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June 15th, 2010:

Shell, Exxon, Chevron and Conoco no better prepared to deal with a major oil spill than BP

Getty Images: ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, Chevron CEO John Watson, ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva, Shell President Marvin Odum, and Lamar McKay, president of BP America, at a House hearing.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By STEPHEN POWER JUNE 15, 2010

WASHINGTON—Senior House Democrats accused all five oil companies attending a congressional hearing Tuesday of relying on “cookie cutter” spill-response plans.

Rep. Edward Markey (D., Mass.) said a review of oil companies’ response plans found that, like BP PLC, three other companies had made references in plans to protecting walruses, “which have not called the Gulf of Mexico home for three million years.” He added that two other plans “are such dead ringers for BP’s that they list a phone number for the same long-dead expert.” 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.

US oil firms ‘unprepared’ for major offshore disaster

BBC NEWS

The chief executives of five major US oil firms are giving evidence

The major oil companies drilling off the US coastline are as unprepared as BP for a major spill, the chairman of a Congressional panel has said.

Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell all have identical response plans to BP, Henry Waxman told the House energy and commerce committee.

BP’s US chief Lamar McKay is to give evidence over the Gulf disaster amid damning accusations BP took shortcuts.

He and other oil bosses will testify about deepwater drilling safety. 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.

Exxon, Chevron Chiefs Faulted for ‘Carbon-Copy’ Safety Plans

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips, Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc executives told Congress deepwater oil wells can be drilled safely after a BP Plc well blew out, as lawmakers criticized their disaster plans as inadequate “carbon copies.”

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.

Nigeria: ‘World oil pollution capital’

BBC NEWS

By Caroline Duffield BBC News, Niger Delta

Olusegun Aganga talks to Steve Evans about ‘the curse of oil’

Visitors to the Nigerian village of Kpor, deep in the Niger Delta, are greeted by strange sights: silver frogs blink from gleaming puddles, sunlight bounces from an eerie black lake, and dragonflies hover over cauldrons of tar.

This is Rivers State, an area abundant in oil and gas. Environmentalists call the Delta the global capital of oil pollution, but unlike the Gulf of Mexico, there are no underwater robots, flotillas of scientists or oil booms here. 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.

BP’s Rating Cut by Fitch to Two Levels Above ‘Junk’

BusinessWeek Logo

By Brian Swint and John Glover

June 15 (Bloomberg) — BP Plc’s credit rating was cut to two levels above “junk” by Fitch Ratings on concern over the potential cost of cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and meeting future liabilities.

BP’s long-term issuer default and senior unsecured ratings were lowered six levels to BBB from AA, Fitch said in a statement today. That follows a reduction from AA+ on June 3.

President Barack Obama and U.S. lawmakers said this week that BP should suspend dividends and set aside funds now for legal claims against the company from the spill, the worst in U.S. history. Fitch said it would be “surprised” if BP didn’t suspend the quarterly payout until the full costs are known. The cost of cleanup and liabilities may reach $40 billion, Standard Chartered Plc. estimated last week.

“The recent claims by U.S. state and federal authorities that BP escrow significant sums preemptively, ahead of any agreed claims process, represent a material change in approach,” Fitch 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.

Exxon Distances Itself From BP’s ‘Dramatic Departure’ in Gulf

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Federal investigators must determine if BP Plc took risks “beyond industry norms” with the Gulf of Mexico well that exploded and caused the worst U.S. oil spill, Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson said.

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.

Efforts to Repel Gulf Oil Spill Are Described as Chaotic

THE NEW YORK TIMES: From the beginning, the effort has been bedeviled by a lack of preparation, organization, urgency and clear lines of authority among federal, state and local officials, as well as BP. As a result, officials and experts say, the damage to the coastline and wildlife has been worse than it might have been if the response had been faster and orchestrated more effectively.

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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