Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L), based on the average among some analysts, is expected to show comparable net profit of $2.5 billion, down 69 percent from a year ago.
October, 2009:
Eyes on oil output as majors battle refining slump
SEX, DRUGS & CORRUPTION SPONSORED BY SHELL
SEX, DRUGS & CORRUPTION SPONSORED BY SHELL
By John Donovan of royaldutchshellplc.com: October 2009
Shell senior management pretends that it stands resolutely behind the anti-corruption pledges in the Shell General Business Principles.
This scandal had it all; bribes, drugs, sex and oil. As can be seen from the supporting evidence and articles below, Shell was a prime sponsor of the immoral and illegal activities, which also breached Shells claimed ethical code. Further proof that Shell General Business Principles are a complete fraud.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the U.S. Department of The Interior and the Office of Inspector General initiated an investigation in 2006 after receiving allegations from a confidential source that improprieties were occurring within the Royalty in Kind Program (RIK). The following extracts in italics, not necessarily in original order, are taken directly from the official report.
Shell donates $450K to protect state’s marine life
BATON ROUGE, La. - The state's efforts to protect marine life in coastal waters and the Gulf of Mexico have received a boost with a $450,000 donation from Shell.
Infamy of the former interior secretary, Gale Norton
Denver Post
Greene: Integrity breaks new ground at Interior Department
By Susan GreeneDenver Post Columnist Posted: 10/22/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
It takes a special something to become the first and only member of George W. Bush’s Cabinet investigated formally for criminal corruption.
That distinction goes to Colorado’s own Gale Norton.
I write not to inflict more infamy on the former interior secretary as federal grand jury subpoenas make their way into her mailbox.
Rather, it’s worth noting how far the Interior Department has come since Norton, her successor and their one-time boss, the former oilman turned president, were giving away oil-shale leases like samples at Costco.
Shell’s Chukchi drill plan ruled ‘complete’ by MMS
The federal Minerals Management Service this week deemed Shell Oil's application to drill exploration wells in the Chukchi Sea next year to be complete. That triggers a 30-day deadline for the MMS to review the plan and decide whether to approve it, reject it or require changes.
Oil shale future for U.S.? New rules are in place
The Department of Justice already has launched a probe into whether Bush's Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton used her position to steer three of the six potentially lucrative oil leases to Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the company she works for now.
Leaflet currently being distributed at Shell Centre: Rise of the gripe site
Rise of the gripe site
Extracts from Prospect Magazine Article “Rise of the gripe site”: February 2007
By Derek Brower, senior correspondent Petroleum Economist
How two men and a website in Colchester humbled one of the oil industry giants
It is not the kind of place you would expect to find at the centre of a global energy war. John Donovan’s office is in a modest house in a suburb of Colchester. No electronic maps of Europe adorn his walls, as they do the walls of Gazprom’s Moscow control room. And nor are there any butlers bringing cups of tea and expensive biscuits, as you find at Shell’s head office on the Thames. There is just Donovan’s 89-year-old father, Alfred, in the room next door.
But it is the home of www.royaldutchshellplc.com. a website which can claim to have cost Shell billions of dollars-and helped Vladimir Putin score another victory over western energy interests. This is how.
U.S. Re-Examines Bush-Era Changes to Oil-Shale Leases
On Jan. 15--days before President Barack Obama took office--the Interior Department offered exclusive "lucrative benefits" to six oil-shale lease holders in a way that raised "serious concerns," Mr. Salazar wrote in a letter to the Interior Department's inspector general. Three of those leases are held by a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC for parcels in Colorado.
Shell oil shale leases could be rescinded says U.S. Interior Secretary?
Royal Dutch Shell holds three of the Colorado R&D leases and is currently part of an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department of former Bush Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who later accepted a job with Shell. The DOJ is investigating whether Norton, a former Colorado attorney general, gave favorable treatment to Shell in exchange for a position with the company.
Shell offshore workers died as a result of a Touch F*** All safety regime
LEAFLET CURRENTLY BEING GIVEN TO SHELL EMPLOYEES OUTSIDE SHELL CENTRE
Shell offshore workers died as a result of Brindeds Touch F*** All safety regime
Published by John Donovan of royaldutchshellplc.com Oct 2009
A criminal investigation is currently underway in Scotland relating to alleged corruption allegations involving Shell and officials of the Health & Safety Executive. The investigation follows an email a retired former HSE Group Auditor of Shell International sent to over 600 UK Members of Parliament.
Bill Campbell explained in his email (reprinted below) how the lives of Shell employees working on the Brent Bravo oil platform in the North Sea were lost after Shell senior management put production and profits before safely.
US gives Shell green light for offshore oil drilling in the Arctic
Conservationists say the decision by the Obama administration to allow drilling in the Beaufort Sea repeats Bush era mistakes
Ed Pilkington in Anchorage, Alaska
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 20 October 2009 12.52 BST
Conservationists fear the decision to allow Shell to drill for offshore oil in the Arctic will threaten polar bears and endangered animals. Photograph: Hans Strand/ Hans Strand/Corbis
Conservation groups based in Alaska have accused the Obama administration of repeating the mistakes of George Bush after it gave the conditional go-ahead for Shell to begin drilling offshore for oil and natural gas in the environmentally sensitive Beaufort Sea.
A pirate flag at Shell Centre as a warning to all who enter
EMAIL FROM JOHN DONOVAN TO SHELL ETHICS CHIEF RICHARD WISEMAN: 20 OCTOBER 2009
From: John Donovan <[email protected]>
Date: 20 October 2009 15:24:44 BST
To: [email protected]
Subject: Leaflets at Shell Centre (Revised email)
Dear Mr Wiseman
I understand that a Shell security guard was sent out on a mission to obtain the names of the people issuing our leaflets to Shell employees outside Shell Centre.
That can only be viewed as another act of deliberate intimidation. Why else would they be asked for their names, unless you intend putting them on your Christmas card list?
Exxon ordered to pay $105 million in NYC case
Royal Dutch Shell, BP Plc, Chevron Corp, Citgo Petroleum Corp, Hess Corp and Sunoco Inc have previously settled claims against them for a total of $15 million, the city said.
U.S. Minerals Management Service approves Shell’s 2010 Beaufort Sea plan
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSa.L) plan to drill two wells on leases in Alaska's Beaufort Sea next year won approval on Monday from the U.S. Minerals Management Service.
Nigeria offers ‘revolutionary’ oil deal to delta
Financial Times
By Tom Burgis in Port Harcourt
Published: October 19 2009
Nigeria plans to transfer 10 per cent of all its oil and gas ventures to the inhabitants of the oil-producing Niger Delta, in a multi-billion-dollar bid to end the rebellion that has for years hampered production in sub-Saharan Africa’s leading energy supplier.
Amnesty International Pressure on Shell to Hell
Nearly 100 days have elapsed since the inauguration of the new CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, Sir Peter Voser. Over 2,000 cards and 20 000 electronic postcards have been distributed but the company does not hear appeals by Amnesty International. Yet the company practices in the Niger Delta continue to keep people in poverty. It is time to Shell under the spotlights and flashes to remind him of his responsibilities.
Royal Dutch Shell review to slash law firm roster: needs more antibribery and corruption support
The? oil?company?is looking for firms to provide global advice across eight different practice areas: M&A portfolio; project development; antitrust; IP services, including patent and trademark applications; compliance; antibribery and corruption support; international?dispute resolution; and trading.
Big Oil Looks to Biofuels
Some in the industry are dismissive of the funds the majors are committing. "It's less than peanuts for them, given the size of their investment budgets," says Steen Riisgaard, head of Novozymes AS, a Danish company that provides enzymes used in the production of bioethanol.
Shell, for example, has spent about $1.7 billion on alternative energy and carbon-emission-reducing technologies like CCS in the past five years, while its total capital investment budget last year was $32 billion.
Chevron announces new gas find off Australia
SAN RAMON, Calif. Energy company Chevron Corp. said Sunday it has made an additional discovery of natural gas in the giant Gorgon gas field being developed off the northwest coast of Australia.
royaldutchshellplc.com publishs a relentless stream of insider leaks
Two men and a website mount vendetta against Shell – SUNDAY TIMES ARTICLE 19 JULY 2009: “Their site has become a major thorn in the side of Shell, publishing a relentless stream of insider leaks and negative commentary.”
Motiva expansion will eventually employ 6,500
This time next year, about 6,500 people will be working on the Motiva Enterprises refinery expansion, project director Nick Smallwood said.
A Lack of Flare
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC says the unrest hurt efforts to end flaring by making it unsafe to bring in teams to study or set up gas-utilization projects.
Shell takes Final Investment Decision on Gorgon LNG project, Australia
Jon Chadwick, Shells 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.
Gas company Gazprom on brink of sealing tax breaks
Only three years ago, Shell, the world's biggest oil company, was forced to give up control of the giant Sakhalin development, handing over half of its interest to Gazprom after a dispute over costs and the environment.
Shell CEO urges Senate action on climate change
WASHINGTON Royal Dutch Shell Chairman Jorma Ollila on Thursday urged the U.S. Senate to make clear progress on legislation capping greenhouse gas emissions before international climate change negotiations in December.
MEND to resume attacks on Nigerian oil
RADIO NEDERLAND
16 October 2009
The Nigerian rebel group the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, says it will take up arms again and resume attacks on oil production facilities. The group had called a cease-fire in July after Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua offered an unconditional amnesty and released one of MEND’s main leaders Henry Okah. The government says 8,000 MEND commanders and soldiers have taken advantage of the amnesty and turned in their weapons.
However MEND has dismissed the amnesty as a “charade” and says that the government purchased many of the weapons it said had been turned in by rebels.
Shell In Talks With Iraq Over Kirkuk Oil Field – Sources
ISTANBUL (Dow Jones)--Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) is renegotiating with Iraq about the Kirkuk oil field, one of Iraq's largest oil producing areas, after it didn't win access to the field in the country's first licensing auction, held in Baghdad in June, company sources and Iraqi oil officials said Friday
ArcLight Closes on Acquisition of 50% Interest in Houston Fuel Oil Terminal Company, LLC from Motiva Enterprises, LLC
BOSTON, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ — ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC (“ArcLight”) has closed on the acquisition of the remaining 50% membership interest in Houston Fuel Oil Terminal Company, LLC (“HFOTCO”) from Motiva Enterprises, LLC. ArcLight acquired its initial 50% interest in HFOTCO in October 2007 from Chartco, LLC.
HFOTCO is the U.S. Gulf Coast’s largest black oil facility with 11 million barrels of tankage in operation and another 2 million barrels currently under construction. Since 1979 HFOTCO has been storing, blending and moving residual oil for carbon black manufacturers, refineries, bunker suppliers and oil traders. Starting in 1992 HFOTCO began storing and delivering crude oil and feedstock to area refineries.
Email from John Donovan to Shell Ethics Chief Richard Wiseman 16 Oct 09
EMAIL TO RICHARD WISEMAN, CHIEF ETHICS & COMPLIANCE OFFICER, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC
From: John Donovan <[email protected]>
Date: 16 October 2009 20:48:02 BST
To: [email protected]
Subject: Leaflets at Shell Centre
Dear Mr Wiseman
Just to confirm that at 2pm today, I visited Shell Centre and personally established with your security staff the boundary between Shell property and public access property in front of the Shell Centre on York Road. No one from within the building had the courtesy or courage to come outside and deal with me, a long term Shell shareholder. Instead, instructions were given over a two way radio.
Leaked emails, Gale Norton, Corruption and Oil Shale worth billions to Shell
Previously undisclosed internal emails from the Bush Interior Department and Royal Dutch Shell Plc--which held three leases and stood to benefit more from the amendments than any firm--show a concerted if uncoordinated effort to deal with the expected blowback to the amendments. The emails were obtained by the Tribune Washington bureau.
The dirty little secret of Shell’s reorganization
By a Shell Insider
It comes under many guises and code words, it is hushed at the high levels, among VPs, and in the HR circles, it is not to be openly recognized, it is hidden behind a thin veneer of diversity and giving opportunities to the young.
The little secret of this reorganization is blatant age discrimination. Nobody will admit to it, at least not in public, but the signs and its effects are clear: age, specifically the 55-year-old barrier, is the determining factor in appointments at the EC-1 and EC-2 levels, and it has been hinted as one of the main criteria in EC-3 decisions.
Carson residents sue Shell over neighborhood contaminated with cancer-causing benzene
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Carson residents sue Shell over toxic chemical
Posted 10/15/2009 10:30 AM ET
CARSON, Calif. (AP) Hundreds of Carson residents have sued Shell Oil Co., claiming it contaminated a neighborhood with cancer-causing benzene and that at least four residents have died as a result.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Long Beach Superior Court on behalf of 343 residents, involves a tank farm that Shell operated in the Los Angeles suburb from 1924 to 1967.
The residents claim Shell knowingly contaminated the Carousel neighborhood. The lawsuit also names a real estate firm that bought out the developer of the housing tract.
Unloveable Shell, the Goddess of Oil
By John Donovan
Printed below is probably the most impactful article every written about Shell. It was published by the Guardian newspaper on November 15, 1997. Click here to view the original article with extraordinarily dramatic graphics
For a century, Shell has explored the Earth to make our lives more comfortable. But in its wake, says Andrew Rowell, lies corruption, despoliation and death
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh went to the Shell Centre on the Thames riverside near Waterloo last Tuesday, to crown the companys centenary celebrations. Critics claim the timing of the Queens visit was slightly unfortunate: it came just one day after the second anniversary of Ken Saro-Wiwas death in Nigeria: he was campaigning against Shells oil exploitation in the region.
JOHN DONOVAN REPLY LETTER TO SHELL 15 OCT 2009
15 October 2009
Mr Gavin White
Company Secretarial Department
Shell International Limited
Shell Centre
London
SE1 7NA
Your Ref: LC-SFL
Dear Mr White
Data Protection Act 1998 Subject Access Request
Thank you for your letter dated 15 September 2009.
I have enclosed the completed Parts A & B and have supplied a copy of my drivers licence bearing my photograph. If you want to see the original, I will have it with me outside the main front entrance of the Shell Centre on York Road at 2pm on Friday 16 October where I will be distributing leaflets relating to Shell. You are of course welcome in any event to pop outside to obtain a leaflet.
Biofuel Industry Built From Scratch
Iogen, a Canadian firm backed by Shell, makes ethanol from wheat straw and supplied a Shell station in Ottawa for a month last summer
Shell Oman Marketing Names Blascos as Chairman, Replacing Andrew Wood
By Shaji Mathew
Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) — Shell Oman Marketing Co., a oil products marketing and distribution company in Oman, appointed John Blascos as chairman, replacing Andrew Wood.
Wood resigned from the board after his retirement from Royal Dutch Shell Plc, according to a company statement to the Muscat bourse today. Royal Dutch Shell owns 49 percent of Shell Oman Marketing.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shaji Mathew in Dubai at [email protected]
At least four deaths from Shell Oil contamination – lawsuit allegations
A law firm representing 343 residents of a Carson housing tract filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Shell Oil, alleging the company knowingly contaminated the neighborhood more than 40 years ago. The lawsuit, filed in Long Beach Superior Court, alleges that residents have been harmed, and some have died, as a result of elevated levels of benzene in the Carousel neighborhood.
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL USING BULLY BOY TACTICS TO THWART LAWFUL PROTEST IN LONDON
EMAIL TO BORIS JOHNSON, MAYOR OF LONDON
From: John Donovan <[email protected]>
Date: 14 October 2009 19:32:16 BST
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: ROYAL DUTCH SHELL USING BULLY BOY TACTICS TO THWART LAWFUL PROTEST IN LONDON
Dear Boris
I currently have a team of three people on most business days distributing Shell related leaflets in the vicinity of the Shell Centre in York Road, Waterloo. The main thrust of allegations set out in the leaflets are not directed at ordinary Shell employees, many of whom work in fear of being “culled” or forced to reapply for their own jobs, but against their ruthless fat cat bosses.
Leaflet distributed at Shell Centre Wednesday 14/15/16 Oct 2009
THE SHELL SMART HIGH COURT TRIAL
By John Donovan of royaldutchshellplc.com: Oct 2009
Some Shell employees may be puzzled why our leaflets are being distributed at Shell Centre a decade after a trial regarding the origin of the Shell SMART loyalty card had ended, supposedly in stalemate, with me withdrawing all allegations of impropriety against Shell in a so-called joint statement. In reality the stalemate announcement was a face-saving fabrication conjured up by Shell lawyers.
Shell settled the litigation in the midst of the cross-examination of a dishonest Shell manager AJL at the heart of all of our four High Court actions. Shell had already settled our first three claims. Scrutiny of his diaries and other documents released to us in discovery revealed that he was a disgruntled employee on the make. He had masterminded a corrupted tender process for our multi-partner loyalty card scheme, had stolen confidential IT property from numerous parties, including us, and funnelled them all to an agency with whom he had a close personal private relationship.
Shell settles with Nigerian tribe
The Ogoni claim victory over the oil giant, although the company insists the $15.5-million award is a humanitarian gesture.
June 13, 2009
After 13 years of litigation, Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to settle with plaintiffs who accused the oil giant of complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria, the most infamous of which was the execution of prominent playwright, author and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. A member of the Ogoni tribe, Saro-Wiwa was a vocal critic of Shell and the brutal military government of Gen. Sani Abacha. His eloquence brought international attention to Shell’s questionable environmental practices in the Niger River delta and the government’s lax regulation of environmental laws.
Thousands of Shell workers asked to reapply for their jobs
Daily Telegraph
Wednesday 14 October 2009
A “few thousand” employees at Royal Dutch Shell have been asked to submit applications for their own jobs, as BP predicts stable oil prices over the next few years.
Peter Voser, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, said the group was continuing with a review of its refineries business Photo: Bloomberg News
Peter Voser, the Anglo-Dutch group’s new chief executive, said at an oil conference in London that staff had been invited to reapply for their jobs, but he would not say how many positions would be lost.
Mr Voser also said the group was continuing with a review of its refineries business, although he said that the current climate for asset sales was “challenging.”
Latest on Shell Job Cuts will appear here shortly
Latest on Shell Job Cuts will appear here shortly…
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Shell CEO: Company Restructuring In 3rd Phase
OCTOBER 13, 2009, 10:11 A.M. ET
LONDON (Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s (RDSB.LN) restructuring has entered its third phase, requiring a few thousand staff members in the third tier of management beneath the executive committee to reapply for their jobs, Chief Executive Peter Voser said Tuesday.
This phase will last approximately four to eight weeks, Voser told reporters on the sidelines of an Energy Institute event in London. He declined to comment on how many jobs will be cut through this process.
Company Web site: www.shell.com
HUMAN RIGHTS ARE UNDER ATTACK IN THE NIGER DELTA. AND SHELL WANTS TO WASH ITS HANDS OF ALL RESPONSIBILITY
FROM A SHELL INSIDER (KNOWN TO US)
Dear John
I am sending you the enclosed just in case you haven’t seen it.
For Amnesty to campaign against Shell in this way is, in my opinion, highly significant.
Amnesty is highly respected and immensely careful in what they place in the public domain. They would not do this unless they were 100% sure of their facts.
Amnesty’s story is deeply shocking and it demands the widest possible publicity. And it demands an answer and action from Shell.
Over to you!
vhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0QTxz5rTxU
Shell, Nestlé and Motorola among companies failing to come clean about pollution in China, says Greenpeace
Shell, Nestlé and Motorola are among 18 corporations that have failed to come clean about how dirty their operations are in China, according to an investigation by Greenpeace.
Airline flies first passenger flight on natural gas
"Today's flight opens the door to an alternative to oil-based aviation fuel," Malcolm Brinded, Royal Dutch Shell's executive director upstream international, said in a statement late on Monday.
Shell CEO: Nigeria Security Situation Still Very Fragile
Dow Jones Newswires
Tuesday, 13 October 2009 – 14:10LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The security situation in Nigeria’s troubled oil producing delta region remain very fragile despite a recent successful amnesty for rebels in the area, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) Chief Executive Peter Voser said Tuesday.
The Nigerian government has had some success with its amnesty, but it is far too early to say if things have improved and, “overall the security situation is still very fragile,” Voser told reporters on the sidelines of the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum in London.
Shell Nigerian onshore oil output heavily down
Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:13am EDT
LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) onshore oil output in Nigeria has been heavily curtailed by violence, the company’s chief executive said on Tuesday.
“We have a huge proportion of our onshore production shut in at this stage,” Peter Vosel told reporters. “I think we are now at 120,000 barrels per day and we used to be close to 300,000. These are Shell’s share (production).”
Violence in the Niger Delta, where Shell has long been a dominant player, has declined significantly since President Umaru Yar’Adua offered an unconditional pardon to militants in June. Activists say peace will only last if work can be found fast for those who have disarmed. [ID:nL5719632]
Motiva ramping up to hire thousands of workers at Port Arthur refinery?
Motiva Enterprises, which is adamant that its project never shut down and the company is ramping up to hire thousands of workers. "Construction continues on the 325,000 barrel-per-day capacity expansion project at Motiva's Port Arthur refinery, though on a new timetable given current market conditions," said Nick Smallwood, Motiva Crude Expansion Project director. "The new production capacity is expected to be online in the first quarter of 2012."
China: Shell chalks up expansion plans for more gas pumps
Royal Dutch Shell said Monday it plans to develop 100 gas stations in Shaanxi province with its Chinese partners, in a move to expand its oil retail network in the country.
Qatar inaugurates Pearl GTL control room
Peter Voser, Shell chief executive officer, hosted a senior Qatari delegation that also included Mohammed Saleh Al-Sada, minister of state for energy and industry affairs, Qatar Petroleum directors, and members of the Pearl GTL management committee. Voser said, Over 48,000 people are working on the Pearl GTL sitethe largest single construction site in the oil and gas industry today. Much work remains to be done but we are on schedule to deliver.