Posts from ‘November, 2011’

Printed below is an article by Tony Allwright, a retired Irish Shell EP manager. (SOURCE ARTICLE)

26 November 2011

Protests – overwhelmingly unfounded and politically unchallenged –
have trebled the cost of developing Ireland’s offshore Corrib gasfield.
This huge “political risk” will deter further such investments for a generation.

Many years ago, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a Dutch company with an Irish name, Shell Teoranta BV, whose raison d’être was to seek and hopefully find oil offshore Ireland (“Teoranta” is Irish for ““Limited”).  It drilled a number of wells – for  example, on 19th December 1979, the Irish Times featured a photo of a jack-up rig drilling an exploration well just offshore Dublin – but to no avail.  All the holes were dry.  Concluding that Ireland was a lost cause, Shell Teoranta packed its bags and shut up shop, though not before claiming a huge write-off from the Dutch taxpayer for all its futile Irish expenditure, a provision of Netherlands law which explains why Shell Teoranta was registered there. Shell reckoned it had better uses for its shareholders’ money than to fritter it away on the ultra-long-shots of Irish exploration. read more

By Ammar Karim (AFP) Sunday, 27 November 2011

BAGHDAD — Iraq finalised a $17-billion joint venture deal with Shell and Mitsubishi to capture and process gas from its southern oil fields, at a ceremony at the oil ministry on Sunday.

The deal was signed by Shell CEO Peter Voser, Mitsubishi Vice President Tetsuro Kuwabara and Iraqi Oil Minister Abdelkarim al-Luaybi.

“Today’s event represents a big change in the oil industry,” Luaybi said, adding that the deal constitutes the best use of the gas in line with Iraq’s needs. read more

By Kadhim Ajrash and Khalid Al-Ansary – Nov 27, 2011 2:08 PM GMT

Iraq, seeking to boost power output after years of conflict and sanctions, signed the final accord for a $17 billion project with Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) to capture natural gas at oil fields.

Shell Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser and Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Al-Luaibi signed the agreement to produce gas that is currently flared off at fields in southern Iraq, in a ceremony today in Baghdad.

Under the 25-year agreement, the government will hold a 51 percent stake in a venture called South Gas Co., while Shell will have 44 percent. Mitsubishi Corp. (8058) is also a partner in the project and will hold the rest. South Gas will help collect more than 2 billion cubic feet (57 million cubic meters) of fuel a day at the Rumailah, Zubair and West Qurna fields in southern Iraq, Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad al-Shamaa said Nov. 16. read more

By John Donovan

SHELL/EXXON MERGER?

INDUSTRY RUMOR BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION SATURDAY 26 November 2011 21:50:53 GMT BY A SHELL RELATED SOURCE, A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR OF  INFORMATION.

“Rumour in the industry is that Exxon is mounting a bid for Shell…”

WARNING: This is a *rumor…

*a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts

Dr Shamil Yenikeyeff analyses the reasons for the collapse of BP’s Arctic partnership with the Russian state company Rosneft. He argues that the BP–Rosneft deal was inauspicious even before it was signed due to the history of the Kremlin’s reluctance to back BP plc in its often uneasy relations with the AAR consortium – BP’s Russian partners in the TNK–BP joint venture. Dr Yenikeyeff analyses the motives of the key players involved and looks at the possible future of BP’s involvement in Russia. read more

The following information is in the form of extracts from a recent report produced by Louisiana Bucket Brigade environmental health and justice organization.

Louisiana refineries averaged one accident per day in 2010. There was a total of 354 reported accidents which released more than 975,000 pounds and 225,000 gallons of pollution.

Refineries rely too heavily on contract workers. There are simply not enough full-time workers on staff. Deferred maintenance and inadequate safety management significantly contributed to accidents, according to refineries’ own reports and testimony from the United Steelworkers.

During 2010, Motiva’s refinery in Norco reported seven accidents involving the same DU-5 unit, resulting in a total of 18,500 pounds of emissions. The largest accident happened in January, when a fire resulted in the shutdown of three refinery units, one worker injury and more than 17,000 pounds of toxic air emissions, including sulfur dioxide. read more

Graphic from the Guardian article “Unloveable Shell, the Goddess of Oil“

Dear Editor,

Please run article clarifying the location of Ogoni people in Kiobel v. Shell. This issue was brought up in one recent publication of Nov. 17, 2011, posted or culled to your credible and number one globally read and researched-based Website.

THE ARTICLE: How Suing Shell Could Backfire on Human Rights Activists

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Ben Ikari.

ARTICLE

I read with interest a publication by Reuters that is published on this esteemed Website: Royaldutchshellplc.com and dated November 17, 2011. As recorded on paragraph nine, lines six and seven. According to Maria LaHood, “Indigenous Ogoni people, most of whom probably live in  villages in rural Nigeria, are challenging one of the most powerful entities in the world.” read more