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July, 2012:

Shell lorry carrying tunnel-boring equipment blocking Co Mayo crossroads

Updated: 18:40, Tuesday, 31 July 2012

A truck carrying specialist tunnel-boring equipment the Shell refinery project at Bellanaboy is blocking the the Glenamoy crossroads in Co Mayo.

A truck carrying specialist tunnel-boring equipment the Shell refinery project at Bellanaboy is blocking the the Glenamoy crossroads in Co Mayo.

The truck got into difficulty while navigating a turn on the narrow roads.

It is understood the lorry was transporting loads of up to 150 tonnes.

Although the intersection remains blocked, a council official says cars can still get past the obstruction.

However, he acknowledged it was a struggle.

Mayo County Council has confirmed in the past few minutes that efforts to winch the vehicle from its current location were unsuccessful. 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.

Alaska election: Shell dives into state politics and ‘super PACs’ emerge

Amanda Coyne | Jul 31, 2012

As Royal Dutch Shell prepares to explore for offshore oil in Alaska’s Arctic, the company is also waging an effort against a ballot initiative that supporters say would restore the voice of Alaskans in federal coastal decisions.

Shell has contributed $150,000 to the Vote No on 2 campaign, which opposes reinstating the controversial Coastal Zone Management program, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Vote No on 2 has raised $768,000 — far more than the $64,000 raised by the Alaska Sea Party, the proponents of reviving Coastal Zone Management. 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 Oil scales back Arctic drilling plan, now looking at 2 wells for 2012

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, July 31, 9:55 PM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Shell Oil Co. is downsizing its plan for off-shore drilling in the Arctic this year amid delays completing a spill containment barge required by the federal government, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Shell now hopes to complete two wells in 2012 instead of five. One would be in the Beaufort Sea off the northern Alaska coastline, and the other in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast between Alaska and Russia.

The company’s ambitious two-year goal of drilling 10 wells remains in place, company spokesman Curtis Smith said. 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.

Residents were right about Shell noise levels


Áine Ryan

THE Department of Environment has confirmed that high-pitch noises emanating from works on the controversial Corrib Gas project in north-west Mayo exceeded permitted levels.

Over the June Bank holiday weekend, some residents were forced to leave the area due to the noise, which was described at the time as ‘unbearable’ by septuagenarian Ena Gallagher. Another resident, Colm Henry, likened the noise to that of the whine of a jumbo jet taking off. The hydro-testing works were carried out by Shell E&P Ireland (Sepil) at Glengad, the site of the gas pipeline’s land-valve. 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 Autonomy Gets D-Day

General Assembly sets 2nd August 2012 for Ogoni Political Autonomy

The date to decide the destiny of Ogoni people in southern Nigeria is set to be on the 2nd of August, 2012.

It means Ogonis will observe every 2nd of August each year as a day of internal independence in Nigeria.

This will be the first time that the Ogoni people will exercise self-determination in almost 111 years.

The General Assembly of the Ogoni people voted today, July 31, 2012 to approve the 2nd of August as a part of the nationwide general conference on the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 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.

A Big Chill for Shell’s Arctic Drilling Plans

A series of mishaps is putting billions of spending in jeopardy

Jul 31, 2012, 9:12 am EDT  |  By Aaron Levitt, InvestorPlace Contributor

With energy demand not abating anytime soon, energy companies have gone looking far and wide (and deep) for new oil and gas reserves to meet that demand. Perhaps the most ambitious — and costly — effort so far has been Royal Dutch Shell’s (NYSE:RDS-A, RDS-B) plan to drill for hydrocarbons in Alaska’s frozen seas. Europe’s biggest integrated oil company has spent about $4.5 billion since 2005 on leases, permits and various equipment to reach an estimated 20 billion barrels in fields off of the northernmost U.S. city, Barrow, Alaska. 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.

Activists fire volley at Shell over coral in Arctic

By Jennifer A. Dlouhy: Published 09:56 p.m., Monday, July 30, 2012

WASHINGTON – Environmental activists are keeping the pressure on Shell Oil Co. as it inches closer to launching exploratory drilling in Arctic waters north of Alaska.

Greenpeace activists and marine biologists conducting research in the area documented thick accumulations of soft coral in the Chukchi Sea near an area where Shell plans exploratory oil drilling.

Greenpeace scientists documented the sea raspberry coral during a recent research submarine dive in the Arctic waters north of Alaska. They took samples and photos of the species, known as Gersemia rubiformis, during the research mission and published the images on their website. 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.

Showa Shell continuing to import Iranian crude

TOKYO, July 31 | Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:01pm IST

Japan’s Showa Shell cuts Iran oil imports from last year

(Reuters) – Japanese refiner Showa Shell Sekiyu KK has been importing less Iranian crude oil than last year’s average of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), in line with U.S. sanctions against the Islamic nation, a company official said on Tuesday.

Showa Shell, formerly the country’s top buyer of Iranian crude, was acknowledging for the first time that it is continuing to import Iranian crude. Sources have said the company’s previous annual deal expired in March. 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 machine stuck at crossroads

YOUTUBE VIDEO

AINE RYAN: Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A large tunnel boring machine brought in by Shell to dig a 4.9km tunnel under Sruwaddacon Bay inland to the Bellanaboy gas processing terminal is stuck at a crossroads in Co Mayo as it is too large to navigate the narrow roads.

Thee specialist tunnelling equipment was on its way from Dublin to the Sruwaddacon Estuary in north Mayo. It couldn’t access the site at Aughoose because of its size and got stuck at the crossroads when it attempted an alternative route. 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 demonstration of capping stack successfully completed in Gulf of Mexico.

By Zarina de Ruiter: Published on Tuesday, 31 July 2012 09:34

Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A), Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) have announced the successful demonstration of the industry’s ability to respond to a deepwater well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

John Hollowell, Executive Vice President, Shell Upstream Americas, said: “This is an important tool in our emergency response efforts, but our focus remains on prevention of any and all incidents.” 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 to Sea protest: Scuffles at Corrib gas project as tunneling equipment arrives

CLICK ON BBC NEWS PHOTO TO ENLARGE

By Sarah Stack Tuesday July 31 2012

THERE was a tense stand-off between protesters and gardai today as a machine to tunnel under a picturesque bay was brought in by contractors for Shell.

Scuffles broke out as a huge Garda convoy escorted specialist tunnelling equipment as it travelled from Dublin to the Sruwaddacon Estuary in north Mayo.

Two protesters initially blocked the road on the outskirts of Ballina in the early hours of the morning during a “lock-on”, when they chained themselves to a drum filled with cement. 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.

Delays In Bellingham Curtail Arctic Oil Drilling

By John Ryan

Shell Oil is scaling back its plans for drilling in the Arctic Ocean this year. Icy conditions in the far North and construction problems in Bellingham have delayed the company’s efforts. KUOW’s John Ryan reports from Seattle.

Royal Dutch Shell CEO Peter Voser announced on Thursday that Shell only expects to drill two wells off Alaska’s northern coast this summer, not the five it had planned.

“A great deal of planning has gone into this program, with over 20 vessels to cover the drilling and contingencies,” Voser says. 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 Oil puts Arctic wildlife at risk

By DAVID YARNOLD: Monday 30 July 2012

If you thought the pictures of scum-covered Brown Pelicans in the Gulf of Mexico were heartbreaking, just wait for the first drilling disaster in Alaska’s frozen arctic waters and coastline.

We know so little about this deep freeze of an environment that America’s best scientists and experts say they’re not sure how to fix it if we break it.

Their nightmare scenario is a BP-like blowout in an ice-locked sea. Imagine these pictures: a helpless army suited up like Michelin men trying to rescue dying ducks, loons and polar bears from oil-slicked ice floes. 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.

Canada’s Oil, the World’s Carbon

A version of this editorial appeared in print on July 30, 2012, on page A18 of the New York edition

Last month, the State Department formally invited public comment on the issues it should consider in a new environmental assessment of the Keystone XL, a 1,200-mile pipeline that would connect the Alberta oil sands to an existing pipeline in Nebraska. The review process was triggered when TransCanada filed a new pipeline application after its first proposal was rejected by President Obama in January. The department’s first environmental assessment was grossly inadequate, one of the main reasons President Obama rejected the proposal. 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 plans to invest over $500 million on China shale, tight gas play in 2012

Singapore (Platts)–30 Jul 2012/237 am EDT/637 GMT

Shell plans to invest over $500 million this year drilling in shale gas and tight gas acreage in China, its chief financial officer Simon Henry said in an analyst call during its second quarter results announcement Thursday.

“There are several plays in our portfolio with PetroChina. We have two in Sichuan province in the south, southwest, and we have many CBM [coalbed methane] opportunities in the north … We spent around $450 million last year. This year [we plant to spend] over $500 million. We’re drilling about … close to 20 wells this year. It’s still very much in the exploration and appraisal [stage],” Henry was quoted as saying in a transcript of the call, which was out Friday. 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 wants to invest more in China downstream gas

July 30, 2012, 6:39 a.m. EDT

By Wayne Ma

–Shell hopes to invest in China gas, both upstream and downstream

–Shell, Qatar, CNPC Taizhou refinery approval process is advancing

–Foreign companies may work with private China firms in second shale round

BEIJING–Royal Dutch Shell PLC RDS.B +0.82% hopes to boost investment not only upstream but also in the downstream gas sector in China, as it wants to profit from every link in the gas supply chain, the head of the company’s China unit said Monday. 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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