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June 6th, 2013:

Shell’s claimed high level of drilling expertise – absolute phooey?

Screen Shot 2013-01-11 at 20.09.51It amuses me to read articles in the press about Shell’s high level of drilling expertise – typical comments regarding Alaska are along the lines of “if Shell cannot do it then nobody can…” I’m sorry, but this is a very long way off the mark.

EXPERT COMMENT RECEIVED FROM A SHELL RELATED SOURCE

John

It amuses me to read articles in the press about Shell’s high level of drilling expertise – typical comments regarding Alaska are along the lines of “if Shell cannot do it then nobody can…”

I’m sorry, but this is a very long way off the mark. Until the 1990s Shell trained and maintained a large international drilling group, whose expertise was unquestionably of the highest standard. For the past 20 years this has not been the case.

In the 1990s it was decided that drilling was not a core business, and was better left to sub-contractors, following the example of BP. This was seen as an efficient way to reduce drilling costs, as many of the overheads could be transferred to the sub-contractors. It also meant that the recruiting and technical development of drilling staff, which had involved sending engineering graduates to the well site to learn about and then supervise drilling operations, effectively came to an end. 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’s Olympus platform prepares for Gulf journey

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Posted on by Emily Pickrell

INGLESIDE — Royal Dutch Shell is about to move a mountain, towing its new state-of-the-art Olympus platform for duty in the Gulf of Mexico’s deep water.

The Olympus, designed to operate in water depths of 3,000 to 5,000 feet, will be Shell’s sixth tension leg platform in the Gulf. The company escorted a group of journalists on a tour of the platform Wednesday.

The platform — towering 406 feet from the base of the hull to the top of the derrick — is docked at the Ingleside, Texas shipyard near Corpus Christi and will leave in about a month to work at the Mars B project 130 miles south of New Orleans. Earlier this year, the hull made an 18,000-mile, two-month trek from South Korea to Ingleside. 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 CEO Voser: Wants to Work on Sustainability After He Retires

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June 5, 2013

LONDON–Shell Chief Executive Peter Voser said Wednesday that he wanted to work on the sustainability agenda when he retires from the oil major next year. “I want to give something back which I learned over the last 30 years and work on the sustainability agenda long term, which body, which area, I have no clue at this stage,” he told reporters.

Mr Voser, who last month said he would retire next year, said he planned to take up some non-executive directorships on boards, though not on the board of 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.

OGONI PRESS RELEASE: WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2013

Screen Shot 2013-06-06 at 09.18.05As we mark the world’s Environment Day on June 5, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) calls for urgent action to save the Ogoni people and its environment.

MOSOP is deeply concerned about the threat to Ogoni survival posed by the failure of government and Shell to clean the Ogoni environment which had been devastated by long years of oil mining activities in the area.

MOSOP shares the concern of Nigerians about the country’s non-commitment to human rights as a major set-back to a healthy environment. MOSOP urges Nigeria to improve its human rights records and allow people to live, work and enjoy the peace that comes with fundamental freedom and respect for humanity and the environment. 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 CEO Calls for Europe Carbon Reduction Target Extension

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Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser said Europe needs to extend its targets for curbing greenhouse gases and promoting renewable energy by a decade through 2030.

“To actually change things you need time and we are a little bit concerned if you have a short-term target,” Voser told reporters today in London. “We favor one target, which sets action with greenhouse gas.”

The European Union has a binding target to cut greenhouse gases by 20 percent compared with 1990 levels, increase the share of renewable energy to an average of 20 percent and a goal of boosting energy efficiency by one-fifth in 2020. The European Commission said in March a framework for the decade after 2020 is needed to give investors legal certainty, spur innovation and prepare for a global climate deal. 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 Argument Against Oil Drilling in Arctic Seas

The panel heard about busted shackles lost at sea. Snapped towlines. Fuel injectors clogged with slime. Forty-foot seas. And harrowing rescue attempts by Coast Guard helicopters to pluck Kulluk crewmembers from a deck that pitched and rolled with each wave. Shell’s Alaska operations manager even admitted the Kulluk left port in Dutch Harbor during the stormiest time of year to avoid paying state taxes, calling into question earlier statements from the same official.

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By ANDREW C. REVKIN: June 5, 2013

The Natural Resources Defense Council has issued a statement concluding that recent events — most notably the grounding of a Shell Oil drilling rig in Alaska — show the oil industry is not ready to safely, cleanly drill offshore in the Arctic.

I agree. There’s no logic for pushing fossil-fuel frontiers this extreme while neglecting energy-efficiency measures at home.

Here’s the group’s argument, which builds on its earlier, and justified, criticism of President Obama’s vague new “National Strategy for the Arctic Region”: 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’s Peter Voser: we have ‘nothing to hide’ on oil pricing

Royal Dutch Shell, one of the energy giants under investigation for suspected oil price rigging, has “nothing to hide”, its chief executive Peter Voser has said.

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By 6:02PM BST 05 Jun 2013

European Commission investigators raided Shell’s offices last month on suspicion the oil major could have colluded with BP and Norway’s Statoil to manipulate the price-reporting process for more than a decade.

“The investigation is ongoing and we are co-operating. It is for the European Commission to find evidence and facts at this stage,” Mr Voser said, declining to comment on details of the investigation.

But he added: “Transparency is a key word. It’s not just on pricing side, it is on taxation and in general how we do business. Shell has always been at the forefront of driving transparency. We have nothing to hide. 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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