Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:22pm GMT
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lined up alternative supplies of upgraded oil sands crude for its Alberta refinery on Monday as its own upgrading plant underwent unplanned maintenance, a spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Shell and Imperial Oil Ltd (IMO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) kept rationing fuel supplies to their retail networks as both their Edmonton-area refineries suffered unspecified operational problems which came to light last week.
The refinery hiccups have squeezed gasoline and diesel supplies across western Canada, and contributed to sharp gains in pump prices. Neither Shell nor Imperial have disclosed how much production has been cut or given target dates for resuming full output.
“We are working around the clock to address this, both on the refinery side and the upgrader side,” Shell spokesman Randy Provencal said.
As the company repairs the 155,000 barrel a day upgrader, which normally runs extra-heavy bitumen from the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in northern Alberta, it is seeking upgraded supplies from other operators, such as Syncrude Canada Ltd and Suncor Energy Inc (SU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), Provencal said.
“We continue to work to secure those feedstocks,” he said.
Shell has reduced fuel allocations to its retail stations and commercial customers as it also works on its 98,000 barrel a day Scotford refinery, but outlets are not running dry, he said.
The upgrader normally feeds the adjacent refinery.
For its part, Imperial’s 187,000 barrel a day Strathcona refinery may undergo repairs for the “next few weeks,” spokesman Gordon Wong said.
Imperial, which runs 532 Esso-brand gas stations in Western Canada, is working to secure alternative supplies from elsewhere in Canada and through imports, Wong said.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; editing by Renato Andrade)
© Reuters 2008 All rights reserved.
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.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
