Putin

EXTRACT: The recent experience of Royal Dutch Shell in being pressured out of a key oil and gas project it had pioneered in Sakhalin has had a dampening effect on foreign investment in other energy infrastructure projects and akin areas essential to broad scale development.

THE ARTICLE

By George H. Wittman
Published 11/28/2007 12:07:35 AM

It is clearly a retrogressive, though not entirely unexpected, path that Vladimir Putin appears to be carving out for the Russian political economy. The major infrastructure giants of the natural gas monopoly, the principal pipeline developer, and the oil cartel have been returned primarily to state control. And this is only part of the story. read more

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The Wall Street Journal: Cnooc to Target Caspian Sea Area But Avoid Russia

By DAVID WINNING and RENYA PENG
November 28, 2007

Chinese offshore-oil producer Cnooc Ltd. wants to buy assets in the prolific oil-producing region of the Caspian Sea but isn’t interested in Russia because the risks are too high, a senior company official said.

Yang Hua, chief financial officer, added the Caspian Sea to a list of target regions where Cnooc is looking to build its core business, putting it alongside Africa and the Asian-Pacific region for the first time.

The Caspian Sea contains the Kashagan oil field, which was the world’s largest oil discovery for 30 years when it was found, and the region is ringed by major oil producers, including Kazakhstan, Iran and Azerbaijan. read more

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Bloomberg: Oil Rises as OPEC Ministers Downplay Possible Production Boost

By Grant Smith and Alexander Kwiatkowski

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil rose in New York trading as OPEC ministers countered reports the group is planning to raise production at a meeting next week.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries currently has no plan to raise oil output when it meets next week in Abu Dhabi because the market is well supplied, Qatar’s oil minister said today. Libya’s top oil official said the group is unable to increase production any further.

“I have not been informed of any plan,” Qatar’s Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said in a telephone interview today. “It seems to be that the market has reacted to physical supply as it has already dropped at the beginning of winter time.” read more

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Bloomberg: African Petroleum May Buy Shell Assets, People Say (Update1)

By Julie Ziegler

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — African Petroleum Plc, Nigeria’s largest fuel retailer, is competing with China’s Cnooc Ltd. to buy Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s stake in two offshore oil exploration licenses, two people with knowledge of the situation said.

A sale may be worth as much as $1 billion, said Sebastian Spio- Garbrah, an analyst at New York-based Eurasia Group. Bids for Shell’s 49.8 percent share in the blocks, known as Oil Mining Licenses 125 and 134, must be made by Dec. 7, the people said. Other companies bidding include a Middle Eastern firm, they said. Eni SpA, the operator of the exploration areas, owns the other 50.2 percent. read more

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Reuters: Shell to become Ormen Lange operator on Dec 1

Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:04 AM GMT

OSLO, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) will take over as operator of the Ormen Lange gas field in the Norwegian Sea on Dec. 1, development phase operator StatoilHydro (STL.OL: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Wednesday.

Ormen Lange, on stream from October, can produce enough gas to cover 20 percent of Britain’s needs. It is linked to the UK through the world’s longest subsea pipeline across the North Sea.

“As operator for the development since 1999, it is a delight to state that it has gone according to plan,” said Morten Ruud, StatoilHydro’s executive vice president for projects. read more

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BBC News: New offshore safety fears raised: ‘It’s unacceptable and is putting lives at risk’

BBC News

Wednesday, 28 November 2007, 09:57 GMT

A union leader has called for urgent action to address offshore safety amid fears that somebody could be killed.

An investigation has been launched into a fire which broke out on Shell’s North Cormorant on Tuesday.

It followed a serious fire on the Thistle Alpha on Sunday. Both platforms are north east of Shetland.

Graham Tran, of the Unite Amicus union, said there had been a series of worrying incidents. Shell said safety was the company’s highest priority. read more

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Bakersfield Californian: Shell Oil restarts cleanup of site

Bakersfield Californian: Chart

Bakersfield Californian: Shell Oil restarts cleanup of site

BY STACEY SHEPARD, Californian staff writer
e-mail: [email protected] | Tuesday, Nov 27 2007 9:55 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Nov 27 2007 10:00 PM

Shell Oil has restarted a system to clean up pollution beneath the Rosedale Highway refinery that environmental regulators say was shut down more than two years ago without their approval.

The cleanup system was installed in the 1990s to remove toxic chemicals in the soil and groundwater from spills and leaks at the refinery that caused millions of gallons of petroleum products and the fuel additive MTBE to seep into the ground. read more

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The Scotsman: Shell’s North Cormorant rig hit by ‘small fire’

FRANK URQUHART
 
A “VERY small” fire broke out on Shell’s North Cormorant rig north-east of the Shetland islands early yesterday.

The blaze came just three days after a major fire on Lundin Petroleum’s Thistle Alpha installation.

The Shell fire was contained within a turbine hood on a water injection pump on the oil giant’s North Cormorant platform, 109 miles from Shetland.

A spokeswoman for Shell said that the fire, which began in the early morning, had been extinguished immediately by the platform’s own fire protection system. read more

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ABERDEEN PRESS & JOURNAL: HSE CHIEFS FACE QUIZ OVER PLATFORMS’ FIRE SAFETY SYSTEMS

08:50 – 28 November 2007

Health and safety bosses will be challenged in the Commons today over the state of offshore fire safety systems following two fires within three days.

The second fire, which broke out early yesterday on Shell’s North Cormorant platform, 109 miles north-east of Shetland, was contained quickly by the fire protection system. The blaze was extinguished within 15 minutes of it breaking out at 12.42am, and the platform returned to normal status, a company spokesman said last night. read more

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Kremlin, Inc: Shell backs out from investing in Ukraine via Regal

Location of Regal's gas field in Ukraine: from RegalPetroleum.co.uk 

By Hans Stege

About 24 hours after announcing a preliminary deal worth $410 million with UK-based oil firm Regal Petroleum, Shell pulled out of the agreement citing Regal’s surprise management shift. David Greer, the former head of Shell’s Sakhalin-II project, was tapped to replace Regal’s chief executive and chairman, both of whom resigned after news of the deal with Shell was announced — despite a general consensus that the agreement was a sound move for the firm. After Greer took over at Regal, he gave an interview to the Financial Times that seemed to call into question Shell’s involvement: read more

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The Guardian: Boom fuels new Saudi spending spree

Terry Macalister of The Guardian 

Terry Macalister

Annual revenues of $165bn are funding six new cities to create jobs – but can it last?
 
Terry Macalister
Wednesday November 28 2007

As the tiny ball of burning crimson drops behind the sand dunes it leaves a dark, almost silent landscape worthy of its name: Rub’ al-Khali, the Empty Quarter.

No sooner has the sun gone down than a long necklace of golden lights flickers on in the valley below and the improbable sound of an Islamic preacher can be heard calling the faithful to prayer. read more

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The Times: Gazprom cool over foreign investment in Arctic gas

November 28, 2007
Carl Mortished, World Business Editor

Hopes that Gazprom might open up the Yamal Peninsula to foreign oil companies appeared to be dashed yesterday when the Russian utility’s deputy chief executive gave a cool response to the notion of further investments by international oil companies in Russia’s gas-rich Arctic regions.

Alexander Medvedev, who heads Gazprom’s export business, spoke of “psychological barriers” to further investment by foreign oil companies and said that he had not received any interesting proposals from the Western majors. read more

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The Times: City Diary

November 28, 2007
Robin Pagnamenta

Staff at Shell Centre, Royal Dutch Shell’s high-rise London office, seem to have been placed on an enforced corporate fitness regime. An internal e-mail explains:

“As part of the renewal programme, lifts 4 and 5 have been taken out of service. Lifts 6 and 7 are currently out of operation. Lifts 2 and 3 are still operating for levels above the 9th floor. Lifts 4 and 5 are scheduled to be out of service until the beginning of February and we will let you know when lifts 6 and 7 will be available for use.” Er, so that leaves how many still operating, exactly? read more

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Caustic comments by Walter van de Vijver on Petroleum Development Oman

27 November 2007

Scathing comments were made in May 2002 by Walter van de Vijver, the then Chief Executive of Shell EP, about the management team of Petroleum Development Oman (34% owned by Shell). 

The comments were contained in an extract from a document which formed part of his deposition filed in the current Royal Dutch Shell reserves fraud litigation.

Van de Vijver described PDO management in the following terms:

“Overall my patience has been tested too long with PDO and it’s management, progress over the last year (is it not just about delivered production!) has been less than expected, less than promised and less than could have been possible. Changes will have to be made.”  read more

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Further confidential Shell internal email correspondence

Exhibit 129: January 2003 email correspondence involving Stuart Evans DPVM, Paulo Bizarro ONP32F, Niels van Dijk Shell International Petroleum – EPGO-RTL-R, Abdulla Lamki DMD, Saif Hinai OND, Jeroen Peters OSD, Abia Riyami OSP, Frode Linge ONP, Rob Willis SIEP-EPT-AGI, Bart Wassing OSP3H, Chris Mijnssen ONP3, Stuart Evans DPVM, Stuart Clayton DTEM, Said Harthy UPG2G, Kathleen Heller UPP: Subject Updated Reserves Picture and initial water flood plans:

Extract:

“Following on from the SSG, a meeting was reviewed to revisit options to make up the reserves shortfall.” read more

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Reuters: Nigeria threatens stiff penalties for gas flaring

Tue 27 Nov 2007, 17:49 GMT
By Estelle Shirbon

ABUJA, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s oil industry regulator threatened on Tuesday to impose hefty fines and other penalties on firms that continue to burn off gas beyond a 2008 deadline.

Oil companies in Nigeria flare about 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas associated with the extraction of crude because there is no infrastructure to make use of it. Only Russia flares more gas than Nigeria.

Gas flares burning day and night are a health hazard to nearby communities and contribute to global warming, environmentalists say. The Nigerian government also wants to end flaring because it is a waste of a valuable resource. read more

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The Washington Post: Oil Off on Economy Fears, OPEC Forecasts

By JOHN WILEN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 27, 2007; 12:19 PM

NEW YORK — Oil prices plunged Tuesday, picking up downward momentum amid concerns that a slowing economy might reduce demand for crude just as OPEC members are considering an increase in production.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery dropped $3.05 to $94.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling as low as $94.45 earlier. The contract is more than $4 below its all-time high of $99.29 set last week.
 
Stocks dropped sharply Monday, reigniting worries among energy traders that the economy is slowing and will use less oil and gasoline. Wall Street rebounded Tuesday, but the oil market was still clearly uneasy. read more

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The Washington Post: ‘runaway oil prices’

Washington Post image

Workers and public transport drivers march with protest slogans closer to the Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines on Monday, Nov. 26, 2007 to protest the escalating price of gasoline and other oil products by the three big oil companies, Caltex, Petron and Shell. The protesters formed recently an alliance of consumer groups, transport networks and “people’s organizations,” to pressure the government to suspend the Oil Deregulation Law to control “runaway oil prices” instead of public appeal for energy conservation. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) (Bullit Marquez – AP) read more

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Mayo News: Shell to Sea meet Ó Cuív

Tuesday, 27 November 2007 
Áine Ryan

A DELEGATION of Shell to Sea campaigners met Minister Éamon Ó Cuív in Galway yesterday (Monday) to further highlight the issues of community dissent about the controversial Corrib gas project.

Retired teacher, Mr Niall King, told The Mayo News that, while the Minister said that many of the issues discussed were outside his departmental remit, the protest group felt he had primary obligations to such issues, particularly under the ‘pobal’ or ‘community’ dimension of his office. read more

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BBC News: Shell platform fire extinguished

BBC News Shell Pectin

 Shell said the platform fire would be investigated

A fire which broke out on a Shell platform has been extinguished.

The fire happened on the North Cormorant platform, which is 109 miles north east of Shetland.

The “small fire” broke out at 0042 GMT on Tuesday and Shell said it was “quickly contained” by the platform fire protection system.

Shell said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been informed. The incident happened less than 48 hours after a fire on another oil platform. read more

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Herald Sun (Australia): Iran (*Shell’s partner) builds longer-range missile – reports

Agence France-Presse
From correspondents in Tehran
November 27, 2007 05:33pm

IRAN has built a new longer-range missile named “Ashura” with a range of 2000km, the defence minister announced today, the Fars news agency reported.

“The construction of the Ashura missile with a range of 2000km is one of the accomplishments of the ministry of defence,” Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was quoted as saying.

The weapon’s range is sufficient to put US bases in the Middle East and Iran’s arch enemy Israel within reach. The missile is named after the holy Ashura mourning ceremony that marks the death of Shi’ite imam Hossein read more

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