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December 15th, 2008:

Shell books 4th VLCC for storage in US Gulf

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has a booked a fourth supertanker to store crude oil in the U.S. Gulf, ship brokers said on Monday.

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.

In the shadow of Canada’s oil boom

Many in Fort Chipewyan hope low oil prices will put the brakes on that development. They believe they are suffering from the aftershocks of an industry expanding at a rampant pace without the necessary environmental limits.

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.

Exxon May Lift Spending as Rivals Cut

Meanwhile, competitors including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, StatoilHydro ASA, EnCana Corp. and Petro-Canada announced planned spending cuts or postponement of projects, following oil prices’ decline from its peak in July, the report stated.

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.

OPEC Races to Get Ahead of Declining Oil Demand

Some economists now compare OPEC's plight to that of the early 1980s, when soaring crude prices helped spur a recession in the U.S. and Europe. Oil demand fell sharply, as did oil prices. It took nearly 15 years for U.S. consumption to return to 1980 levels.

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.

Nigerians get their day in court to fight oil companies

Shell spokesperson Robin Lebovitz said via email, "The allegations made in the complaints against Royal Dutch/Shell concerning the 1995 executions of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight fellow Ogonis are false and without merit. Shell in no way encouraged or advocated any act of violence against them or their fellow Ogonis."

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.

The Big Gas Troika: A Lot of Hot Air

This article was originally published in the December 2008 issue of the IAGS Journal of Energy Security

SUNDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2008 00:00 WARREN WILCZEWSKI

Russia’s efforts to create within the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) a more focused “Big Gas Troika” composed of Iran, Qatar, and Russia have been identified as a serious threat to European, and global energy security. Following an October 21st, 2008 meeting in Tehran between representatives of the three countries, a Gazprom press release suggested this producer’s group (also referred to as a “Gas G3”) could be expanded, and include other GECF countries in what Alexei Miller calls an “Energy Pole.” Parallels with OPEC, which at its inception also functioned as a consultative body, are clear; the proposed organization bears the hallmarks of a nascent cartel – an Organization of Gas Exporting Countries (OGEC), with Russia in the driver’s seat. In the short term, prospects of such a cartel have remained a marginal concern for EU Energy Commissioner Andris Pielbags, who finds Norway’s categorical opposition to membership in such an organization reassuring. A recent IEA report, however, suggests such a cartel may indeed emerge within ten years, further empowering its members in their dealings with major gas importing countries.   

Motivations behind the recent flurry of activity vary. With crude (and thus prices of gas exports linked to it) currently below Russia’s $70 budget break-even point, the Kremlin needs a catalyst to bring prices up again. In this sense the aftermath of the Georgia conflict must have been a disappointment. Despite reports of Russian bombs landing just meters away from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, energy prices continued dropping throughout August. Simultaneous saber-rattling rhetoric from Tehran, and suggestions by Revolutionary Guard General Mohammad Ali Jafari of a possible strike on US forces in the Strait of Hormuz, also failed to slow this downward slide. As prices continued to fall into September Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, attending OPEC’s Vienna meeting as an observer, suggested closer cooperation with the oil cartel, and proposed holding a meeting of the group in Moscow. After even this move failed to halt the decline in oil prices, to which most of Russia’s gas supply contracts are linked, a new approach was required. read more

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.

OPEC Clashes With Goldman on $75 Oil as Demand Slumps

Oslo-based StatoilHydro ASA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc of The Hague postponed investments in Canada’s oil sands this year after tumbling prices reduced potential profits.

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.