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November, 2007:

Bloomberg: African Petroleum May Buy Shell Assets, People Say (Update1)

By Julie Ziegler

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — African Petroleum Plc, Nigeria’s largest fuel retailer, is competing with China’s Cnooc Ltd. to buy Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s stake in two offshore oil exploration licenses, two people with knowledge of the situation said.

A sale may be worth as much as $1 billion, said Sebastian Spio- Garbrah, an analyst at New York-based Eurasia Group. Bids for Shell’s 49.8 percent share in the blocks, known as Oil Mining Licenses 125 and 134, must be made by Dec. 7, the people said. Other companies bidding include a Middle Eastern firm, they said. Eni SpA, the operator of the exploration areas, owns the other 50.2 percent. 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.

Reuters: Shell to become Ormen Lange operator on Dec 1

Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:04 AM GMT

OSLO, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) will take over as operator of the Ormen Lange gas field in the Norwegian Sea on Dec. 1, development phase operator StatoilHydro (STL.OL: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Wednesday.

Ormen Lange, on stream from October, can produce enough gas to cover 20 percent of Britain’s needs. It is linked to the UK through the world’s longest subsea pipeline across the North Sea.

“As operator for the development since 1999, it is a delight to state that it has gone according to plan,” said Morten Ruud, StatoilHydro’s executive vice president for projects. 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.

BBC News: New offshore safety fears raised: ‘It’s unacceptable and is putting lives at risk’

BBC News

Wednesday, 28 November 2007, 09:57 GMT

A union leader has called for urgent action to address offshore safety amid fears that somebody could be killed.

An investigation has been launched into a fire which broke out on Shell’s North Cormorant on Tuesday.

It followed a serious fire on the Thistle Alpha on Sunday. Both platforms are north east of Shetland.

Graham Tran, of the Unite Amicus union, said there had been a series of worrying incidents. Shell said safety was the company’s highest priority. 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.

Bakersfield Californian: Shell Oil restarts cleanup of site

Bakersfield Californian: Chart

Bakersfield Californian: Shell Oil restarts cleanup of site

BY STACEY SHEPARD, Californian staff writer
e-mail: [email protected] | Tuesday, Nov 27 2007 9:55 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Nov 27 2007 10:00 PM

Shell Oil has restarted a system to clean up pollution beneath the Rosedale Highway refinery that environmental regulators say was shut down more than two years ago without their approval.

The cleanup system was installed in the 1990s to remove toxic chemicals in the soil and groundwater from spills and leaks at the refinery that caused millions of gallons of petroleum products and the fuel additive MTBE to seep into the ground. 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 Scotsman: Shell’s North Cormorant rig hit by ‘small fire’

FRANK URQUHART
 
A “VERY small” fire broke out on Shell’s North Cormorant rig north-east of the Shetland islands early yesterday.

The blaze came just three days after a major fire on Lundin Petroleum’s Thistle Alpha installation.

The Shell fire was contained within a turbine hood on a water injection pump on the oil giant’s North Cormorant platform, 109 miles from Shetland.

A spokeswoman for Shell said that the fire, which began in the early morning, had been extinguished immediately by the platform’s own fire protection system. 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.

ABERDEEN PRESS & JOURNAL: HSE CHIEFS FACE QUIZ OVER PLATFORMS’ FIRE SAFETY SYSTEMS

08:50 – 28 November 2007

Health and safety bosses will be challenged in the Commons today over the state of offshore fire safety systems following two fires within three days.

The second fire, which broke out early yesterday on Shell’s North Cormorant platform, 109 miles north-east of Shetland, was contained quickly by the fire protection system. The blaze was extinguished within 15 minutes of it breaking out at 12.42am, and the platform returned to normal status, a company spokesman said last night. 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.

Kremlin, Inc: Shell backs out from investing in Ukraine via Regal

Location of Regal's gas field in Ukraine: from RegalPetroleum.co.uk 

By Hans Stege

About 24 hours after announcing a preliminary deal worth $410 million with UK-based oil firm Regal Petroleum, Shell pulled out of the agreement citing Regal’s surprise management shift. David Greer, the former head of Shell’s Sakhalin-II project, was tapped to replace Regal’s chief executive and chairman, both of whom resigned after news of the deal with Shell was announced — despite a general consensus that the agreement was a sound move for the firm. After Greer took over at Regal, he gave an interview to the Financial Times that seemed to call into question Shell’s involvement: 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 Guardian: Boom fuels new Saudi spending spree

Terry Macalister of The Guardian 

Terry Macalister

Annual revenues of $165bn are funding six new cities to create jobs – but can it last?
 
Terry Macalister
Wednesday November 28 2007

As the tiny ball of burning crimson drops behind the sand dunes it leaves a dark, almost silent landscape worthy of its name: Rub’ al-Khali, the Empty Quarter.

No sooner has the sun gone down than a long necklace of golden lights flickers on in the valley below and the improbable sound of an Islamic preacher can be heard calling the faithful to prayer. 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 Times: Gazprom cool over foreign investment in Arctic gas

November 28, 2007
Carl Mortished, World Business Editor

Hopes that Gazprom might open up the Yamal Peninsula to foreign oil companies appeared to be dashed yesterday when the Russian utility’s deputy chief executive gave a cool response to the notion of further investments by international oil companies in Russia’s gas-rich Arctic regions.

Alexander Medvedev, who heads Gazprom’s export business, spoke of “psychological barriers” to further investment by foreign oil companies and said that he had not received any interesting proposals from the Western majors. 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 Times: City Diary

November 28, 2007
Robin Pagnamenta

Staff at Shell Centre, Royal Dutch Shell’s high-rise London office, seem to have been placed on an enforced corporate fitness regime. An internal e-mail explains:

“As part of the renewal programme, lifts 4 and 5 have been taken out of service. Lifts 6 and 7 are currently out of operation. Lifts 2 and 3 are still operating for levels above the 9th floor. Lifts 4 and 5 are scheduled to be out of service until the beginning of February and we will let you know when lifts 6 and 7 will be available for use.” Er, so that leaves how many still operating, exactly? 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.

Caustic comments by Walter van de Vijver on Petroleum Development Oman

27 November 2007

Scathing comments were made in May 2002 by Walter van de Vijver, the then Chief Executive of Shell EP, about the management team of Petroleum Development Oman (34% owned by Shell). 

The comments were contained in an extract from a document which formed part of his deposition filed in the current Royal Dutch Shell reserves fraud litigation.

Van de Vijver described PDO management in the following terms:

“Overall my patience has been tested too long with PDO and it’s management, progress over the last year (is it not just about delivered production!) has been less than expected, less than promised and less than could have been possible. Changes will have to be made.”  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.

Further confidential Shell internal email correspondence

Exhibit 129: January 2003 email correspondence involving Stuart Evans DPVM, Paulo Bizarro ONP32F, Niels van Dijk Shell International Petroleum – EPGO-RTL-R, Abdulla Lamki DMD, Saif Hinai OND, Jeroen Peters OSD, Abia Riyami OSP, Frode Linge ONP, Rob Willis SIEP-EPT-AGI, Bart Wassing OSP3H, Chris Mijnssen ONP3, Stuart Evans DPVM, Stuart Clayton DTEM, Said Harthy UPG2G, Kathleen Heller UPP: Subject Updated Reserves Picture and initial water flood plans:

Extract:

“Following on from the SSG, a meeting was reviewed to revisit options to make up the reserves shortfall.” 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.

Reuters: Nigeria threatens stiff penalties for gas flaring

Tue 27 Nov 2007, 17:49 GMT
By Estelle Shirbon

ABUJA, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s oil industry regulator threatened on Tuesday to impose hefty fines and other penalties on firms that continue to burn off gas beyond a 2008 deadline.

Oil companies in Nigeria flare about 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas associated with the extraction of crude because there is no infrastructure to make use of it. Only Russia flares more gas than Nigeria.

Gas flares burning day and night are a health hazard to nearby communities and contribute to global warming, environmentalists say. The Nigerian government also wants to end flaring because it is a waste of a valuable resource. 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 Washington Post: Oil Off on Economy Fears, OPEC Forecasts

By JOHN WILEN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 27, 2007; 12:19 PM

NEW YORK — Oil prices plunged Tuesday, picking up downward momentum amid concerns that a slowing economy might reduce demand for crude just as OPEC members are considering an increase in production.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery dropped $3.05 to $94.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling as low as $94.45 earlier. The contract is more than $4 below its all-time high of $99.29 set last week.
 
Stocks dropped sharply Monday, reigniting worries among energy traders that the economy is slowing and will use less oil and gasoline. Wall Street rebounded Tuesday, but the oil market was still clearly uneasy. 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 Washington Post: ‘runaway oil prices’

Washington Post image

Workers and public transport drivers march with protest slogans closer to the Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines on Monday, Nov. 26, 2007 to protest the escalating price of gasoline and other oil products by the three big oil companies, Caltex, Petron and Shell. The protesters formed recently an alliance of consumer groups, transport networks and “people’s organizations,” to pressure the government to suspend the Oil Deregulation Law to control “runaway oil prices” instead of public appeal for energy conservation. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) (Bullit Marquez – AP) 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.

Mayo News: Shell to Sea meet Ó Cuív

Tuesday, 27 November 2007 
Áine Ryan

A DELEGATION of Shell to Sea campaigners met Minister Éamon Ó Cuív in Galway yesterday (Monday) to further highlight the issues of community dissent about the controversial Corrib gas project.

Retired teacher, Mr Niall King, told The Mayo News that, while the Minister said that many of the issues discussed were outside his departmental remit, the protest group felt he had primary obligations to such issues, particularly under the ‘pobal’ or ‘community’ dimension of his office. 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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