By Tom Bergin
LONDON | Tue Oct 12, 2010 7:23am EDT
LONDON (Reuters) – The chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) criticized the investigation that rival BP Plc (BP.L) conducted into the causes of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and the design BP chose for its blown out well.
Peter Voser said that to correctly investigate the accident one had to examine the thinking behind the particular well design BP used.
The Macondo well design included a number of cheaper options, including the use of a single tube from the surface to the reservoir, rather than two overlapping tubes, and U.S. lawmakers said these choices reflected a tendency on BP’s part to put profits before safety.
“Shell clearly would have drilled this well in a different way and would have had more options to prevent the accident,” Voser said, referring to Shell’s preference to include more barriers to hydrocarbon leaks in its well designs.
However, Voser accepted that oil companies had not invested enough in developing solutions to clean up spills.
“The industry was not prepared to handle this spill,” he said.
Voser said he expected tighter regulation following the spill and that going forward Shell would be more selective about who it would partner with on projects in the Gulf of Mexico.
In future, it would likely be more rigorous about its partners having the necessary technical skills and the financial weight to help pay to deal with any accident that may happen.
The CEO added that Shell was making progress in Iraq, where it won a contract to develop the Majnoon field last year.
Shell has raised output at the field to 70,000 barrels of oil per day from 45,000 bbls/day previously.
He said Shell was abiding by United Nations sanctions against Iran but added:
“I have not given up my long term hope that we can actually develop sources in Iran.”
(Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
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.
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: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
