November 15th, 2007:

By John Donovan

Friday 16 November2007

Below is a link to a transcript of the Videotaped Deposition of former Royal Dutch Shell Group MD and Chief Executive of Shell Exploration & Production – Mr Walter van de Vijver, in Washington, D.C. 16 Wednesday, January 31st, 2007:

(first 390 pages)

http://www.shellnews.net/classactiondocs/365_2.pdf

Further parts of Van de Vijver deposition will be published here later, on Friday 16 November 2007

For the first time you can read his own account of events including the infamous email correspondence with Philip Watts eg. “I am sick and tired of lying…” read more

CNN downplays danger, still criticizes Shell’s John Hofmeister about ‘profit reports.’

By Julia Seymour
11/15/2007 12:21:46 PM

High gas prices may have a lot of people down, but apparently they also have someone feeling homicidal.

According to CNN’s November 15 “American Morning” Shell president John Hofmeister has gotten hate mail and even a death threat because of the price of gasoline.

“Pretty brave that you decided to do this, you know you were heading out on tour, you didn’t just get hate mail, but you actually received a death threat at one point?” asked co-host Kiran Chetry. read more

TOMORROW WE WILL PUBLISH THE DEPOSITION OF FORMER ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF SHELL EP, MR WALTER VAN DE VIJVER.

THE VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION TOOK PLACE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2007.

WE UNDERSTAND FROM THE NEWS MEDIA THAT SHELL IS REFUSING TO CONFIRM OR DENY THE AUTHENTICY OF THE CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS WE ARE PUBLISHING EVERY DAY.

IT IS TOTAL HUMILATION AND EMBARRASSMENT FOR SHELL THAT THEY CANNOT STOP THE AVALANCHE OF UNAUTHORISED RELEASE ON TO THE OPEN INTERNET OF THIS HIGHLY INFORMATIVE EVIDENCE OF A CORPORATE SCANDAL WHICH RANKS ALONGSIDE ENRON & WORLDCOM. read more

By Alfred and John Donovan

The website royaldutchshellplc.com publishes on a daily basis confidential documents relating to Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s second largest publicly owned oil company. The website is owned by the authors of this article.

Shell hit the news headlines in January 2004 when news broke of a huge fraud involving the oil giant’s oil and gas reserves. Basically investors were conned into believing that Shell had significantly more proven reserves than it actually had. Shell had to pay $170 million in fines imposed by financial regulators. The settlement of class action lawsuits will cost Shell shareholders several hundred million dollars. read more

By DULUE MBACHU – 2 hours ago

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A major pipeline feeding one of Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s two main oil export terminals in southern Nigeria was attacked and ruptured by unknown assailants, the company said Thursday.

The pipeline supplies crude oil to the Forcados oil export terminal, said Precious Okolobo, a spokesman for Shell in Lagos. He would not give further details on the nature of the attack or when it was carried out.

Nigeria is Africa’s leading oil exporter and the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports. read more

Pipeline fire in Nigeria

By Alfred and John Donovan

Reuters report that Shell is investigating the impact on exports and output of an incident this morning at the Forcados oil pipeline in Nigeria when attackers used dynamite to blow up a crude oil pipeline operated by Shell. 

The following are extracts from an article we published in July 2007 revealing a commercial relationship between Shell and the leadership of militant gangs. Consequently, when we read about attacks on Shell installations and Shell inter-structure in Nigeria, we naturally wonder who is paying the people responsible. read more

Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:04 PM GMT

LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Thursday it was investigating the impact on exports and output of an incident at the Forcados oil pipeline in Nigeria.

“We have been informed of the incident at a pipeline feeding to the Forcados export terminal and we are investigating the impact on output and exports,” a Shell spokesman in The Hague said.

Earlier on Thursday, industry sources said unknown attackers had blown up the crude oil pipeline, which is operated by Shell. read more

By Paddy Briggs
Former Shell Brand Executive

At a recent event with Alastair Campbell – formerly Tony Blair’s Press Secretary and chief spin doctor – he discussed (inter alia) crisis management.  One of the crises that he talked about which happened in September 2000 in Tony Blair’s first term was the protests by haulage companies about fuels prices. The crisis involved the blockading of fuel facilities (refineries and depots) and very nearly brought the country to a grinding halt. Campbell described how the crisis was handled at Number 10 and elsewhere in the Government apparatus. When asked about the role of the oil companies, including Shell and BP, Campbell said that they were “hopeless” and showed a complete lack of leadership retreating completely from the fray. Campbell commented that he felt that this abrogation of any responsibility in the matter was particularly shameful given the excessive salaries that top executives in the oil industry paid themselves! read more

By Zasika Musdi

Bandar Seri Begawan – Universiti Brunei Darussalam yesterday marked another milestone in its 22-year history with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and sponsorship agreement with Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP) and Shell Exploration and Production (EP) International Limited to strengthen the university’s engineering capability, and support the drive to further develop the technological capabilities of the oil and gas sector in the Sultanate.

Under the MoU and sponsorship agreement, BSP and Shell EP International pledge to contribute a total of $7.5 million to UBD over the next five years. UBD will receive a total of $1.5 million from both of the companies each year, and the money will used to develop the university’s Department of Engineering Science and Faculty of Science. read more

By Upstream staff

Talks to settle a dispute between Kazakhstan and the operators of its giant Kashagan oilfield may extend beyond the formal deadline of 30 November, but a deal could still be reached by the end of this year, Kazakh Energy Minister Sauat said today.

Mynbayev said that negotiations – set to continue this week in London – would not be easy but had not involved discussion on the removal of Italian energy giant Eni as operator of the field.

“We hope to reach an agreement, but it’s difficult to foresee whether we will have success or not. The talks won’t be easy,” Reuters reported he said at the World Energy Congress in Rome. read more

EXTRACT: Executives at Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell have also said the oil major has pulled back its activities in Iran – which included talks on the multi-billion Pars liquefied natural gas project – after US politicians criticised the proposed deal.

By Upstream staff

Italian oil major Eni will not abandon its contracts in Iran, chief executive Paolo Scaroni said today, despite growing pressure by Western governments on companies to avoid doing business with the Islamic Republic.

“We are there with very old contracts and we continue to fulfill our obligations,” Reuters reported Paolo Scaroni told reporters at an energy conference in Rome. “We cannot do it in any other way.” read more

EXTRACT: “… cases such as the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project created a damaging precedent. After seeing Royal Dutch Shell strong-armed by Gazprom out of controlling the $22bn project, some investors may baulk at partnering with the state in infrastructure developments.”

By Neil Buckley
Published: November 15 2007 02:00 | Last updated: November 15 2007 02:00

Within a few years, an industrial behemoth is to rise from the banks of the Volga river: the world’s biggest aluminium smelter, capable of churning out 1m tonnes of the metal a year, powered by two nuclear reactors. read more

By Dino Mahtani in London
Published: November 15 2007 02:00 | Last updated: November 15 2007 02:00

Royal Dutch Shell is to reorganise its Nigerian units to save costs after oil production cuts due to militant attacks and shortfalls in government funding.

Basil Omiyi, Shell’s managing director in Nigeria, said: “We are operating in an extremely difficult environment where levels of production have been severely curtailed by the security situation for some time, where there is significant upward pressure on costs and where funding issues are having an impact on our operations.” read more

Terry Macalister

· The $100 barrel is hurting producers, says cartel boss
· Increasing output ‘will not solve world’s problems’

Terry Macalister in Riyadh 
Thursday November 15 2007

The head of Opec said yesterday that oil prices at close to $100 a barrel were hurting producers as much as consumers and there was no question of energy being used as a “weapon” to damage western economies.

Abdalla Salem El-Badri, the cartel’s secretary general, suggested oil production levels could be discussed at a meeting in Abu Dhabi next month after appeals overnight from the US energy secretary, Samuel Bodman, for more crude to be made available. read more

So how does someone who specialises in the development of medical devices find himself back in the classroom?

November 15, 2007
Sarah Hiscock

It somehow seems fitting that someone whose interest in engineering started with Meccano sets is now teaching students how to build cars.

“I’m acutely aware of the falling number of young people tackling engineering as a career and so encouraging enthusiasm at an early age seems essential,” says Darren Hodson, a senior engineer at a major pharmaceuticals company. read more

By Christian Schmollinger and Nesa Subrahmaniyan

Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil was little changed in New York after rising 3.2 percent yesterday on forecasts that an Energy Department report today will show U.S. supplies declined.

Stockpiles may fall for a fourth week to their lowest level in a year, according to the responses by 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest oil company, has shut production at its Ursa deepwater platform in the Gulf of Mexico several days ago and expects to restart this week, spokeswoman Darci Sinclair said in an e-mail yesterday. read more

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

 Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) — Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, cut its forecast output for next year by as much as 20 percent because of slower start-ups of new projects and the sale of fields in Africa.

The expected production of 80 million to 86 million barrels of oil equivalent will still be about 15 percent above this year’s output, Don Voelte, chief executive officer of Perth-based Woodside, said today. After 2008 output may not rise again until 2011, he said. The shares dropped the most in six years. read more

Reported by: Keith Whitney
Web Editor: Michael King
Last Modified: 11/15/2007 12:05:01 AM

The president of Shell Oil was in Atlanta Wednesday night on the last stop of a 50 city tour to talk about the energy crisis, and what Americans plan to do about it.

Just nine years ago, oil was at $8 per barrel, and gas was half of what it is now. The president of Shell, John Hofmeister, is warning Americans the next ten years could bring an economic nightmare of something is not done.

Every second, Americans use enough oil to fill a swimming pool — 840 million gallons. Eighty percent of the gas in most cars generates heat and fumes, not motion. In jets, it is even worse, with more than 90 percent of all fuel lost because of inefficient engines. And by every measure, the price of fuel is only going up. read more

‘Good Morning America’ asks president of Shell Oil if he could ‘cut back’ on profits.

By Genevieve Ebel
Business & Media Institute
11/14/2007 3:40:36 PM

Gas prices have been going up, and at least one grandmother is upset. 

“Why am I spending my grandchildren’s college money so I can drive this car? Why? What is – what is the reason for this?” she asked on the November 14 “Good Morning America.” 

To answer her question, the ABC morning show pressed the president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister.  read more

Cnooc Is Likely Bidder
For Stake in Project
On North West Shelf

By DAVID WINNING and BENOÎT FAUCON
November 15, 2007; Page A16

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is considering the sale of its oil assets in Australia’s North West Shelf, two people familiar with the matter said, in a move that is likely to attract Chinese interest.

Shell is examining the potential value of its 16.67% stake in the oil-output arm of the North West Shelf project, namely the Cossack Pioneer field, which produces 100,000 barrels of crude a day, the people said. read more