Oil chief says customers will pay for tax
By Elizabeth Fry in Sydney
Published: August 28 2008 03:00 | Last updated: August 28 2008 03:00
The head of Woodside Petroleum, Australia’s second largest oil and gas producer, yesterday described a decision by the federal government to remove a 30-year-old tax exemption on a natural gas product as a “serious threat”.
Don Voelte, chief executive, said his company would pass the entire cost to its Western Australian customers.
The tax exemption for condensate, which is extracted from natural gas, has been of benefit to the North West Shelf development, operated by Woodside.
Scrapping the exemption will raise A$2.5bn ($2.1bn) for the Canberra government over four years.
Mr Voelte said: “We provide domestic and industrial customers with long-term, stable gas supply from the North West Shelf venture at very competitive prices and to think we can absorb this extra cost into our business is unrealistic.”
He also warned that Woodside might cut its spending on its Browse Basin liquefied natural gas project in offshore Western Australia if a proposed emissions trading scheme went ahead. Mr Voelte has said the scheme, planned for 2010, would put an unfair burden on low greenhouse gas emitters – such as Woodside – rather than heavy emitters such as coal-burning power stations.
Woodside reported a sharp rise in interim profits.
The energy group, which is 34 per cent-owned by Royal Dutch Shell, said net profits rose 67 per cent to A$1.02bn as it was bolstered by high oil prices. Under lying profit rose 86 per cent to A$1.01bn on revenue up 45 per cent at A$2.6bn.
The company said it was on track to achieve its 2008 production target of 80m to 86m barrels of oil equivalent.
The company declared an interim dividend of 80 cents a share, up from 49 cents a year earlier
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
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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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