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August 18th, 2007:

The Observer: Oil giants rush to lay claim to Iraq

Saeed Shah and Alex Brett
Sunday August 19, 2007

The world’s oil majors will descend on two key conferences about Iraqi oil next month, seizing their last chance to jockey for position before the expected passing of the country’s hydrocarbon law sets off a scramble for its vast energy resources.

Iraqi officials, including oil minister Hussein Shahristani, will attend the gatherings in Dubai in September to meet international oil executives. All the big players will be there, including BP, Shell, Exxon and Chevron, as well as minnows such as Addax Petroleum, some of which have operations in Iraq. 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.

Sunday Times: Russia –a land of risk takers

August 19, 2007

Lured by a booming economy, businessmen from the West are flocking back to Russia to enjoy a high-octane lifestyle

Mark Franchetti in Moscow

AS his colleagues from senior management pushed him into a Soviet-era military helicopter, it didn’t take the British entrepreneur long to realise that his first business trip in Russia would be unusual.

Shouting to make himself heard over the clatter of the rotors, one of his colleagues warned him to move away from the machine’s rear ramp as it often opened accidentally in mid-flight. 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 evacuates workers due to Dean

Sat Aug 18, 2007 7:04PM BST
 
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said it was evacuating 300 more support workers from U.S. Gulf of Mexico facilities on Saturday due to Hurricane Dean.

“Since the beginning of the week, Shell has evacuated approximately 460 people, with approximately 300 scheduled to be evacuated today,” Shell said in a news release Saturday. “Evacuations are expected to continue through the weekend.”

Shell has shut down production on approximately 10,000 barrels of oil and 15 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in preparation for the storm’s possible entry into the U.S. Gulf, Shell 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.

CNN: Storm projected to grow into Category 5 hurricane

CNN graphic

Satellite image shows Hurricane Dean’s position at 9:15 a.m. ET Saturday.  

(CNN) — Hurricane Dean intensified Saturday as it muscled across the Caribbean and headed toward a dangerous rendezvous Sunday with Jamaica.

Forecasters fear Dean will be a destructive Category 5 monster packing 155 mph winds by then.

Even worse could be yet to come. By Monday, as Dean nears Cancun and other tourist areas along Mexico’s eastern Yucatan coast, its sustained winds could be 160 mph, with gusts as high as 195 mph — wreaking new havoc on an area heavily damaged just two years ago by Hurricane Wilma. 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 Globe and Mail: As Big Oil pumps out profit, Alberta’s take is shrinking Is it time to up the ante?

It’s a critical calculation for Canada As the royalty debate divides Albertans, the real question is: How much is fair?

DAVID EBNER
00:00 EDT Saturday, August 18, 2007

Royalties have existed as long as humans have spun wealth from the world’s underground riches, digging and drilling to produce personal and collective fortunes. The first royalty believed to have been collected occurred in ancient Greece, creating great wealth for Callias, a top aristocrat whose home was the finest in Athens and was the setting for one of Plato’s dialogues. 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.

Some correspondence with Shell General Counsel Richard Wiseman in November 2005

Self-explanatory email correspondence with Shell International General Counsel Richard Wiseman in November 2005 which may have relevance to recent postings on Live Chat.  

—–Original Message—–
From: Alfred Donovan [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 11 November 2005 09:20
To: Wiseman, Richard RM SI-LMAPF
Cc: van der Veer, Jeroen J SI-SI-CEJV; Brinded, Malcolm A SI-ECMB
Subject: DAYLIGHT ROBBERY

Dear Mr Wiseman

On 27th October 2005 my son John was the victim of an assault and robbery in Chelmsford a few minutes after £3,000 in cash had been collected from inside a Lloyds TSB Bank in the Town Centre. The cash was intended to fund our campaigning activities against Shell. 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.

Petroleum News: EIA forecasts increasing oil, natural gas prices

Vol. 12, No. 33  Week of August 19, 2007

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration said Aug. 7 that significant crude oil price increases over the last two months are “the result of increasingly tighter world oil markets.”

There is increased demand for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries oil, the agency said, but despite higher prices, “OPEC officials have expressed a reluctance to raise production, pointing to high U.S. crude stocks and attributing high prices to refining bottlenecks, geopolitical tensions and fund speculation.” 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.

Petroleum News: Arctic claims heat up

Vol. 12, No. 33  Week of August 19, 2007

Russian expedition poses challenge to United States, Canada and other northern nations; Canada steps up fight with plans for deepwater port, military outposts, and an increase of 900 members in the Canadian Ranger patrol

Gary Park
For Petroleum News

Forget about “The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming” — the Cold War comedy about the grounding of a Russian submarine off a small New England town.

They’re here.

More accurately, they’re there. 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.

Petroleum News: BP leads pack in the Gulf

Drilling activity at record level in ‘ultra-deepwater’ Gulf, 15 rigs working

Ray Tyson
For Petroleum News
Vol. 12, No. 33  Week of August 19, 2007

Exploration and production companies, despite a reported worldwide shortage of high-specification offshore rigs, have managed to set a new record for the number of “ultra-deepwater” floaters currently drilling prospects and development wells in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

For the first time, 15 rigs are drilling in 5,000 feet of water or greater, a depth range established by the U.S. Minerals Management Service separating the deep from the ultra-deep in the U.S. Gulf. 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.

Petroleum News: Court nixes drilling: 9th Circuit order kills Beaufort drilling this year, Shell reviewing options

Vol. 12, No. 33  Week of August 19, 2007
Alan Bailey

Shell has crossed several major hurdles in its attempt to start an exploration drilling program in the Beaufort Sea during the 2007 open water season. But the latest obstacle, an Aug. 15 court order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, may well prove to be a showstopper — the court has extended a stay on Shell’s Beaufort Sea activities until the court has ruled on an appeal by the North Slope Borough and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission against the U.S. Minerals Management Service’s approval of Shell’s Beaufort Sea exploration plan. MMS gave provisional approval of the plan in February. 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: Oil: On the Gulf Coast, Helplessly Awaiting the Hurricane

By ANA CAMPOY
Saturday August 18, 2007; Page A2

It’s late August in the oil belt, which means thoughts are turning once again to hurricanes.

Hurricane Dean, which is expected to land near U.S. coasts in the next few days, is already roiling oil markets, pushing up prices and forcing exploration companies to start evacuating workers from the massive platforms dotting the Gulf of Mexico.

Last year, the Gulf oil complex went through the hurricane season largely untouched. But industry officials and investors are still wary of a repeat of 2004 and 2005, when three nasty storms did millions of dollars of damage to offshore platforms, underwater pipelines and onshore refineries, pushing up oil and gasoline prices for months. 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: Hurricane Dean Gains Power in Caribbean

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 18, 2007
Filed at 3:05 a.m. ET

CASTRIES, St. Lucia (AP) — Hurricane Dean roared into the eastern Caribbean on Friday, tearing away roofs, flooding streets and causing at least three deaths. Winds hit 150 mph as it headed on a collision course with Jamaica and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where it is forecast to become a Category 5 storm.

The Atlantic season’s first hurricane built to a powerful Category 4 storm Friday night after crossing over the warm waters of the Caribbean. The National Hurricane Center in Miami forecast that Dean would become a Category 5 storm — with winds surpassing 155 mph — as it approaches Yucatan 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.

The Guardian: Putin revives long-range bomber patrols

Luke Harding in Moscow and Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Saturday August 18, 2007

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, yesterday announced Russia had resumed long-range flights of strategic bombers capable of striking targets deep inside the United States with nuclear weapons.

Mr Putin said Russia had restarted the Soviet-era practice of sending bomber aircraft on regular patrols beyond its borders.

Speaking after Russian and Chinese forces completed a day of war games in Russia’s Urals, Mr Putin said 14 Russian bombers had taken off simultaneously yesterday on long-range missions. 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 Times: Need to know: August 18, 2007

Natural resources

Norilsk Nickel said it will spend more than 4.4 billion rands (£296 million) on two projects in Botswana and South Africa. The Russian miner will develop the Tati nickel mine in Botswana, and the Nkomati nickel mine in South Africa, Tav Morgan, its deputy director, said in Johannesburg.

Platinum Diversified Mining reported a pre-tax loss of $4.77 million (£2.4 million) for the period to December 31, 2006, and said it is moving forward with acquisition of International Consolidated Minerals, a deal that is expected to be finalised in September. 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.

TheNews.com.pk: Shell Gas posts Rs47m loss

The News Pakistan
By our correspondent

KARACHI: Shell Gas, the marketer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) on Friday reported a loss of Rs47 million for fiscal 2006-07 against a profit of Rs793,000 made during the previous year.

Its earnings per share, basic and diluted, were a negative Rs14.79 in last fiscal year that ended June 30, 2007, compared to Rs0.25 in FY 2005-06.

“The loss is primarily because government forced the LPG prices down at the end of last year,” said a company official.

In last fiscal year, net sales of Shell Gas increased to Rs1.52 billion from Rs1.46bn recorded in the previous year. The cost of product sold jumped to Rs1.4bn from Rs1.2, the company said in a statement to the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). 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.

Canada.com: Canada biodiesel must withstand cold weather: Shell

Roberta Rampton, Reuters

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Canada’s fledgling biodiesel industry must prove its fuel additive can work in frigid winter weather before users can meet new government targets, an official with Shell Canada Ltd. said recently.

Engine manufacturers will not warranty performance of engines using biodiesel blends, and fuel makers need assurances there will be no harm done in temperatures that can approach -40 C (-40 F) in wide swath of the country, said Gerry Ertel, manager of regulatory affairs for Shell, Canada’s No. 3 oil producer and refiner. 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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