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February, 2011:

Royal Dutch Shell Moral Monsters?

Second Circuit Denies Rehearing En Banc in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co.

Posted on February 11, 2011 by editor

In our posting last September when the decision was announced (here), we discussed the Second Circuit’s decision in Kiobel, et al. v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., et al., 06-4800-cv, 06-4876-cv (2d Cir. 17 Sept. 2010), which held that the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, does not subject a corporation (as opposed to natural persons) to liability.  Now, in two separate filings (here and here) leading to an 5-5 split, the Second Circuit denied the request for the full Court to reahear the case en banc.   (For a general discussion of the role of comity in international disputes, see our Topic discussion in our e-book, International Practice:  Topics and Trends.) read more

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YouTube Video: Corrib Gas Ireland Anonymous Threats Against Shell

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DEDrxJWAqk

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.

YouTube Video: Shell embedded spies in Nigeria Gov

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgDIB-3c4vo&NR=1

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.

Dublin Shell to Sea to highlight loss of oil and gas reserves

Saturday, 12 February 2011

Members of Dublin Shell to Sea will be on Grafton Street in Dublin today distributing “commemorative bank notes” to highlight issues around Ireland’s oil and gas resources.

They say the notes will symbolise the €560bn cost to the exchequer of “giving away” Ireland’s oil and gas reserves.

Spokesperson for Dublin Shell to Sea Caoimhe Kerins said the group hoped to highlight the extent of Ireland’s oil and gas resources today. 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.

Tesoro sued by families of victims

The wrongful death lawsuit also names Shell Oil Co., the U.S. subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, saying Shell improperly designed and built heat exchangers, units that were the site of the explosion, when the plant was constructed in 1955. The lawsuit also alleges that Shell was negligent in maintaining and inspecting new heat exchangers from 1971, when the units were added, until it sold the plant to Tesoro in 1998.

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’s offshore air permit appeal rejected

Patti Epler | Feb 10, 2011

The federal Environmental Appeals Board has refused to reconsider its earlier ruling invalidating an air quality permit Shell Alaska needed to drill for oil in the Beaufort Sea this summer.

The new ruling, issued Thursday, doesn’t change things for the oil company, which earlier this month announced the lack of the air permit had made it impossible to get its drilling program together in time to sink exploratory wells this summer. But environmental activists, who along with Native organizations had challenged EPA’s issuance of the permit, say Shell will now have to meet even stricter air quality standards that took effect at the beginning of this year. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc .com hit by hackers from China?

By John Donovan

We have published articles from time to time reporting apparent denial of service attacks on this website e.g.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc.com website under cyber attack (17 December 2010)

A few days ago, on 6 February, we published an article under the headline…

Overnight ‘crippling load’ on Royal Dutch Shell plc.com website

We stated :

“As regular visitors will be aware, this website, which is operated on a dedicated high traffic server hosted in the USA,  is being brought down on a regular basis.” 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.

Reversal of fortune for Shell/Nokia Chairman, Jorma Ollila

By John Donovan

In August 2005, Royal Dutch Shell Plc announced the appointment of an “outsider”, Jorma Ollila, as its non-executive Chairman.

In announcing Mr. Olilla’s appointment, Shell’s board highlighted the infusion of fresh blood. “We were looking world-wide for a chairman with international standing, a global outlook, and proven success in managing a complex organization,” said Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, Shell’s deputy chairman, who led the job-search committee. “In Jorma Ollila we found all these qualities, and more.” 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.

WikiLeaks cables: Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices

guardian.co.uk home

US diplomat convinced by Saudi expert that reserves of world’s biggest oil exporter have been overstated by nearly 40%

John Vidal, environment editor: Tuesday 8 February 2011 22.00 GMT

Saudi oil refinery. WikiLeaks cables suggest the amount of oil that can be retrieved has been overestimated. Photograph: George Steinmetz/Corbis

The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show.

The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom’s crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%. read more

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Shell, BP to Close, Sell Oil Refineries in Europe, U.S.

By Nidaa Bakhsh – Feb 9, 2011 12:01 AM GMT+0000

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, Europe’s largest oil companies, plan to close and sell refineries in the U.S. and Germany on declining demand for fuels such as gasoline in developed nations.

BP plans to sell its 475,000 barrel-a-day Texas City refinery in Texas and its 266,000 barrel-a-day Carson plant in California, the London-based company said on Feb. 1.

Shell plans to stop oil-processing at its 110,000 barrel-a- day Hamburg facility in 2012 after failing to find a buyer, the company based in The Hague said on Jan. 12.

Following are two tables. The first lists refineries around the world that have shut, are slated for permanent closure or conversion, units idled for economic reasons, and those that are up for sale. The second shows refinery sales that have been agreed or completed since early 2010. Capacity is shown in thousands of barrels of oil a day.

FOR SALE, CLOSURE OR CONVERSION

Company      Refinery         Status                 Capacity

EUROPE

Shell        Hamburg          Plans to convert       110
             Germany          site into terminal
                              in 2012, after
                              failing to find
                              buyer, company
                              said on Jan. 12.

Shell        Stanlow          Up for sale.           233
             U.K.             Announced in August
                              2009.

NORTH/CENTRAL AMERICA

Shell        Montreal         Conversion to          130
             Canada           terminal after
                              operations ceased in
                              Oct. 2010.

ASIA PACIFIC

Showa Shell  Keihin           Permanent closure      120
             Japan            of Ogimachi crude
                              unit in September
                              2011.

 COMPLETED OR AGREED SALES

Company      Refinery         Status                 Capacity

Shell        Gothenburg       Agreed sale to St1     78
             Sweden           Oy of Finland on Oct.
                              27.

Shell        Heide            Agreed sale to         91
             Germany          U.K.’s Klesch & Co.
                              on Aug. 20.

Shell        Marsden Pt       Shell sells 17%        109
             New Zealand      share to Infratil
                              and government
                              pension fund in
                              March 2010.
  read more

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Big Oil Bangs the Drum for Natural Gas

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: THE SOURCE

By James Herron: 8 February 2011

Oil prices may have stormed back into the headlines by crossing the ominous $100 a barrel threshold in recent weeks. But while this has happening the world’s largest oil and gas companies have been banging the drum for an altogether less newsworthy fuel–natural gas.

ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and now BG Group have been arguing that significant changes are afoot in the unglamorous world of natural gas that could have a big impact on patterns of energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and the balance of power in volatile energy markets. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell fracking controversy

COMMENT BY AN OUTSPOKEN FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA

Reference the articles on the South African Karoo region shale gas production controversy, I have to side with Royal Dutch Shell, et al, on this issue.

I could write you a commentary on the hydraulic fracturing (‘frac’ing’) process and what it does, but it would be somewhat technical so I think I will let it slide.

Very briefly, ‘frac’ing’ is a very common technique used for stimulating production rates from both oil and gas reservoirs. There are two types of hydraulic ‘frac’ing’: acid frac’ing which is very common and done mostly in carbonate reservoirs, and sand or propant frac’ing which is also common and done in sandstone or shale reservoirs. read more

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Shell weighs LNG options with Gazprom

UPI.com

Published: Feb. 8, 2011 at 7:31 AM

MOSCOW, Feb. 8 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell could hand some of its assets in Asia over to Russia’s Gazprom in an effort to expand liquefied natural gas options, sources said.

Shell executives are said to be eager to add a third LNG unit at the Sakhalin-2 facility north of Japan. The move would increase output at the plant, Russia’s only such facility, by as much as 50 percent.

The Sakhalin-2 facility started operations in 2009. Shell, which holds a minority stake in the project, said the plant meets 5 percent of the world’s production of LNG when operating at full capacity. read more

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Oil giant Shell’s shale gas plans stir controversy

By Justine Gerardy (AFP) 8 February 2011

CAPE TOWN — Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is targeting potential untapped shale gas reserves in coal-hungry South Africa where landowners – including a Dutch princess – are readying for a showdown.

Shell applied in December to explore 90,000 square kilometres — twice the size of Denmark — for gas deposits in the clay-like shale rock of the arid central Karoo.

“The shale gas potential is quite high, because there is a high volume of shale and therefore the potential for gas development is very big,” said Jenny Marot of the state’s Petroleum Agency SA (PASA). 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 Executives Convert Maximum Allowance of Bonus Into Shares

By Eduard Gismatullin – Feb 7, 2011 6:35 PM GMT+0000

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser and five other executives agreed to convert the maximum proportion of their bonus into stock.

Voser got 50 percent of his 2010 bonus, or the equivalent of 1.875 million euros ($2.55 million), converted into 73,457 class-A shares, the company said today in a statement.

Five more executives, including Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry, also converted half of their bonuses into shares. Marvin Odum, president of Shell’s U.S. business, was the only one listed in the statement who converted 25 percent of its bonus into the company shares. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell really wants to frack up the Karoo

THE DAILY MAVERICK

Several oil companies hope to prospect the Karoo for natural gas using suspect methodologies which have farmers and townsfolk alike up in arms. The latest developments suggest the department of minerals is willing to put the prospecting process on hold – a concession that is nowhere near enough to placate the growing numbers of people opposed to Karoo fracking. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

Royal Dutch Shell is seeking to prospect a total area of almost 100,000km²  made up of three segments of about 30,000km² of the in the ancient Karoo Basin in a bid to locate and extract shale gas via a method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Other companies are also seeking to prospect massive swathes of Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. Sasol wants to prospect more than 80,000km², mostly in Free State. Anglo American, Falcon Oil and Gas, and Bundu Gas and Oil Exploration have applied for prospecting rights to the Petroleum Agency South Africa. 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 Risks Paying Damages as Face-Off With AI, FoEI Worsens

Daily Independent (Lagos)

7 February 2011

Lagos — Royal Dutch Shell at the weekend continued its defence on allegation of environmental and human rights impacts in Nigeria even as the controversy of the company’s alleged cover up of 44, 000 barrels oil spill continued.

Shell stands the chance of paying damages if found guilty of the allegations, which are considered weighty in the wake of the billions of dollars in fines handed BP by the U.S. government over the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Amnesty International (AI) and Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) had announced that they had filed formal complaints with the British and Dutch governments over Shell’s failure to take responsibility for the majority of the oil pollution in the Nigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta region. 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 Said to Offer Gazprom Assets to Gain LNG Plant Expansion

By Anna Shiryaevskaya – Feb 7, 2011 9:00 PM GMT+0000

Royal Dutch Shell Plc may offer OAO Gazprom assets in Asia in exchange for a deal to expand Russia’s only liquefied gas export plant, part of talks on a wider global alliance, said people with knowledge of the negotiations.

Shell wants to add a third liquefied natural gas production unit at the $22 billion Sakhalin-2 venture north of Japan, raising output 50 percent. The Hague-based company is selecting overseas assets to win support from Gazprom, said three people, declining to be identified because the plans are private. Shell may gain access to new offshore blocks to supply the plant. 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.

Overnight ‘crippling load’ on Royal Dutch Shell plc.com website

By John Donovan

As regular visitors will be aware, this website, which is operated on a dedicated high traffic server hosted in the USA,  is being brought down on a regular basis. By coincidence or otherwise,  it often seems to happen when we publish negative information about Royal Dutch Shell, such as in WikiLeak cables, or revelations concerning Shell Malaysia whistleblower, Dr John Huong.

“Distributed Denial of Service attack, it is when a server is bombarded with so many requests that it can’t respond to legitimate traffic.” 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.

Invitation by Shell to a Malaysian jail cell

Article by Alfred Donovan

By June 2006 Shell Malaysia legal boss, Thavakumar Kandiah Pillai (right), had got himself into a most dreadful mess.

Two years earlier he had advised EIGHT different companies, all within the Royal Dutch Shell Group, to bring a collective defamation action against a former Shell Malaysia Production Geologist, Dr John Huong. The action was in respect of information published on an earlier version of this website, which I jointly own and operate with my son, John Donovan. 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.

US court upholds key Shell ruling in Nigeria case

In a divided vote that prompted a bitter debate among some of its judges, the court left intact what some legal experts call a landmark ruling in September that companies cannot be liable in U.S. courts for violations of international human rights law.

The plaintiffs, families of seven Nigerians who were executed by a former military government for protesting Shell's exploration and development, had sought to recover from the oil giant under a 1789 U.S. law known as the Alien Tort Statute.

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Shell: No Beaufort Sea drilling in Arctic for 2011

Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby (right) speaks at a news conference on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011, at Shell offices in in Anchorage, Alaska. Shell Alaska has dropped plans to drill exploratory wells in the Arctic waters of the Beaufort Sea this year and will concentrate on obtaining permits for the 2012 season, Slaiby said Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)


Dan Joling, Associated Press, On Thursday February 3, 2011, 8:10 pm EST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Shell Alaska has dropped plans to drill in the Arctic waters of the Beaufort Sea this year and will concentrate on obtaining permits for the 2012 season, company Vice President Pete Slaiby said Thursday.

The recent remand of air permits issued by the Environmental Protection Agency was the final driver behind the decision, Slaiby said at a news conference.

Alaska receives upward of 90 percent of its general fund revenue from the petroleum industry, and top state officials reacted strongly to the decision. U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, blamed the Obama administration and the EPA. read more

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Shell horror story in Nigeria

By an outspoken former employee of Shell Oil USA

When I was in my teens I can remember watching what is now a cult sci-fi flick called ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’. It is story about aliens who come to earth as plants and the seed pods turn into replicas of humans, but they aren’t, they are alien predatory ‘pod-people’ out to take over the world.

The story of RD Shell’s seconding of the Nigerian government reminded me of this movie.

Is the Nigerian government run by Nigerians or is it really run by alien predatory ‘Shell-people’ masquerading as Nigerians whose objective is to loot the country and suck it dry of its oil wealth. Beware, they are not only coming, these alien ‘Shell-people’, they are here. Run for you lives! RUN! RUN!! AHHHH!!! 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 profit doubles but shares fall on production problems

The Telegraph

Friday 04 February 2011

Despite higher oil prices helping double profits at Royal Dutch Shell this year, the energy giant’s share price has sunk 3pc on production problems and delays to its US Arctic drilling.

Shell has seen a number of major projects from Qatar to Brazil start producing oil and gas this year, lifting output and revenue Photo: Andrew Crowley Rowena Mason By Rowena Mason 7:00AM GMT 04 Feb 2011

The Anglo-Dutch company made profits of $18.6bn (£11.5bn) on a cost of supply basis, which strips out the effects of inventory changes.

For the fourth quarter, its profits were $5.7bn – up from $1.2bn a year ago – but below analysts’ expectations. This sent its share price down 75½, or 3pc, to £21.75½.

Shell has seen a number of major projects from Qatar to Brazil start producing oil and gas this year, lifting output and revenue. Production for the year rose 6pc to 3.3m barrels per day, up from 3.1m a year earlier. 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.

Citing Delays, Shell Ends Plans for Arctic in 2011

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

A version of this article appeared in print on February 4, 2011, on page B6 of the New York edition.

A Shell tanker refueling a jet at Manchester Airport in England. The company has invested $3.5 billion to drill in Alaska. Photo Credit: Phil Noble/Reuters

HOUSTON — Faced with continued regulatory delays, Royal Dutch Shell announced on Thursday that it was abandoning plans to drill for oil in Alaskan Arctic waters this year but that it remained committed to exploring in the area in the future.

Shell has already invested $3.5 billion to drill in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, but the company has been snarled in regulatory delays and lawsuits since it entered into 10-year exploration leases five years ago. 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 boss claims the firm is ‘suffering like motorists’ despite making £440 a second

DAILY MIRROR

THE boss of oil giant Shell has sparked fury by claiming his firm is “suffering like motorists” from sky-high prices, while revealing profits of £440 a second.

Peter Voser tried to defend record high pump prices by claiming the soaring cost of oil hammered its refineries, which convert crude into fuel and other products.

Voser, who raked in £2.8million in 2009, blamed the pain on VAT and fuel duty, arguing 70% of the pump price went to the Treasury.

He said: “I suggest the motorist talks to the government.” 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: Clean-up goes on for Niger Delta – and oil company’s reputation

guardian.co.uk home

Shell’s image is still mired by claims over oil spills, Ken Saro-Wiwa’s hanging and WikiLeak’s revelations of infiltration

John Vidal, Environment editor

Thursday 3 February 2011 19.07 GMT

Ogoni leader Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged by the Nigerian military regime after organising opposition to Shell’s activities in the Delta. Photograph: Greenpeace/AFP

Despite today’s soaring profit figures, Shell remains a company under siege for its lucrative activities in Africa.

At a parliamentary hearing in the Netherlands last week, Amnesty International, Friends of the Earth, Nigerian and British activists, Dutch MPs and others accused the company of breaches of safety, human rights abuses, destroying lives and the environment, hiding information, gas flaring and blaming locals for oil pollution in Nigeria. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell the world’s largest “speculator”

guardian.co.uk home

Shell’s search for profits widens even as the oil price climbs

• Shell now ‘world’s largest trader’ as well as oil major
• Plans to explore in Arctic, Iraq, Russia and deep sea

Terry Macalister: Thursday 3 February 2011 20.07 GMT

Shell earned the majority of its profits in 2010 not from pump sales, but from exploration and development. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

As Shell fought to dismiss accusations today that it was cashing in on high oil prices, the company gave a new insight into how it has racked up billions in profit by revealing itself as the “world’s biggest trading business”.

Peter Voser, Shell’s chief executive, said he felt the pain of motorists struggling to pay record fuel prices, pointing out that the Anglo-Dutch oil company was also suffering in its refining and marketing businesses. But critics dismissed that argument, saying that $16bn of the $18.6bn earned by the company over the past 12 months came from the “upstream” operations of exploration and development. 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 Delays Alaska Exploration After Oil Spill in U.S. Gulf

“Despite our investment in acreage and technology and our work with the stakeholders, we haven’t been able to drill a single exploration well,” Voser told reporters today on a conference call. “Critical permits continue to be delayed and the timeline for getting these permits is still uncertain.”

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL CEO PETER VOSER

Bloomberg

By Eduard Gismatullin – Feb 3, 2011 12:19 PM GMT+0000

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, will delay its drilling campaign in Alaska after the worst U.S. oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year.

Shell hasn’t received full clearance to start drilling off the coast of Alaska, according to Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser. The company decided to postpone its plans to spend as much as $150 million in the region until 2012.

“Despite our investment in acreage and technology and our work with the stakeholders, we haven’t been able to drill a single exploration well,” Voser told reporters today on a conference call. “Critical permits continue to be delayed and the timeline for getting these permits is still uncertain.” 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.

Go Steady With Shell, or Get a Buzz From BP?

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: THE SOURCE

By James Herron: FEBRUARY 3, 2011

Reuters

Sometimes equity markets have a sick sense of humor.

On Tuesday, troubled oil giant BP posted zero growth in fourth quarter adjusted profit, said its oil and gas output had plunged by more than 9% and had a major Russian exploration deal halted by a court order. Its shares closed just over 1% higher.

On Thursday, BP rival Royal Dutch Shell grew its adjusted profit for the quarter by almost 50%, produced 5% more oil and gas and said its flagship gas projects in Qatar were starting up exactly on schedule. Its shares fell more than 3%. 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’s Bump in the Road

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By ANDREW PEAPLE

Bump in the road, or grinding halt? Royal Dutch Shell is confident its $4.1 billion fourth-quarter earnings will prove the former despite falling 13% below expectations, which it blamed on poor performance in its refining business. That obscured an encouraging improvement in the oil major’s return on capital. But investors hoping this will soon translate into higher dividends may now have to wait a bit longer.

Shell’s return on capital improved to 11.5% in 2010 from 8.5% the year before, boosted by a 5% rise in oil and gas production and cost cuts on target at $2 billion. Key gas projects in Qatar should help keep production stable and cash flow heading upwards this year, despite delays to its drilling plans in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. 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.

South Africa farmers oppose Shell’s shale gas plans

Reuters Africa Thu Feb 3, 2011 12:53pm GMT

By Wendell Roelf

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is facing opposition to its plans to seek shale gas in South Africa’s semi-desert Karoo region, as farmers fear methods used to extract it will contaminate water and harm the environment.

The outcome of whether Shell is allowed to proceed could affect prospects for other oil and gas companies in the Karoo, which may hold substantial deposits of gas in shale.

This gas can now be exploited due to new techniques and could bring a much needed fresh source of energy to Africa’s largest economy, which is heavily reliant on coal. 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 abandons offshore Alaska drilling plans for 2011

platts

London (Platts)–3Feb2011/759 am EST/1259 GMT

Shell has abandoned plans for exploration drilling offshore Alaska in 2011 after continued delays with securing the necessary permits, the company’s CEO Peter Voser said Thursday.

Speaking on a conference call after Shell reported its fourth-quarter results, Voser said he hoped to be able to drill offshore Alaska in 2012, and called for the US authorities to speed up the permitting process.

“There will be no drilling offshore Alaska in 2011,” Voser said. “We need urgent and timely action on permitting to go ahead with the 2012 drilling program.” 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 profits fail to boost shares

PRESS ASSOCIATION

3 FEBRUARY 2011

Royal Dutch Shell’s profits haul of £11.5 billion for 2010 has failed to win over the City after a disappointing fourth quarter performance.

Shares in the Anglo-Dutch giant slumped 3%, or 73.5p to 2177.5p, after tough downstream trading left earnings in the final three months of 2010 short of the 4.7 billion US dollars (£2.9 billion) anticipated in the City.

The pressure on the oil giant, which sparked a fall of 7.4p to 480.6p for rival BP, meant the FTSE 100 Index slipped 35.4 points to 5964.6 following a strong performance in recent days. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell Reports Strong Earnings for Fourth Quarter

A version of this article will appear in print on February 4, 2011, in The International Herald Tribune.

By JULIA WERDIGIER

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday that its earnings had more than tripled in the fourth quarter because of higher oil and gas prices, and as investments in new projects started to pay off.

Profit at Europe’s biggest oil company rose to $6.79 billion in the last three months of 2010, compared with $1.96 billion in the same period a year earlier.

“We are making good progress against our targets, and there is more to come from Shell,” Peter Voser, Shell’s chief executive, said in a statement. 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 makes nearly £1.6m profits every hour

guardian.co.uk home

The company is benefiting from rising oil prices, which are currently around $103 a barrel

Terry Macalister: Thursday 3 February 2011 08.23 GMT

A Shell petrol station in London. The company is benefiting from higher oil prices. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Shell stoked up the heated debate about the high cost of fuel on the forecourt today after reporting it made profits of nearly £1.6m an hour over the last three months.

The oil group never gives details of its British forecourt sales but it confirmed today that global profits from all sides of the business rocketed to $5.7bn (£3.5bn) in the last three months compared of 2010 with $1.2bn a year ago. 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 profits double to $18.6bn, boosted by high oil prices

The Telegraph

Higher oil prices have helped doubled profits at Royal Dutch Shell this year, allowing it to steam ahead of rival energy giant BP.

Rowena Mason

By Rowena Mason 8:08AM GMT 03 Feb 2011

The Anglo-Dutch company made profits of $18.6bn (£11.5bn) on a cost of supply basis – stripping out the effects of inventory changes.

Royal Dutch Shell B

For the fourth quarter, its profits were ahead of expectations at $5.7bn – missing the expectations of analysts.

Shell has seen a number of major projects from Qatar to Brazil start producing oil and gas this year, lifting output and revenue.

Production for the year rose 6pc to 3.3m barrels per day, up from 3.1m a year earlier. 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 Profit Jumps but Misses Expectations

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

By JAMES HERRON

LONDON—Royal Dutch Shell PLC Thursday posted a 48% rise in adjusted profit for the fourth quarter, but still missed analyst expectations due to lower refining margins, higher taxes and weaker trading results.

Shell Chief Executive Peter Voser said the company’s improved performance at the end of 2010 has laid the foundation for a strong 2011. The company benefited from rising oil and gas prices and a large increase in oil and gas output from a year earlier.

The Anglo-Dutch energy company said the clean current cost of supplies, a keenly watched figure that strips out gains or losses from inventories and other nonoperating items, was $4.11 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $2.77 billion a year earlier. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc .com website back online

By John Donovan

Apologies for the royaldutchshellplc.com website being down for over three hours today. This was due to “an event”, possibly a denial of service attack by an unknown party flooding the website with requests. Matters were not helped by confusion in our contact with technical support staff at the dedicated server hosting company in Dallas. More steps have been taken to hopefully minimize the impact of any future “events”.

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 Investment Pays Off With Output Growth as BP Scales Back

BLOOMBERG

By Eduard Gismatullin – Feb 2, 2011 12:01 AM GMT+0000 Wed Feb 02 00:01:02 GMT 2011

Royal Dutch Shell Plc may become Europe’s largest oil and gas producer as a $100 billion spending program starts to pay off and closest rival BP Plc scales back.

This year, Shell’s Pearl gas-to-liquids and Qatargas 4 liquefied natural gas developments in the Middle East are scheduled to come on stream, following investment of about $21 billion, the latest in a line of projects from Brazil to Canada that have reversed a seven-year decline in production. At the same time, BP forecasts output will drop 11 percent this year as it sells more assets to pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell no longer in sustainability rankings of Global 100

By John Donovan

We would be grateful if someone at Shell would kindly explain why Royal Dutch Shell no longer appears in the rankings list: “GLOBAL 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World”.

Check out the top 100 rankings for 2011

After several years of being included, Shell has disappeared entirely from the rankings list.

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 Safety Drive Faces Rough Road

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

FEBRUARY 1, 2011

By GUY CHAZAN

A BP operation in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s North Slope. Associated Press

Bob Dudley, the new chief executive of BP PLC, has vowed to change the safety culture of the accident-prone oil giant in the wake of the deadly explosion and spill at one of its wells in the Gulf of Mexico last year. But the story of a little-known BP safety official on the desolate North Slope of Alaska offers some cautions about just how difficult a job that will be.

The day after the Gulf well blew out last April, killing 11 rig workers, Phil Dziubinski was suspended from his job and escorted out of his office in Alaska. The company said he was let go as part of a broad management overhaul. In a five-month skirmish, two government agencies rejected Mr. Dziubinski’s claims that he was fired as retribution for warning of safety risks. His back-and-forth with the British oil giant, though, sheds light on what Mr. Dudley is up against. 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.

Risks arising from Shell espionage in the USA

“Another PR blunder from the House of Shell or a tragic piece of misreporting? Ian McCredie, head of global security services at Shell, is reported to have told a Chatham House conference a tale of how up to 70 staff have been kidnapped over the last year in Nigeria. Mr McCredie then went on to slag off the royal family in Saudi Arabia…

From an ‘Interested Observer; this is for USCitizen posting on Shell Blog

Having some first hand knowledge of Royal Dutch Shell’s issues with the US Dept. of the Navy I can assure that the ‘conspiracy theorists’ are not being paranoid in this particular case. Fortunately for Royal Dutch Shell their only crime (alleged) is that of ‘conspiracy’ to violate US espionage statutes. They failed in their endeavors (alleged).

Now, the US government has a number of options at its disposal when it comes to dealing with companies who would engage in such activities.  It can try to bring criminal and civil suites against the company and its management, but in Shell’s case that would fraught with all sorts of ‘political’ and ‘diplomatic’ implications. This path is very expensive, and very time consuming, and it gets ‘messy’. Alternatively, it can simply deal with the issue ‘administratively’. This actually gives the government a host of relatively cheap and rapidly implementable options. 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.

Netherlands Slams FG Over N’Delta Crisis …Shell Won’t Quit Region- Official

The TIDE

At a historic public hearing at The Hague, Netherlands, the country’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Bert Ronhaar, defended the operations of oil multinational, Shell, in the Niger Delta, saying the Nigerian government should be held responsible for past crises in the oil rich region.

The envoy also said corruption was killing the country’s oil industry.

The investigative hearing on Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta was organised by the Economic Affairs Committee of the Dutch Lower Parliament (Tweede Kamer) following reports on abuses of best practices by Shell and its failure to clean-up spill sites in the Niger Delta. 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.

Traffic data for royaldutchshellplc.com: Jan 2011

By John Donovan

Highest traffic figures for this website since March 2010.

Original source stats available to news media.

Hits: 2,276,701

Pages Views: 1,323, 759

These figures generated despite the frequent interruptions to website access whether arising from denial of service attacks on our dedicated server by an unknown party, or otherwise. Further steps were taken yesterday to hopefully counter any such activity by hostile forces.

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.