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February, 2015:

A world awash in cheap crude

Screen Shot 2015-01-12 at 08.45.23From an article by Malcolm Berko published 14 February 2015 by Columbian.com under the headline:

“Berko: Oil prices bound to rise again”

The enormous implosion in oil prices has left the globe awash in cheap crude. And the highly paid, brilliant oil analysts at Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, UBS, JPMorgan, etc., never saw it coming. Never in a million years did they believe that oil would trade at $40 a barrel or that there’d be excess production of between 1 million and 2 million barrels a day. Smart traders are searching for storage solutions to warehouse the overflow and competing among themselves to lease tankers that can store crude at sea. Meanwhile, shipbrokers and agents who match lessors with lessees are having a dandy time leasing very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, which can hold 2 million barrels. 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.

Refinery operator Shell Canada charged for January 2013 incident at plant

Screen Shot 2015-01-06 at 21.26.38By Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer: Friday, February 13, 2015 11:57:12 EST AM

Refinery operator charged for January 2013 incident at plant

Extracts

Representatives of Shell Canada made a brief court appearance in Sarnia on Friday on environmental charges the company faces following an incident Jan. 11, 2013 at its plant near Corunna.

Shell is scheduled to appear again on April 10 at 9 a.m. in Provincial Offences Court at Bayside Centre.

Friday’s appearance was the first for the company since charges were laid in early January by Ontario’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

The charges allege Shell Canada committed the offence of discharging, or causing, or permitting a discharge of a contaminate into the environment that caused or was likely to have caused an adverse effect, contrary to Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act. 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.

Exxon Mobil Preparing to Buy BP? (More Speculation)

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By: MICHEAL KAUFMAN

Published: Feb 13, 2015 at 8:00 am EST

According to the recent reports from several financial media outlets, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is in the market to hunt.

The multinational oil giant is one of the strongest defensive companies in the energy sector. It performs fairly well in low-price environments. The American company has an exceptionally strong cash position, which allows it to beat competition by acquiring it.

Exxon has a history of acquiring energy companies when commodity prices are low. During 2009, natural gas price plummeted 70%. Exxon Mobil acquired XTO Energy Inc, an oil and gas company, in an all-stock deal, putting the Texas-based company’s valuation at $41 billion. 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 one step closer to resuming exploration in the Chukchi Sea

Screen Shot 2013-11-01 at 09.31.18From an article by Tim Bradner published by Alaska Journal of Commerce on 12 Feb 2015 under the headline:

“One regulatory hurdle cleared for Arctic OCS drilling”

Shell is officially one step closer to resuming exploration in the Chukchi Sea. On Thursday the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released its final supplemental environmental impact statement for a 2008 Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf Lease Sale.

It is a move that is hoped to clear legal and regulatory hurdles facing Arctic offshore drilling.

The document was published on schedule after the draft SEIS was completed last fall. A Record of Decision will likely be issued in 30 days, which will allow BOEM to resume work on Shell’s revised exploration plan for the Chukchi Sea, BOEM said in a statement. 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.

Britain’s ties with Abu Dhabi threatened by oil deal deadlock

Screen Shot 2014-10-28 at 11.51.59From an article by Andrew Critchlow published by The Telegraph on 13 Feb 2015 under the headline:

“Britain’s ties with Abu Dhabi threatened by oil deal deadlock”

Danger of Shell and BP walking away from historic oil agreement which has underpinned Britain’s broader historic relationship with the United Arab Emirates

Extracts

BP and Royal Dutch Shell are in danger of making a strategic error should they decide to walk away from a historic oil deal with Abu Dhabi, which has provided the commercial foundations for Britain’s broader relationship with the sheikhdom.

Negotiations have dragged on for more than a year and now appear to have reached an impasse over the emirate’s demands for upfront payments. The money amounts to about $7bn (£4.5bn) for rights to operate some of the world’s biggest onshore oilfields including Bu Hasa, Bab and Asab. At stake is rare upstream access to the deserts of Abu Dhabi, which hold close to 6pc of the world’s proven oil reserves, and Britain’s overall political and business influence in one of the region’s most potent sheikhdoms. 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.

HSBC Tax Scandal: Revelations pending about a major oil company

Screen Shot 2015-01-06 at 21.26.38HSBC whistleblower: There are ‘more revelations’

By John Donovan

We know that Royal Dutch Shell has a long track record of tax dodging.

The most recent example occurred during its Arctic Drilling debacle, when it recklessly sent a drilling ship to sea in the face of a storm, trying to avoid a tax bill. 

According to a BBC News article published today, based on information from the HSBC whistleblower Herve Falciani, a major oil company could be next to feel the effects of a major data leak about how it operates.

Could it be Royal Dutch Shell Plc? 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 credibility of Royal Dutch Shell oil demand forecasts

By John Donovan

Forecasts of future oil demand and oil prices made by Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden have been widely reported.

See syndicated Reuters article.

He is not exactly a disinterested independent observer, as his personal income and the well-being and profitability of the oil company he leads, depends on these issues.

Some might consider his forecasts to be wishful thinking.

It is an appropriate moment to look back on directly related forecasts made 7 years ago by one of his predecessors. 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.

Europe gas supply in focus as Dutch debate giant Groningen field

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Screen Shot 2014-10-01 at 20.37.24The Groningen field is the largest natural gas field in Europe and the 10th largest in the world. It is operated by government-owned Gasunie and output is jointly exploited by the government, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon. Extraction has resulted in increasingly strong tremors, some measuring as much as 3.6 on the Richter scale, which have cracked buildings and led to widespread damage claims.

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(Reporting By Anthony Deutsch, editing by David Evans)

Extracts

Feb 12 (Reuters) – Gas supplies to Europe from the massive Groningen field in the Netherlands could be curtailed as Dutch lawmakers debating on Thursday face public protests over earthquakes blamed on the site ahead of elections next month.

The parliament debate comes as the Netherlands and the European Union seek to diversify energy needs in the wake of the worst confrontation with Russia since the Cold War.

The Dutch, the EU’s largest gas exporter, can supply their households and power plants for years, but supplies will start dwindling in 2025, and they will soon become a net importer. 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.

Successful campaign to change the name of worlds biggest ship, Pieter Schelte

Screen Shot 2015-02-05 at 00.20.35The campaign waged on this website to persuade Edward Heerema to rename the worlds biggest ship, The Pieter Schelte – which he named after his late father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, a former Officer in the German Waffen-SS – has been successful. On Friday 6 February 2015, Allseas announced that it was changing the ships name, and on 9 February announced the new name – Pioneering Spirit.

FORBES MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Big Oil’s $3 Billion Homage To A Nazi War Criminal: 20 Dec 2014

JOHN DONOVAN PETITION ON CHANGE.ORG: Out of respect to the victims of Nazi war crimes, please change the name of your gigantic new ship, the Pieter Schelte, named after your father, a former officer in the murderous Waffen SS and diehard member of the Nazi party: 22 December 2014

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC .com: Lloyd’s Register PR Fanfair Saluting Nazi named mega-ship The Pieter Schelte: 22 Jan 2015

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE: World’s biggest ship named after Nazi: 22 Jan 2015 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.

Cleanup operations continue for oil spill at Shell Wharf in Martinez

Screen Shot 2015-01-06 at 21.26.38From an article by Joseph R. Fonseca published Thursday, February 12, 2015 by MarineLink.com under the headline:

Cleanup, Response Operations continue at Shell Wharf

Extracts

At approximately 4 p.m. Tuesday Shell personnel reported a leak from a crude oil line at the Shell Martinez Wharf and confirmed the leak was stopped within 30 minutes. Shell personnel estimated the leak to be approximately two barrels of oil (approximately 84 gallons), and two issues related to the pipeline were repaired. Shell engaged all appropriate agencies for the response, and a Unified Command was established Tuesday evening.

Resources and personnel have been deployed to the affected area as a precaution to guard against any potential impact. Resources include absorbent boom, skimmers and a helicopter for aerial assessments, as needed. Residents may continue to notice extra activity at the wharf and the Carquinez Strait area throughout the evening as cleanup operations are conducted. 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.

Port of Seattle hosts Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet

Screen Shot 2014-10-31 at 17.18.55From an article by Joe Connelly published 11Feb 2015 by Seattlepi.com under the headline:

Port of Seattle quietly signs homeport lease for Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet

Extracts

The Port of Seattle has quietly inked a two-year lease under which Shell Oil will use Terminal 5 on the Seattle waterfront as the base for its efforts to drill in Arctic waters of Alaska’s Chukchi Sea.

With rapid authorization, negotiation and signing of the lease — reminiscent of how decisions on the waterfront used to be greased — the port has secured a $13.17 million deal and forestalled efforts by the region’s environmental groups to stop it.

“This year we are planning on drilling in Alaska,” Simon Henry, chief financial officer at Royal Dutch Shell, told a stockholder briefing two weeks ago. 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 chief: oil to stay at current lows for rest of year

Screen Shot 2015-01-12 at 08.45.23From an article by Andrew Critchlow, Commodities editor, The Telegraph, published 12 Feb 2015 under the headline: 

Shell chief: oil to stay at current lows for rest of year

Oil prices are set to remain at the current six-year lows for the rest of 2015, the boss of the country’s largest oil and gas company will warn tonight.

Ben van Beurden, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, is expected to say that the oil industry should not expect a quick rebound in the price of crude, just the day after another North Sea oil operator reported its first loss in 15 years.

“The market will remain volatile in 2015, if only because for now, Opec (the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) shows no sign of wanting to resume its role as swing supplier”, Mr van Beurden is set to say. 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.

Man’s fight to change ship’s Nazi-linked name succeeds

Daily Gazette 12 February 2015

Man’s fight to change ship’s Nazi-linked name succeeds

John Donovan, 67, of Colchester, launched an online petition calling for the vessel, the world’s largest crane ship, to be re-named.

The 403,342 gross tonne vessel had been named by the owner The Pieter Schelte after his father.

He was a Dutch officer in the Waffen-SS who eventually became an informant for the Dutch resistance in 1943.

But the name sparked outrage among leaders of Jewish communities and Holocaust memorial groups in Britain and in the Netherlands.

Mr Donovan, a retired contract worker for Shell, said: “Shell was signed up as one of the first customers and these companies knew this ship was going to be named in this way.. 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 criticised after Brent Delta worker hurt by flying cylinder

Screen Shot 2015-02-12 at 07.34.47From a BBC News article published 11 February 2015

Oil firm Shell has been criticised after an offshore worker was seriously injured when a compressed gas cylinder flew through the air and hit him.

The incident happened on the Brent Delta platform in the North Sea on 10 November.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Shell did not have a safe system of work, and issued the company with a prohibition notice.

Shell said action had been taken to address the issues raised by the HSE.

RELATED BBC NEWS ARTICLE PUBLISHED 14 June 2006

Shell ‘ignored accident warning’

Oil giant Shell has been accused of operating platforms in the North Sea at dangerously high risk levels.

Former senior manager Bill Campbell, who led a safety review, claimed the company ignored his warning in 1999 that an accident was bound to happen. 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 boss calls fossil fuel critics ‘naive’ but admits Big Oil has ‘credibility issue’

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From an article by Terry Macalister published by The Guardian 12 February 2015

Ben van Beurden urges oil industry to be more assertive, arguing that debate is about balancing moral obligation of energy access for all with fighting climate change

Extract

Ben van Beurden urged fellow industry leaders meeting in London to be “more assertive” in debates over the future of energy. But Shell’s chief executive admitted that the oil sector had its own credibility problem, enhanced by the fact that too many energy industrialists had been slow to acknowledge global warming.

FULL ARTICLE

Screen Shot 2015-01-06 at 21.26.38RELATED REUTERS ARTICLE

Oil sector must take lead in climate debate – Shell CEO

(Reuters) – The oil industry needs to take a leading role in the fight against climate change to introduce “realism and practicality” into the debate, the head of Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday. 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.

Man’s fight to change ship’s Nazi-linked name (Pieter Schelte) succeeds

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CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE (SUBJECT TO BROWSER)

Daily Gazette 11 FEB 2015

Man’s fight to change ship’s Nazi-linked name (Pieter Schelte) succeeds

John Donovan holding aloft newspaper article published by The Guardian and The Observer under the headline: “Jewish outrage as world’s largest ship, named after SS war criminal, arrives in Europe“. A related article by John Donovan

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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