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August, 2010:

Helicopter squeeze as oilmen grow too fat to fly

The Times (UK): Helicopter squeeze as oilmen grow too fat to fly

“The worst helicopter crash was in November 1986 when a Chinook carrying Shell workers plummeted into the sea off the coast of Shetland in stormy weather. Some 45 people were killed.”

Wednesday 31 August 2005

By David Lister, Scotland Correspondent

IT IS not quite time to start reinforcing rigs, but oil workers are becoming so fat that fewer will be allowed into the helicopters that take them out to their offshore platforms.

The image of oil workers as lean, hard-working “roughnecks” was dealt a blow yesterday after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed that it was issuing new passenger weight allocations for offshore helicopters.

Although most oil platforms now provide a range of healthy meals and some even offer aerobics classes, the CAA said that it had been forced to issue the new requirements after a survey found evidence of expanding offshore waistlines. 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 $1.1bn Nigeria pipeline nears finish

Daily Telegraph

Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian unit “is close to completing” a $1.1bn (£711m) pipeline that will transport 600,000 barrels of crude oil a day to its Bonny export terminal on the country’s Atlantic coast.

By Garry White, Questor Editor
Published: 5:45AM BST 31 Aug 2010

The 60-mile Nembe Creek pipe collects crude from 14 oil pumping stations and is part of a programme to replace old pipelines in the Niger River delta.

The Anglo-Dutch company said the pipeline was part of an ongoing programme to keep its facilities well-maintained in the Niger Delta, one of the world’s largest wetlands, where land and water have been polluted.

Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary works in partnership with the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. The pipeline replacement is part of its joint venture that includes local subsidiaries of French oil major Total and Italy’s Eni. 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.

Mobs Hindering Assessment of Nigerian Delta Oil Spills, UN Official Says

Bloomberg

By Paul Okolo – Aug 30, 2010 7:37 PM GMT+0100

Assessment of damage from crude spills in part of Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger River delta is being hindered by “angry mobs,” an official of the United Nations Environment Program said.

Work in the Gokana local government area, one of four councils where studies of the impact of the oil industry in the Nigerian region are being conducted, is “on hold,” Mike Cowing said at a meeting with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan today in the capital, Abuja. 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.

Drilling Rules Shake-Up Puts New Regulator in Spotlight

The debate over when it will be safe to restart offshore drilling was also evident last week at a hearing of the presidential commission, as an executive of Royal Dutch Shell PLC sparred with a leader of the World Wildlife Fund over whether drilling off the coast of Alaska—where Shell has a stalled project—was safer or riskier than in the Gulf of Mexico.

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.

Selfishness won’t pay off, says Shell

Daily Mail: Selfishness won’t pay off, says Shell

“Shell refused to comment on whether it is reviewing the role of its auditors, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The accountants may be targeted by the US law firm leading the class action suits against the embattled oil major.”

By Ruth Sunderland

30 August 04

EMBATTLED oil giant Shell is introducing a new bonus scheme next year to stamp out a selfish ‘me-first’ culture and encourage workers to devote themselves to the greater good of the company.

The group has come under fire for its lavish payouts to former bosses ousted in the wake of the reserves scandal that dragged it into unprecedented disgrace.

Sir Philip Watts received a £lm payoff and Dutchman Walter van de Vijver got £2.5m.

Boss Jeroen van der Veer said he hoped the new incentive plan would encourage staff to prioritise ‘enterprise first’ rather than ‘self first’. 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.

Deadly environmental contamination by Shell chemicals

The ‘pests’ won this ‘chemical war’, of course. That was pre-ordained by the biological laws of nature (natural selection, etc.). They adapted and became biologically resistant to the deadly chemicals. How about that. Darwin was correct. Who would have thought? Not Shell (or did they?).

Comment by a former employee of Shell Oil USA

I got to thinking about the Dr. Stangelove (Peter Sellers above) themed editorial recently published on this website…

“HOW I LEARNED TO QUIT WORRYING AND LOVE SHELL PESTICIDES”

And as strange as it may seem, the ‘fall out’ from Shell’s very nasty, long lived pesticides Dieldrin/Aldrin is as persistent and deadly as the radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons. Those pesticides poison everything, cause cancer, produce birth defects, etc., and can produce health problems many years after exposure. And pesticide laden dust from agricultural fields travels with the wind just like ‘radioactive fallout’. 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 says close to finishing new Nigeria pipeline

LAGOS | Mon Aug 30, 2010 7:52am EDT

LAGOS Aug 30 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said on Monday its Nigerian joint venture was close to completing a new $1.1 billion pipeline to the Bonny export terminal which will have a capacity of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd). 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.

Protesters take Shell action to Dublin

The Irish Times – Monday, August 30, 2010

PAUL CULLEN

CAMPAIGNERS AGAINST the Corrib gas pipeline in Co Mayo yesterday raised a Shell flag at the Custom House in Dublin in an ironic re-enactment of an iconic second World War photograph.

The protesters recreated the raising of the US flag on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima to show that “the Shell takeover of Ireland is now complete”, they said. The group from Dublin Shell to Sea called on Minister for the Environment John Gormley, whose office is in the Custom House, to reject Shell’s application for a foreshore licence for the pipeline project. 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.

Risk-Taking Rises as Oil Rigs in Gulf Drill Deeper

By JAD MOUAWAD and BARRY MEIER

A version of this article appeared in print on August 30, 2010, on page A1 of the New York edition.

Mike Duhon/Royal Dutch Shell, via European Pressphoto Agency: Shell’s Perdido platform in the Gulf of Mexico will eventually pump oil from 35 wells.

In a remote reach of the Gulf of Mexico, nearly 200 miles from shore, a floating oil platform thrusts its tentacles deep into the ocean like a giant steel octopus.

The $3 billion rig, called Perdido, can pump oil from dozens of wells nearly two miles under the sea while simultaneously drilling new ones. It is part of a wave of ultra-deep platforms — all far more sophisticated than the rig that was used to drill the ill-fated BP well that blew up in April. These platforms have sprung up far from shore and have pushed the frontiers of technology in the gulf, a region that now accounts for a quarter of the nation’s oil output. 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.

Deadheads at Shell

A short time ago I learned that one of these moron drilling managers had made to a very high management level within Shell. What can I say, ‘Crap floats’.

Comment by a former employee of Shell USA

Many years ago I worked for Shell USA. I did exploration work mostly and for two different onshore divisions. In the mid-1980’s Shell was a non-operating partner with Hunt drilling in the central basin of Michigan. On one particular well a geo-pressured carbonate was pegged at 8000 feet. Big surprise. Reservoir pressure was about 8000 psi. We were expecting about 4500 psi. Needless to say the well blew out. The grossly underrated BOP’s didn’t have a chance of controlling the thing. Flung drill pipe all over the site. Luckily it was a gas well and it caught fire immediately. The flow rate was upwards of about 25 mmcfpd with an H2S content in excess of 30%. Nobody was killed. Don’t asked me how we lucked out. Maybe it was because Hunt was operating. We never did kill that well. It did burn with a pretty blue flame however. It roared like a high speed train and was throwing chunks of rock like a volcano. After a few weeks it finally bridged off naturally. Good thing because we had no idea how we were going to kill it. Too much open hole. 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 Natural-Gas Find Off Norway Disappoints

Bloomberg

Shell’s Gro Natural-Gas Find Off Norway Seen at Lower Range of Estimates

By Fred Pals and Marianne Stigset – // <![CDATA[// Aug 27, 2010 11:07 AM

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s deepwater appraisal well at the Gro natural-gas discovery indicated the find may be at the lower end of estimates, potentially denting plans for a new production hub in the Norwegian Sea.

“The reservoir quality is poorer than expected,” the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said today in a statement. “Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery in the lower range of the original resource estimates.”

The find at a depth of 1,300 meters (4,300 feet) was estimated to hold 10 billion to 100 billion cubic meters of gas. Norway, the world’s second-biggest gas exporter, is seeking to develop a center for production in the Norwegian Sea that also includes finds by Statoil ASA and Total SA. The country is seeking to raise gas production as North Sea oil fields are depleted after 40 years of production. 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 Testing New Waste Technology For Canada’s Oil Sands

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

AUGUST 26, 2010

By Edward Welsch Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

CALGARY (Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) said Thursday it began a commercial demonstration of a new technology to reduce the waste pools created by Canada’s oil sands mining industry, and that it will make it freely available to competitors.

However, Shell executives said they are still uncertain whether the technology will meet a new directive set by the Alberta government to reduce the waste pools, called tailings ponds. 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.

So many warnings, so little action ahead of BP’s Deepwater disaster

Telegraph.co.uk

Why did no one call a stop to drilling at the Macondo oil well in the run up to the explosion on April 20? Is the answer simply that no one realised disaster was about to strike?

By Tracy Corrigan
Published: 6:00AM BST 27 Aug 2010

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20

Obviously, if anyone had known exactly what was about to happen, action would have been taken. But that is not the nature of such decisions. The fact is that there were numerous warning signs that all was not as it should be on the BP Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Testimonies this week at the joint investigation by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the US Coast Guard have revealed that plenty of people – employees of BP, Transocean and Halliburton – expressed safety concerns. Engineers made recommendations that might have prevented the disaster, had they been fully implemented. Instead, shortcuts were taken, danger signals ignored and concerns overridden. 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.

Greenland sees oil as key to independence

Financial Times

By Andrew Ward in Stockholm and Sylvia Pfeifer in London

Several of the world’s biggest oil companies are vying for access to Greenland after a gas discovery this week raised expectations for offshore exploration around the Arctic island nation, in spite of environmental concerns over drilling in an area known as “iceberg alley”.

UK-based Royal Dutch Shell and Statoil of Norway are among those bidding for licences as the Greenland government seeks to cash in on what experts believe could be among the world’s largest untapped hydrocarbon reserves. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian Delta operations at risk

ABUJA, Nigeria, Aug. 26 (UPI) — Ongoing political and social strife in Nigeria’s delta region continues to affect Royal Dutch Shell’s oil extraction efforts.

Royal Dutch Shell’s major concern remains the militant armed efforts of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, as MEND attacks over the last several years have repeatedly forced Shell to declare force majeure and suspend production.

Royal Dutch Shell’s latest problems stem from a protest by local women in the Niger Delta’s Warri South-West Local Government Area in Escravos demonstrating over the community being bypassed for development, forcing Shell Petroleum Development Co. to shut down its Otumara-Escravos flow station, the Daily Trust reported Thursday. Last week they blocked access to Chevron Corp.’s new Escravos/Warri natural gas pipeline in the area. 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.

Nigeria: Shell Not Exonerated Over Oil Spills

AllAfrica.com

Tina A. Hassan and Mahmud Lalo

26 August 2010

Jos — The Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey, has described as untrue reports that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has been exonerated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) over oil spillages in Ogoni land.

The minister said this in reaction to media reports that Shell has been cleared of oil spillage responsibility.

He made this clarification yesterday while declaring open the 3rd Task Force Meeting of the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adaptive Land Use (WASCAL) in Abuja. 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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