Christine Dobby Oct 24, 2011 5:41 PM ET
TORONTO The U.S. government is likely to approve the Keystone XL pipeline in part because of the economic benefits that would come along with the controversial US$7-billion project, the head of Royal Dutch Shells North American operations, predicted Monday.
In fact, the economic benefits attendant on the energy industries in North America in general are even more important than energy independence, Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil Co. and upstream director of Royal Dutch Shells subsidiary company in the Americas, said at a Toronto conference.
As you get a real balance of environmental concerns with pipeline safety concerns, with energy security, with the creation of jobs and with the improvement in the economy as a whole, I think a decision will be made to proceed with that pipeline, Mr. Odum said. It actually feels pretty obvious to me that will be the decision so thats my expectation of the government.
The United States is expected to make a decision on the fate of the TransCanada pipeline, which will transport heavy oil from the Alberta oil sands to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast and already has regulatory approval in Canada, by the end of the year.
From the oil sands perspective, the Keystone XL pipeline is an extremely important part of developing that resource and will be a critical supply artery to the U.S., said the executive, who was the keynote speaker at the lunch session of the fifth annual Toronto Forum for Global Cities conference hosted by the International Economic Forum of the Americas.
Anglo-Dutch Shell is one of Canadas biggest oil sands developers as a 60% partner in the giant Athabasca Oil Sands Project in Alberta.
On the subject of energy security or independence, Mr. Odum said its an interesting goal but not one he sees as a primary driver.
As I look across North America the supply potential is enormous and its changed dramatically over the last four or five years, he said, pointing to the development of natural gas plays and the oil sands as well as other resources in Mexico and Alaska.
So with all of that within reach of North Americans, it could clearly drive us toward the direction of energy independence, but I think the bigger driver in the near term is the economic benefit that comes from that, the number of jobs that come from that, Mr. Odum said.
He said the United States should consider connections with friendly trade partners like Canada and Mexico as well as a number of South American countries as part of the idea of energy independence more broadly.
Mr. Odum also addressed the controversy over hydraulic fracturing or fracking used to extract natural gas from shale reservoirs and said companies can address this through transparency in what theyre doing.
This is a case where the arguments have gotten away from businesses and industry, he said. It actually never should have been a big issue. These are relatively small components in the fracture treating fluids that we put in the ground.
He noted that all of the components of the fracturing fluid Shell uses are listed on its website, although for proprietary reasons, the specific percentages are not disclosed.
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.
