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December, 2013:

Shell dicing with disaster in US Arctic waters

Dec 18th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-05-23 at 23.32.34BP was partly or even mainly responsible for the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, but the oil giant has been well and truly screwed while in a prone position by a combination of morally challenged politicians, a blatantly flawed legal system and picked clean by shyster lawyers and their equally greedy and dishonest clients. It is under these same adverse background circumstances that Shell intends to roll the dice again in US Arctic/Alaska waters despite the run of misfortune already encountered. It could potentially result in an environmental calamity for the entire planet and the end of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

By John Donovan

Some readers may wonder why we have today featured a New York Times article about BP’s litigation problems in the USA – “BP Accuses Texas Lawyer of ‘Brazen Fraud’ in Workers’ Claims Over Gulf Oil Spill” – when this website is focused on Shell?

We have also published an editorial by The Seattle Times: “Editorial: A cold, hard look needed for Shell’s Arctic drilling plans”

Both subjects are connected.

They provide a warning of what could happen to Royal Dutch Shell Plc and its shareholders if a disaster befalls Shell’s drilling plans in the Arctic within US jurisdiction.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BP Accuses Texas Lawyer of ‘Brazen Fraud’ in Workers’ Claims Over Gulf Oil Spill

Dec 18th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-12-18 at 10.04.21BP on Tuesday accused a Texas lawyer of fraudulently driving up its settlement costs in the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill by claiming to represent tens of thousands of clients who turned out to be “phantoms.” The company, citing “brazen fraud,” is asking the court to allow it to stop payments and reclaim some of the unspent money. The more than 40,000 deckhands claimed as clients by Mr. Watts constituted nearly 80 percent of the people projected to file claims under the program, the company said in court papers. In July 2012, Mr. Watts hosted a $35,800-a-plate event for President Obama at his home.

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By  

A version of this article appears in print on December 18, 2013, on page A14 of the New York edition

BP on Tuesday accused a Texas lawyer of fraudulently driving up its settlement costs in the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill by claiming to represent tens of thousands of clients who turned out to be “phantoms.”

In a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in New Orleans, the oil giant, which has been fighting the administration of a settlement with plaintiffs in the courtroom and in the news media, claimed that it relied on the client count supplied by the lawyer, Mikal C. Watts, in 2010 when it put $2.3 billion into a special compensation program for the seafood industry. The company, citing “brazen fraud,” is asking the court to allow it to stop payments and reclaim some of the unspent money. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Editorial: A cold, hard look needed for Shell’s Arctic drilling plans

Dec 18th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-11-01 at 09.31.18Skepticism by this Department of the Interior agency is the least to be expected after Shell’s troubled launch of Alaska oil exploration and drilling plans in 2012 in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Trouble with oil rigs and a new tug caused Shell to punt on the 2013 season, and now it is back asking to try again in 2014… The bureau wants to know if Shell has addressed and corrected issues of noncompliance cited by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency. The information was missing from a November filing by Shell.

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An agency of the federal Department of the Interior needs more details about Shell’s plans before another try at oil exploration in Alaska.

Originally published December 17, 2013

Seattle Times Editorial

DAYS after Shell Oil turned in revised proposals for oil exploration in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management responded with 10 pages of questions to answer.

Good. Skepticism by this Department of the Interior agency is the least to be expected after Shell’s troubled launch of Alaska oil exploration and drilling plans in 2012 in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Trouble with oil rigs and a new tug caused Shell to punt on the 2013 season, and now it is back asking to try again in 2014 in the Chukchi Sea, between Siberia and the top of Alaska, west of Barrow. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell E&P Ireland to seek review of pollution prevention licence in early 2014

Dec 17th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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The High Court quashed the EPA’s decision to grant the licence to Shell Exploration & Production Ireland Ltd (Sepil) in October following an application brought by Martin Harrington, who successfully argued that the agency had not followed the correct process in reaching its decision.

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High Court quashed EPA decision to grant permit in October

Tue, Dec 17, 2013

The Corrib natural gas field developer will apply to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review of its pollution prevention and control licence early in 2014.

The High Court quashed the EPA’s decision to grant the licence to Shell Exploration & Production Ireland Ltd (Sepil) in October following an application brought by Martin Harrington, who successfully argued that the agency had not followed the correct process in reaching its decision.

A company newsletter published yesterday states that it plans to apply a for a new review of the licence early in 2014. In 2007, the EPA granted it a licence that covered the discharge of treated produced water – that is naturally occurring water coming into the terminal in the gas stream – at a point 2km from Erris Head. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

U.S. Oil Production Projected to Surge, Leading to Lower Prices at Gas Pump

Dec 17th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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By and STANLEY REED

A version of this article appears in print on December 17, 2013, on page B1 of the New York edition

HOUSTON — Domestic oil production will continue to soar for years to come, the Energy Department predicted on Monday, scaling to levels not seen in nearly half a century by 2016.

The annual outlook by the department’s Energy Information Agency was cited by experts as confirmation that the United States was well on its way — far faster than anticipated even a year ago — to achieving virtual energy independence.

The report predicted that the increase in United States production would contribute to a decline in the world oil benchmark price over the next few years to $92 a barrel in 2017 from a 2012 average of $112 a barrel, which should translate into lower prices at the pump for consumers. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Senate Dems press for delay in Arctic drilling

Dec 16th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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By Laura Barron-Lopez: December 16, 2013

“The Department of Interior‘s proposals to allow drilling activity in the Arctic Ocean have generated significant controversy and litigation, with opposition from local communities, Members of Congress, scientists, the conservation community, and the American people,” the senators wrote in a letter finalized on Friday.

They pointed to the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, which experienced a series of mishaps last year while drilling in the Arctic — which included the grounding of a drilling rig and violations of air pollution permits. The administration is weighing whether to let the company resume its exploration activities. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell cloud use

Dec 16th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Many major organisations are now fully embarking on cloud strategies and the latest evidence of this came from HP’s Discover event in Barcelona. read more

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Garda rotten from the top down

Dec 16th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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GARDA OMBUDSMAN INVESTIGATION OF POLICE CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SHELL IS STILL IN PROGRESS

Terence Conway stated “It was good to finally meet a Garda who is trying to deal with the corruption within An Garda Siochana.  Unfortunately senior Garda management are content with corruption within the force”. Speaking at the protest Maura Harrington stated that policing in the country is “rotten from the top down”.

News release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Monday 16th December 2013

A group from Shell to Sea – Erris travelled to Limerick on Friday 13th December to attend a Justice 4 All protest outside Henry Street police station.  This was a follow-on from the recent Peoples’ Forum – “Who Polices the Police?”, which was addressed among others by Mick Wallace TD and Clare Daly TD [1].

John Wilson, one of the two garda whistle blowers, who raised the penalty points scandal addressed the protest and castigated both the Commissioner Martin Callinan and Minister for Justice Alan Shatter saying that the force, as found by the Smithwick tribunal, still places loyalty above honesty [2]. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Exiting Woodside Opens Door to China Bids: Real M&A

Dec 16th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s (RDSA) long-awaited sale of its $6.4 billion stake in Woodside Petroleum Ltd. may open the door for Asian buyers to grab a slice of Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, or even the whole company.

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By Angus Whitley and James Paton Dec 15, 2013 7:00 PM GMT

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s (RDSA) long-awaited sale of its $6.4 billion stake in Woodside Petroleum Ltd. may open the door for Asian buyers to grab a slice of Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, or even the whole company.

Shell, which said last month it was entering “a divestment phase,” may exit its 23 percent holding in Woodside as soon as 2014 as its importance to Europe’s largest oil company fades, said Nomura Holdings Inc. While Shell may opt to sell the stock back to Woodside and institutional investors, China’s Cnooc Ltd. and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. might pursue the stake or a full takeover, Morningstar Inc. said. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Activists Prank Shell, Hijack ‘Science Slam’ in Berlin

Dec 15th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Every day in Nigeria, approximately 350,000 litres of oil are spilled, destroying the livelihood of much of the population. Shell pays off warlords and corrupt governments to continue drilling there,” the group said on a website it made for the campaign.

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Nigeria: Oil Spill in Nigeria – Activists Prank Shell, Hijack “Science Slam” in Berlin #Slamshell

By Ogala Emmanuel, 14 December 2013

Some young environmental activists, pretending to be scientists, on Wednesday pulled off a creative and subversive prank on Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell, in Berlin to demand cleaner business practices in Nigeria and elsewhere.

The group, Peng! Collective, pretended to be scientists who had created a machine to reduce carbon dioxide only to turn around to expose Shell for the “evil” spills they cause in Nigeria. They also asked the oil company to stop drilling plans in the Arctic. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Biggest Ship in the World Might Not Even Be a Ship

Dec 15th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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John,

I found the following article your readers might be interested in reading. Shell’s Prelude LNG ‘ship’ is not really a ship, per se, because it has no means of self propulsion.

It will be towed to location and anchored, supposedly for the life of the gas field exploitation project.

This vessel is nothing more than a giant production and processing barge masquerading as a ship.

The Biggest Ship in the World Might Not Even Be a Ship

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Revisions Required For Shell’s 2014 Chukchi Exploration Plan

Dec 13th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-11-01 at 09.31.18Johnston said the 2012 drilling season showed that Shell needs to be more prepared for the Arctic conditions and have more contractor oversight. Until Shell provides the agency with the answers for dozens of requested revisions, BOEM will not consider their application complete.

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By | December 12, 2013 – 5:40 pm

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is seeking more information from Shell about their 2014 Chukchi Exploration Plan.

Until Shell provides the agency with the answers for dozens of requested revisions, BOEM will not consider their application complete.

The Regional Supervisor for the Office of Leasing and Plans within BOEM, David Johnston, said the ball is now in Shell’s court. The agency is seeking more details on Shell’s ships, the Noble Discoverer and the Polar Pioneer. They also have questions about Shell’s plans to deal with air quality issues, among other things. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Federal government questioned over leaking tailings ponds in Alberta

Dec 13th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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The secretariat asked Canadian environment officials to explain documented cases of contaminated tailings water being discharged into Jackpine Creek, Beaver Creek, McLean Creek and the Athabasca River, and noted that Environment Canada expressed concern that tailings ponds would be discharged into fish-bearing waters during an assessment of Shell Canada’s Jackpine project. As part of that assessment, Shell acknowledged “some seepage” would occur, the commission said.

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By Marty Klinkenberg, Edmonton Journal December 12, 2013

EDMONTON – A North American trade body has asked Ottawa to respond to allegations that it has failed to enforce its own laws when it comes to oilsands tailings ponds.

The environmental secretariat has given the government 30 days to respond to allegations that it has failed to enforce the federal Fisheries Act by allowing the ponds to leak contaminants into the Athabasca River watershed.

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a body created to monitor enforcement of environmental regulations in Canada, the United States and Mexico, could launch a formal review of the federal government’s procedures if dissatisfied with its response. read more

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THE CAMPAIGN TO END APARTHEID

Dec 12th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Why did international sanctions work on South Africa but not other dictatorships?

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By Joshua Keating – Slate: Thursday, December 12, 2013

Extracts

Screen Shot 2013-12-12 at 13.53.02Today, the international sanctions against South Africa, along with the public divestment campaign in the United States and other countries, are remembered as the textbook examples of how international economic pressure can create the impetus for political change in repressive regimes. Of course, it would go too far, and give far too little credit to Nelson Mandela and his allies, to argue that international pressure was the main reason that apartheid fell. In the years since, some economists have even questioned just how much impact they really had. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Nigeria ranks high on Shell’s disappointment list

Dec 12th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-12-07 at 10.15.24Peter Voser, chief executive officer, Shell, in an interview published on Wednesday on the company’s website indicated that Nigeria contributed significantly to the slump in its performance in the past one year. Voser, who will step down at the end of this year as the company’s CEO, said they were working on the performance issues. Shell’s second-quarter profit slumped to $4.6 billion from $5.7 billion a year earlier partly due to disruptions in Nigeria.

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Author: : December 12, 2013

Global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has reaffirmed the negative impact the surge in oil theft and sabotage in Nigeria has had on its performance in the past 12 months.

Peter Voser, chief executive officer, Shell, in an interview published on Wednesday on the company’s website indicated that Nigeria contributed significantly to the slump in its performance in the past one year.

“Things have been difficult in Nigeria, due to ongoing sabotage and security issues. We have seen underperformance at various production sites, such as those in the North Sea and at refineries in the USA,” he said, when asked what the disappointments of the past 12 months were. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell to produce Arctic oil and gas from 2025: CEO

Dec 12th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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In one of his last interviews as CEO of the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas giant, Voser said, “The Arctic is rich in oil and gas and the region will be developed. “Shell is making preparations to potentially start exploratory drilling in 2014 or 2015, but this has not yet been decided,” Voser said. “If we make a discovery, I would envisage possible production during the second half of the next decade.”

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THE HAGUE, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) — Shell could produce oil and gas from the Arctic from 2025, Peter Voser stated on Wednesday.

In one of his last interviews as CEO of the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas giant, Voser said, “The Arctic is rich in oil and gas and the region will be developed.

“Shell has significant acreage in Alaska and is equipped to develop the resources there in a sustainable manner,” he said.

After a number of setbacks and incidents during exploration drilling activities in the Arctic in 2012, Shell announced a pause for 2013 in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas to prepare equipment and plans for a resumption of activity at a later stage. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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