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Rossport Five have been freed. The High Court ruled today that they did not have to return to court having spent over 90 days in prison for contempt of court.
Link to RTE report

Rossport Five face costs even though costs were not sought by Shell. Irish justice?
Link to Video clip from Court

Go raibh maith agat faoin eolas sin, a henscastle.

For immediate release

On Wednesday 3rd May, the Minister for Natural Resources Noel Dempsey announced the publication of a safety review of the Corrib gas project, commissioned from the consultancy firm Advantica. As before, the Minister and Shell's office in Ireland were both reading from identical scripts with regard to the report's conclusions, which were that the project as proposed was entirely safe, and therefore the concerns of the residents of Erris Co. Mayo were entirely without foundation.

This, of course, is what Shell, with the State acting as intermediary, have been saying all along, and so, as far as safety considerations go, Advantica has backed up this stance.

The aggression with which this report (produced not by the State under its own auspices but by a private company which is basically an accessory of the oil and gas industry) is being pushed by the State as the final word in the controversy is consistent with its approach to the issue from the beginning, and with its blatant disregard of a wide range of constitutional rights and duties. No alternative route has been considered, no change in the proposed project has been offered. All that is given are unconvincing assurances that the project is certain to be safe. If the Irish State had commissioned on its own authority an international panel of experts, none of whom were connected with the project and whose remit was to analyze from every point of view the question of exploiting the Corrib gas field, and if this panel had then concluded, on independent grounds, that the existing proposal presented no safety concerns, then at least its conclusions could be seriously examined. But Shell's requirements have once again been presented as a fait accompli by the State, with the Minister himself claiming that he has no power to alter the project. This is in effect a statement that the Government has ceded authority and sovereignty to Shell, which is being given powers to do with Ireland, its resources and its people whatever it sees fit. The day after the report was released, Shell stated that they were prepared to "discuss all options" with the Rossport residents, letting it be understood that they would even consider changing the route of the pipeline if this helped to meet the concerns of residents. However, the day following, the Irish Times stated that Shell had categorically refused to consider processing the gas at sea. In other words, the intention is to proceed with the project, and Shell's conciliatory noises, as on previous occasions, are merely about trying to improve its image in the eyes of the public rather than a serious attempt to resolve the standoff. One has to ask what the "mediation process" is intended to achieve, if the aim is merely to browbeat people into accepting what they have stated they will not accept, namely an experimental pipeline and onshore processing platform that pose an unacceptable level of risk to their lives.

The Tara Foundation unreservedly condemns the ongoing threat to the safety of citizens of this country. Once again, citizens are being put at the mercy of a corporation whose record in regard to human rights and environmental protection is, to say the least, less than spotless. At present, Ireland does not benefit from royalties from oil or gas exploitation, and corporations may offset all expenses against Ireland's 25% tax regime. We insist that the entire offshore exploration, taxation and benefit regime that oil and gas corporations operate under in Ireland must be reviewed. At present, the State cedes all control of its resources to corporations, takes no profit, and pays the corporations' expenses, besides buying back its own resources at the market rate. This regime represents a betrayal of the Irish people and their interests on the part of successive governments.

The Tara Foundation

7th May 2006

http://www.corribsos.com/index.php?id=711

Harry Browne of Village magazine on the Irish Times's pro-Shell campaign.

AP
Halliburton Almost Doubles 2Q Profit
Thursday July 20, 8:37 pm ET
By Kristen Hays, AP Business Writer
Halliburton Almost Doubles Second-Quarter Net Income on Demand, Higher Prices

HOUSTON (AP) -- Oil services conglomerate Halliburton Co. posted second-quarter net income nearly double that of a year ago mostly on strong demand for and higher prices charged by its energy services sector, the company announced late Thursday.

Net income was $591 million, or 55 cents per share, compared with $392 million, or 38 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2005. Results in the most recent quarter include $82 million in after-tax income from discontinued operations, or 7 cents per share, and a pretax gain of $123 million on the sale of the production services group of KBR, Halliburton's construction and engineering segment.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 49 cents per share.

Revenue reached $5.54 billion, up 12 percent from $4.97 billion in the year-ago period.

In the first six months of 2006, Halliburton reported $1 billion in net income, or $1.01 per share, compared with $757 million, or 74 cents per share, in the first half of 2005. Revenue in the first six months of 2006 was $10.7 billion, compared with $9.7 billion in the year-ago period.

The energy services group's operating income reached $791 million, up $269 million or 52 percent from the year-earlier period. The unit's revenue was $3.1 billion, an increase of $645 million, or 26 percent, over the year-ago period.

The energy service segment's performance reflected increased rig activity, higher use of assets and higher prices, the company said.

By contrast, KBR posted an operating loss of $41 million in the first six months, primarily because of a $148 million charge related to schedule delays and cost increases of a joint venture to construct a gas-to-liquids project in Escravos, Nigeria, for the Chevron Nigeria Limited/Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation. KBR's operating income in the second quarter was $68 million, a drop of $4 million, or 6 percent, from the year-ago period. KBR revenue was $2.4 billion, a decline of $73 million, or 3 percent, from the second quarter of 2005.

"Although we are disappointed by the projected cost increases on the KBR Escravos project, we are addressing our concerns with the customer," said Dave Lesar, Halliburton's chairman, president and chief executive.

He added that Halliburton remains committed to "a full and complete separation of KBR from Halliburton in the near term through an initial public offering and/or a tax free spinoff to our shareholders."

KBR attributed its revenue drop to decreased military support in Iraq.

"The quarter was a little sloppy," said Dan Pickering of Pickering Energy Partners in Houston. "It looks like we had pretty good performance in the oil patch with some charges in KBR that muddied the waters a bit.

"They continue to clean up that business as they ready for the IPO, but it's disappointing to see losses of that magnitude," Pickering said.

Earlier this month, the Army announced it will rebid the multibillion-dollar contract under which KBR has been providing services to troops around the world after years of complaints over how the deal has worked in Iraq.

KBR now provides food, water, shelter, laundry service and other logistical support for troops under a 2001 contract that has been extended several times.

Vice President Dick Cheney led Halliburton from 1995-2000, when he stepped down to be President Bush's running mate. The company has been under fire since the U.S.-led war in Iraq began, having been awarded more than $10 billion in contracts, including some that were no-bid. Allegations of fraud, poor work, overpricing and other abuse emerged, all of which the company has denied.

Halliburton has some 50,000 employees and subcontractors in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Djibouti.

Shares rose 22 cents in after-hours trading, having closed down $1.47, at $32.68 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shell quarterly profits rise 36% to over $6bn

From:ireland.com

Thursday, 27th July, 2006



Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell beat forecasts today with a 36 per cent rise in second-quarter profits as high oil prices compensated for disappointing production news.

Investors were also cheered by Shell's reaffirmation that it was sticking to its 2006 and 2007 spending plans, despite rampant sector cost inflation.

Shell shares rose 2.24 per cent to trade at 1,914 pence in London at 8.30am, ahead of a 1.1 per cent rise in the DJ Stoxx European oil and gas sector index.

Lower-than-expected production of oil and gas and a reduction in the Anglo-Dutch company's 2006 output target took some shine off the results.

Shell said its second-quarter current cost of supply net profit, which strips out changes in inventory values, rose 36 per cent rise to $6.3 billion.

Excluding non-operational gains and losses, including a $500 million charge for litigation related to Shell's overstatement of its reserves, the result was $6.546 billion.

This was a record underlying profit and beat an average forecast of $6.149 billion from a Reuters poll of 12 analysts.

Shell's production of oil and gas disappointed slightly, however, falling almost 8 per cent to average 3.253 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter, compared with an average forecast of 3.315 million boepd.

Keep an eye on Indymedia and Shell to Sea for updates on the current situation. Shell are currently attempting to get onto the site in Bellinaboy to start work but residents and supporters are preventing them from accessing the site. A report from a witness indicates that the Gardaí have stated their intention to facilitate Shell's entrance to the site. An unconfirmed report that Gardaí fro around the country are being "shipped" to Rossport, so a showdown may be underway this week.

170 Gardaí forced their way through the Rossport protest to get Shell's workers onto the site.
Please do all you can to mobilise support: http://www.corribsos.com/index.php?id=913

The media campaign against the Rossport protests can be summarised with this example of journalistic integrity:

Click here

Of interest to those not familiar with the U.S.; EXXON is the American tradename for ESSO.

Government breached EU law on natural habitats

From:ireland.com
Saturday, 23rd September, 2006


The Government has breached an EU law on the protection of natural habitats by
authorising damaging building projects and not being active enough in protecting
listed species, according to the European Court of Justice.

The 19-page opinion, by the court's advocate general, found in favour of all but
one of the arguments brought by the European Commission - that the Government is
not doing enough to establish a system of strict protection for a specific list
of animals and plants including certain types of bats, dolphins, insects and
flowers. The commission argued that of the entire list, Ireland only had one
specific species protection plan - for the natterjack toad, which lives in sand
dunes - and was therefore breaching the EU's law.

The advocate general also agreed with the commission's opinion that the
Government was in breach of the 1992 Habitats Directive by failing to carry out
impact studies before approving building or demolition projects, citing the
Lough Rynn estate, the Corrib gas project and the Ennis bypass as examples.

The opinion points to the fact that for the Lough Rynn estate in Co Leitrim,
development was approved by An Bord Pleanála in 2002 and work started in 2003,
while a survey showing the negative impact the works would have on bats was only
completed in 2004.

Environment experts also come under criticism for not being sufficiently
knowledgable in their area of expertise.

The commission argued that, with the exception of the horseshoe bat and the
natterjack toad, the authorities did not have enough information about the
breeding grounds, resting places and threats to the species listed as needing
protection.

CORRIB PROJECT IS BASED ON FANTASY

from Indymedia.ie

Having followed for some time Shell's and the Government's conduct on the proposed Corrib Gas project I feel it is now worth noting a few glaring facts that have recently become clear.

Terry Nolan, second-in-command for SEPIL, is currently announcing to all and sundry' Shell's intention to proceed with the onshore gas refinery at Bellanaboy. This decision has been
based, by the Corrib partners' own admission on the following;

1. The Advantica safety review
2. Cassells mediator report
3. Existing statutory consents
4. Forthcoming public consultation

The stance has been taken that the project has the green light and will proceed as planned and as soon as possible. This is Shell's fantasy.

When the true facts are examined the reality is quite different, and can be broken down as follows:

1. By Advantica's own admission their safety review had very narrow terms of reference, and for this reason most local opposition to the project publicly abstained from involvement. In spite of this Minister Noel Dempsey pushed on regardless, and a raft of extra safety measures were recommended for a 144 bar reduced pressure pipeline (down from 345), even though no technical solution to acheve this reduction has yet been adopted. On top of this Advantica will only stand by their calculations up to 120 bar...and they still say a rupture would kill people over 203 meters away. Minister Dempsey has since repeatedly stated a distance of 3 (three) meters is perfectly safe!

2. Peter Cassells role as mediator was to get two opposing sides to meet and discuss common ground. When he unsurprisingly failed to achieve this he miracuously produced so-called 'ingredietns' for progress, based on his declaration that the vast majority of Erris and Mayo people want the project. Wrong. Last week's TG4/MRBI poll indicated a total of 65% of Mayo people don't want the Bellanaboy refinery, a recent door-to-door canvass reveealed 15 individuals disagreed with Shell to Sea out of around 2,500 Erris homes, and to date well over 500 people living within a 5 mile radius of Bellanaboy have signed a petition stating opposition to the current development.

3. After local opposition at EVERY stage in the process, planning permission for the Bellanaboy refinery was eventually granted by An Bord Peanala against its own technical advice, following direct lobbying from Shell. The pipeline itself has never been through the planning process, and a large section of the onshore pipeline was constructed without the required ministerial consent, which they still do not have. The refinery does not have the necessary licence to pollute from the environmental Protection Agency, and th developers 'have failed to provide all details of planned emissions to the EPA for its application. A pipeline access road through a Special Area of Conservation was built without planning or due regard to the environment, and the European Commission recently ruled that Ireland breached the EU Habitats Directive in allowing the project to proceed through the protected area of Broadhaven Bay. A number of aspects of the Corrib Gas project are currently being investigated by the Irish and European courts, and Corrib has never been dealt with as a whole, consistently being reduced to smaller and more isolated parts. This method, known as 'project-splitting' , is entirely illegal under European law.

4. A seven-stage consultation process has been announced on a theoretical new pipeline route almost seven years AFTER the current design concept (including the pipeline route) was first chosen...and the existing route is still on the cards. Clear and continued opposition to the refinery itself has not been acknowledged at all in this process, and loud declarations of listening to local consent ring very hollow given the drive to now force in the refinery ahead of any supposed agreement. This is even more frightening now that the use of state force is becoming ever more likely, with increasing Garda numbers effectively acting as a private security for the developers agains a 15-month long peaceful protest.

In spite of all of the above (and not even getting into the issues of national interst andnatural resources andinjunctions and jailings and pickets and rallies and protests and a very black history of decades of proven human rights abuses and fatal lapses in safety procedures and environmental degradation) Shell, Statoil and Marathon are no doubt going to continue to ignore the facts, and peddle the same lines day-in-day-out until they believe no-one will care any more.

If fantasy is allowed to become reality, we will all be in trouble."

No supposition, just the plain facts from someone who actually knows what he is talking about - John Monaghan

Shell to Sea welcomes TDs' intervention

From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 24th October, 2006



The Shell to Sea campaign today welcomed the efforts of various public representatives in attempting to end the Corrib gas pipeline conflict.

The campaign is opposed to the siting of a gas refinery onshore at Bellanaboy, Co Mayo.

Michael Ring, Fine Gael TD, has called on the Taoiseach to become involved while independent TDs say that the construction work at Ballanaboy should halted so that a process of dialogue could be initiated.

Trevor Sargent, Leader of the Green Party has been involved in fact finding and visited the site today.

Fianna Fail councillor Frank Chambers has stated that Shell should seek an alternative location for their processing plant as part of a possible solution.

"We reiterate our position that we wish to resolve this conflict so that the health and safety of local people can be assured," said Dr Garavan.

He said that the current configuration of the Corrib gas project does not have the consent of the majority of people affected by it, a position supported by three consecutive independent opinion polls carried out on behalf of The Irish Times , TG4 and The Mayo Advertiser .

"If Shell acknowledge the need for a re-configuration of the project then the possibility for meaningful dialogue arises. We call on all public representatives to insist that Shell recognise their responsibilities to resolve the present impasse, an impasse entirely of their own making," Dr Garavan concluded.

I came across a rather interesting blog entry this evening.

http://www.blogging4business.info/B4B/2402

Shell Faces a New Activist Front on YouTube

by matthew - blogging4business on 05 October 2006, 12:48 PM

Categories : citizen journalism
Tags : blogging4business , you tube , shell , rossport five , tara
foundation , activism , oil

If you don't read the Irish media, chances are you haven't heard of
the Rossport Five - five local men from County Mayo who were jailed in
2005 for refusing to obey a court injunction forbidding them to
interfere with a new gas pipeline being built by the Shell group.

This week, as Shell employees began construction work in County Mayo,
local residents were involved in a mass protest against the company -
one so intense that Irish police were required create a human corridor
for the employees to pass through.

How do I know this? Certainly not from the British or US media.
Instead, I watched the protest on YouTube where a self-styled heritage
protection outfit called the Tara Foundation, posted a protest video.

I haven't followed the merits of the Rossport Five case, and I
certainly wouldn't put it on a par with the killing of Nigerian
activist Ken Saro-Wiwa as the Tara Foundation does, but the video,
though crude, makes for compelling viewing (after an admittedly very
slow start - even activists need editors!).

For over a decade, Shell and the rest of Big Oil has been on the
defensive from activists who understand the power of media better then
they do and make use of grassroots marketing. If I were Shell, or any
major corporation for that matter, I'd be paying close attention to
the viral power of social media activism. It could be a potent new
weapon for activists the world over.

--------
According to this page
(http://www.blogging4business.info/B4B/pages/page/?pgid=2):

"Blogging4Business is a news, commentary and community blog dedicated
to Europe''s social media sector.

Written and edited by longtime business and technology journalists,
Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans, Blogging4Business helps companies
both big and small understand the implications and potential of social
media communication."

However, the blog is an arm of Custom Communication, and according to
this page
(http://www.blogging4business.info/B4B/pages/page/?pgid=3):

"We started Custom Communication because we believe our journalism
skills and experience offer an attractive new way for companies to
talk with their customers and their employees.
Here are some of the services we offer:

- Bespoke Publishing - Brand experience or special report content for
your customers or employees published online or in print

- Business Intelligence Reporting �" In-depth analysis of the issues
that matter most for your company, including blog monitoring and brand
mining to tell you what blogs are saying about your company and your
industry"

Shell: Wildlife destroyer of the Year

From Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).

Friends of the Earth Ireland wants you to tell the Irish government to take the issue of climate change seriously. Do take part.