Royal Dutch Shell Group .com Rotating Header Image

June 14th, 2010:

BP hires investment banks in wake of spill

REUTERS

Michael Erman NEW YORK Mon Jun 14, 2010 5:56pm EDT (Reuters) – BP Plc has hired investment banks Blackstone Group LP, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Credit Suisse Group AG as advisers in the wake of its massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a source familiar with the matter.

BP spokesman Tony Odone said the company had “no comment on who our advisers are and what their role is.”

Odone also said there was no truth to a previous report that the company had hired banks with a mandate to defend it from unwanted takeover attempts.

The company has lost more than 40 percent of its market value since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig that led to the worst U.S. oil spill ever.

Millions of gallons of oil have gushed into the Gulf since an April 20 explosion on an offshore rig killed 11 workers and ruptured BP’s well. The spill has soiled 120 miles of U.S. coastline, imperiled a multibillion-dollar fishing industry, and killed birds, sea turtles and dolphins. 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.

Exxon, Chevron Seek Reprieve From Oil ‘Crucifixion’

Exxon, which pumps more crude than every member of OPEC except Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, abandoned an exploration project known as Blackbeard in the Gulf of Mexico in 2007 rather than risk a blowout. The company quit the project, which sought to drill more than six miles (9.7 kilometers) beneath the seafloor, after repeated pressure surges indicated the well was unstable.

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.

Oil groups distance themselves from BP

Financial Times

By Sheila McNulty in Houston

Published: June 13 2010 20:29 | Last updated: June 13 2010 20:29

The chief executives of the world’s biggest international oil companies will testify on Tuesday that the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico “was preventable’’, publicly distancing themselves for the first time from the UK company, the Financial Times has learnt. 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.

BP’s growing isolation

MarketWatch

June 14, 2010, 2:18 p.m. EDT

By MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — BP PLC executives troop back to Capitol Hill Tuesday for another tongue-lashing over the catastrophic Gulf oil spill. This time, however, lawmakers are pulling BP’s long-time peers into the slugfest.

On Tuesday, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will question top executives from Exxon Mobil Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!xom/quotes/nls/xom (XOM 61.37, -0.49, -0.79%) , Chevron Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!cvx/quotes/nls/cvx (CVX 74.18, +0.12, +0.16%) , ConocoPhillips /quotes/comstock/13*!cop/quotes/nls/cop (COP 52.80, -0.70, -1.31%) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!rds.a/quotes/nls/rds.a (RDS.A 52.38, -0.02, -0.04%) about the spill’s impact on their industry. 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.

Drilling Ban May Collide With Reality

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

JUNE 14, 2010

By James Herron

The Obama administration’s decision to ban new offshore drilling for six months in response to the BP oil spill was understandable given the scale of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, but was always destined for a head-on collision with economic reality.

Sure enough, there has been a rising clamor from oil industry workers, their families and Gulf State politicians chasing their votes, all of whom say the drilling moratorium could result in thousands of job cuts and huge losses for businesses in the area. 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.

Drilling Rules Hit Alaska Pipeline

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By BRIAN BASKIN And CASSANDRA SWEET

JUNE 14, 2010

Extracts

On May 27, President Barack Obama ordered a six-month offshore drilling moratorium in the wake of the April explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 workers and started oil gushing into the Gulf. The rig was leased by BP. The president also commissioned an independent panel to recommend new offshore energy regulations.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC was awaiting the Interior Department’s final approval to drill up to five offshore wells this year when the moratorium was put into effect. The ban effectively postpones any work in Alaska until at least next summer, as sea ice prevents winter drilling. Work could be pushed back to 2012 if the government extends the ban. 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.

Shell plans to drill well near site of Corrib gas

Monday, June 14, 2010

SHELL EP Ireland plans to drill a satellite well north of the Corrib gas field which could produce additional gas reserves.

The Sedco 711-submersible rig arrived on location some 80km off the Mayo coast last week and has been booked for the summer.

Seismic information gathered last year on the Corrib North block has proved to be “very positive”, according to industry sources.

If the field proves commercial, it could result in a significant extension of the Corrib offshore and onshore infrastructure, subject to Government approval. 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.

BP oil spill: Where the U.S. has fallen short

Richard Blendermann comments on the article “U.S. and BP slow to accept Dutch expertise

Only a few days after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico I was asking my self the same questions, and 2 to three weeks into the spill I could tell that the approach and finger pointing from our administration (and the U.S. main stream Media) would only lead to delays that would make the situation much worse. My father helped to design and build the Texaco Plant in Port Arthur TX (the largest in the world at the time) from the ground up and worked at the plant all his life as a Chemical Engineer. So I have been around this industry for a very long time. In Texas and in fact every where in the world there have been unforeseen problems and disasters with oil exploration. 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.