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August 16th, 2011:

Oil leak is threat to Shell hope in Arctic

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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It’s only 0.02pc as big as BP’s giant Gulf of Mexico oil leak at the moment.

The Royal Dutch Shell platform Gannett Alpha has leaked 216 tons of oil in to the North Sea, the highest in a decade (REUTERS)

Rowena Mason

By 9:50PM BST 16 Aug 2011

But Royal Dutch Shell’s spillage of 1,300 barrels of crude into the North Sea from the Gannet field is still a big headache for the company as it tries to convince regulators it should be allowed to carry out drilling in the Arctic.

In the wake of BP’s disaster last year, Shell has tried to position itself as the solid and dependable one among the oil majors.

However, that image has been increasingly undermined by a series of issues in the North Sea that Glen Caley, Shell’s technical director in Europe, admits have made this a “challenging year”. read more

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Shell battles its North Sea oil spill from pipeline below the Gannet Alpha platform

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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By Rob Davies: Last updated at 10:59 PM on 16th August 2011

Shell is facing a burgeoning image crisis as its North Sea oil spill – the biggest in British waters for a decade – stretched into its seventh day.

The Anglo-Dutch giant has been using teams of divers and Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to battle the leak, which is estimated to have slowed from five barrels a day to two.

But initial work on the sub-sea pipeline below the Gannet Alpha platform succeeded only in plugging one part of the damaged pipe, forcing oil out elsewhere.

The company estimates that some 1,300 barrels of oil have been spilt so far.

In the context of BP’s oil spill in Gulf of Mexico last year – which saw an estimated 4.9m barrels of oil gush into US waters – Shell’s leak is relatively small. 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.

Shell struggles to contain worst North Sea oil leak in a decade, hit to its reputation

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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MEERA SELVA ASSOCIATED PRESS August 16, 2011

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell struggled to contain the worst North Sea oil spill in a decade as well as damage to its credibility Tuesday as a second leak was found in an oil line the company had said was “under control.”

Although the amount of oil involved in the Shell spill off the coast of Scotland is an order of magnitude smaller than BP’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster — around 1,300 barrels so far compared to an estimated 4.9 million in the Gulf — the spill undercuts Shell’s earlier suggestions that it was a safer company than BP. 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.

Cost hike on Shell Iraq deal

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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upstreamonline.com

Cost hike on Shell Iraq deal

Iraq’s gas deal with supermajor Shell, to capture and exploit associated gas from its giant southern oilfields, is expected to produce 2 billion cubic feet per day and cost $17.2 billion, according to an official agreement summary.

Aleya Begum 16 August 2011 09:38 GMT

The figures were reported by Dow Jones, who obtained a copy of the summary agreement.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry signed a final draft deal with Shell and Japan’s Mitsubishi last month, to develop gas production in a number of giant oilfields in the Basra region of southern Iraq. read more

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Shell’s second oil leak in North Sea pipeline caused by relief valve

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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guardian.co.uk home

Campaigners and politicians have criticised the oil company for being slow to release information on the spill

Shell Gannett Alpha platform oil spill in the North Sea. Photograph: Marine Scotland

A relief valve close to the faulty pipeline at Shell’s Gannet Alpha oil platform in the North Sea appears to be the source of a secondary leak that is adding to the worst oil spill in UK waters in a decade.

Green campaigners and members of the Scottish parliament have rounded on the oil company for being slow to release full information on the leak, which was first detected last Wednesday but only disclosed to the public on Friday evening.

Shell said on Tuesday that while the leaking well was “under control”, and the main spill had been shut off successfully, a small quantity of oil was still finding its way to the sea by another pathway. After lengthy searching, the valve was pinpointed as the likely source. 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.

Shell North Sea ‘leak’ is in fact an uncontrolled blowout

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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UPDATED

Posted by John Donovan ([email protected])

Comment from an expert source that technically the Shell North Sea oil leak is an uncontrolled blowout. Fortunately on a much smaller scale that the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

COMMENT FROM A 100% RELIABLE EXPERT SOURCE

If the leak at Gannet is coming from the flowline between the well and the platform, it should be a very simple matter to shut it in – but after 5 days, the flow continues.

According to Shell’s news releases, the leaking flowline connects a subsea well to to the Gannet platform. A subsea well has a Christmas tree on the wellhead at the seabed to control flow from the well into the flowline, so if the leak is from the flowline it is a very simple matter to close in the line and depressurize it – and the leak would stop immediately. 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.

Shell detects second leak under North Sea

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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16 August 2011 Last updated at 08:14

Another leak has been found in the flow line beneath the Gannet Alpha oil platform, 113 miles (180km) off Aberdeen.

Shell has been dealing with the release of an estimated 216 tonnes – 1,300 barrels – from a leak near the platform discovered last week.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change said it was a “substantial” spill, but should disperse naturally.

The oil company said it was working to locate the second leak.

Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, said: “We’ve got a very complex sub-sea infrastructure and the position of the leak is in an awkward place with a lot of marine growth. 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.

Why is Shell still present and operating in Syria?

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

By John Donovan

EXTRACT FROM EMAIL WE RECEIVED ON 14 August 2011

In light of US demands on the international community that the EU and others break their ties with Syria, you may wish to investigate why Shell is still present and operating as usual in Syria. Unlike most foreign investors and operators that pulled out of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and other countries at the first signs of government repression, Shell and its expatriate staff have remained in Syria to this day. 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.

Supreme Court Set to Decide Corporate Liability for Human Rights Violations

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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Tom Ramstack: August 15, 2011 07:14 pm EDT

The Supreme Court is expected to decide within weeks whether it will hear a case on the liability of U.S. corporations for human rights violations in other countries.

The issue has simmered for years as human rights advocates accused corporations of abusing residents of mineral rich areas overseas to evade U.S. laws that never would allow the same kind of exploitation.

The dispute came to a head in recent lawsuits against oil companies Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp. for their oil exploration in Nigeria and Indonesia. 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.

Anger as Shell fails to answer questions about spillage

Aug 16th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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Shell’s modus operandi – of giving out information only on what appears to be a need-to-know basis – is not good enough. The public needs to know, and has a right to know.


Published Date: 16 August 2011 By Jenny Fyall Environment Correspondent
ENERGY giant Shell is facing mounting criticism over its secrecy about an oil leak in the North Sea, as the spill was revealed to be twice as large as previously thought. Five days after the leak from the Gannet Alpha rig was spotted about 112 miles east of Aberdeen, Shell finally responded to pressure to reveal the volumes of oil involved.

It confirmed 216 tonnes had spread into the sea – the equivalent of 1,300 barrels of oil. The Scottish Government said at the weekend it involved only about 100 tonnes.

However, a raft of questions today remain unanswered, including how the leak started, why Shell has not yet been able to stop the flow of oil, where exactly the spill is in the North Sea, and whether any seabirds or other wildlife are caught up in it.

Politicians and environment groups have increased their calls for Shell to be more open about the leak. Government figures show it is four times the entire quantity of oil discharged into the North Sea in 2009, and by far the largest spill in UK waters for more than a decade. 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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