Free access to over 30,000 news articles, documents and commentary relating to Royal Dutch Shell. The website, its owner, John Donovan and his network of “moles” inside Shell, was the subject of a recent major article by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, translated and published in multiple languages by presseurop. ARD TV in Germany and the U.S. Link channel, recently broadcast a EuropaMagazin feature about John Donovan. This website, endorsed by Shell, is non-commercial. No subscription or other charges; no advertising; no donations solicited or accepted.
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The Gripe Site – Royal Dutch Shell vs. Robert Eringer
by LloydBricks May 17, 2012
One consequence of global anger about widespread banking fraud, corruption, and environmental devastation as of late has been the creation of the online ‘gripe site’ such as those by author, blogger and self-proclaimed ‘intelligence adviser’ Robert Eringer, along with the more popular site of Royal Dutch Shell. These are websites dedicated to exposing what their writers see as unfair, illegal or corrupt behaviour by individuals or companies.
Comparing the sites, Robert Eringer’s primary website could not be more different from royaldutchshellplc.com—one of the most well known of such sites. The numerous websites of Robert Eringer are a clear piece of self- promotion; alongside the half-baked conspiracy theories and wild claims of Eringer’s own personal involvement with powerful people are links to purchase his books. These include memoirs, spy thrillers and non-fiction books. All appear to have been self-published and not very well-received.
One of Robert Eringer’s books (eloquently titled “Suck my pen,” reflecting his lack of education), is all about how to set up an effective gripe-site. This is ironic, as Robert Eringer’s own gripe site has been anything but effective. Not only have his supposed ties with the CIA been disproven, but he recently lost an on-going battle he was waging with the Principality of Monaco when it successfully sued him for slander. Court documents reveal that Robert Eringer, who on his website paints himself as a white knight in a sea of corruption, actually attempted to blackmail Prince Albert II into paying him EUR 400,000. When he failed, Robert Eringer launched a vitriolic attack on the principality.
What this case makes clear is that Robert Eringer’s gripe site isn’t about the common good in the way royaldutchshellplc.com is – it’s about Robert Eringer. What is even more disturbing is his Tumblr feed, which he seems to reserve for his wildest conspiracy theories.
While Robert Eringer website can be brushed off as ridiculous, what is sad is that it diminishes the effectiveness of legitimate gripe sites which have an important role to play in modern justice. The more people like Robert Eringer that spring up on the internet, the less effective it becomes as a medium of protest.
Comment by John Donovan of royaldutchshellplc.com
The author of the above article has made some positive remarks about our website and extremely negative comments about Robert Eringer and his gripe site activities. The author, who is apparently located in the Russian Federation, is probably unaware that my father and I consider Robert Eringer to be a friend. I have known him for several years, engaging in regular correspondence, as well as meetings in London, chats over lunch etc.
I checked Robert out on the internet after he first made contact and it quickly became apparent that he had a track record as an undercover investigator. His approach to us was similar to the basis he had used previously when approaching a target. We were therefore suspicious that he was working for Shell, particularly as we had uncovered a previous undercover operative working for Shell (which Shell lawyers admitted).
In fact we have always found Mr Eringer to be completely genuine in his relationship with us. He is a highly intelligent bon vivant with an extraordinary background and boundless energy. He also seems to be a supporter of the adage attributed to Robert F. Kennedy: “Don’t get made, get even.”
He is currently engaged in an unprecedented war on the Internet with Prince Albert of Monaco and President Putin of Russia. The fearless Mr Eringer has published serious allegations against both individuals, which have been widely reported. He alleges that Monaco was a money-laundering haven for corrupt Russians. Eringer was hired by Prince Albert as an intelligence adviser, so he has insider knowledge.
The above article appears to be part of the heavy bombardment in mudslinging being directed at Robert Eringer. It says that his past ties with the CIA have been “disproven.”
In fact, articles from reputable publishers confirm his intelligence role in Monaco and his association with Clair George, deputy director for operations of the Central Intelligence Agency, for several years responsible for the CIA’s covert operations worldwide. Also Eringer’s work as a counter-espionage agent for the FBI. Prince Albert appointed Robert Eringer as his spymaster because of his contacts, experience and expertise in intelligence matters.
See these articles for further information.
CBS News: 60 MINUTES: Exclusive: Send In The Spies?
The Independent: I was Prince Albert of Monaco’s private spook
The Independent: Prince took gifts from Russia in exchange for vote, says ex-adviser
Forbes.com: Prince Albert’s Russian Spies
Forbes.com: The Prince And The Blogger
CNN: Russia: Robert Eringer – Blogging Headache for Kremlin
INTELNEWS.ORG: Prince Albert’s former spymaster airs Monaco’s ‘dirty secrets’
Shell reports release from sulfur unit at Deer Park refinery
Fri May 18, 2012 6:35am EDT
May 18 (Reuters) – Shell Oil Co said emergency personnel responded to a release at a sulfur unit at its 327,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery, according to a message posted in a community information line.
Earlier, Shell reported shutdown of an unspecified unit at the refinery on Thursday, according to a filing with the U.S. National Response Center.
SOURCE
India success makes Cairn a worthy hold
FROM OUR ARCHIVES…
Combined with an oil price higher than ever, Cairn looks to be sitting very pretty. Much to the embarrassment of Shell, of course, which sold the Rajasthan field to Cairn two years ago for just £4m.
18 May 2004
The oilfields of India are proving to be more like gold to Cairn Energy, which yesterday announced yet more success in its Rajasthan site.
The second stage of drilling following its original find has not only confirmed initial expectations but led to an upgrade in its estimated reserves. The lowest hope had been for 50 million barrels from the site; now it is for 100 million barrels.
Combined with an oil price higher than ever, Cairn looks to be sitting very pretty. Much to the embarrassment of Shell, of course, which sold the Rajasthan field to Cairn two years ago for just £4m.
The question, then, is with the Cairn share price already more than double where it was at the start of the year, are the shares are now over-hyped?
At 996p, they are trading at a mighty 28 times forward earnings. This premium has been justified, given the apparent abundance of reserves, but it will be some time before any of the oil currently being discovered is actually put in a barrel and sold. The tap will not turn on, in fact, until the second half of 2007.
And while news of further successful drilling on its 5,000 sq km site is all but guaranteed, there may be less of a gush in the shares on further announcements.
The shares moved only marginally yesterday, as most investors have already priced in expectations of more finds, and the fields that are still to go through the second-stage drilling are much smaller in size. There is still some upside to go, however, making it a very worthy hold.
CSNews Reveals This Year’s Top 100 Convenience Stores
By Don Longo: 17 May 2012
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — 7-Eleven Inc. continues to pull away from the pack as the U.S. convenience industry’s largest chain by number of stores. In the past year, the Dallas-based division of Japanese c-store giant Seven & i Holdings Co. widened its store count lead over Big Oil companies Shell Oil Products US, BP plc and Chevron Corp., and even Canada-based c-store giant, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which operates the Circle K brand in the United States.
While the industry remains highly fragmented, the Convenience Store News’ Top 100 convenience store chains added approximately 1,700 net new stores in the past year, a 3-percent increase to 59,434 stores. All together, the Top 100 account for 40.1 percent of the convenience industry’s 148,126 stores, according to Nielsen TDLinx, which supplies much of the store count data for the CSNews Top 100 list.
In general, “pure” convenience store companies such as 7-Eleven, Couche-Tard (Circle K), Casey’s General Stores Inc., Cumberland Farms, RaceTrac Petroleum, Wawa Inc., QuikTrip Corp. and Susser Holdings Corp. (Stripes) got bigger, while Big Oil companies like BP and ExxonMobil Corp. lost ground in this year’s Top 100 ranking.
As of March 2012, 7-Eleven operated a total of 7,341 c-stores, an increase of 9.1 percent over its count of 6,727 stores a year ago.
The rest of the Top 10 includes:
2. Shell/Motiva Enterprises: 4,934 stores, up from 4,831 a year ago.
3. BP: 4,691 stores, down from 4,718 a year ago.
4. Chevron: 4,057 stores, up from 3,987 a year ago.
5. Couche-Tard: 3,585 stores, up from 3,480 a year ago.
6. ExxonMobil: 3,445 stores, down from 3,882 a year ago.
7. Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Speedway LLC): 2,670 stores, down from 2,809 a year ago.
8. Sunoco Inc.: 1,987 stores, up from 1,896 a year ago.
9. Valero Energy Corp.: 1,786 stores, up from 1,712 a year ago.
10. CITGO Petroleum Corp.: 1,722 stores, down from 1,776 a year ago.
Another continuing trend among the CSNews Top 100 is the continued shift from company-operated to franchisee/licensee-operated stores. Among the Top 100 retailers, the number of company-operated stores rose by 656 units, while the number of franchisees or licensees rose by 1,290 units.
Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard continues to be the company with the largest number of company-operated c-stores in the United States, with 3,049 units. Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s leapt over The Pantry Inc. to rank second on the list of top company-operated chains, with 1,691 stores.
Shell re-enters coal with swaps trading
By Jacqueline Cowhig
LONDON | Thu May 17, 2012 12:16pm BST
May 17 (Reuters) – Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Ltd this month resumed trading in coal derivatives more than a decade after parent Royal Dutch Shell exited the coal business and sold its mines, sources close to the company said.
Shell declined to comment.
Shell actively trades power, gas and carbon so the move back into coal fills a gap in the energy markets it trades and will enable more effective spread-trading and hedging, they said.
“It’s coal swaps only for hedging and spread-trading,” one source said.
With the emissions market moribund because of Europe’s economic problems, coal swaps are the most effective hedge against gas, they added.
Shell sold its Australian, South African, U.S. and Venezuelan coal assets 11 years ago. At that time coal prices were depressed and the market was opaque, illiquid and dominated by long-term contracts.
BP also sold off its coal assets, leaving Total the only oil major with coal mines and a physical trading book.
(Reporting by Jacqueline Cowhig, graphic by Henning Gloystein; editing by Jason Neely)
Shell: Liquid Shales Could Have Big Impact On Energy Mix
May 17,2012
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Shale rock formations that contain liquid hydrocarbons as well as natural gas could have a ” significant” impact on world energy supplies but it is too early to say for sure, a senior Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) executive said Thursday.
“It is too early to predict the impact if liquid rich shales. It could be significant,” said Ruth Cairnie, Shell executive vice president for strategy and planning.
Chastened by plunging U.S. natural gas prices in the wake of the shale gas boom, producers like Shell that have invested heavily in North American are increasingly switching their focus to ‘liquid-rich’ shales that contain hydrocarbon liquids as well as gas. These more valuable liquids can more easily be turned into higher-margin fuel products.
“We are moving fast into these emerging U.S. liquid-rich shales,” said Cairnie.
-By Alexis Flynn, Dow Jones Newswires, +44 207 842 9471, alexis.flynn@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 05-17-121034ET Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Shell starts repair work in Nigeria
LAGOS, Nigeria, May 17 (UPI) — A Shell subsidiary in Nigeria announced it started repairs on a crude oil pipeline in the country following an early May closure and force majeure declaration.
Shell declared force majeure on Bonny Light crude, the Nigerian blend, as of May 4.
“The action is due to production deferment caused by incessant crude theft and illegal bunkering on Nembe Creek Trunkline,” the company said in a statement.
The shutdown means 60,000 barrels of oil per day is deferred while repairs take place.
Shell Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria disconnected two sections of the pipeline that is said were the target of oil thieves.
Tony Attah, vice president of health and the environmental for Shell in Africa, said engineers were working on eight other sections considered pilfering points.
“This is a difficult work requiring careful planning and digging up several sections of the line in swamp and land, investigating illegal bunkering points and deciding whether to clamp them or do sectional replacement,” he was quoted by Nigerian newspaper This Day as saying.
Shell is accused of causing massive environmental damage in parts of Nigeria. The U.N. Environment Program last year said it would likely take 30 years to clean up oil spilled in the region. Shell is accused of underestimating the volume of oil spilled, though it blames most of the spills on oil bandits.
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Gas discovery for Cove may rock boat for Shell
The Irish Times – Wednesday, May 16, 2012
BARRY O’HALLORAN and CIARA O’BRIEN
EXPLORATION GROUP Cove Energy yesterday reported a new gas find off Mozambique, raising speculation that a new bidder could attempt to trump an existing $1.8 billion offer from Shell for the company.
Cove said Anadarko, its partner in the Rovuma licence off the east African country, had between seven trillion and 20 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the Golfinho exploration well where one of its partners had been drilling.
The find could increase the size of their discoveries in the country by as much as 66 per cent.
The discovery is separate to the existing Prosperidade find, which holds as much as 30 trillion cubic feet. In total, the Rovuma Area 1 block where Anadarko and Cove are exploring, may hold more than five times Britain’s existing gas reserves.
The announcement sparked speculation in some quarters that a new bidder could attempt to see off the $1.8 billion offer for Cove which multinational Royal Dutch Shell made last month.
However, Dublin stockbroking firm Bloxham yesterday argued that a new bid was unlikely as it would have to negotiate a number of corporate hurdles.
Cove’s directors have recommended that shareholders, many of them Irish, accept the offer and have themselves irrevocably committed to selling their 5 per cent stake in the company.
Two weeks ago, Shell posted its offer document to shareholders. It has also agreed with the Mozambique government to cover a number of tax liabilities. That element of the deal effectively brings the offer’s total value to $2 billion.
“As a result, in our view a new bidder with technological expertise equivalent to Royal Dutch Shell would have to enter the bidding,” Bloxham said in a note issued yesterday.
Shell has already outbid Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production for Cove. Bloxham acknowledged there was some probability that the underbidder could re-enter the fray. However, it pointed out that PTT would be “constrained by balance sheet limitations, its technological ability and the likelihood that its tax structures are not as sophisticated as Royal Dutch Shell’s”.
Shell millions tied to study
May 16, 2012 – 8:04pm By JOANN ALBERSTAT Business Reporter
Geologist: Analysis spurred energy giant’s N.S. program
A $15-million government-funded study on Nova Scotia’s offshore oil and gas potential helped spur Shell’s $1-billion exploration program here, a Houston-based chief geologist with the global energy giant said Wednesday in Halifax.
Brad Prather, who works in deepwater exploration for the company’s Upstream Americas division, told a renewable energy research and development forum that the study played an important role in the super major’s decision to start looking for oil and gas here again.
“In addition to our own work, we also used it extensively,” Prather said in response to an question from the audience.
“It played a significant role in laying a foundation which we can build on.”
The research project, called the Play Fairway Analysis, identified significant oil and gas services off the coast of Nova Scotia.
Prather said the analysis was his first experience with government-sponsored studies and he called it “a first-class piece of work.”
“Looking at that was like looking at a piece of our own work.”
In fact, the Shell chief geologist used some illustrations from the study in his presentation on 3-D mapping technology.
Shell has said it plans to begin 3-D seismic surveys offshore next year and could start exploratory drilling 2014.
The company has until June 1 to file its exploration plan with the industry regulator.
Shell has notified the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board that it will be making its submission in the next two weeks, a board spokeswoman said.
The plan, which outlines how the exploration work will unfold over the next three years, is not made public.
A Shell Canada spokesman couldn’t be reached Wednesday for comment.
Stephen Dempsey, executive director of the Offshore Energy Research Association, told the forum that the study that renewed Shell’s interest in offshore Nova Scotia was “a big bet in the research world.”
The research group, whose members include universities, government agencies and industry, played a leading role in the study through a predecessor group, the Offshore Energy Technical Research Association.
In an interview, Dempsey said offshore oil and gas has moved back to the top of the province’s research agenda since the last forum was held two years ago.
“We’re working right now in a collaborative fashion to determine how do we respond to this? We’ll be doing more work around Shell and working on ensuring that that is successful to the extent that we can.”
Tidal energy research also got a shot in the arm earlier this week when the province announced its marine renewable energy strategy, he said. The provincial plan includes a goal of getting 300 megawatts of electricity from commercial tidal power starting in 2020.
Energy Department official Bruce Cameron said the province has become more proactive in its approach to research in the renewable energy sector over the past several years rather than waiting for industry to set the agenda.
“Research became, instead of an outcome of a vibrant industry sector, it became something that we are going to have to focus on ourselves,” said Cameron, the province’s executive director of sustainable and renewable energy.
The two-day forum, which continues Thursday, brings together experts in marine energy, offshore oil and gas, renewable and sustainable energy.
Groups appeal air permit for Shell Arctic drilling
by Dan Joling / Associated Press: May 16, 2012
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Environmental and Alaska Native groups on Wednesday appealed an air permit granted by the Environmental Protection Agency to a Shell Oil drilling ship that could be used this summer in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska’s northern shore.
The groups claim the Kulluk and support vessels will put harmful pollutants into the skies, adding problems to a region already beset by climate warming, and that the EPA granted the permit without consideration of all national environmental laws and regulations.
“EPA did not analyze whether the Kulluk will comply with all standards, and they relied on modeling tricks to reduce the measured impact.” Earthjustice attorney Colin O’Brien said.
The eight groups asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene and send the permit back to the EPA for reconsideration.
The appeal was expected. A similar appeal was filed for an air permit granted to a second Shell drilling ship, the Noble Discover er.
The EPA Appeals Board last month rejected review petitions for the Kulluk and earlier had done the same for the Noble Discoverer. Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith repeated that the company expects the permits to stand up to court review.
“The EPA finding of no significant impact to the Arctic air shed and the subsequent validation of that permit by the EAB gives us a great deal of confidence that the permit, like the others we have achieved, will be upheld by the court,” Smith said.
Shell plans to use the Noble Discoverer to drill three exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast. The company hopes to use the Kulluk to drill a pair of exploratory wells in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s north coast.
The presence of two drill ships, according to the company, means that if there’s a blowout, a backup vessel would be on hand to drill a relief well.
Drilling in Arctic waters is bitterly opposed by environmental groups and some Ala ska Native groups, who contend oil skimmers and other mechanical cleanup devices will not work in waters that contain ice, from slush to icebergs.
They also fault the government for allowing drilling in a region with some of the harshest weather in the country and without basic infrastructure. Alaska’s northern coastlines lack deep-water ports. The nearest permanent Coast Guard facility is in Kodiak, more than 1,000 miles away.
Shell in 2008 spent $2.1 billion on Chukchi leases in a sale that environmental groups contend was illegal because the federal government had not performed required environmental studies.
The appeal Wednesday was filed by Earthjustice on behalf of Alaska Wilderness League, Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Pacific Environment, Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands, Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society.
The groups say the Kulluk and support vesse ls will spew carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and black carbon that will accelerate the loss of snow and sea ice., hurting both a fragile Arctic ecosystem that’s home to endangered or threatened whales, polar bears and seals, and Alaska Native coastal communities that rely on the ocean for subsistence life.
Shell has prepared for Greek exit from Eurozone
By Nina Dos Santos, CNN
May 16, 2012
With a staff of more than 90,000 to consider and operations in more than 80 countries to oversee, Shell CEO Peter Voser has admitted that he must plan for what the markets say is an increasingly plausible outcome to a tragedy well into its third year.
Speaking on CNN’s “World Business Today,” Voser said that “one obviously has made provisions” at this stage.
“I still see it as a low likelihood scenario, but we have done our work over the last few months to prepare ourselves,” he said.
Shell warns on US natural gas bounce
Financial Times
By Guy Chazan
Royal Dutch Shell expects US natural gas prices to double by 2015, rebounding strongly from the 10-year lows they have hit as a result of the shale gas boom as US domestic demand for the fuel grows.
In an interview, Shell chief executive …
Nigeria: Oil Spills – Shell Pays U.S.$1.1 Million to Communities
Lagos — Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) says it paid over $1.1 million last year to communities affected by oil spills in the country.
Managing Director of the company, Mutiu Sunmonu, said in the Shell Briefing Note that the development was the high point of the premium his company has for its host communities.
He said in the last five years, the company has been dealing with an average of 172 oil spills per year, which he stated is slightly more than the 169 average for the 2006 to 2010 period.
“There were 63 operational spills over 100 kg in 2011 (32 in 2010), but the total volume spilled decreased to 3,595 barrels from 5,270 in 2010 due to improved oil spill response time,” he said.
Bemoaning the spate of oil theft in Shell facilities in Nigeria, Sunmonu said the development is evident from the thick smoke from illegal refineries that line the shore, adding that the land, the shorelines and the water are heavily polluted with oil as a result of these activities.
He said: “The scale of these operations is not hidden.
The perpetrators of these crimes have set up barge building yards and storage depots for the stolen crude. This is not petty theft undertaken by desperate individuals struggling to make a living. These are well-funded crimes that may be connected with an international syndicate.
“Our concern is that if this business continues at this rate, the effects could be devastating, not only to the social and environmental structure of many areas of the Niger Delta, but also to Nigeria’s economy.”
‘Inside job’ as Peru eyes gas in uncontacted tribes’ land
In the early 1980s, Shell workers opened up paths into the uncontacted Nahua Indians’ land. Diseases soon wiped out half the tribe.
Secret plans reveal Peru is actively pursuing new gas reserves inside protected tribal land, a flagrant violation of laws that prevent such projects.
The Nahua-Nanti Reserve in southeast Peru is known for its uncontacted Amazon tribes, but more controversially, for a wide stretch of gas fields called the Camisea project.
Only last month, despite 75% of one gas block already dominating the reserve, Peru’s Ministry of Mines and Energy gave the Camisea consortium the green light for more gas exploration.
And now Peru has gone further, releasing plans for the country’s first state-owned oil block, which will be inside the legally protected area.
Known as Fitzcarrald, and owned by PetroPeru, Survival can reveal the new site is projected to be east of Camisea’s Block 88.
If confirmed, its location will cut the Nahua-Nanti Reserve in half, and put uncontacted tribes’ lives in immediate danger.
Peru’s indigenous organization FENAMAD says ‘there is no doubt the government is attempting to cut up indigenous territories for gas exploration…which will be reflected in the genocide and ethnocide of indigenous peoples.’
The new plans are a clear violation of a 2003 Supreme Decree prohibiting any new development of natural resources inside the Nahua-Nanti Reserve.
Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘These steps not only jeopardize the future of uncontacted and contacted tribes in the reserve, but also go entirely against the law. Previous gas exploration in this area has decimated Indian tribes, so it’s astonishing that the government is prepared to contemplate history repeating itself, and doesn’t appear to care what the consequences are.’
- See how the Fitzcarrald site will encroach on the Nahua-Nanti Reserve (pdf, 3 MB)
- Download Peru’s 2003 Supreme Decree on the Nahua-Nanti Reserve (pdf, 83 KB)
RELATED: Peru defies UN breakthrough on uncontacted tribes 4 April 2012
Peru’s government is ignoring new UN guidelines on the protection of uncontacted Indians in the Amazon.
Instead of backing the UN’s landmark report, which supports the tribes’ right to be left alone, Peru is allowing the country’s largest gas project to expand further into indigenous territories known to house numerous uncontacted Indians.
The new UN guidance makes clear that uncontacted tribes’ land should be untouchable, and that ‘no rights should be granted that involve the use of natural resources’.
The expansion plan adds to existing controversies around Argentine gas giant Pluspetrol and its notorious Camisea project in southeast Peru.
Past oil and gas exploration in Peru has resulted in violent and disastrous contact with isolated Indians.
In the early 1980s, Shell workers opened up paths into the uncontacted Nahua Indians’ land. Diseases soon wiped out half the tribe.
One surviving Nahua who lives close to Camisea’s developments said, ‘The company should not be here. All the time we hear helicopters. Our animals have left, there are no fish. For this, I don’t want the company. No! No company.’
Despite an electoral campaign that promised to respect indigenous rights, Peru’s President Ollanta Humala has done little to guarantee the survival of indigenous peoples.
The Camisea consortium includes US-based Hunt Oil and Spain’s Repsol. Both have been accused of violating tribal peoples’ rights.
Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The UN’s breakthrough report at last recognises the rights of uncontacted Indians. Peru needs to read it and respect those who wish to be left alone before entire tribes are lost forever.’
Ukraine sees 2017 for commercial shale gas output
KIEV | Wed May 16, 2012 8:40am EDT
May 16 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron Corp, Ukraine’s partners for exploring and developing shale gas, will start commercial gas production in 2017, a government minister said on Wednesday.
“Drilling is likely to start next year,” Environment and Natural Resources Minister Eduard Stavitsky told a news conference of plans which focus on two potentially large shale gas fields.
Shell will develop the Yuzivska area, in eastern Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, while Chevron will explore the Olesska area in the western region of Lviv.
“Commercial extraction on both areas will begin in 2017,” he said.
The two areas could yield at least 15 billion cubic metres of gas per year and Yuzivska alone – where about 3,000 wells were likely to be drilled – could produce a total of one trillion cubic metres, he said.
The former Soviet republic has Europe’s third-largest shale gas reserves at 42 trillion cubic feet (1.2 trillion cubic metres), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, behind France and Norway.
Ukraine’s State Geological Service, which is more optimistic than the U.S. EIA, estimates Yuzivska reserves at 2 trillion cubic metres and those of Olesska at 0.8 to 1.5 trillion.
Stavitsky declined to give details of the future investments in gas production, while the geological service has said the Yuzivska area would require $250 million-$300 million in exploration investment, while Olesska would need $150 million-$200 million.
The winners of the tender will enter production sharing agreements with state firm Nadra Ukrainy and SPK-GeoService, a privately-owned Ukrainian company chosen by the government as its partner in a separate tender this year.
Ukraine imports about a half of its gas from Russia at a price that has been rising steadily for the last few years and is expected to average about $440 per thousand cubic metres this year.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by Richard Balmforth and James Jukwey)
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