Royal Dutch Shell Plc  .com Rotating Header Image

March 21st, 2007:

ShellNews.net: Aborted Sunday Times article claiming this website cost Shell $22 billion

By John Donovan

On 30 January 2007, I received the following email from a staff journalist from The Sunday Times. I have deleted his name and phone number.

John,

I saw the piece in Prospect and would love to do a piece with you and your father for The Sunday Times news section. Could you drop me an email with your contact details of give me a call on 0207?

Many thanks,
XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX
The Sunday Times

I subsequently had a long interview over the telephone with the relevant gentleman, a staff journalist at The Sunday Times responsible for many important stories. Having read the Prospect article (link below) he was very enthusiastic about writing a similar piece. He discussed various points with me by telephone and email on a number of occasions whilst in the process of preparing the story. 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.

ThePost.ie: Corrib gas the key to future supply

By Post Reporter

Protests at the Bellinaboy site in Co Mayo, where Shell is building its gas terminal, may intensify when the company starts the next phase of its project next month.

Protests at the Bellinaboy site in Co Mayo, where Shell is building its gas terminal, may intensify when the company starts the next phase of its project next month.

This entails the removing of 450,000 tonnes of peat from the site to clear the way for construction.

Heavy traffic movements accompanying the work are likely to attract more protesters to the site. Shell plans to start producing gas from he field towards the end of 2009.Whatever the arguments about Shell’s method of bringing gas ashore, there is no doubt that, in the medium term, the Corrib find is a key factor in energy supply. 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.

Economic Times (India): Terminator’ Groenink may have run out of time

EXTRACT: Earlier this month, Royal Dutch Shell said it planned to appoint Mr Groenink as non-executive director at the oil giant. But the Dutch press, pointing out Mr Groenink’s duties at Shell could take up as many as 30 days per year, have criticised the appointment at a crucial juncture for ABN Amro. “What inspired Rijkman Groenink to become a director at Royal Dutch Shell?” asked Elsevier magazine, saying the top executive of a bank under attack should not be distracted by other pressing duties. “Groenink’s timing is remarkable.”  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.

Investors Chronicle: Is shell willing to risk us sanctions?

An article we missed…

2 February 2007

Shell’s planned investment in a US$10bn (£5.1bn) Iranian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project could now lead to US sanctions. But, given historical reluctance to enforce sanctions against multinationals, Shell may reckon the risk is worthwhile as it scrambles to shore-up future production, after Russia seized control of Sakhalin Energy LNG.

Losing Sakhalin cost Shell both previously-touted production targets and roughly one-tenth of booked reserves – the Iranian deal would address the former, but not the latter. Under Iran’s ‘buyback’ contract, foreign hydrocarbon investors receive costs plus a pre-agreed margin through production at market prices, retaining no ongoing interest. Analysts therefore don’t recognise reserves on buy-backs when forecasting a company’s future reserves, but they do include the in-kind payment in a company’s production base. 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 Wall Street Journal: Updated: Updated: Updated: Shell’s Safety Record is Worse than BP’s

March 20, 2007, 3:15 pm
Posted by WSJ.com Staff

As Energy Roundup has written, BP’s safety record in the past two years — as measured only by the deaths of employees and contractors — hasn’t been as bad as that of rival Royal Dutch Shell, which employs roughly the same number of people.

In fact, the Financial Times expanded that comparison to include several other oil majors and a greater number of years. The paper’s conclusion? “BP is far from uniquely bad among the oil and gas ’super-majors’ for its record of workforce deaths.” Their data are the source for the table. 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: Police quiz Total boss in Iran graft probe

By Upstream staff
21 March 2007 09:06 GMT  | last updated: 21 March 2007 12:45 GMT

Total’s chief executive Christophe de Margerie has been detained by French police for questioning in a probe into alleged corruption in Iran.

De Margerie, who took the helm at French giant Total last month, has been under investigation for several months by French judges probing corruption allegations linked to the Iraqi oil-for-food programme and a gas project in Iran.

A Total spokesman has confirmed de Margerie will be questioned by French police from the financial brigade. 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 sells some European LPG businesses

Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:48 PM BST

AMSTERDAM, March 21 (Reuters) – Shell said on Wednesday it had signed a deal to sell its liquified petroleum gas (LPG) businesses in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland to France’s Rubis .

The sale is part of the Anglo-Dutch oil major’s strategy to streamline its downstream activities. Shell did not give financial details.

“The LPG business is making significant progress in simplifying our portfolio, reducing complexity and operating costs,” Erwin Friederich, vice president for Shell’s global LPG business, said 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.

Times Herald (Port Huron, Michigan): Shell may build new refinery: Canadian facility would be first North American plant in 20 years

By NICOLE GERRING

ST. CLAIR TWP., Ontario – The proposed construction of a new oil refinery could be an economic boon for Lambton County.

Shell Canada announced this month a proposal to build a massive new oil refinery in St. Clair Township north of Sombra. The refinery would be the first to be built in two decades in North America.

The refinery project could cost between $6 and $8 billion and provide 600 to 700 new permanent jobs, Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said. The project would require labor from Canada and the United States, he said. 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.

AFX News Limited / Forbes: TNK-BP CEO insists owners not selling shares

03.21.07, 7:14 AM ET

LONDON (AFX) – TNK-BP has reiterated that its shareholders, led by oil giant BP PLC, are not selling shares, denying a news report the owners may be forced to share control of the Russian joint venture with state-run companies like Gazprom and Rosneft.

BP owns 50 pct of TNK-BP, while the remaining 50 pct is held by Russian partner Alfa and Access/Renova.

‘I feel it necessary to explain again that all speculation about a possible change of TNK-BP’s shareholding structure is not true,’ said Robert Dudley, chief executive of TNK-BP, 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.

Bloomberg: Rubis Buys LPG Operations in Six European Countries From Shell

By Fred Pals

March 21 (Bloomberg) — Rubis SA, a French distributor of liquefied petroleum gas, agreed to buy LPG operations from Royal Dutch Shell Plc. in six European countries, doubling its volume in the market for the fuel.

Rubis agreed to buy Shell’s distribution operations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Spain and Switzerland for as much as 90 million euros ($120 million), Rubis said in a statement today on its Web site.

The company plans to sell new shares to finance the purchase, which represents 180 million euros in sales and will double Rubis’s LPG volume to 250,000 tons, it 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.

Gulf-Times (Qatar): Russia is no longer safe haven for BP

Viewpoint
Published: Wednesday, 21 March, 2007, 08:38 AM Doha Time 

If the damning report into BP’s failing safety culture was not enough bad news this week, now the Russians are coming.

The oil and gas giant has told investors that it could be forced to share the lucrative joint venture, TNK-BP, with a government-controlled energy group, likely to be Gazprom or Rosneft, by the end of the year.

BP owns 50% of the business, which reported pre-tax earnings of more than $11bn for 2006, and the other half is controlled by private Russian entities. 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: Renegotiate State resources deals, say councils

By Lorna Siggins and Fiona McGarry
Published: Mar 21, 2007

Two Mayo local authorities have adopted motions urging the Government to renegotiate all deals regarding the State’s natural resources, including the Corrib gas field.

Also, NUI Seanad candidate Dr Mark Garavan has lodged a petition with the European Parliament’s petitions committee referring to alleged breaches of a series of EU directives over the Corrib project.

The motion to review the State’s financial terms for oil and gas exploitation was tabled by Sinn fein councillor Gerry Murray and adopted unanimously at last week’s meeting of Mayo County Council. A similar motion was carried last week by members of Westport Urban District Council. 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.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shell exec buffs firm’s image: CEO stops in city as part of national tour to respond to consumer issues

By Thomas Content
Published: Mar 21, 2007: Wisconsin

How bad is Big Oil’s image?: So bad that the chief executive of one of the nation’s largest oil companies is on a 50-city tour trying to communicate what the industry is doing to expand oil production, respond to consumer frustration over energy costs, and deliver a message about bills being drafted in Madison and Washington, D.C.

John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil USA, on Tuesday used an appearance in Milwaukee, 29th on the 50-city tour, to praise efforts under way in Congress to enact a law restricting emissions of gases linked to global warming and criticize a state plan to tax oil company profits. 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: Lex Column: PetroChina’s strategy

Published: March 21 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 21 2007 02:00

Beijing’s drivers are paying less for their petrol this month, with PetroChina having temporarily cut pump prices during March. Coincidentally, this came just as the National People’s Congress was sitting down to meet in the Chinese capital.

Political influence over PetroChina, the world’s fourth largest oil and gas company by market capitalisation, is a given – the state owns 88 per cent of it. For minority investors, that is a double-edged sword. On one hand, Beijing can unlock access to energy reserves overseas. On the other, it claws back gains that might otherwise line the pockets of shareholders. 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: The politics: A matter of supply rather than shortage

EXTRACT: Shell’s global solutions division has developed a water purification technology based on a membrane filter system, in collaboration with Auxill, a specialist Dutch company. This is designed to offer safe, continuous and affordable drinking water to small, remote communities often left out of large-scale water projects.

THE ARTICLE

By Alison Maitland
Published: March 21 2007 02:17 | Last updated: March 21 2007 02:17

In a world where more than 1bn people live without safe drinking water and more than 2bn lack basic sanitation, business is often seen as part of the problem rather than part of the solution. 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: Conservation: Every drop of effort brings a gush of rewards

By Sarah Murray
Published: March 21 2007 02:17 | Last updated: March 21 2007 02:17

When Paul Bowen visits one of Coca-Cola’s facilities he hands a small plastic cup to the people he meets.

The cup measures water leaks. Hold it under a drip for five seconds and it calculates how much water is being lost from the leak every year. “It’s extremely visual and you’d be surprised how many people go and get a wrench and tighten things down very quickly,” says Mr Bowen, Coca-Cola’s water technologies manager for quality and technical services. 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.
Comment Rules

  • Please show respect to the opinions of others no matter how seemingly far-fetched.
  • Abusive, foul language, and/or divisive comments may be deleted without notice.
  • Each blog member is allowed limited comments, as displayed above the comment box.
  • Comments must be limited to the number of words displayed above the comment box.
  • Please limit one comment after any comment posted per post.