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April 17th, 2007:

Associated Press: Chevron refinery’s flares still polluting, report says

RICHMOND, Calif. A new report says the Chevron refinery in Richmond is the only refinery in the Bay Area to show an increase in a procedure called flaring since new clean air rules went in effect nearly two years ago.

In June of 2005 the new rules were put in place requiring a cutback in the number of flaring episodes at refineries.

But according to a report prepared by an environmental group, since the stricter regulations went into effect the number of flaring episodes at the Chevron plant increased by 80 percent, when compared to the 18 months before they were in effect. 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.

RIA Novosti: Strike on Iran: will it harm the environment?

14:12 | 17/ 04/ 2007 

MOSCOW. (Yury Israel and Alexei Ryaboshapko for RIA Novosti) – A potential bombing of Iran might destroy two groups of installations that could cause problems for the regional environment: radioactive depots and other nuclear facilities, and oil industry infrastructure, including wells, refineries and huge tanks.

To start with, we should try to figure out how many nuclear plants Iran has. Judging by publicly available information, it has none. Russian engineers are building the first unit of a nuclear pant in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf coast, but it is still empty because Russia has not supplied it with fissionable materials. 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.

Vedomosti: Gazprom completes the purchase of Sakhalin 2 energy project stake

Russia’s state-controlled gas giant Gazprom has acquired a controlling stake in Sakhalin Energy, which operates the Sakhalin 2 energy project in the Russian Far East that is being developed under a product sharing agreement. The company closed the deal yesterday. Government officials simultaneously endorsed the project’s budget sheet till 2014. Investors’ spending has almost doubled compared to the previous proposals, from $10 billion to $19.4 billion.

The signing of the final agreement with Sakhalin Energy’s shareholders – Anglo-Dutch Shell and Japanese Mitsui and Mitsubishi – was postponed several times. Earlier this month, Bogdan Budzulyak, member of Gazprom’s board of directors, said that the parties could not agree whether Gazprom should shoulder responsibility for Sakhalin Energy’s environmental violations and ensuing economic sanctions. 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: Powerfuel Plans 900-Megawatt, Coal-Fired Plant in Yorkshire

By Bill Murray

April 17 (Bloomberg) — Powerfuel, the U.K.-based coal-mining company, plans to build a 900-megawatt, coal-fired power plant in Hatfield, in northern England, that will use Royal Dutch Shell Plc gasification technology and carbon capture.

Construction will take three to four years and may involve building a pipeline to transport carbon dioxide to storage sites in the North Sea, Powerfuel said in an e-mailed statement.

Kuzbassrazrezugol, a Russian mining company, bought a 51 percent stake in Powerfuel last year, providing the cash to start mining at the Hatfield Colliery coal mine, which was shut in 2004. Recent price increases and political support for coal-fired power plants are encouraging miners to consider opening U.K. coal mines that had been shut down. 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.

Associated Press: Groups seek halt to Shell drilling in Beaufort Sea

EXPLORATION: Critics say wells threaten resources for Native subsistence.

By DAN JOLING
Published: April 17, 2007

ANCHORAGE — Native American and conservation groups on Monday appealed a federal government decision to approve Shell Oil’s exploration plan for the Beaufort Sea.

The groups want to halt Shell exploration activities off the north coast of Alaska that are scheduled to begin in June.

Shell Exploration & Production Co., part of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, in 2005 spent more than $44 million for 84 offshore leases in the Beaufort Sea. 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: Oil rises on pipeline, inventory worries

Crude prices gain as a crucial Canadian pipeline is shut after springing a leak.

April 17 2007: 6:30 AM EDT

SINGAPORE (Reuters) — Oil gained Tuesday as a leak on a Canadian pipeline that pumps crude to the United States helped recoup deeper losses caused by news that a big Nigerian field was about to resume pumping after a year-long halt.

U.S. crude, rose 48 cents to $64.09 a barrel Tuesday, after ceding 2 cents on Monday.

London Brent crude futures on the ICE exchange rose 30 cents to $67.55 a barrel, after falling $1.38 on Monday. 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 to import LNG via Rotterdam’s Gate terminal

Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:54 AM BST

AMSTERDAM, April 17 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has signed an agreement to use up to 4 billion cubic metres (bcm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity at a Dutch import terminal that is due to start operating in 2010, its owners said.

Dutch storage company Vopak and the national gas network operator Gasunie plan to build the LNG import terminal at the port of Rotterdam with annual capacity of between 8 bcm and 12 bcm, as energy demand is growing in Europe.

“Shell Energy Europe B.V. and Gate terminal B.V. have signed an … agreement for capacity rights for a maximum of 4 billion cubic meters of annual throughput in the Gate LNG regasification terminal in Rotterdam,” Gasunie and Vopak said in a statement on Tuesday. 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: Red tape holds up final Gazprom-Shell deal -sources

Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:20 PM BST

MOSCOW, April 17 (Reuters) – Only red tape is preventing Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom and Royal Dutch Shell from completing their $7.45 billion Sakhalin-2 deal, which is virtually sealed, industry sources said on Tuesday.

“There are no outstanding issues between the parties but the deal has to follow certain procedural steps for completion,” said one industry source close to the deal.

The two firms and Shell’s two Japanese partners struck a preliminary deal in December for Gazprom to take a 50 percent stake in the huge energy project and hoped to complete the details in the first quarter of this year. 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.

POGO.org: Oil Industry Scofflaws Honored by Interior Department

From Project On Goverment Oversight .Org. 

On April 17, the Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) hosts its big annual bash attended by as many as 700 (mostly) oil company executives  where awards are given. It’s a fabulous opportunity for everyone to pat themselves on the back.

Why the government spends taxpayer time and money to throw a big schmooze party for big oil in Houston, TX is a question for all of us to ponder. For more than a year now, the Congress and the public have learned from a series of stories in the news media that all is not right at the MMS. Whistleblowers and the Congress have expressed concern that the agency is too cozy with the oil industry, particularly over the issue of whether the agency is collecting all the drilling fees owed to taxpayers and Native Americans. Tomorrow’s big schmooze-o-rama only feeds into these concerns. 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.

International Herald Tribune: Gazprom seeks further expansion in Europe

By Judy Dempsey

BERLIN: After entering the lucrative distribution sector in major European Union countries, Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy monopoly, said Monday that it was expanding even further by building large storage facilities across the Continent.

The new strategy, outlined by officials from Gazprom and its European partners, involves establishing joint ventures to build large natural gas storage depots in Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Serbia and Romania.

Once in operation, analysts say, Gazprom could have an unassailable lead in production, distribution and storage systems throughout Europe, using the lure of long-term contracts for natural gas deliveries to establish a firmer foothold in European Union countries. 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.

Business Day (South Africa): Oil Report

17 April 2007
 
OIL rebounded from early losses yesterday after a leak shut part of a major crude oil pipeline between Canada and the midwestern US.

US crude for May delivery settled down 2c at $63,61 a barrel, after rising as high as $64,21 and falling as low as $62,55 in a volatile trading session. Pipeline operator Enbridge said part of its 450000 barrels per day (bpd) pipeline that carries crude oil from Canada to refineries near Chicago was shut on Sunday after a leak was detected.

A spokesman said the pipeline was still pumping oil but Enbridge did not have an estimate of how long the pipeline could be disrupted. 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.

allAfrica.com: Mugabe Not Entirely to Blame

By Jonathan Power, The Nation (Kenya)

Forty-two years ago the then named Rhodesia, a British colony, made its unilateral declaration of independence. The break with the mother country had come after an acrimonious period of resisting pressure from London to modestly widen the franchise.

For 14 years Rhodesia was a pariah state, boycotted by order of the UN Security Council, yet finding ways to circumvent the embargo and prosper. Even the big British oil companies, Shell and BP, connived in the sanctions busting with, if not a nod, at least a wink from Britain’s Labour 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.

AP Worldstream: Nicaraguan field workers to get $300,000 in sterility settlement with U.S. chemical company

EXTRACT: In 1997, Dow, Shell Group and Occidental Chemical Corp. settled one suit with 26,000 workers in Latin America and elsewhere for $41 million. Both men and women said they were injured by the chemical, but sterility has been proven only in males.

THE ARTICLE

A Southern California chemical company has agreed to pay $300,000 (A221,400) to Nicaraguan field workers who filed a lawsuit claiming one of the firm’s pesticides caused them to become sterile.

The agreement between Amvac Chemical Corp. and 13 plaintiffs still needs to be signed off on by a judge. Individual amounts from the settlement ranged from $2,000 (A1,475) to $60,000, (A44,280) according to court documents filed last month. 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.

Pensions Week: Opinion: Leader – Facing responsibilities, accepting challenges

EXTRACTS: The might of Shell, BP and Walt Disney have all been challenged by the world’s pension funds, proving no company is too large to face scrutiny. If big business genuinely feels accountable to shareholders, and those shareholders demonstrate a clear desire for sustainable, ethical behaviour, we could potentially enjoy a corporate world which is no longer solely governed by greed.

THE ARTICLE

By Gill Wadsworth

We have seen a flurry of shareholder action by pension funds in the past few months and it’s a trend that looks set to continue as institutional investors finally appreciate the value of engaging with investee companies. 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.

Lloyds List: Last Word

Published: Apr 17, 2007
EXTRACT

THE Chancellor of the Exchequer (and some say prime minister in waiting) Gordon Brown lent his weight to the rejuvenation of the UK oil industry as he visited Shell’s Mossmorran gas and liquids processing centre in Fife. Brown was given a guided tour of the facility that sits in his constituency and close to Kirkcaldy, his town of birth.

He unveiled a plaque to celebrate the start of the project. The Mossmoran plant is part of Shell and ExxonMobil’s GBP350m ($6.9m) rejuvenation programme that also involves upgrading the St Fergus gas terminal and Braefoot Bay tanker loading facility. 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 Guardian: Gas guzzler Russians close to deal

Published: Apr 17, 2007

Gas monopoly Gazprom was expected to sign a pounds 3.7bn deal last night to buy half of Shell’s Sakhalin 2 project after months of pressure, seen as motivated by the Kremlin, on the Anglo-Dutch oil company

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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