Carl Mortished World Business Editor
September, 2009:
Gale Norton at centre of corruption inquiry over oil-shale awards to Shell
Justice Dept. Investigates Ex-Officials Ties to Shell
THE NEW YORK TIMES
By NEIL A. LEWIS Photograph: Stephen Crowley/The New York Times: Gale A. Norton, who now works for Royal Dutch Shell. WASHINGTON The Justice Department is investigating whether a former secretary of the interior, Gale A. Norton, violated the law by granting valuable leases to Royal Dutch Shell around the time she was considering going to work for the company after she left office, officials said Thursday.The officials said investigators had recently turned up information suggesting that Ms. Norton had had discussions while in office with Royal Dutch Shell about future career opportunities. In early 2006, Ms. Nortons department awarded three tracts in Colorado to a Shell subsidiary for shale exploration. In December 2006, she joined Shell as the companys general counsel in the United States for unconventional oils, a company spokeswoman said.
The existence of a federal criminal investigation was first reported Thursday by The Los Angeles Times.
Shell ‘unhappy’ with contempt ruling
A DISTRICT Court judge who recently ruled that Shell EP Ireland was in contempt of court was told yesterday the company was very unhappy with her judgment and wished it to be clarified by the High Court.
Shell conciliatory as Greenpeace protest ends
Shell Canada is succeeding where Edmonton and Ottawa have largely failed to date: it is trying to engage environmental groups to discuss Alberta's oilsands.
Gale Norton investigation: the Stink of Royal Dutch Shell Corruption
The criminal investigation by the US Justice Department into former Interior Secretary Gale Norton and the award of oil shale leases to the oil company Shell, which subsequently became her employer, comes as no surprise. The stink of corruption is long-lasting, as Shell is aware.
For more than two years, I have publicly drawn attention to this subject, including comments posted on a Denver Post article.
One moment Norton was the head of a US government department negotiating multibillion dollar agreements with Shell, the next (months later) she was working for Shell. This was blatantly improper and against the public interest. It smelt to high heaven.
Criminal investigation by US Justice Dept into Shell multibillion dollar oil shale deal
Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton is focus of corruption probe
The Justice Department investigation centers on a 2006 decision to award oil shale leases in Colorado to a Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary. Months later, the oil giant hired Norton as a legal counsel.
By Jim Tankersley and Josh Meyer
September 17, 2009
Reporting from Washington – The Justice Department is investigating whether former Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton illegally used her position to benefit Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the company that later hired her, according to officials in federal law enforcement and the Interior Department.
The criminal investigation centers on the Interior Department’s 2006 decision to award three lucrative oil shale leases on federal land in Colorado to a Shell subsidiary. Over the years it would take to extract the oil, according to calculations from Shell and a Rand Corp. expert, the deal could net the company hundreds of billions of dollars.
U.S. Ending Oil-Royalty Program After Sex and Drugs Scandal Involving Shell
New York Times
By JOHN M. BRODER Published: September 16, 2009WASHINGTON The Interior Department is ending the oil and gas royalty program that ignited a major scandal last year when it was revealed that federal employees had engaged in corruption, drug use and sexual misconduct with industry officials.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, shown here on Monday, said on Wednesday that his department is to phase out an oil and gas royalty program that ignited a major corruption scandal last year.
The Interior secretary, Ken Salazar, told a House committee on Wednesday morning that he was phasing out the royalty-in-kind program administered by the agencys Minerals Management Service. The program allows oil companies to pay the government in oil and gas rather than in cash for the right to drill on federal lands. Recent audits have shown that the government failed to collect tens of millions of dollars in royalties owed under the program.
Shell runs oil sands mine as protest enters day 2
CALGARY, Alberta, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) said on Wednesday its Muskeg River oil sands mine in northern Alberta was operating at full production as an environmental protest at the site entered its second day.
Job Cut Rumors Circulating Inside Royal Dutch Shell…
It is no secret that Shell is planning major job cuts.
Royal Dutch Shell CEO Pete Voser first warned of job cuts months ago but has not been forthcoming on details.
The long delay has led to numerous press articles on the subject. Just days ago the Times reported that up to 10,000 jobs are expected to go.
This has all naturally led to speculation and rumor.
Here are some currently in circulation…
Some people apparently are whispering about cullings of 20-30% in Rijswijk and head office in The Hague…
Motivaman for president!
Motiva Enterprises LLC Convent Refinery
Overnight postings by Motivaman
OK, lets talk a little about a few things going on at Motiva, Convent.
First, my last post, which was over a month ago, was about a salary person violating a few of the 12 rules and nothing being done about it. Well another salary guy was caught violating the 12 rules, he was caught taking pictures in a unit without signing in or having a permit. This time Motiva terminated the employee. He was caught violating only one rule unlike the prior incident. Why was this treated different? No one knows. We have a definite inconsistency in the discipline of these rules. I hate for anyone to loose their job, but I think this the handling of this is more along the lines of what should have been done with the prior incident. I have heard the guy whom was let go last week has lawyered up and will sue because he was fired while others were not. Motiva management is playing favorites and I’m glad they are about to get burnt!
SHELL JOY OVER £22BN GAS PROJECT LAUNCH
Tuesday September 15,2009
By David Craik
OIL giant Royal Dutch Shell hailed a great milestone yesterday as it gave the green light to the construction of the worlds biggest liquid natural gas project.
Shell, along with partners Chevron and ExxonMobil, said the much-delayed Gorgon LNG project off the coast of Western Australia would be built at a lower than expected cost of $37billion (£22.2billion) as the recent downturn in the industry bit into capital costs.
Chevron will hold a 50 per cent stake in the project, which will begin production in 2014 with an annual capacity of about 15million tonnes per year or eight per cent of the worlds LNG production.
Shell to divest 15 percent of its refining assets
Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:04pm EDT
By Emma Farge
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Oil major Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) plans to divest its global refining assets to the tune of around 15 percent in the next few years, a senior company official said on Tuesday.
“We are looking to reduce overall refining assets by around 15 percent,” Mark Gainsborough, Shell’s executive vice president of downstream strategy, said in a panel discussion at an industry conference.
That represents about 600,000 barrels per day.
Shell halts mining as activists protest oil sands
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc has suspended production at its Canadian oil sands mine after environmental activists blockaded a massive dump truck and mining shovel to protest the impact of oil sands development, the company said on Tuesday.
Shell’s female head of gas and power earned £3.9m in 2008 by resigning
Oil company’s ‘golden goodbye’ made Linda Cook the second highest-paid businesswoman in Britain
Terry Macalister, Monday 14 September 2009 18.39 BST: guardian.co.uk
Linda Cook earned £3.9m last year, making her the second best-paid businesswoman in Britain. But the former head of gas and power at Shell only achieved the top remuneration spot after a “golden goodbye” when she left the company after 29 years’ service.
American-born Cook abruptly resigned after losing out to rival Peter Voser in the race for the chief executive role following the retirement of long-standing boss, Jeroen van der Veer.
Shell Stanlow Unionised Workers Group Launch Website
The Unionised operators group, of Unitetheunion (T&G section), at Stanlow Manufacturing Complex have started a website to keep their members informed of what is happening regarding any potential sale of Stanlow by Shell. They have also added a “Message of Support Link” for people to show their support in their fight to maintain their terms and conditions in any transfer.
Paddy Briggs elected as a Trustee of Shell Contributory Pension Fund
It has come to our attention that former Shell executive Paddy Briggs (above) has been elected to serve the thirty-three thousand Shell pensioners in the UK as a Trustee of the Shell Contributory Pension Fund for four years commencing January 2010. In addition to the elected members, the Board of Trustees has seven Shell appointees, including UK country chairman James Smith and Clive Mather, the Chairman of the Board.
The manifesto on which Paddy Briggs was elected was:
“I joined Shell Mex and B.P. in 1964 and retired from Shell in 2002 having worked in Shell UK Ltd, Shell International and operating companies in The Netherlands, Hong Kong and Dubai. The Shell that most of us once worked for is long gone – as the reserves scandal and the recent furore over top executive remuneration have shown. Such events, coupled with the deteriorating financial position of many pensioners (which was exacerbated this year by a derisory 0.9% annual pension increase) illustrate the extent of the changes in Shell and confirm the urgent need for a strong defence of SCPF member interests by the one elected MNT Trustee directors. I was First reserve in the elections in 2007 and hope to go one better this time around. If elected I will do my upmost robustly to represent the interests of the Pensioner constituency and all other beneficiaries of the fund.”
Successful launch at Offshore Europe for new Oil and Gas recruitment site!
Launching a brand new company at such a prestigious event as Offshore Europe would fear even experienced business men, but for Peterhead man, Kevin Forbes, it was the ideal launching platform for his new venture www.oilandgaspeople.com and an opportunity not to be missed!
Shell Motiva US Gas Station Transition Continues
DORAL, Fla. -- As part of the ongoing transition of Shell and Motiva gas stations from direct to wholesaler supplied operations, Shell subsidiary Motiva Enterprises LLC has sold all of its stations in the Miami-Dade County, Fla., market to Sunshine Gasoline Distributors, a Doral, Fla.-based oil company.
Royal Dutch Shell takes Final Investment Decision on Gorgon LNG project, Australia
Jon Chadwick, Shell's Executive Vice President, Australia - Upstream, said: "The Gorgon project will provide important supplies of energy to the fast-growing economies of the Asia-Pacific region and will have a domestic gas supply component which we anticipate will be jointly marketed to gas customers in Western Australia."
The corporate gravy train is still on track but is the mood shifting?
A fine insight was provided this year by Shell, whose pay committee awarded £3.6m in bonuses to executives even though performance targets were missed. The justification was that the scheme allowed the committee to apply "discretion". Shell's cheek was so bare-faced 59% of shareholders voted against the pay report.
Shell Approves A$50 Billion Gorgon LNG Project, Australian Says
Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Australias biggest energy project, the A$50 billion ($43.2 billion) Gorgon liquefied natural gas development, will be unveiled today after joint venture partner Royal Dutch Shell Plc gave the go-ahead at a meeting on Friday, the Australian newspaper said.
Leaked email from Shell Projects & Technology Executive Matthias Bichsel
We have today published a leaked email dated 1 Sept 2009 sent on behalf of Matthias Bichsel, Royal Dutch Shell Plc Director of Projects & Technology. He is also a member of the RDS Plc Executive Committee, which has nine members, including CEO Peter Voser (like Mr Bichsel, a Swiss national). For good measure, we have supplied links to nearly 300 pages of confidential documents relating to Mr Bichsel and the reserves fraud. They include his sworn testimony and his complete CV, far more informative than the brief version published on shell.com
Shell Job Cuts Torture
Peter Voser, left, CEO Royal Dutch Shell, chats with Ron Southern, chairman Atco Group, during Round Table Discussions at Spruce Meadows, Friday Sept. 11, 2009. Photograph by: Ted Jacob, Calgary Herald
By John Donovan (updated in collaboration with a Shell insider)
Shell CEO Peter Voser looks happy and relaxed in this photograph taken at a Calgary conference where he delivered the keynote speech on Friday, but then he is not faced with the prospect of re-applying for his job.
It is notable that his lengthy speech contained not a single word about Shell jobs cuts or the issue of making employees re-apply for their jobs – both subjects of high interest to Shell employees and the news media.
Some light relief for Shell employees waiting for job cuts axe to fall
I will conclude my musings with a rousing song which our beloved senior management will be overjoyed to hear and see on your website which I am sure will add even further to their affection for you and your father.
Shells Voser Sees Time as Top Renewables Challenge
Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europes biggest oil company, said the time needed for large-scale deployment of new energy sources is a bigger challenge than technological advances in replacing fossil fuels.
Up to 10,000 jobs expected to go in Shell restructuring
THE TIMES: Saturday 12 Sept 2009: Mr Voser, who took over from Mr van der Veer two months ago, is forcing through an aggressive cost-cutting programme that has already led to the departure of more than 150 senior managers. Up to 10,000 jobs are expected to go during the restructuring.
Shake-up at Shell after pay backlash
This month, Mr Voser extended plans to cut jobs amid continued pressure to control costs following a big capital spending programme, rising debts and falls in oil and gas prices.
Shell CEO Peter Voser Calgary Speech 11 September 2009
Speech given by Peter Voser, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell plc, at the Spruce Meadows Economic Round Table in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on September 11, 2009.
I will not talk about about actual numbers of staff… reductions – Shell CEO Voser
"I will not talk about actual numbers of staff, (the) number of reductions, because quite clearly this is not about staff numbers," Voser said.
Several thousand more jobs will be slashed – Shell CEO Voser
Voser already has instituted cuts across the integrated oil and gas corporations multinational operations, letting go of 150 top executives from a roster of 750, and has warned several thousand more positions will be slashed from lower positions.
Controversial Head Of Shell Remuneration Bd To Retire
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By James Herron
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SEPTEMBER 11, 2009, 10:47 A.M. ET
LONDON (Dow Jones)–The controversial head of Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s (RDSB.LN) remuneration committee, who angered shareholders by awarding bonuses to executives who had missed performance targets, will step down on October 1, the company said in a statement Friday.
The retirement of Peter Job, “is purely because he has been a non-executive director for nine years,” after which time it is standard corporate practice to retire in order to preserve the independence of the board, said a Shell spokesman.
Royal Dutch Shell plc announces Board Committee changes
The Board of Royal Dutch Shell today announced that Mr Hans Wijers steps down from the Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee and joins the Remuneration Committee where he will succeed Sir Peter Job as Chairman of that Committee with effect from 1 October 2009.
Sir Peter will remain a member of the Committee until his retirement from the Board at the next Annual General Meeting in May 2010, at which time he will have served 9 years as a Non-Executive Director.
Lord Kerr of Kinlochard steps down from the Remuneration Committee and joins the Audit Committee to fill the vacancy arising from Mr Lawrence Ricciardi’s resignation from the Audit Committee. Mr Lawrence Ricciardi joins the Nomination and Succession Committee until his retirement from the Board at the next Annual General Meeting, at which time he will have served 9 years as a Non-Executive Director.
Gorgon to Get Official Go-Ahead From Chevron Next Week, FT Says
Chevron will approve an investment of about A$42 billion ($36 billion) in the venture off Western Australia, the FT said. State Premier Colin Barnett has said the project will cost A$50 billion. Chevron and partners Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc havent given a figure.
Norway Election Loss May Spark Arctic Victory for Shell, Exxon
Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- A defeat for Norways Labor-led coalition in next weeks election may pave the way for oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and StatoilHydro ASA to explore more of the countrys Arctic waters.
Australia agrees $60bn gas deal
US oil firm Chevron has signed $60bn (£36bn) worth of deals to supply natural gas to Japan and South Korea from its Gorgon project in Australia. Chevron and its partners in the project, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, are expected to give the go ahead for production in the coming weeks.
Shell’s Ruthless Exploitation of Gas Station Operators
We have published today a letter received from a throughly disillusioned German businessman Peter Wittig, who for several years, operated a Shell petrol station in Germany.
We noted similarities with Shell dealers who contacted us when we operated the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group. Over 200 Shell UK dealers became members. Like the German businessman, many said they had been deceived and cheated by Shell. This was partly during the period that David Pirret, now a Royal Dutch Shell Executive Vice President, was head of Shell UK Retail Department and therefore the executive responsible for the predatory behaviour. Like Peter Wittig, many Shell UK retailers could not reconcile Shell’s ruthless unscrupulous conduct with the pledges of ethical trading proclaimed in the Shell General Business Principles.
Story of a disillusioned German Shell Station operator
We have printed below a Google Translation from German to English of a letter received from Joachim Peter Wittig, who for several years, operated a Shell petrol station in Germany. Although far from satisfactory, the translation does communicate the basic points being made by Peter Wittig. The original in German language is also provided. It is clear from what is stated that Mr Wittig does not believe the deeds of Shell management match with the pledges of honesty, integrity etc proclaimed in Shell General Business Principles.
Leaked Email from Shell VP Tom Purves reveals confidential Motiva Business Plans
By “Jo Blow”, a Shell/Motiva Insider.
I was asked to provide commentary on the email below which is a Shell/Motiva leaked email provided to this site by another insider. This email is believed to be authentic and authored by the sender Tom Purves, Regional Vice President of Downstream Manufacturing for The Americas Gulf Coast Region. The email was sent to the General Manager of the Motiva Norco Refinery, some site and corporate business planning people, and several finance people.
Stanlow Refinery Workers Ready to Fight Shell
On 18 August, The Sunday Times published an article: Essar bids for British oil refinery in Shell auction. It revealed that Essar, the Indian energy, steel and shipping group, has made a bid for Royal Dutch Shells Stanlow refinery at Ellesmere Port
The unionised group at the refinery held a general meeting last night regarding the plan, under the Voser restructuring process, to sell the refinery (and its workers) to the highest bidder. A related self-explanatory leaked email is published below.
Shell Stanlow Refinery Sale Update
We are in possession of current information relating to the pending sale of the Shell Stanlow Refinery (and its workers) to the highest bidder.
It includes information about a meeting held last night and a related meeting taking place at the refinery today.
We also have a current related Shell internal email.
All will be published, hopefully later today, provided we receive permission from our insider sources.
Harry Brekelmans To Become Shell Exec VP For Strategy, Planning
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
SEPTEMBER 10, 2009, 4:31 A.M. ET
MOSCOW (Dow Jones)–The chief executive of Salym Petroleum Development NV, Harry Brekelmans, is to become Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s (RDSA.LN) executive vice president for strategy and planning, as he steps down as head of the Russia-based joint venture between Sibir Energy PLC (SBE-LN) and Shell, SPD said Thursday.
Brekelmans will be replaced by Simon Durkin, formerly Shell’s managing director for exploration and production in China.
The Salym field in West Siberia is the largest onshore investment project with foreign capital in Russia’s energy sector.
HSBC cuts BP, Shell ratings
MARKETWATCH
By Steve Goldstein
Sep 10, 2009, 4:25 a.m. EST
EXTRACT
LONDON (MarketWatch) — HSBC says the European oil sector is facing headwinds as it downgraded BP to neutral from overweight and Royal Dutch Shell to underweight from neutral. “The sector looks undervalued long term but weak oil prices, cheap U.S. gas and soft refining margins pose short-term risks,” the broker said. It prefers defensive plays like Eni.
BGs huge find propels Brazilian oil to centre stage
A vast new oilfield off the coast of Brazil could contain up to two billion barrels of crude, providing fresh evidence that a spate of discoveries in the region is opening up a new frontier for the global oil industry.
Heavyweights of the black stuff size up the competition
September 10, 2009
David Wighton: Business Editors Commentary
Size matters. In the oil industry, your worth is measured in hundreds of millions of barrels and yesterday BP and BG Group were standing at the bar sizing up each other’s discoveries.
Last week, BP was crowing about Tiber, an offshore discovery at record depths beneath the Gulf of Mexico, with between 4 and 6 billion barrels of oil in place. Yesterday, BG was yesterday claiming that Guara, another deepwater prospect, this time off the coast of Brazil, was bigger.
Shell Job Cuts Update 9 Sept 2009
At the end of July 2009 Shell CEO Peter Voser (above) said:
A new restructuring programme called Transition 2009 which we announced in June, will be completed by the end of this year. This will simplify Shell, and increase personal accountabilities. The top 600 management positions in the new organisation have been announced. This has enabled us to reduce the number of senior management positions by 20%, and substantial further staff reductions are likely.
From confidential information provided by Shell insider sources, we have already published over 450 of the top management appointments, citing names and job titles.
Shell’s planned job cuts will begin soon
By TOM FOWLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 8, 2009, 10:04PM
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is on the verge of carrying through with a large number of previously announced job cuts and reassignments, according to an employee e-mail sent by CEO Peter Voser.
The ranks of Shell’s upper-level management were cut by about 20 percent, from 750 to 600 people.
August was spent re-designing departments and groups within the company, according to the Aug. 31 memo.
Voser said the company will fill positions in the new organization during October and November.
Shell previously said its reorganization would affect about 24,000 of its 102,000 workers, though not necessarily with job cuts in all cases. The company employs nearly 13,000 people in the Houston area.
UK Energy Minister: Sense Of Optimism In UK Oil, Gas Industry
"Any loss of jobs is to be regretted," Hunt said, when asked about rumors that Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) is set to accelerate its restructuring plans and make a number of staff redundant. It is thought the cuts would affect Shell's upstream business.
European oil refineries sold and up for sale
Sources said Essar submitted bids for Royal Dutch Shell's Stanlow.
Iraq May Delay Shell Gas Deal Until Next Yr? Official
VIENNA (Dow Jones)-A multibillion dollar deal between Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and the Iraqi government to jointly develop domestic gas infrastructure in Iraq's south could be delayed until after the country's elections in January, a senior Iraqi oil official said Tuesday.
Shell convicted of contempt of court order
SHELL EP Ireland was last week found in contempt of a District Court order granted at Belmullet District Court in November 2007.
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.
