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December 28th, 2006:

International Herald Tribune: Russian government gains another concession on Sakhalin-2 project

By Andrew E. Kramer
Thursday, December 28, 2006

MOSCOW

The Russian government has won a further concession from the foreign partners at the world’s largest combined oil and natural gas field, known as Sakhalin-2, which is being developed in Russia’s remote Far East.

Last week, Gazprom, the Russian energy monopoly, took majority control of the project when the foreign developers, led by Royal Dutch Shell, agreed to sell 50 percent plus one share to Gazprom, after months of pressure on the company and accusations from a Russian environmental regulator. Critics called the sale a forced nationalization. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

ShellNews.net: Sakhalin II intrigue continues with news of a secret ‘protocol’

By John Donovan

News of a “secret protocol” between Shell and the Russian government has leaked out today. The Russians evidently wanted to further embarrass Shell management. Note that there is no mention of Mitsui and Mitsubishi involvement in the secret deal.  Shell refuses to comment on the “confidential” secret agreement.

This comes just days after Shell CEO, Jeroen van der Veer, was quoted gratefully thanking President Putin during the Gazprom/Sakhalin Energy deal signing ceremony in Moscow (“Thank you very much for your support,”).  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Voice of America: U.S. Scholar Highlights Russia’s Energy Clout

U.S. scholar Marshall Goldman says energy wealth and control over export pipelines have made Russia more powerful than at any time in its history.

Professor Goldman told the Jamestown Foundation that Russia’s post-cold war power is built on its oil and gas resources. He said both eastern and western Europe have become dependent on Russia for oil and gas and that alternative supplies are not available. The recent boom in oil and gas prices, said Professor Goldman, has greatly boosted Russia’s economic and political clout. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

MosNews: Shell Signs Secret Protocol on Sakhalin Project with Russian Government

Created: 28.12.2006 12:45 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 13:29 MSK

Royal Dutch/Shell signed a secret protocol with the Russian government as part of its deal to sell half of the Sakhalin-2 project to Gazprom, allowing Shell to boost spending but not as much as it wanted, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported on Thursday, Dec. 28.

Shell is now allowed to boost spending in the giant Sakhalin project to $15.8 billion from the previously approved $12 billion, the daily said.

Shell’s spokesman in Moscow Maxim Shub told Reuters the protocol was confidential and he would not comment on it. He said details of project costs would be discussed in February at a meeting with the Russian government. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Bloomberg: Shell Accepts $3.6 Billion Cut in Sakhalin-2 Recovery (Update1)

By Torrey Clark

Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc and its Japanese partners will take on $3.6 billion of costs themselves to develop the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in Russia, lowering the amount state-run OAO Gazprom will spend to join the project and the hastening the state’s share in the profit.

Sakhalin-2’s stage-two budget may be approved at $19.4 billion, less than Shell had sought. The amount includes $3.6 billion the foreign shareholders will spend without getting tax relief, Deputy Energy Minister Andrei Dementiev told Moscow-based Vedomosti newspaper in remarks confirmed by the ministry’s press office today. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

MarketWatch: Russia, Belarus locked in spat over gas: Gazprom threatens to cut off supplies to neighbor on Jan. 1

Last Update: 7:21 AM ET Dec 28, 2006

By Aude Lagorce, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The European Commission on Thursday called for Russia and Belarus to find a rapid solution to a dispute over natural-gas prices that threatens damage to relationships between the two long-term allies and to disrupt deliveries to the continent. 

“The Commission is following the situation very closely since it may affect gas supplies to the European Union. I call the two parts to reach as soon as possible a satisfactory agreement that do not put in question gas transits to the E.U.,” said Commissioner Andris Piebalgs in a statement.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Morning Call: Keeping the lid on: Slowing economy may hold oil prices down in 2007

By Brad Foss Of The Associated Press

After a bonanza in 2006, Big Oil is poised for a slightly less big year in 2007, as slowing U.S. economic growth and an expanding global supply cushion may help keep a lid on prices.

Oil prices will continue to hover at historically high levels, analysts say, because of strong demand in China and the Middle East, efforts by OPEC to reduce output and market-rattling instability in petroleum-rich countries such as Nigeria and Iraq. Barring major supply snags, however, transportation, manufacturing and home-heating fuels should be less expensive than last year — thanks to an anticipated production spurt from non-OPEC countries and a calmer outlook for the refining sector. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reuters: Shell inks secret protocol with Russia on Sakhalin

Thu Dec 28, 2006 7:26 AM GMT

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell signed a secret protocol with the Russian government as part of its deal to sell half of the Sakhalin-2 project to Gazprom, allowing Shell to boost spending but not as much as it wanted, a newspaper said on Thursday.

Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) is now allowed to boost spending in the giant Sakhalin project to $15.8 billion (8.1 billion pounds) from the previously approved $12 billion, the Vedomosti daily said.

Shell’s spokesman in Moscow Maxim Shub said the protocol was confidential and he would not comment on it. He said details of project costs would be discussed in February at a meeting with the Russian government. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

UpstreamOnline: Shell signs ‘secret’ Sakhalin pact

By Upstream staff

Shell has signed a secret protocol with the Russian government as part of its deal to sell half of the Sakhalin 2 project to Gazprom, allowing Shell to boost spending but not as much as it wanted, it was reported today.

Shell is now allowed to boost spending in the giant Sakhalin project to $15.8 billion from the previously approved $12 billion, the Vedomosti daily said.

A Shell spokesman in Moscow said the protocol was confidential and he would not comment on it. He said details of project costs would be discussed in February at a meeting with the Russian government. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

New York Times: Nigerian Oilfield Sieges End, Shell Resumes Output

By REUTERS
Published: December 28, 2006
Filed at 4:21 a.m. ET

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) – Two different armed groups have lifted sieges of two oilfield stations in Nigeria, releasing at least 20 workers, industry spokesmen said on Thursday.

About 18 workers at Agip’s 40,000 barrel-per-dayTebidaba oilfield were released on Tuesday after five days in captivity, while five people at Shell’s 14,000 bpd Nun River facility were freed on the same day after a 12-day siege.

A Shell spokesman said the company had begun to ramp up production from Nun River, but industry sources said Agip’s Tebidaba facility was still not pumping. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The New York Times: Norton to Join Shell

By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Published: December 28, 2006

Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, said yesterday that Gale A. Norton would join the company as general counsel, almost 10 months after she resigned as United States secretary of the interior.

Ms. Norton, 52, will take the position in mid-January and work primarily from Colorado, the company said in an e-mailed statement.

She will “provide and coordinate legal services for Shell,” a spokeswoman, Destin Singleton, said in the statement. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Irish Times: Shell terminal in Mayo

Published: Dec 27, 2006

Madam, – It seems that David Rolfe (December 21st), while pragmatic and concerned, entirely misses the most significant aspect of the so-called Mayo gas field.

It is neither Mayo’s, nor Ireland’s gas, as the resource was handed over to a multinational company by a former Minister who is known to have taken bribes while a member of Charles Haughey’s cabinet. Secondly, Ireland imports no gas from Russia, but from a creaking and thinly stretched European network. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BBC Monitoring Service – United Kingdom: Summary of Russian press for Thursday 28 December 2006

Published: Dec 28, 2006

From Vedomosti

1. Vera Surzhenko and Aleksandr Bekker article reports new details of the Sakhalin-2 deal. The authors say that the Russian authorities have agreed with foreign investors that Shell, Mitsubishi and Mitsui will invest in the project additional 3.6bn dollars which will not be compensated by the production sharing agreement, p A1.

2. Fedor Lukyanov article headlined “Two Russias” sums up the results of Russian foreign policy in 2006. The author believes that Russia’s image abroad differs much from its own vision of its role in international politics. “Russia is an aggressive, confident and cynical state, indifferent to what others think about it. It is using its rich natural resources to make democratic countries turn a blind eye to its defiant behaviour,” the author says, p A4. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Financial Times: Concern for polar bear could signal shift in US policy on global warming

EXTRACT: Separately, Shell said yesterday it had hired Gale Norton, the former secretary of the Interior Department, to serve as a counsel for the Dutch oil giant. The announcement from the energy company comes as the Bush administration is expected to face increased scrutiny by Congress on its ties to the oil and gas industry. This could include questions about whether the Interior Department has adequately collected royalty payments from oil and gas groups extracting resources from federally owned land. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Scotsman: Shell inks secret protocol with Russia on Sakhalin

Thu 28 Dec 2006

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell signed a secret protocol with the Russian government as part of its deal to sell half of the Sakhalin-2 project to Gazprom, allowing Shell to boost spending but not as much as it wanted, a newspaper said on Thursday.

Shell is now allowed to boost spending in the giant Sakhalin project to $15.8 billion (8.1 billion pounds) from the previously approved $12 billion, the Vedomosti daily said.

Shell’s spokesman in Moscow Maxim Shub said the protocol was confidential and he would not comment on it. He said details of project costs would be discussed in February at a meeting with the Russian government. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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