Posts under ‘Environment’

By Vincent Nwanma – Jan 29, 2012 10:36 PM GMT

Jan. 29 (Bloomberg)– Nigeria will “soon” ask for compensation for an oil spill from Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), Europe’s largest oil company, President Goodluck Jonathan said.

A spill last month from the 200,000 barrel-a-day Bonga field off Nigeria, which produces nearly 10 percent of Nigeria’s crude, led Shell to stop production from the facility, the company said on Dec. 21. The export line at Bonga leaked almost 40,000 barrels of crude during a tanker loading, according to Shell estimates, making it Nigeria’s worst offshore spill in more than a decade.

Nigeria will be asking for compensations “with a view to reaching an amicable solution to the problem,” Jonathan said in a meeting with Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations secretary- general, on the sidelines of the 18th African Union Ordinary Session of the heads of state and governments in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, according to a statement e-mailed today.

A phone call by Bloomberg to Shell’s office in Lagos, Nigeria, after hours was unanswered, and there was no answer at the mobile phone number of a company spokesman

To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent Nwanma in Lagos at vnwanma@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dulue Mbachu at dmbachu@bloomberg.net

SOURCE ARTICLE

Published on Sunday 29 January 2012 00:00

HIGHER annual and quarterly profits from oil heavyweight Royal Dutch Shell are this week expected to ignite the fury of hard-pressed drivers who continue to face near record prices at the petrol pump.

But the figures are likely to spell good news for investors as analysts raise the prospect that Shell, which boasts one of the largest dividends on the FTSE, may recommend an increase in the pay-out.

Although both full-year and quarterly numbers will be released, the City will focus on profits for the last three months of 2011, which are expected to be about 20 per cent higher compared to the same period in 2010.

However, analysts forecast they will be roughly 27 per cent below the third quarter as oil prices remained relatively flat over the final three months of 2011. That followed steep price gains earlier in the year driven by the political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa.

The City spotlight on Thursday will also be on whether Shell confirms progress in getting American regulatory permits to explore an eventual potential oil bonanza off the Alaskan coast.

Jason Kenney, oil analyst with Santander, said: “Shell is a cash machine, but not really a growth entity. The ambitions [for Alaska] are still there, however.

“It [Alaska] will be a big exploration opportunity when it gets the full go‑ahead, with identified targets [for oil exploration].”

Analysts at broker Charles Stanley believe Shell “should have room to increase the [Q4] dividend”. It cites cash flow of $45 billion (£28.6bn) generated in 2011 compared to capital spending of $27bn and dividends of $10bn in the first three quarters. The broker forecasts rival BP, which reports the following week, will peg its fourth-quarter dividend at seven cents.

Santander forecasts an underlying profit at Shell, on a current cost of supplies basis, of $4.9bn, up from $4.1bn in the same quarter of 2010.

For the full year, the bank’s broking arm expects profits will have gone up to $24.7bn from $18.6bn in the previous 12 months.

While Shell’s exploration and production division is expected to have boosted profits to more than $5bn in the final three months of its financial year, up 52 per cent, it is thought the downstream – refining and marketing – arm may have fallen to a loss of between $180m and $210m.

Refining and petrochemical margins have been under pressure throughout the whole energy industry, partly on lower chemical volumes and the weakness of the euro.

BP, which reports on 7 February, is also seen as having boosted earnings as it continues to put the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster behind it.

Charles Stanley forecasts that BP’s fourth-quarter profits will have jumped 22 per cent to $2.2bn.

SOURCE ARTICLE

TO VIEW THE COMPLETE DRAMATIC GRAPHICS FROM THE UK GUARDIAN ARTICLE ‘UNLOVEABLE SHELL – GODDESS OF OIL’ – CLICK HERE - TAKES SHORT TIME TO LOAD

Shell, which until 1993 was the major oil producing company in Ogoni, was forced to leave the area following widespread protest spearheaded by MOSOP over alleged human and environmental rights abuses.

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 00:00 Kelvin Ebiri, Port Harcourt

HOPE for resumption of oil and gas exploration in Ogoni, has been rekindled by the new leadership of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).

The Irish Times – Monday, January 23, 2012

GORDON DEEGAN

OIL AND GAS multinational Shell has injected €90 million into its Irish subsidiary to deal with the spiralling costs of the Corrib gas field project.

Documents filed with the Companies’ Registration Office show that the global group has pumped the extra money into Shell Ireland.

The Irish company confirmed yesterday that the 5km onshore gas pipeline to bring gas from the offshore Corrib field to the market will not be complete until the second half of 2014.

The Corrib gas partners, Shell, Statoil and Canadian-owned Vermillion are now nine years behind the initial target to start generating revenues from the field.

The original estimate for developing the field was €800 million and the final bill for completing the project is now expected to be almost €3 billion.

The documents confirming the cash injection show that the Shell EP Ireland’s Ltd’s capital is now more than €704 million.

A spokeswoman for Shell said yesterday: “The €90 million is to support our ongoing activities on Corrib.”

The partners had hoped that gas would be brought ashore last year – however, this was before An Bord Pleanála ruled that half of the proposed overground pipeline would be unsafe.

This meant that the developers had to apply for permission to place it in a tunnel.

Shell, Statoil and Vermillion are expected to spend a further €378 million on the development this year.

They spent €250 million on the project last year. The total spend for the project at December last was an estimated €2.35 billion.

The 2012 spend estimate arises from Vermillion confirming that it is to spend €70 million on developing the field this year. It owns 18.5 per cent of the field.

Vermillion’s 2012 Capital Programme confirms this and also states that it will cost $135 million to complete the purchase of its stake from the original owner, US group, Marathon Oil.

In a written Dáil response last week on the progress of the field, Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte, said it is estimated that construction on the onshore section of the pipeline will take in the region of three years. He said: “First gas cannot, therefore, reasonably be anticipated before 2014.”

A spokeswoman for Shell said yesterday: “Work on the onshore pipeline, the final phase of the project to be constructed, is progressing well.

“Preparatory work at the tunnelling site is still under way and tunnelling under Sruwaddacon Bay is expected to start in the second half of 2012. Completion of the tunnel and the laying of the onshore pipeline is estimated to take at least two years to complete.”

About 400 people are working on the project, 350 of whom are based in Mayo.

Shell has 45 per cent of the field and Statoil has 36.5 per cent.

The field has one trillion cubic feet of gas and is expected to meet 75 per cent of Ireland’s peak winter gas needs for up to a decade.

It is now 10 years since the Government approved the Corrib gas project plan.

However, since then, the proposal has become mired in controversy, including the jailing of the “Rossport Five” in 2005 and a number of confrontations between the Garda and protesters at the site of the Bellanaboy terminal in north Mayo.

Separate judicial review proceedings on the onshore pipeline consents were settled in the High Court last year.

SOURCE ARTICLE

A Shell Oil Co. refinery dumped wastewater into the bayou for more than 60 years, lacing the mucky bottom with toxic chemicals and heavy metals.

DEQ says Bayou Trepagnier, one of state’s most polluted waterways, has been cleaned up

NORCO, La. — The state Department of Environmental Quality says one of Louisiana‘s most polluted waterways has been cleaned up. It’s Bayou Trepagnier (trep-AN’-yay) in Norco.

A Shell Oil Co. refinery dumped wastewater into the bayou for more than 60 years, lacing the mucky bottom with toxic chemicals and heavy metals.

The current owner, Motiva Enterprises LLC, agreed in 2008 to a $10 million cleanup plan.

DEQ says contaminated soil at the end nearest the refinery was removed as an 800-foot-wide “clean zone.”

It says that for another 6,000 feet of the bayou, sediments were solidified and stabilized, then capped with heavy clay. DEQ says about 43,000 yards of clay were used for that and to build access roads.

The bayou is a state scenic waterway.

SOURCE ARTICLE

RELATED ARTICLES

DEQ: cleanup completed at Bayou Trepagnier 21 Jan 2012 09:24 GMT Daily Comet Online

Cleanup of Bayou Trepagnier in Norco is complete, DEQ says 21 Jan 2012 02:33 GMT NOLA.com

The “Rossport Five” were jailed at the specific request of the company, which had obtained compulsory purchase orders for the land in question – the first time in Irish history that such an order was granted to a private company. The five will remain in jail until they undertake not to obstruct the company. (SHELL)

The company stinks worldwide…

By John Donovan

This article focuses on an informative parliamentary debate about the Corrib Gas controversy held in the Houses of the Oireachtas, the national parliament of Ireland, on 6 October 2005. It does not appear to have been reported in any detail at the time.

Some very forthright comments were expressed about Shell.

The debate was held after the release from prison of the Rossport Five, activist landowners jailed at the specific behest of Shell. The activists held legitimate concerns on behalf of their families about health, safety, and environmental implications of the Shell led Corrib Gas Project.

Extracts from a related Guardian article: Shell meets its match in the Rossport Five

Suddenly, the issue became one of the biggest news stories of the year and, as the Irish Examiner called it, “a major public relations disaster for the Shell corporation”. The “Rossport Five” were jailed at the specific request of the company, which had obtained compulsory purchase orders for the land in question – the first time in Irish history that such an order was granted to a private company. The five will remain in jail until they undertake not to obstruct the company.

“Shell officials misjudged the situation if they thought to intimidate others by making an example of these men,” the Irish Times said. Indeed, July has seen huge rallies in support of the men in Co Mayo and in Dublin, the picketing of Shell garages nationwide, and round-the-clock blockades of the refinery construction site.

Some of the exchanges in the parliamentary debate were even more damaging to Shell and proved to be prophetic in mentioning Shell’s use of security forces against protestors in Nigeria. No doubt wondering whether such intimidatory tactics by the multinational might be imported into Ireland.

The following extracts are from the official record:

Brief extracts from opening statement by Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (Mr. Gallagher)

It was a source of great regret to me that five Rossport men were committed to prison as a result of their opposition to the proposed pipeline.

The safety review of the on-shore, up-stream gas pipeline is now under way. It will be thorough and comprehensive and will be carried out by independent, internationally recognised experts.

Mr. Finucane:

I welcome the Minister of State’s statement which outlines the latest developments in regard to the Corrib onshore pipeline. Although it is quite a distance from Rossport, a public meeting on the issue was recently held in Newcastle West in County Limerick. The families of the Rossport men were represented and Dr. Mark Garavan, spokesman for the Shell to Sea campaign, spoke at length. It was an informative session and indicated how this issue has resonated with the public in that it seems a manifestation of the small man taking on a major multinational. Speakers at the meeting drew our attention to the unfavourable publicity for Shell some years ago in regard to its activities in the Ogoni region of Nigeria. It is ironic that the same company is involved in this controversy in which five people were imprisoned as a result of their stance on the proposed onshore pipeline. The action they took was a consequence of their genuine concerns.

Mr. Kenneally:

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and the opportunity to speak on this issue. When we look back on the imprisonment on those who have become known as the Rossport five we will view the matter with regret. It should not be necessary for five citizens of the State to go to prison for 94 days to vindicate what they perceive to be their rights. Regardless of the sequence of events and the legal niceties responsible for their three month stay in an Irish prison, it should not have happened here in this enlightened third millennium.

We can talk about principles and principled stands all day and discuss the relative claims for the safety of the installation and the power of multinational companies but who would favour a gas pipeline pumping unknown quantities of explosive material at unknown explosive pressure not much more than 100 yards from people’s homes? This was not just a blind protest on the part of disgruntled residents. Their arguments were logical. I cannot confirm that they were correct but they did raise reasonable doubts about safety and the appropriateness of the industry being there at all, such as the inadequacy of the soil through which the pipeline will run and several other arguments worth investigating.

I have evidence of a quantified risk assessment carried out on Shell’s behalf in Australia approximately five years ago in which there was a fundamental flaw in the design which was missed in the quantified risk assessment. Had the Government authorities in Australia not spotted the fundamental flaw an offshore rig would have been constructed and had an entirely predictable and [264]likely event happened hundreds of people could have been killed. A quantified risk assessment is done on the data supplied by the client, in this case by Shell, and it is not independent. If there is to be a safety review, it is desperately important that the first brief of the company must be to know whether this is inherently safe or whether there are margins of uncertainty because it is a unique project.

Mr. Norris:

I listened to Senator Mansergh’s contribution with great interest and in response to his last comment I would say that Shell really needs to revise its entire ethos and modus operandi. The company stinks worldwide, but we were not sufficiently aware of this fact and we have let them away with potential murder in this country. If, as Senator Mansergh also said, international business will look at what is happening here, then let them look. Let them see that Irish people and the Government have standards. It seems extraordinary that five decent, respectable people in the community were sent to jail at the instigation of Shell Oil. These men did not have to go to jail but they were pushed into that position by the company. It also seems extraordinary that they were jailed while trying to defend their own homes, welfare and possibly even their lives, which should be a constitutional imperative.

Should we feel secure because Shell is involved? I do not think so. If we look at the company’s track record internationally, we can see it is good at spin. It bought into things like National Geographic and it sponsors environmental programmes on television, while simultaneously destroying the environment in places such as Nigeria. Its modus operandi although subtly changed from Nigeria is in essence precisely the same and reveals a complete contempt for local people as long as it can get the Government on its side and its PR merchants in with the spin.

Let us consider the record in Nigeria. Shell Oil was complicit in the fact that the Nigerian Government hanged nine environmentalists for protesting peacefully in 1995. The tribunal that convicted the men was a joint effort between Shell and the Nigerian Government. These people protested because of the enormous amounts of oil spillage in their territory against which they were totally unprotected. Between 1976 and 1991 some 2,976 oil spills occurred in the Niger delta. A World Bank investigation found that the levels of hydrocarbon pollution in Ogoniland were more than 60 times the US limits. This was confirmed in 1997 by a Project Underground survey which found petroleum hydrocarbons in one Ogoni village’s water source at 360 times the limit set for the European Community. This is the respect for the environment that Shell Oil has in Nigeria.

Let us consider how Shell copes with this situation. In Nigeria as in Ireland there is a rebellious local population. Shell uses the local existing institutions to hand. In Ireland there is a complacent Government and requirements are placed on judges to make certain decisions. I do not criticise the Judiciary in that it is working with what it has. Shell contributes to the military funding in the areas where it needs to suppress the people. Shell has admitted that it has paid directly for visits to two villages in Ogoniland. These visits were as a result of a peaceful demonstration by the local inhabitants. It has also admitted purchasing weapons for the local police force which guards its facilities. Many people believe that Shell’s [268]involvement in the military aspect is much greater.

Bearing in mind that the police are partly funded by Shell Oil, a classified memorandum from a police leader in this area described his plans for “psychological tactics of displacement-wasting”. This is what Shell is doing in the west of Ireland; it is displacing the people. The memorandum further stated: “Shell operations are still impossible unless ruthless military operations are undertaken.” It is prepared to be ruthless militarily and it is prepared to be ruthless in its involvement in the courts. Let us consider what it did in the trial of Ken Saro-Wiwa. We now know that two significant witnesses in that case were suborned by Shell with offers of money and employment in the Shell group.

I am not just some left-wing crank talking about this matter. The United Nations Special Rapporteur’s report on Nigeria published in 1998 accused both Nigeria and Shell of abusing human rights and failing to protect the environment. It condemned Shell for a “well armed security force which is intermittently employed against protestors”. This is what we are dealing with. This is the heart of darkness.

Mr. Kitt:

We should listen again to what people are saying. I hope that Shell will explain some of the issues which it is not explaining. Senator Norris made an important point regarding Shell’s involvement in Nigeria. In 1985 I was a member of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs. We intended to visit Nigeria with a Trócaire delegation to visit the Ogoni region, but the Nigerian Government prevented us from going there, or even into Nigeria, because of our wish to go to the Ogoni region. There was no support from Shell, which I found very disappointing. While one cannot blame Shell for all the problems in the Ogoni region, the company has a case to answer with regard to environmental matters. That is one of the reasons the people in Rossport were so concerned that the pipe was coming through their area, very close to houses. They were worried about health, safety and environmental issues and knew that Shell did not have a very good track record in those areas.

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Corrib – Ireland’s Last Offshore Development for a Generation

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‘The Pipe’ Norwegian premiere

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By John Donovan

The Irish Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, has stated in response to a parliamentary question asking when product from the Corrib gas fields will be available to the consumer, that it is not possible to state a start date.

He went on to say that the construction of the onshore section of the pipeline, including the construction of a 5 km tunnel, will take about three years and “first gas cannot therefore reasonably be anticipated before 2014.”

Extrapolating from a calculation in an article published by The Irish Examiner, the Shell led Corrib gas project, plagued by controversy, including the jailing of the “Rossport Five“, is now some 9 years behind the initial target date to start generating revenues from the field.

Royal Dutch Shell seems to have under-estimated the opposition.

SHELL EP Ireland has received a written warning from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources over breaches of conditions regarding the construction of its pipeline at its Corrib gas site…

The Irish Times – Monday, January 16, 2012

ÁINE RYAN

SHELL EP Ireland has received a written warning from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources over breaches of conditions regarding the construction of its pipeline at its Corrib gas site at Aughoose, northwest Mayo.

The letter, sent on December 22nd last, stated future incidents of non-compliance could result in the department calling for “the cessation of works until such time as compliance with the statutory permissions can be demonstrated”.

The breaches relate to the discharge of untreated peaty water through the natural drainage channel into Sruwaddacon Bay and the failure to properly monitor noise levels.

Permission for the last section of the onshore pipeline was granted by An Bord Pleanála in February 2011, subject to conditions under section 40 of the Gas Act and commitments to an environmental management plan.

The department’s letter, forwarded to recently appointed managing director Michael Crothers, also complained in relation to the “considerable delay” in reporting the incidents, which stymied an assessment of the implications and environmental impact of the breaches by independent government consultants Environ.

A Shell spokeswoman confirmed in a statement yesterday that the incident occurred in late October after a period of extremely heavy rainfall caused discharge of boggy water at Aughoose.

“The level of peat in this water was above the limit allowed, but this was for a short period of time,” the statement said.

“There was no adverse environmental impact as a result of it. The incident has been investigated and additional management controls have been implemented to ensure there is no recurrence.”

The spokeswoman said there had been a problem with noise-monitoring equipment but that all the Environ recommendations had now been fully implemented.

The Irish Times understands Shell has responded in recent days to the department in relation to the concerns raised.

The department did not respond to written questions from The Irish Times on the issue.

Community group Pobal Chill Chomáin said its members were very concerned about the breaches and the company’s failure to honour its statutory obligation to report such incidents promptly.

Spokesman John Monaghan asked: “If Shell and [Corrib gas partner] Statoil are either unwilling or unable to manage a ‘relatively’ simple water run-off issue, how are they to be trusted with the safe operation of a potentially explosive gas pipeline and experimental valve system?”

Mr Monaghan noted this latest pollution incident at Corrib “only reinforces the distrust of the industry in Erris and beyond and should serve as a serious warning to the authorities and public about the likely future conduct on oil and gas projects in Ireland”.

Shell to Sea and Rossport Solidarity Camp members are continuing protests by obstructing Shell contractors moving materials to and from Aughoose.

SOURCE ARTICLE

Note the admission that Shell employees at a drins’ production plant were used as guinea pigs in a related study of carcinogenic properties carried out by the Royal Dutch Group. What’s the betting that they knew nothing about what was going on?

By John Donovan

Shell pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides

The roll call of Shell toxic brands deadly to insects, crop pests and humans…

Aldrin; Aldrin Soil Pest Killer; Ant Doom; Bidrin; Coppicide; DDT; DDT Dust; Derris Dust; Dieldrin; Dieldrin Garden Pest Killer; Endrin; Heptachlor; Koto; Netelex; Phosdrin; Pillakiller; Proponex; Shell Liquid Derris; Shell Tomato-Set; Shell Weedkill for Lawns; Shelltox; Slug Doom; Slug Kill; Sulficide; Telodrin; Universal DNC Fruit Tree Wash; Vapona

The following extracts are from “A HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” Volume 2: a four volume history authored by a team of four historians associated with Utrecht University who were commissioned (paid) by Shell to write a full-length history of the company from 1890 until 2007. For this purpose, the team were given unrestricted access to Royal Dutch Shell’s archives.

Shell internal emails in March and June 2007 reveal that Shell was fretting about the potential consequences of me obtaining the “History book”, which was due out on 5 July 2007. It has taken me sometime to get round to reading it all, but it has been well worth the effort.

Note that despite dire warnings of the potential damage to humans, Shell ruthlessly continued to manufacture and market these deadly toxic products until forced to stop. Once again profits were given a higher priority than any other consideration, including the health of the public, Shell customers and Shell employees.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE COMPLETE ARTICLE (Containing the aforementioned extracts from “A HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL)

Note the admission that Shell employees at a drins’ production plant were used as guinea pigs in a related study of carcinogenic properties carried out by the Royal Dutch Group. What’s the betting that they knew nothing about what was going on?

Hundreds of scientists to be relocated as oil multinational aims to shift most research and development work to Germany by 2014…

Shell staff told the Guardian privately that they were “seething”…

Terry Macalister: guardian.co.uk, Sunday 15 January 2012 15.12 GMT

Shell, led by Peter Voser, is to close its technology centre in Thornton, Cheshire. Photograph: Guido Benschop/AFP/Getty Images