Posts from ‘June, 2011’

Published: June 30, 2011 at 9:44 AM

LONDON, June 30 (UPI) — A so-called revolution in gas supplies driven in part by shale-gas reserves will allay global energy security concerns, a Shell official said in London.

Malcolm Brinded, executive director of global upstream activity at Royal Dutch Shell, told delegates at an energy summit in London natural gas is one of the best ways to cut greenhouse gases and develop a secure and sustainable energy supply.

He points to analysis from the International Energy Agency that predicts a rise in global gas demand of around 60 percent, fueled by booming economies in China and India, by 2035. read more

By DAN JOLING, Associated Press – 29 June 2011

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Shell Oil President Marvin Odum has faith that his company can develop vast reserves in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast. But he’d like to get on with exploratory drilling to tap into a resource that could be crucial to meeting the country’s energy needs.

“That’s an area where working in Alaska has, frankly, been disappointing to us as a company,” Odum said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It has taken much longer that we originally thought it would.” read more

A version of this article appeared in print on June 29, 2011, on page A12 of the New York edition

Photo Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

Representative Maurice D. Hinchey (right) wants S.E.C. action.

WASHINGTON — Federal lawmakers called Tuesday on several agencies, including the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the Energy Information Administration and the Government Accountability Office, to investigate whether the natural gas industry has provided an accurate picture to investors of the long-term profitability of their wells and the amount of gas these wells can produce. read more

Modified 23 April 2018: Relevant Shell executives name changed to initials only “AJL”)

By John Donovan

As we are approaching the 20th anniversary of our spectacular falling out with Shell, involving Six High Court cases, a County Court action and unsuccessful proceedings issued by Shell via The World Intellectual Property Organisation, I have been looking at some of the past correspondence in connection with articles we intend to publish.

Parties contemplating or currently in litigation with Shell may be interested to know that the oil giant claims that it has settled litigation on moral grounds. read more

In 2004, the oil and gas industry faced one of its most embarrassing scandals. After whistle-blowers reported concerns about the size of Royal Dutch/Shell’s reserves, the company surprised investors by slashing reserve estimates. “I am becoming sick and tired about lying,” Walter van de Vijver, a senior executive at Royal Dutch/Shell, wrote in a November 2003 e-mail made public shortly after his company’s problems came to light. The episode led to the ouster of several of the company’s top executives and an investor lawsuit worth more than $350 million, and helped propel the S.E.C. rule change. read more

By IAN URBINA : A version of this article appeared in print on June 26, 2011, on page A1 of the New York edition

Natural gas companies have been placing enormous bets on the wells they are drilling, saying they will deliver big profits and provide a vast new source of energy for the United States.

But the gas may not be as easy and cheap to extract from shale formations deep underground as the companies are saying, according to hundreds of industry e-mails and internal documents and an analysis of data from thousands of wells. read more

Can polar bears survive the twin threats of shrinking sea ice and greater ship traffic? What about fish stocks and an acidifying ocean? Bowhead whales might be able to migrate around new oil platforms, but will they be stressed out by drilling noise? And what if their food supplies are shrinking as well?

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in March 2010 ordered up a report on what we don’t know, and need to know, about what is happening to the Arctic environment. This week, the answer finally arrived, in the form of a long-awaited new report from the U.S. Geological Survey on what science gaps need to be filled to safely carry on the march into one of the coldest and least-understood places on the planet. read more

By Ehren Goossens and Jeremy van Loon – Jun 24, 2011 9:46 PM GMT+0100

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) will receive C$865 million ($876 million) from the governments of Alberta and Canada to fund a carbon capture and storage project.

Shell and its partners will receive the money over 15 years, based on meeting certain performance targets, according to a statement today on the Government of Alberta’s website. The province of Alberta will contribute C$745 million and Canada will provide the remainder. read more

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 10:05 AM on 31st May 2011

Royal Dutch Shell has been accused of working ‘hand in glove’ with the government in Syria where hundreds of unarmed demonstrators have been killed during protests against the regime.

The firm chartered a tanker to export almost 600,000 barrels of the country’s oil worth $55m, according to campaign group Platform. Shell declined to comment.

Platform researcher Lorenzo Paluello said: ‘While the British and Syrian public believe that suppressing a mass democratic uprising with tanks is problematic, Shell continues to work hand in glove with the regime. read more

Patti Epler | Jun 23, 2011

A long-awaited federal report released Thursday points to numerous holes in scientific knowledge about the Arctic that could shed important light on how oil and gas development would affect the area.

Now, the question is: what will anyone do with it?

The 272-page document will undoubtedly end up in court, on one side or the other, as legal battles over Arctic development continue. Whether the report’s numerous recommendations will be followed remains to be seen. read more

From pages 15 & 16 of “Royal Dutch Shell and its sustainability troubles” – Background report to the Erratum of Shell’s Annual Report 2010

The report is made on behalf of Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands)
Author: Albert ten Kate: May 2011.

Ken Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a well known Nigerian author and television producer. He was also president of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), an organization set up to defend the environmental and human rights of the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta.

In January 1993, Saro-Wiwa gathered 300,000 Ogoni to march peacefully to demand a share in oil revenues and some form of political autonomy. MOSOP also asked the oil companies, especially Shell, to begin environmental remediation and pay compensation for past damage. In May 1994, Mr. Saro-Wiwa, who had been briefly imprisoned several times before, was abducted from his home and jailed along with other MOSOP leaders in connection with the murder of four Ogoni leaders. Amnesty International adopted Saro-Wiwa, a staunch advocate of non-violence, as a prisoner of conscience. Meanwhile, the Nigerian military took control of Ogoniland subjecting people to mass arrest, rape, execution and the burning and looting of their villages. In October 1995 a military tribunal tried and convicted Saro-Wiwa of murder. Governments and citizens’ organizations worldwide condemned the trial as fraudulent, and urged the Nigerian dictator Abacha to spare Saro-Wiwa’s life. They also called upon Shell to intervene. On 10 November 1995 Saro-Wiwa and his eight co-defendants were hanged. read more

JUNE 22, 2011

By Alex DeMarban

A lucky student from the North Slope Borough School District will name the new commercial icebreaker that Shell Oil will lease as part of its oil-spill response fleet in the Arctic Ocean.

The 360-foot-long, low-emission ship, under construction in Louisiana by Edison Chouest Offshore, is scheduled to launch late this summer. It will be ready for sea trials in January, said Capt. Michael Terminel, with Edison’s Alaska operations.

It will join the icebreaker Nanuq to support Shell’s proposed exploration drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas starting in summer 2012. One vessel will work in each sea, said Curtis Smith, Shell spokesman. read more

JUNE 22, 2011

SYDNEY (Dow Jones)–East Timor is calling for Royal Dutch Shell PLC. (RDSB.LN) to be excluded from discussions about the development of the Greater Sunrise gas field, claiming its promotion of floating liquefied natural gas technology represents a conflict of interest.

East Timor has consistently opposed the use of a floating LNG vessel to develop the resource, which straddles its maritime border with Australia, preferring to have the gas piped to an LNG plant built on its coastline. Floating LNG is an untried technology that converts natural gas to a liquid on a vessel permanently moored at sea. read more

JUNE 22, 2011

By TENNILLE TRACY

WASHINGTON—The House voted Wednesday to streamline the issuance of clean-air permits for offshore oil-drilling projects, representing another attempt by Republicans to pressure the Obama administration into speeding up domestic oil production.

The bill passed Wednesday night by a vote of 253-166, with votes falling largely along party lines. A majority of Democrats voted against the measure, saying it would strip regulators of their ability to determine whether drilling projects pollute the air and pose a risk to human health. read more

Can you imagine sneaking into a Shell shareholder meeting and presenting the company’s CEO with a dead fish trophy?

Last month, my colleague at ForestEthics, Karen, did it. She looked Shell’s CEO Peter Voser straight in the eye and gave him a dead fish award.

Karen is working so hard to protect the Sacred Headwaters (source of the Skeena, Stikinie and Nass wild salmon rivers) because if Shell moves forward with its plans to drill there, grizzly cubs, caribou and moose calves will be decimated. read more

By Ayesha Rascoe

WASHINGTON | Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:54pm EDT

(Reuters) – The House of Representatives began debating legislation on Wednesday that would speed up approvals for drilling in the Arctic while removing regulatory hurdles that have stymied development of the area’s vast oil and gas resources.

The bill, which could sail through the House but faces a tougher time in the Senate, would force the Environmental Protection Agency to approve or deny applications to drill on the outer continental shelf within six months. read more