Dear Alfred,

I was interested to see on the Dutch Shell website extracts from my address to the oil and gas industries of Latin America in Cancun in 2006. Thank you for including it.

However, the telephone number and address of our Centre for Business and Public Sector Ethics, Cambridge, which I direct are out-of-date.

Could you please correct them as follows:  Telephone: 01954 710086; Fax: 01954 710103 and our Centre`s address is now:

Number 131, 23 King Street, Cambridge CB1 1AH.

We also have a new book out entitled “Business Ethics” which may interest your company.  Details are attached.

Best wishes,
Rosamund Thomas (Dr)

(THE ARTICLE: ETHICAL CONTROVERSIES IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (extract relating to Royal Dutch Shell)

Extract:

“Royal Dutch Shell’s oil spills, and other problems, in Ogoniland, Rivers State, Nigeria (64); the Shell-led Sakhalin II oil and gas project in East Russia, where pipeline crossings are reported to have endangered wild salmon rivers – and could also threaten the feeding grounds of whales…”

PRESS RELEASE FROM:

ETHICS INTERNATIONAL PRESS LTD, BOOK PUBLISHERS

Ethics International Press Ltd is proud to announce a powerful new book Business Ethics published by our company on 30 MARCH 2011.

The book deals with critical modern issues, including:

* The Ethics – or Lack of Ethics – in the Global Financial Crisis 2007-2010;

* The hostile takeover of UK Cadbury plc by US Kraft Foods in 2010;

* Conflicts of Interest;

* Corporate Social Responsibility; and

* Business Ethics and Anti-Corruption, including the new UK Bribery Act of 2010.

This book is essential reading for: *business leaders; * professionals in banking, accountancy, and law; and * University Faculty and students in a range of subjects and in Business Schools.

Business Ethics is edited by prize-winning author Dr Rosamund Thomas who has originated the themes and structure of this book and is Director of the Centre for Business and Public Sector Ethics, Cambridge. The Centre is a leading Research Institute which sprang out of the University of Cambridge in 1988 to pioneer Ethics in Business, Government, and the Professions, as well as Corporate Social Responsibility. Centre for Business and Public Sector Ethics is an educational charitable trust and continues to co-operate with the University of Cambridge and its Colleges, as well as with corporations and Universities/Business Schools globally. The Centre’s website is www.ethicscentre.org

Business Ethics is 320 pages in length, quality paperback, ISBN 978-1-871891-04-1. Further details and to order copies, please see www.ethicspress.com via secure payment. The price of this book is £39 or 39 euros or US$45, packing and postage extra.

Ethics International Press Ltd had this book Business Ethics on display, and available to purchase, on Stand M405 at the London International Bookfair, Earls Court, 11-13 April 2011. It can now be purchased online from the EIP website at www.ethicspress.com

Business Ethics is also available from leading bookstores. PLEASE CONTACT: Dr Rosamund Thomas,

September 2011

on telephone: +44 (0)1954 710086 or email: info@ethicscentre.org or: Mr Robert Willis, Administrator, on info@ethicspress.com

By Yee Kai Pin

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — Singapore’s investigation of a Sept. 28 fire may force Royal Dutch Shell Plc to keep its largest oil refinery shut at least through the middle of October.

The offshore Pulau Bukom refinery, which exports 90 percent of its products to the Asia-Pacific region, may be closed for a minimum of several weeks, according to Purvin & Gertz Inc., an energy consultant. Standard Chartered Plc estimated yesterday a complete shutdown may last for as long as a month.

Europe’s largest oil company, which suspended fuel exports to some clients after taking more than 30 hours to extinguish the blaze, has started an investigation with Singapore’s Manpower Ministry, the company said today in e-mailed comments.

“Now that the whole plant has been shut down, even if somebody decides to resume operations, it will take days, if not longer, to get back to normal operating rates,” said Victor Shum, a senior principal at Purvin in Singapore. “The investigation by both Shell and Singapore may delay the resumption of operations.”

Shell started closing the 500,000 barrel-a-day refinery last week and declared force majeure on Oct. 2, allowing it to cancel supply obligations because of circumstances beyond its control. The fire started at a pump house as Shell prepared for maintenance work, according to the Manpower Ministry.

“We have commenced investigations and are working with the Ministry of Manpower as we establish the cause of the fire,” Peing Tajang, a Shell spokeswoman in Singapore, said in today’s e-mail. “Damage was contained to the vicinity of the pump house. Efforts are proceeding to bring the situation back to normal at the refinery.”

‘Major Fire’

Part of Shell’s preparation work involved the draining of residual oil in a pipeline and removing it by means of a suction truck, the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement Oct. 3. “The fire had subsequently spread and escalated into a major fire within the pump house area,” it said.

The profit from turning crude into gasoil, or diesel, rose as much as 13 percent in the days immediately following the fire. It declined yesterday as Formosa Petrochemical Corp. in Taiwan lifted a force majeure of its own, boosting regional supply.

Gasoil’s premium to Asian benchmark Dubai crude slid 12 cents from yesterday to $17.30 a barrel at 2:35 p.m. in Singapore, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London-based broker. This crack spread, a measure of refining profit, was the narrowest since the Shell fire broke out. The spread was $16.22 before the blaze.

Price Support

“We expect extended support for refined oil products prices for up to a month,” Priya Narain Balchandani, a Singapore-based analyst at Standard Chartered, said in a report yesterday. “However, we keep our forecasts unchanged for now. South Korea should make up some of the shortfall, given spare capacity.”

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s largest crude exporter, agreed to cancel an October shipment to Shell’s refinery, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. The company, known as Saudi Aramco, agreed to not ship one cargo of 2 million barrels of Arab Light crude, said one of the people. The parties are discussing whether to cancel a second cargo, the people said.

Pulau Bukom is about 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) from the financial hub of Singapore, Asia’s biggest oil-trading, refining and storage center. The blaze affected an area 150 meters (492 feet) by 50 meters, about the size of a soccer field, according to Shell, which has operated in Singapore for 120 years.

50 Years Old

The 50-year-old refinery includes a sulfur-recovery unit, a hydro-desulfurizer and a high-vacuum unit that supplies a hydrocracker, based on a Shell document from December 2009. Pulau Bukom also houses a fluid catalytic cracker with a capacity of 34,000 barrels a day, a 155,000 metric-ton-a-year butadiene-extraction unit and an 800,000 ton-a-year ethylene cracker complex.

Shell’s ethylene cracker will also be shut as refinery units feeding the unit were taken offline after the fire, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is confidential.

The company also owns a 750,000 ton-a-year mono-ethylene glycol unit on neighboring Jurong Island, where refineries belonging to Exxon Mobil Corp. and Singapore Refining Co., a joint venture between Chevron Corp. and Singapore Petroleum Co., are located.

–Editors: Mike Anderson, Paul Gordon.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yee Kai Pin in Singapore at kyee13@bloomberg.net;

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net

SOURCE ARTICLE

October 5 2011 at 05:00am

By Jan Willem Eggink, General Manager Upstream Operations, Shell South Africa

Some of you may have seen this image on television or the internet. A man reaches across and turns on his kitchen tap. He takes a lighter and applies it to the stream of water, it bursts into flame. The flame is attributed to the presence of methane gas.

It is a powerful image. But it is important to be clear about the source of the gas. While critics suggest natural gas drilling as the cause, there is considerable evidence that dissolved methane can occur naturally in ground water. Indeed, according to the Department of Water Affairs, methane gas has been found in shallow water wells in the Karoo.

Confusion and misinformation about connection between natural gas drilling and water supplies feeds into public concern about the safety and environmental impact of shale gas production, and contributes to worries about the exploration for natural gas in the Karoo. The public is right to demand high standards.

For the industry, there are two clear tasks at hand: first, we must continue to maintain the very highest operational standards. At Shell, our efforts are underlined by a set of global onshore shale gas operating principles that provide a framework for protecting water, air, wildlife and the needs of local communities.

We support regulation that is designed to reduce risks to the environment and keep those living near our operations safe.

Second, we need to dispel the significant misconceptions about shale gas production. I would like to address the main misconceptions about shale gas, underlined by the fact that shale gas under the Karoo may help South Africa to develop a secure and sustainable energy supply.

We understand that people have concerns about the issues and allegations raised by opponents of shale gas extraction, and we feel it is important to address these. The allegations have many factual discrepancies and do not reflect Shell’s operations.

One major misconception is that hydraulic fracturing poses a significant risk to fresh water aquifers. A very recent report of the US Energy Department that has been looking at potential health and environmental implications of hydraulic fracturing confirmed that when a well was designed and constructed correctly, ground water would not be contaminated. We think we need well-targeted and strictly implemented regulation to preserve public confidence that the shale gas revolution really is a force for good.

We believe that protecting fresh water aquifers is not difficult: the natural gas in some cases lies thousands of metres below aquifers. So it is virtually impossible for liquid or indeed gas, to reach drinking water.

Nevertheless, we follow strict standards to ensure that wells are constructed correctly. We line our wells with multiple steel and concrete barriers to prevent gas or liquid from leaking out of the well itself.

I should highlight that fracking has been successfully performed more than a million times in the US alone over the past 60 years in vertical wells and more than 20 years in horizontal wells. We do not hydraulically fracture wells unless we have pressure tested the well bore for integrity.

Another criticism relates to water consumption and use. According to various studies, including one by the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, the water intensity of shale gas ranks among the lowest of all energy sources. We recognise that in an arid area like the Karoo, even limited water use may be a concern. Again, sound operational practices can address these concerns. Shell strives to avoid competing with local water needs. We will not operate wells where isolation of our completion and production activities from potable ground water cannot be achieved. And wherever possible, we use non-potable water, including the recycling and reusing of water from our operations. Nobody will go short of fresh water because of our operations; either in the exploration phase, or if there is any further development. This is a legally binding commitment.

One example of how we work with communities to find the best solutions for the water use is in China’s Shanxi province. Here we are developing the Changbei field, we funded the construction of 240 underground water-storage tanks and 12 water-pumping stations, providing about 3 000 people better access to drinking water.

A third debate results partly from a paper by Cornell University, which stoked fears that greenhouse emissions from shale gas far exceeded not only those from conventional gas, but even those from coal.

While we agree emissions from all energy sources need to be better understood, the quickest and cheapest way to reduce emissions is to switch power generation from coal to gas.

The assumptions made in the Cornell paper stand in stark contrast to the International Energy Agency (IEA) analysis, which found that, on a well to burner basis, emissions from shale gas exceed those of conventional gas by as little as 3.5 percent in the best case scenario and by 12 percent in the worst. Rigorous operations management helps to get to the lower number. The IEA stated: “…total emissions from (shale gas) production are only slightly higher than for conventional gas: and both the water and climate impacts can be mitigated using existing techniques”.

A conclusion recently backed up by a research paper from Carnegie Mellon. In any event, shale gas-fired power still emits only about half the CO2 of coal-fired power, which was confirmed in the US National Energy Technology Laboratory study comparing newest gas and coal technology.

Some people disagree about how South Africa should meet its energy needs in the future. We want to promote debate and have a solid discussion based on facts and not on misconceptions.

At Shell we believe onshore exploration and production can and must occur in an environmentally responsible manner. Anything less is unacceptable. I know that this won’t convince everybody.

And we can never have all the answers, but our exploration activities will provide a large amount of answers to the question, whether the gas is there and can be produced commercially. We’re determined to be transparent and open about our proposals, and to address all concerns.

Eggink is the upstream general manager for Shell in South Africa.

SOURCE ARTICLE

By Associated Press, Published: October 4

Published on Tue, 10/04/2011 – 16:11
By Robert Cotter

Shares of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.B) traded at a new 52-week low today of $58.37. Approximately 1.3 million shares have changed hands today, as compared to an average 30-day volume of 1.2 million shares.

Royal Dutch Shell has overhead space with shares priced $60.28, or 20.4% below the average consensus analyst price target of $75.71. The stock should find initial resistance at its 50-day moving average (MA) of $66.00 and further resistance at its 200-day MA of $69.54.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC, through subsidiaries, explores for, produces, and refines petroleum. The Company produces fuels, chemicals, and lubricants. Shell owns and operates gasoline filling stations worldwide.

Royal Dutch Shell share prices have moved between a 52-week high of $78.81 and the current low of $58.37 and are currently at $60.28 per share. Over the past week, the 200-day moving average (MA) has remained constant while the 50-day MA has declined 1.1%.

Corrib gas objectors denied entry to Oireachtas hearing

The Irish Times – Wednesday, September 28, 2011

PAUL CULLEN

SECURITY STAFF at the Houses of the Oireachtas yesterday refused entry to a group of opponents of the Corrib gas terminal who had travelled from Co Mayo to attend an Oireachtas committee.

The group of 15 Shell to Sea supporters travelled to Dublin at the invitation of Fianna Fáil deputy leader Éamon Ó Cuív to attend a hearing of the Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture about offshore exploration licences.

An Oireachtas spokeswoman said the group was turned away on foot of a long-standing rule that forbids access to anyone demonstrating outside the gates of Leinster House on a particular day.

However, while campaigners against the gas terminal mounted a small protest outside Leinster House, members of the group said they had not participated in this picket.

Spokeswoman Maura Harrington said the group met Mr Ó Cuív in a hotel across the road and then walked over to Leinster House, where they learned they would not be admitted. “We came 200 miles in good faith but once again, our good faith has been thrown back at us.”

At the committee, officials of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources defended the licensing regime.

Principal officer Ciarán Ó hObain acknowledged that companies that make discoveries tended to do well under the Irish regime. But he said the chances of making a find were low, so overall it was a relatively high-risk investment for the companies involved.

Out of 132 wells drilled in Irish waters, only four have resulted in a commercial discovery. The cost of drilling a well ranges from $30 million (€22 million) to $120 million depending on location.

Petroleum specialist Noel Murphy said there was a huge lack of data about deep water areas. Ireland would need to be drilling five wells a year in order to have a good chance of finding oil. At the moment, an average of only one well a year is being drilled.

Successive reviews of the tax regime for offshore discoveries have seen corporation tax rates halved and royalties abolished. Tax is payable on profits after exploration costs have been written off.

Mr Ó hObain said it was wrong to compare Ireland with major producers like Norway, where the tax take is 78 per cent. No new commercial discoveries have been made in Irish waters since 2007.

SOURCE ARTICLE

Published: Oct. 4, 2011 at 7:55 AM

BERLIN, Oct. 4 (UPI) — Executives in the energy industry need to invest more in shale gas while advancing environmental issues, an official said from Berlin.

The United States is examining its shale gas potential as a way to address energy security issues. European countries like Poland and Ukraine are doing the same, though France has enacted a moratorium on shale gas exploration because of environmental concerns.

Jeroen van der Veer, a former chief executive officer at Royal Dutch Shell, told delegates at a petrochemical summit in Berlin, that shale could be a “game changer” if managed effectively, the Platts news service reports.

“Personally, I’m in favor of full transparency and I think Shell will very soon come out with announcements in this direction,” he said.

Van der Veer was referring to chemicals used in the extraction of shale gas. Critics note that some of the chemicals used in the extraction process, known as fracking, pose a significant risk to underground water resources.

Energy companies counter that fracking, if done correctly, doesn’t pose a significant environmental threat. Some environmental regulators in the United States note that shale gas exploration has a long safety history.

Update from our sources…

“Strong rumours here in Erris, Co Mayo (beside Corrib gas development) that the project will grind to a halt following an up-and-coming court case involving a local contractor, Shell and the local police force (Garda). The word is that the CEO and others are heading for the exit over this matter.”

Added 4 October 2011:

A small local company was asked by Shell to carry out favours for interested parties. *Court case seems to be about local company not getting paid. Seemingly the details in the legal papers are dynamite for Shell and some locals and could indeed halt the project. Not quite sure what the Gardai (local police) involvement is but they seem to be implicated in some way.

WARNING: These are rumors…

Attention Royal Dutch Shell Plc: If you confirm by email that any information printed under this headline is categorically untrue, it will be removed immediately.

*(We are trying to obtain the relevant legal papers)

Graphics from the Guardian article: Unloveable Shell, the Goddess of Oil

By John Donovan

Monday, 3 October 2011

Shell fueled human rights abuses in Nigeria by paying huge contracts to armed militants, according to a new report published today by Platform and a coalition of NGOs and featured in The Guardian.

This evening we received an email of thanks from Ben Amunwa of platformlondon.org. Ben is the author of the 41 page report called Counting the Cost, which uncovers how Shell’s routine payments to armed militants exacerbated conflicts, in one case leading to the destruction of Rumuekpe town where it is estimated that at least 60 people were killed.

Shell also continues to rely on Nigerian government forces who have perpetrated systematic human rights abuses against local residents, including unlawful killings, torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.

What writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa dubbed the “slick alliance” between oil multinationals and the Nigerian military is alive and harmful as ever. Shell’s operations remain inextricably linked to human rights violations committed by government forces. The Nigerian government, driven to keep oil revenues flowing and working in close partnership with oil multinationals, has heavily militarised the Delta. Shell alone has hired over 1,300 government forces as armed guards. For communities, the impacts have been devastating and are in addition to ongoing environmental damage from oil spills and gas flaring.

Commenting on the report, Nnimmo Bassey of Friends of the Earth International said: “Shell’s obligations are clear: it must clean up after decades of devastating oil spills, end the illegal practice of gas flaring and compensate the victims of human rights abuses in Nigeria. It is unacceptable that Shell continues to deny responsibility, while pushing communities deeper into poverty and fuelling destructive conflicts.”

“Shell’s divisive practices have led to daily human rights violations in the Niger Delta,” added Geert Ritsema from Friends of the Earth Netherlands. “Many of the victims have no access to justice and cannot afford to take the oil giant to court. Lawsuits in Nigeria can take decades to resolve and the remedies are often inadequate. Yet Shell must be held accountable for its environmental destruction and complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria, and home governments like the UK and Netherlands must ensure that remedies are available and accessible to the victims.”

Interviews with Ben Amunwa and the former Royal Dutch Shell Group Chairman, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, will be aired during a related feature on the BBC World Service “Business Daily” at 8.30am tomorrow, Tuesday 4 October.

I have been reporting on these disturbing matters since 2007 e.g. Is Shell skulduggery in Nigeria pumping up global oil prices?: 18 July 2007. The astonishing revelations in my article came from a high level manager inside Shell Nigeria.