* Appraisal to be completed by end-2013

* Kidan is rich in sour gas

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, Nov 16 (Reuters) – A joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco has won approval from the Saudi government to study the possible development of Kidan area, in Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter, the South Rub al-Khali Co (SRAK) venture said on Wednesday.

Kidan is rich in sour gas and is near the 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) Shaybah oilfield, one of the biggest in the world’s top oil exporter. Sour gas has high levels of potentially deadly hydrogen sulphide and therefore is tougher to produce than conventional gas reserves.

Officials from Shell and the joint venture have said further studies are needed to understand the economics of the field before deciding whether it can be developed.

SRAK will drill up to three appraisal wells and conduct extensive studies and aims to complete its appraisal by end-2013.

It submitted its plan last year to continue exploration in Kidan, an area already discovered by Aramco years ago, after announcing in 2009 gas had flowed from Kidan.

“The delineation is very likely to prove significant volumes of additional gas reserves,” said Sadad al-Husseini, an oil analyst and former top official at the Saudi oil giant Aramco.

“The kingdom and the Gulf has important sour gas reserves and these studies will facilitate the development of other similar accumulations,” he said.

SRAK said it completed drilling the first of three exploration wells it plans to drill as part of a second phase of gas exploration.

One factor that could improve the economics of the Kidan exploration area is its proximity to Shaybah, where infrastructure for both oil and associated gas is in place, Michel Faure, the Chief Executive of Shell Saudi Arabia told Reuters in an interview.

Saudi Arabia, which has kept its vast oil reserves off-limits to foreigners, needs gas to help cover domestic fuel demand and conserve oil for lucrative export markets. It invited investors in 2003-2004 to find and produce gas in the desert in Saudi Arabia’s southeast, known as Rub Al Khali.

So far the four consortia have failed to find the volume of gas needed to fuel Saudi economic growth or guarantee returns for investors.

The former CEO of SRAK Kamal al-Yahya told Reuters in October 2010 he saw a potential for Kidan field and the surrounding area “to provide a significant future gas resources for the kingdom.”

SOURCE ARTICLE

Florida Home to Seven Air Polluters on EPA Watch List

November 7, 2011

By Trevor Aaronson and Mc Nelly Torres
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting

The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, in partnership with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity, is disclosing for the first time the air polluters in the Sunshine State that have most concerned federal regulators. These sites were included on the EPA Watch List in August or September for having unresolved violations.

The other Florida sites on the Facility Watch List were the Brevard County Central Disposal Facility in Cocoa, Eager Beaver Trailers in Lake Wales, the Miami-Dade County Resource Recovery Facility in Doral, Motiva Enterprises in Tampa, Tampa Electric Company’s Big Bend Station in Apollo Beach, and Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

The seven polluters demonstrate how toothless, and at times helpless, federal, state and county regulators can be in preventing hazardous emissions from entering the air Floridians breathe.

At another Facility Watch List site in Tampa, regulators cited and fined Motiva Enterprises, a partnership between Shell Oil Company and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, for emissions and permit violations. Located in the Port of Tampa, Motiva Enterprises stores gasoline from incoming tankers.

Motiva Enterprises’ violations resulted in two consent orders and warranted the Tampa site’s inclusion on the EPA’s Facility Watch List. Motiva Enterprises referred questions to Shell Oil spokesperson Kayla Macke.

Her response to questions about what the company is doing to curb air pollution at the facility less than 10 miles from downtown Tampa: “We will respectfully decline to comment.”

Motiva Enterprises document batch

FULL ARTICLE

Thu Oct 27, 2011 11:09am EDT

* Port Arthur refinery will be 600,000 bpd

* Will be deep conversion plant

* Refinery to process wide variety of crude oils

NEW YORK, Oct 27 (Reuters) – The expansion of the Motiva Port Arthur, Texas refinery is 90 percent complete and start-up procedures are slated to begin in the first half of next year, Shell officials said on Thursday.

The expanded refinery will be able to process a wide variety of crude oil streams and be capable of deeper conversion than at present, a company news release said.

SOURCE ARTICLE

Texas grant recipients gave to Republican Gov. Perry

By Jim Forsyth
SAN ANTONIO, Texas | Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:00am BST

Oct 13 (Reuters) – Businesses that won grants from a Texas economic development fund contributed $7 million to Governor Rick Perry and the Republican Governors Association, which supports him, a report by a watchdog group said on Thursday.

Many companies that received Enterprise Fund funding did not meet their job goals, the watchdog group said.

Motiva Enterprises, a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) U.S. unit and Saudi Refining Inc., received $2 million from the Enterprise Fund in 2006, promising to create 300 refinery jobs in the Houston area by the end of 2010.

TPJ reported that in 2009, Motiva amended its contract to allow two more years to deliver the 300 jobs. At the end of 2010, Motiva reported it had created 258 jobs. Starting in late 2006, after the Enterprise Fund grant was awarded, Shell began contributing to the RGA, and has since contributed $235,000 to the organization, and another $13,000 to Perry’s campaign.

Motiva did not return a call seeking comment.

FULL ARTICLE

Transparency International

10 October 2011

In the wake of serious bribery allegations involving GPT, the UK subsidiary of European defence company EADS, and the Saudi Royal family, Transparency International UK is calling on the Government to support a full investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

The Attorney General is reportedly deliberating over whether the SFO should continue to investigate allegations that GPT made illicit payments to the Saudi Royal family in order to secure a contract worth £2 billion.

The Attorney General’s decision will face a high level of international scrutiny because the UK’s anti-corruption record is currently under review by the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the OECD. Under Article 5 of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, to which the UK is a party, a state cannot allow political, economic or diplomatic considerations to interfere with the investigation and prosecution of foreign bribery cases. This echoes the BAE Systems case in 2006, when the Blair government caused an international outcry by forcing the SFO to drop an investigation into allegations of bribery in the Al Yamamah UK-Saudi defence contract.

Chandrashekhar Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK said “Under no circumstance should the UK allow political, economic or diplomatic considerations to affect the course of justice. If the SFO believe they have a strong case, it is vital that they are allowed to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute without political interference.

“We would expect EADS, as leading members of the international defence industry’s own anti-corruption initiatives such as the Common Industry Standards for Anti-Corruption and IFBEC, to cooperate with the SFO and undertake a thorough internal investigation into these allegations.

“The UK’s anti-corruption performance is currently under international scrutiny and the Government’s decision will be closely watched by any corrupt company and government overseas looking for an excuse to continue business as usual. It is imperative that the Government sticks by the international rules and ensures this investigation goes ahead.”

Notes

1. It has been reported that the Serious Fraud Office opened an investigation into GPT, a British subsidiary of EADS, after a whistle-blower alerted them to a payment of £11.5 million made to a Swiss bank account controlled by a member of the Saudi Royal family.
2. The Attorney General has reportedly been briefed and must now decide whether or not to allow a prosecution to proceed.
3. Transparency International UK [registered charity no.1112842] is the UK chapter of the world’s leading non-governmental anti-corruption organisation. With more than 90 chapters worldwide, Transparency International has extensive global expertise and understanding of corruption.
4. Transparency International UK’s Defence and Security Programme helps to build integrity and reduce corruption in defence and security establishments worldwide through supporting counter corruption reform in nations, raising integrity in arms transfers, and influencing policy in defence and security:www.ti-defence.org Transparency International UK is part of the global movement against corruption: www.transparency.org.uk

###

For more information, please contact Rachel Davies on 020 79227967/ 07411 347754 or Maria Gili on 020 79227974

www.transparency.org.uk

SOURCE

Related information: SHELL CONNECTION WITH THE SAUDI ARABIA / AL YAMAMAH BAE ARMS SCANDAL

By John Donovan

18 September 2011

Bloomberg has reported the release of a carcinogenic chemical -  butadiene – by Shell/Motiva at its Norco plant in Louisiana.

Butadiene is listed as a known carcinogen by the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry and the US EPA. At acute high exposure, damage to the central nervous system will start to occur. Symptoms such as distorted blurred vision, vertigo, general tiredness, decreased blood pressure, headache, nausea, decreased pulse rate, and fainting may be witnessed. As the exposure to butadiene occurs at a higher level and for a longer duration, the effects witnessed will become more serious. (INFORMATION FROM WIKIPEDIA)

The current incident follows Shell’s agreement in March 2010 to pay over  $3 million in civil penalties to the federal government as part of a Clean Air Act settlement and spend $6 million to install pollution control equipment at its refineries in Alabama and Louisiana to avoid such incidents.

Forbes: Shell refineries settle with government: Associated Press, 03.31.2010, 02:40 PM EDT

NASDAQ: Shell To Pay $9.5 Million In Settling Clean Air Act Allegations: Mar 31, 2010 | 3:00PM

Los Angeles Times: Shell refineries reach Clean Air Act settlements: By Associated Press March 31, 2010 | 12:02 p.m.

THE CURRENT INCIDENT

By David Wethe – Sep 18, 2011 4:24 PM GMT+0100

An unknown amount of butadiene and propylene were released into the air yesterday at the Norco plant in Louisiana run by Motiva Enterprises LLC, according to a filing to the National Response Center.

A clamp on a pipe at a chemical facility released the materials at 10:30 a.m. local time, according to the filing dated yesterday, which cited a report from an unidentified caller.

U.S. companies must notify the NRC if they release hazardous substances in excess of reportable quantities, according to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly known as Superfund. Motiva is a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Saudi Arabian Oil Co.

Bloomberg News couldn’t immediately verify that the information in the NRC filing was accurate.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Wethe in Houston at dwethe@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net

SOURCE ARTICLE

RELATED ARTICLE: Norco Plant Reports Accidental Chemical Release (Extract: NORCO, La. — An industrial plant in Norco has reported an accidental release of potentially toxic chemicals, though details on the amounts involved in the incident were not immediately available.

By Blanche Gatt – Sep 12, 2011 7:57 AM GMT+0100

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will propose Royal Dutch Shell Plc expand cooperation with state-run OAO Gazprom during the first visit by a U.K. prime minister in six years, as the leader seeks to improve relations between the countries.

Separately, South Rub Al Khali Co., a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Saudi Arabian Oil Co., named a chief executive to run the company that explores for natural gas in Saudi Arabia. The stock slumped 2.1 percent to 2,017.5 pence.

To contact the reporter on this story: Blanche Gatt in London at bgatt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net

SOURCE ARTICLE

Jill Davis, Media, Issues and Crisis Manager for Shell Oil Company has confirmed the authenticity of this Motiva Statement – June 14, 2011

A Dow Jones Newswire article published Friday, June 10, 2011 (below), discussed the future source of crude oil supplies for Motiva Enterprise’s Port Arthur, Texas, facility.  The article referenced a source who indicated that Saudi Arabia will be the sole supplier of crude oil for the expanded facility.  In response to this assertion, Motiva reiterates that no sole-source supply arrangements have been made for the Port Arthur refinery.  The company will continue reviewing its various supply options for a cost-efficient source of crude.

Article:

HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- Saudi Arabia will be the sole supplier of crude oil to Motiva Enterprises LLC’s refinery in Texas after the facility finishes expanding its capacity to 600,000 barrels a day next year, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Jill Davis
Media, Issues and Crisis Manager
Shell Oil Company
910 Louisiana
One Shell Plaza #4444B
Houston, TX 78002
832-xxx-xxxx mobile
713-xxx-xxx office
713-xxx-xxx Shell Media Line
www.shell.us

By Ben Lefebvre, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- Saudi Arabia will be the sole supplier of crude oil to Motiva Enterprises LLC’s refinery in Texas after the facility finishes expanding its capacity to 600,000 barrels a day next year, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

The expansion of the Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSA.LN) and Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (SOI.YY), is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2012. The boost in its intake of Saudi crude oil would coincide with Saudi Arabia’s pledge to boost its oil production despite opposition from fellow members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Currently about half of the fuel at the 285,000 barrel-a-day facility is refined from Saudi crude oil, the source said.

Motiva will increase the number of oil shipments it accepts every month to 27 ships after the expansion, up from seven, the source said. Each ship brings in about 600,000 barrels of oil.

Motiva spokeswoman Marti Powers said in an interview that the company would be looking at “several supply options” for the Port Arthur refinery after its expansion. Powers said Motiva would look for the easiest and most cost-efficient source of crude oil.

In addition to the Port Arthur facility, Motiva also owns refineries in Norco and Convent, Louisiana.

-By Ben Lefebvre, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; ben.lefebvre@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-10-111649ET

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

SOURCE ARTICLE

By John Donovan

In September 2009, we published an article headlined: BAE Systems whistleblower accuses Shell & BP of money laundering Al-Yamamah proceeds

Al-Yamamah was the Saudi/UK corruption scandal investigated by the UK Serious Fraud Office until the investigation was stopped in its tracks by the then PM, Tony Blair, a man not known for being incorruptible or honest. Blair gave in to threats from the repressive Saudi regime. In my lifetime, this was a low point in the UK’s international reputation, along with the Suez fiasco.

The scandal involved bartering oil for arms. The proceeds were laundered through Shell and BP.

Our story came from a Saudi BAE Systems insider. I met the individual a number of times. He said that he had already been interviewed in the USA by the US Justice Department, who were carrying out their own investigation after the UK investigation was terminated in the dubious and shameful circumstances I have mentioned.

I spoke to a source in Washington who confirmed the basics of the information the BAE whistleblower had supplied to me about his contact with the US authorities.

In our article, we named Prince Turki Bin Nasir as being a key player/beneficiary in the corruption scandal, along with Shell and BP.

The scandal is now beginning to unravel because of WikiLeaks. See:

Revelations in BAE Saudi case prompt inquiry call: The Telegraph 12 March 2011

Leaked US diplomatic cable disclosed the full case against BAE Systems, the defence contractor: The Telegraph 12 March 2011