The pipe-laying ship, the Solitaire , arrived in what was a massive show of force, surrounded by Garda aqua units, private security boats and the Navy. On land, the approach roads swarmed with more than 200 gardaí and the same number of security men to prevent protesters disrupting the project.
July, 2009:
What next in a land divided?
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.
Enhanced gas claims mostly hot air
We assume youre asking about Shell Oils latest ad campaign, which calls the companys gasoline nitrogen enhanced. Well, like most of the enhancement offers that come via e-mail these days, this one should probably be ignored...
Nigeria Militant Will Accept Amnesty If Okah Is Freed
In an interview late Friday, Busta Rhymes -- a pseudonym for a Nigerian militant, not the American hip-hop artist -- said the oil companies "are not paying us for their security. We are not their slave."
What a gas
The Sunday Times
// July 12, 2009Your aptly doctored photos of two of the protagonists in the Shell to Sea campaign in army garb (D-Day: the Mayo landing, Focus, last week) made me laugh.
But maybe the mock-up was appropriate given that in the public mind the battle is over and the end is in sight. D-Day indeed. With the disposition of some of the ringleaders to step aside and let imported young students take the rap, I am reminded of the last days of WWII when boy soldiers were encouraged to take up cudgels.
Credit is due to the government and its agencies for standing firm in the face of threats and intimidation. Spurious claims about safety have long been put to bed. Bring on the gas; too much time has been wasted.
Fool on the drill
The Sunday Times
// <
Posted by Nick Fletcher Friday 10 July 2009 08.56 BST guardian.co.uk
Oil shares are leading the market lower after negative comments overnight by Chevron, the second largest oil company in the US.
The company warned that its second quarter downstream profits would be significantly lower than the previous three months, due to a sharp decline in refining margins. Higher costs and weaker demand are doing the damage, said the company.
The news hit sentiment across the sector, with BP down 5.75p at 459.5p and Royal Dutch Shell A shares 19p lower at £14.33.
Oil Refiners and Farmers Lobby for Climate Change Concessions
Major oil company Royal Dutch Shell is urging the U.S. Senate to give oil refiners a bigger share of free pollution permits under a cap-and-trade plan to fight global warming than the House of Representatives provided in its climate change legislation, reports Reuters. The Senate is currently drafting its version of the climate change bill.
Exxon Shale-Gas Find Looks Big
Royal Dutch Shell PLC spent $6 billion to acquire Canadian Duvernay Oil Corp. and its acreage in a prospective unconventional-gas formation.
Shell beats Wal-Mart as top firm
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 BBC NewsOil giant Royal Dutch Shell has replaced US retail group Wal-Mart as the world’s largest company, the latest annual survey by Fortune magazine says. There are also fewer US corporations in the list of the 500 biggest firms than at any time since the publication started keeping records in 1995. The annual survey ranks the largest companies by revenues, not profits. The new list gives ammunition to those who believe the US’s top dog status in the global economy is under threat. For the first time in 10 years, the biggest firm is not from the US. Anglo-Dutch firm Shell has pipped US rival Exon Mobil and Wal-Mart to the top slot. Forbes said Shell’s annual revenues were $458bn, roughly the same as the national income of Saudi Arabia. Exxon’s profits however are greater than Shell’s, at $45.2bn compared with $26.2bn. Oil firms dominate There are also fewer US companies in the biggest 500 than in any previous survey. China has more firms listed than before, and for the first time a Chinese company – Sinopec, an energy supplier – is in the top 10. But the US still has 140 firms in the list while China’s tally is just 37. The latest survey also confirms the dominance of oil companies, with seven in the top 10, despite the steep drop in crude prices in the past year. FORTUNE TOP 5 (REVENUES)
Royal Dutch Shell: $458bn
Exxon Mobil: $442bn
Wal-Mart Stores: $406bn
BP $367bn
Chevron: $263bn
Source: Fortune 500 survey
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Shell May Close or Sell Montreal East Oil Refinery
Refiners need to consolidate and close plants to increase profitability, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said yesterday. The Hague-based Shell put two refineries in northern Germany up for sale earlier this year. Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser has pledged to simplify decision-making and cut costs against a deteriorating economic backdrop.
Shell says U.S. oil refiners need more CO2 permits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major oil company Royal Dutch Shell urged the U.S. Senate on Wednesday to give oil refiners a bigger share of free pollution permits under a cap-and-trade plan to fight global warming than the House of Representatives provided in its climate change legislation.
Shell Unveils European, Asian Ad Push
MarketingDaily
July 9, 2009
By Karl Greenberg
Royal Dutch Shell has launched a European and Asian ad push, “Get the most out of every drop,” via JWT London. The campaign, which uses a watercolor-like creative approach wherein moving images of cars seem to arise from paintings, are meant to tout Shell’s V-Power products. The campaign uses regionally customized broadcast spots that were created by N.Y.-based Stardust with JWT London.
Within each country, the campaign has a set of regional broadcast spots that start with a drop of fuel falling onto a piece of paper, through which one sees a range of vehicles driving down different streets. The ads also drive consumers to www.shell.com/everydrop. The first of a juggernaut of 11 such ads started in targeted countries this spring, with the latest raft of six TV spots launching this week.
Royal Dutch Shell crowned world’s largest corporation
BloggingStocks
Posted Jul 8th 2009 1:10PM by Beth Gaston Moon
Who said big oil was a dying business? Fortune has released its Global 500, their “annual ranking of the world’s largest corporations,” and topping the charts is Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A), which, much like a Mariah Carey song, bumped up into the coveted number-one slot after some time at number three. The Netherlands-based oil company trumped its U.S. rival, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) by $15 billion in sales and saw its revenue spike nearly 29% from 2007.
Meet Shell’s new CEO
CNNMoney/Fortune Magazine
Peter Voser, head of the world’s largest oil company, is shaking things up.
By Peter Gumbel, Europe editor
July 8, 2009: 8:33 AM ET(Fortune Magazine) — Royal Dutch Shell this year has toppled Exxon Mobil from the top of the list of Fortune Global 500 companies, just as the Dutch oil company gets a new CEO. Peter Voser, 50, is a Swiss finance expert and Shell veteran who left the company in 2002 to help turn around the Swiss engineering firm ABB, and then came roaring back two years later.
Even before he took the helm on July 1, Voser signaled that Shell was in for some internal upheaval under his leadership. In late May he fired off a companywide memo complaining that costs were too high, the organization was too complex, and its culture “too consensus-oriented.”
Back to petroleum
After the plunge in oil and gas prices, this year's profits will be much lower than last year's record $25.6bn, but a cost-cutting drive, taking more than 5,000 jobs out of the business, has left BP better positioned than Shell to cope with lower revenues. On the stock market, it has in the past year outperformed Shell and ExxonMobil, the biggest western oil group.
Nigeria Rebels Claim Attacks on Shell, Agip Oil Pipes
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group in Nigerias oil region, said it sabotaged major crude trunk lines run by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA subsidiary Agip.
Shell cuts IT contractor pay rates
In an internal memo last month, the oil giant said that both new and existing IT contractors across its entire operation would cut day rates by 12 per cent, or face termination.
Nigeria arrests 3 men with explosive material
Colonel Rabe Abubakar, spokesman for the military task force, said the men were arrested early Tuesday while carrying bomb-making chemicals at Forcados in Delta state. Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) operates a major network of pipelines, oilfields and a major crude oil export terminal in Forcados.
High time to hit the City cheats very hard
The biggest FSA fine ever was a £17 million penalty meted out to Shell for misleading its own shareholders. Since no Shell manager was successfully pursued, the consequence was that the shareholders, the victims of the scandal, ended up indirectly paying the fine.
Fines to double or triple as FSA gets tough with City wrongdoers
The biggest fine was £17 million paid by Shell in 2004 after it misled shareholders about the size of its oil and gas reserves.
Jordan seeks oil riches from shale deposits
In May, Royal Dutch Shell signed a deal to explore and possibly eventually exploit Jordans deep oil shale deposits, which are among the worlds largest.
Shell Downgraded by HSBC on Refining, Investment Plan
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europes largest oil company, was downgraded by HSBC Holdings Plc on costs for unconventional crude projects such as oil sands in Canada and possible weak refining margins.
Shell turns the thumbscrews on contractors and ALL contractor labour suppliers
By John Donovan
The alarm bells signaling Shell’s intent to act ruthlessly towards contractors have been ringing for several months. It seems that the thumbscrews are also being applied to ALL contractor labour suppliers.
News of Shell’s plans to intensify cost-cutting in reaction to the ressession and falling oil prices was contained in a leaked Shell internal email from Shell executive Malcolm Brinded that we supplied to Reuters in January. Hence the article: “Shell gets tough on costs as oil prices bite”.
Crude Oil Falls on Dollar Advance, Speculation of Supply Gains
MEND said yesterday it attacked an oil facility run by Royal Dutch Shell Plc in the countrys southern region.
A New Chief at Shell, and a Rocky Inheritance
GREEN INC.
By TOM ZELLER Jr.
Published: July 5, 2009
NEW YORK Even as Jeroen van der Veer was preparing to pass the baton to Peter Voser, who took over as chief executive of the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell last Wednesday, the contentious legacy of the companys activity in Nigeria was nipping at its heels.
Just a few weeks earlier, Shell had agreed to settle a court case stemming from the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a leader of the indigenous Ogoni environmental movement in Nigeria who had protested against Shells environmental practices in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
Shell upgrades Qatar status to that of region
Gulf Times
Brown: Shell is investing more in Qatar than in any other country
Latest Update: Sunday5/7/2009July, 2009, 09:48 PM Doha Time
By Pratap John
Chief Business Reporter
Shell has elevated Qatar to the status of a region in its new corporate structure.
Qatar Shell now ranks alongside Europe, Africa, the rest of the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia-Pacific as a regional division. The only other Shell country organisation that has regional division status on its own is Australia.
Andy Brown becomes executive vice-president of Qatar Shell, reporting directly to Malcolm Brinded, executive director (Upstream International). Brown will be responsible for all Shell activities in Qatar.
Shell deal with Russia looks likely
Lauren Mills, Financial Mail
5 July 2009, 11:34am
move would set the ball rolling for Shell to firm up details of its potential involvement in developing the deep-water fields.
Jeroen van der Veer, who stepped down as Shell’s chief executive last Wednesday, said: ‘As far as we know, the situation regarding licensing will be resolved in the near future.’
He met Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last weekend. As revealed by Financial Mail, the Anglo-Dutch oil company was asked for its help in developing the vast Sakhalin-3 and Sakhalin-4 oil and gas fields.
Boat sinking claim denied
The Sunday Times
July 5, 2009 Mark Tighe The head of the security firm employed by Shell at Glengad beach has dismissed allegations by two prominent protesters that his staff were involved in an assault or sank a boat.Jim Farrell, a director of IRMS security, said he could not believe claims made by both Willie Corduff, one of the Rossport Five, and Pat ODonnell, a Shell to Sea campaigner.
Corduff alleges that masked men beat him on the morning of April 23 after he lay under a truck near Glengad. He has refused to make a statement to gardai.
Focus: D-Day: the Mayo landing
Some hardline Shell to Sea protesters are preparing for a final conflict over the Mayo gas pipeline
The Scandinavian Mafia is taking over
View from the Top – Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP
By Richard Milne
Published: July 3 2009 03:00 | Last updated: July 3 2009 03:00
We’ve seen a new chairman at BP, somebody who’s not British . . . The Scandinavian Mafia is taking over. It’s extraordinary. You’ve got Shell, you’ve got Unilever, and now you’ve got BP.
Is it worrying that we can’t find British chairmen? It is worrying. I don’t want to be nationalistic about it and we are living in a global economy, but it is a little bit amazing, isn’t it? . . . It’d be interesting to see whether any Chinese or Indians would be appointed to those positions.
Shell Disputes Amnesty Report on Nigeria
THE NEW YORK TIMES
July 2nd, 2009
By JAD MOUAWAD
As violence in Nigerias oil-rich Niger Delta escalates, Amnesty International released a new report this week condemning oil companies for wide-scale environmental damages and abuse on impoverished communities along the delta.
But Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant that created the Nigerian oil industry, has reacted testily to the new campaign by the human rights group, saying the report failed to provide a proper picture of what caused violence and degradation in the delta.
Nigeria oil company rejects damning Amnesty report
A Shell spokesman said the company shares Amnesty's concern for the people in the Niger Delta but disputes the group's assessment of its corporate accountability.
Shell’s Sinister Relationship with Nigerian Militants
A report – Shell’s Big Dirty Secret – issued on 28 June 2009 by green organisations including Friends of the Earth, reveals that Shell executives continued to approve gas flaring in Nigeria for financial reasons, despite knowing of the consequential serious environmental and health dangers. It also exposes Shell’s machinations in respect of climate change and damaging emissions. The report concludes that Shell is the world’s dirtiest oil company.
That conclusion is correct in more than one sense.
New Shell CEO has toughest task in European business
A lawsuit filed in New York accusing the oil giant of complicity in the execution of human rights activists in Nigeria in the 1990s, which Shell settled earlier this month, renewed criticism of the company's activities in Nigeria, often seen as the poster child for how oil wealth can damage a country.
Oil groups resist tough bid terms
Royal Dutch Shell initially bid for the Kirkuk field but rejected Iraq's demand for better terms.
Report blames Shell over ‘cover-up’ of Nigeria’s oil spills
Independent auditors estimate that up to 13 million barrels of oil have been spilt in the Delta, an amount equivalent to an Exxon Valdez disaster every year for 40 years. The Niger Delta is home to some 31 million people, the majority of whom live in abject poverty despite the $600bn in oil revenues generated since extraction began in 1958. Nigeria's own watchdog reports that there are 2,000 current spills, the majority of them from Shell operations.
Let’s see this new Shell
If the oil giant truly wants reconciliation in the Niger Delta, its incoming CEO must take concrete action
Challenge to Shell’s Alaska drill plan dismissed
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 30 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court has dismissed a legal action that challenged Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSa.L) plans to drill several wells over three years in Alaska's Beaufort Sea, now that the company itself has ditched the program and replaced it with a more limited exploration proposal.
Defending Shell’s good name and reputation
By John Donovan of royaldutchshellplc.com
There has been some discussion on our Shell Blog about the right to freedom of speech on the Internet. A regular contributor “motivaman” has referred to decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding this fundamental right.
Readers may be interested in comments made by Shell on such matters.
In unsuccessful proceedings Shell brought against us in 2005, in respect of the domain name royaldutchshellplc.com, Shell stated in a submission to The World Intellectual Property Organisation:
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: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
