November 8th, 2007:

UK, French and German companies begin pullout under US pressure

David Gow in Munich and Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Friday November 9, 2007

Multinational companies are coming under increasing pressure from the US to stop doing business with Iran because of its nuclear programme. European operators are facing threats from Washington that they could jeopardise their US interests by continuing to deal with Tehran, with increasing evidence that European governments, mainly France, Germany and Britain, are supporting the US campaign. read more

By Paul Richardson

Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) — Nigeria’s government said it plans a budget deficit of 2.5 percent of gross domestic product next year as it raises spending on key industries, including energy and transport, to accelerate economic growth.

Higher oil prices will help boost economic growth in the west African nation to 11 percent, President Umaru Yar’Adua told lawmakers today in the capital, Abuja. Growth has averaged 3 percent over the past two decades.

“We are inexorably committed to pursuing the goal of making our economy one of the 20 biggest economies in the world by the year 2020,” Yar’Adua said. “In order to meet our growth and development targets by 2020, it is imperative that our economy grows at an even faster rate.” read more

By Amy Strahan

Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) — Political and technical obstacles to bringing oil to market become “more challenging all the time,” BP Plc Chief Executive Tony Hayward said today.

“Every geopolitical event causes a spike in the price, but these spikes only happen because the underlying market is itself tight,” Hayward said in e-mailed remarks prepared for the Houston Forum, a civic group. “For the medium term, the era of cheap energy is behind us.”

Crude oil futures touched a record $98.62 yesterday, the highest since trading began in 1983 in New York. read more

11/8/2007 1:12:46 PM GMT
Filed from Aberdeen
 
UK:  Shell’s staffing levels are too low to ensure safety on oil rigs, a probe into the Dutch major’s UK North Sea operations has found.

Britain’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has upheld some of the complaints made by members of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee (OILC) and Unite Amicus unions. Union members also raised the issue of workloads and management attitudes.

HSE went offshore to witness the company’s operations for itself and determined that some of the “complex complaints” were justified as procedures were not working as well as they should have been. HSE said Shell had taken action to address the matters in some instances. read more

12:00 – 08 November 2007

A Union leader has called for oil giant Shell to quit the North Sea.

Unite’s Amicus regional officer Graham Tran made the demand after a Health and Safety Executive investigation upheld unions’ concerns over safety.

The unions claimed there were gaps in “safety-critical” positions on the five installations which are being sold by Shell.

And the HSE confirmed that aspects of the complaint from the OILC and Unite unions were justified.

Mr Tran, pictured, said he wanted to see Shell leave British waters. read more

Story last updated: Thursday, 8 November, 2007, 18:58

Health and safety officials have upheld the majority of complaints by offshore unions about safety on Shell platforms.

The Health and Safety Executive found staff shortages, excessive hours being worked and low morale on five North Sea installations.

Offshore unions asked the HSE to investigate a catalogue of safety concerns on North Sea installations after complaints by their members. 

Now the Health and Safety Executive have upheld the majority of the issues highlighted by the Unite and OILC unions. read more

Unions had raised HSE concerns over worker safety

Thursday, 8 November 2007

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has partially upheld claims that Shell was not doing enough to ensure safety offshore.

The OILC and Unite Amicus unions had asked the HSE to investigate following complaints from their members.

This focused on manning levels on Shell installations, workloads and the attitude of management.

The HSE said some procedures had needed improvement. Shell said the investigation was continuing. read more

Thursday November 8th, 2007 / 11h34 
 
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The U.K. safety watchdog has upheld all but one complaint made by Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) workers on facilities it intends to sell, trade unions said Thursday.

In a press statement, unions Unite and OILC said complaints sent in September have been upheld by the Health and Safety Executive, or HSE, except one.

The unions said Shell had been neglecting safety on several platforms in the North Sea platforms up for sale – Cormorant Alpha, Dunlin Alpha, Tern, Eider and North Cormorant.
The unions said they had submitted “formal complaints to (the HSE) regarding manning levels, specifically in safety critical areas; staff competency; workloads; shortages in fire teams; and the general health and morale of the workforce.” read more

Shell confidential discovery documents added on 8 November 2007

Shell EP November 2000 Internal email correspondence involving Matthias Bichsel, Martijn Minderhoud, Heinz Rothermund and many others: Subject: West Africa Reserves 2000: Every page marked “CONFIDENTIAL”: (5 pages)

http://www.shellnews.net/classactiondocs/427_Exhibit_107_OCR.pdf

Shell SIEP Internal email correspondence Jan 2001 involving Aidan McKay, John Bell, Mark Leonard, Remco Aalbers and others: Subject: Reserve audit – use of contractors: Every page marked “CONFIDENTIAL”: (5 pages) read more

By  James Herron     
Dow Jones Newswires     

NEW YORK, Nov 7, 2007 (Dow Jones Newswires)

Ten years ago, a keen futurologist imagining the effects of $100 oil might have predicted a world where major oil companies, their coffers bursting with mega profits, were pumping cash into high technology and delivering new energy sources saving the world from economic meltdown in the nick of time.

Fast forward to the present and energy buzzwords like ethanol, oil sands or gas-to-liquids are certainly on everybody’s lips, but they’ve done little to diminish the world’s dependence on black gold. In fact, as oil prices edge ever closer to $100 a barrel, industry experts say the ability of the major private companies to develop new energy sources is diminishing. read more

Thursday, Nov 8, 2007

The Senate yesterday condemned Shell Petroleum Development Company for its negligence in handling oil spillage and ecological degradation in the Niger Delta region.

The Senate, in a resolution read by Senate President, David Mark, said the company’s negligence at Ikot Ado Udo in Akwa Ibom State had led to loss of people’s livelihood.

Mark urged President Umaru Yar’Adua to direct the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Shell and other multinationals in the area to rectify the oil pump and stop further spillage. read more

Tom Burroughes
Wednesday, 7th November 2007

WITH President Putin continuing to flex his political muscle, and even corporate giants like Royal Dutch Shell scarred by their dealings in Russia, it is understandable that many British investors are wary of the former Soviet Union.

But while this is a market for hard-headed investors only, investment opportunities have by no means frozen up. The economic outlook is strong, and only a significant slump in global demand for commodities – Russia is a major producer – is likely to change that. read more

Shell runs a website for ex-shell employees. They offer jobs to retired Shell employees.

The site is called http://www.alliancexshell.com/

David Greer posted an entry on 11/9/2007… see below.

David Greer: 11/Sep/2007  

Resigned from Shell in 2007 after 28 years service with Shell in UK, Norway, Canada, Oman, Netherlands, Argentina, Philippines and Russia. Latterly responsible as deputy CEO and Sakhlalin II Phase 2 Project Director. Currently responsible as CEO for the overall management of all Eastern Petroleum Corporation assets based in Kazakhstan and the addition of additional exploration and production assets in Central Asia and Russia.
  read more

John

SAFETY ON SHELL NORTH SEA PLATFORMS

Yet again Shell have been caught red handed lying through their teeth.  The favourite quote “ Safety is our first priority” is trotted out with monotonous regularity.  I wonder what exactly that means?  Perhaps the higher levels of management either refuse to listen (we are a listening caring company) to the staff (our most precious resource), or the management guys are terrified of making a stand against the Botts/Brinded edicts. 

Or perhaps the whole lot currently in  charge are grossly incompetent, by that I mean do they really appreciate and understand the assets, especially the human ones, they are managing. It appears most defiantly not! read more

EXTRACTS: OILC general secretary Jake Molloy said: “Shell are trying to sell these installations but appeal” to be acting like some dodgy, second-hand car dealers trying to paint over the cracks and faults which clearly exist.”

Unite (Amicus Section) regional officer Graham ‘Iran added: “Despite the constant denials by Shell that there were clear safety problems. Shell have once again been found wanting in their approach to safety issues. I personally fear for the ongoing safety of the offshore workforce on these installations.” read more

By Matthew Green in Abuja and Dino Mahtani in London
Published: November 8 2007 02:00 | Last updated: November 8 2007 02:00

Nigeria will tackle a chronic lack of funding for its joint ventures with oil companies by raising billions of dollars a year from the country’s fast-growing banks.

The plan, revealed to the Financial Times, forms part of an energy sector review by Umaru Yar’Adua, the president,at a time when oil prices are at record highs.

The latest proposals aim to end wrangling between the government, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total and other oil companies over funding for joint ventures undertaken since the 1970s. The projects account for about 80 per cent of production in Africa’s biggest crude oil exporter. read more

Published: November 8 2007 02:00 | Last updated: November 8 2007 02:00

Images of machinegun- toting militants in speedboats have come to symbolise the woes of oil majors in Nigeria, but problems financing joint ventures with the government have also been a headache.

Typically, the state owns 60 per cent of each joint venture for oil exploration, with partners including Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total and Agip.

The idea is that the companies and government share the costs through an annual fundraising exercise known as the “cash call”, then split the profits. read more

Published: November 8 2007 02:00 | Last updated: November 8 2007 02:00

In recent years, Europe’s two biggest oil companies by market capitalisation have embodied different bets on the oil price. BP, with a much smaller refining base than its supermajor peers and its avoidance of costly, unconventional fuel sources such as oil sands, has been counting on prices falling. Lord Browne, chief executive until this summer, was banking on $40 a barrel in the medium term, falling to $25 or $30 further out. Implicitly, Shell believes in prices being stronger for longer. Since late 2004 it has gone out on a limb, developing big, long-life upstream projects, complemented by a solid downstream business that is able to process complex fuels. read more

Oil complex in Iran, and the OECD parley

Justifications for the Price,
Like Supply and the Dollar,
Crumble Under Economics

November 8, 2007; Page C14

With oil flirting with $100 a barrel, there seems to be no stopping the dizzying ascent of black gold. In such a frothy market, it may seem old-fashioned to talk about supply and demand. But they and other fundamentals give a clear message: The price is too high to be sustainable.

There are 10 solid reasons why:

1. Supply above ground is abundant. The amount of oil in storage tanks around the world is near all-time highs — 4.2 billion barrels at the end of June in the industrialized countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development alone, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. read more

Terry Macalister 
Thursday November 8 2007

Shell has once again been rapped over the knuckles by the Health and Safety Executive for safety problems on its North Sea platforms despite pledges from chief executive Jeroen van der Veer that he was determined to change the culture after problems in the past.

The HSE confirmed last night that it had upheld various complaints made by trade unions about staffing and operational procedures on the Cormorant Alpha, Dunlin Alpha and three other platforms and asked the oil group to take immediate action. read more

Tom Baldwin in Washington, James Hider in Jerusalem and Francis Elliott, Deputy Political Editor

November 8, 2007

A claim by President Ahmadinejad that Iran has 3,000 working uranium-enriching centrifuges sent a tremor across the world yesterday amid fears that Israel would respond by bombing the country’s nuclear facilities.

Military sources in Washington said that the existence of such a large number could be a “tipping point”, triggering an Israeli air strike. The Pentagon is reluctant to take military action against Iran, but officials say that Israel is a “different matter”. Amid the international uproar, British MPs who were to have toured the nuclear facility were backing out of their Iran trip. read more

By David Prosser
Published: 08 November 2007

Environmental campaigners launched a stinging attack on Shell yesterday after advertising regulators upheld complaints about claims the oil giant had made about its green credentials.

The Advertising Standards Authority said Shell had been wrong to run adverts which claimed “We use our waste CO2 to grow flowers” under the headline “Don’t throw anything away”.

The ruling followed complaints from groups such as Friends of the Earth which argued that Shell in fact used just 0.325 per cent of their global carbon emissions on projects involving local greenhouse growers. The ASA said Shell’s adverts had implied that all of its emissions were used in this way. read more

Royal Dutch Shell is planning a vast oil and gas project on the remote Yamal peninsula in northwest Siberia.

November 8, 2007
Robin Pagnamenta

The collaborative effort to tap into reserves in the Russian Arctic will involve Gazprom and other local companies, according to Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s chief executive. Speaking after talks in Moscow between President Putin and a high-level Dutch business delegation, Mr van der Veer said: “It is not like building a house – it is like building a city. It will take a very long time. And of course we will work with Russian companies.” Mr van der Veer described the project as “a huge-scale long-term liquid gas and oil project”. read more

Thu 8 Nov 2007

ONE of Britain’s biggest oil companies was last night accused of acting like a “dodgy second-hand car dealer”, after a watchdog upheld a series of complaints about staffing levels on North Sea oilrigs.

Three months ago, two offshore unions, OILC and Unite, called for an urgent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive’ (HSE) into claims that the safety of the workforce was being jeopardised by falling manning levels at a number of Shell installations which have been put on the market. read more