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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday it has filed civil lawsuits against 15 natural gas traders for reporting false information on deals to industry newsletters in an attempt to manipulate market prices.The traders worked for Enserco Energy, Mirant Americas Energy Marketing (MIRKQ: news, chart, profile) , Cinergy Corp. (CIN: news, chart, profile) , Duke Energy Trading and Marketing (DUK: news, chart, profile) , CMS Field Services (CMS: news, chart, profile) , and Shell (RD: news, chart, profile) affiliate Coral Energy Resources, when they carried out these activities, the commission said in a statement. Concord Energy, a...

Shell to hire 1000 engineers to lift credibility Royal Dutch/Shell is planning to hire more than 1,000 engineers for its core exploration and production business in a bid to restore the credibility of its oil and gas reserves accounting. The Anglo-Dutch energy group was forced to cut its proved oil reserves by almost a quarter last year and hopes the ambitious recruitment drive will help it catch up with rivals - whose records on reserve replacement and production growth have left it trailing. The move, disclosed in an internal newsletter, also appears to support the view of some people close...

Eleven people, including nine Orleans Parish parking meter attendants, made false claims to Shell Oil Co. totaling more than $7,000, alleging that tainted Shell gasoline caused their gas gauges to malfunction, according to Louisiana State Police. Members of the State Police Insurance Fraud Unit arrested nine people Tuesday morning and booked them with conspiracy and theft or attempted theft in connection with the crime. Two others are wanted on similar charges, State Police said.

Vietnam war-era shell explodes, killing 6 people and injuring 4 others who had been trying to saw it open in Vietnam (Reuters)

According to Kerry's peers, two of his wounds which earned purple hearts were both superficial and self-inflicted. In one case, he apparently got hit with dry rice! The questions surrounding the details of John Kerry's purple hearts reminded me of a M*A*S*H episode. Major Frank Burns, the sniveling idiot who had no respect from his peers or his subordinates, got an egg shell in his eye. He tried to get a purple heart citing "shell fragment in eye"! Since Kerry also has little respect from his "Band of Brothers" and apparently got medals under exaggerated claims, I am now referring...

The issue of gay marriage brings to a head, like few other issues of our time, a central conflict between two moral positions that interact like seismic plates beneath the surface of contemporary American political life. It is commonly thought that the issue of gay marriage pits secular liberals against religious conservatives. While this understanding is accurate up to a point, it is also seriously misleading. The most stubborn and intransigent opponents in the conflict are both in their way sectarian.

The head of one of the world's biggest oil companies has admitted that the threat of climate change makes him "really very worried for the planet". .... Lord Oxburgh's words will also fuel arguments over sequestration. Supporters say it will allow a smoother transition to reduced emissions by allowing us to burn coal, oil and gas for longer. Critics argue that the idea is an expensive and probably unworkable smokescreen for continued reliance on fossil fuels. ....According to a 3,000m (about 10,000ft) ice core from Antarctica revealing the Earth's climate history, carbon dioxide levels are the highest for at least...

The discovery of an Iraqi artillery shell armed with nerve gas has the liberal community and mass media in a panic. The 155mm nerve gas shell was rigged to kill U.S. troops but it failed. U.S. Brig. General Mark Kimmitt confirmed the discovery during a news conference in Baghdad. Yet, the discovery of nerve gas was followed by a second revelation. A second shell, equipped with mustard gas was found two weeks ago. The mustard gas shell identified by the special WMD inspection team in Iraq appears to be one of 550 declared by Saddam to U.N. inspectors during the...

A gasoline industry analyst, Tim Hamilton of AUTO-an organiztion serving independent gas stations-is predicting the high gas prices of today will be the bargains of tomorrow.The problem, Hamilton says, is Shell's plan to close its refinery in Bakersfield, California, and ship Washington refinery gas to California.Shell says the problem is a shortage of crude oil.The claim is disputed by some California state officials and by two refinery workers who spoke on condition of anonymity.The two say supervisors have told them that if retail prices are $2.00 per gallon or more they can make more importing gas from other areas.Hamilton's prediction:...

Oil is making headlines again. Never far from newsworthy, such is its over-riding economic and political importance, the spotlight has returned as harsh as ever. The price of benchmark US light sweet crude recently reached its highest level for 13 years, and the cartel of petroleum exporting nations, OPEC, maintained its decision to cut production - potentially fuelling yet more rises. Add increasing violence in Iraq delaying its return to full oil production, and it is understandable that oil analysts have been getting the jitters. Not to forget President George W. Bush, who in an election year really does not...

Brazil Handyman Confesses to Killing American Couple By Michael Astor Apr 1, 2004 Associated Press Writer RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - A 20-year-old handyman confessed Thursday to the bludgeoning deaths of an American Shell Oil executive and his wife in their high-security home last year, saying he was upset about an alleged racial insult. Jociel Conceicao dos Santos was arrested early Thursday and later admitted to the killings during a police news conference, the latest chapter in a case that has sparked international attention and intense local coverage. Todd and Michelle Staheli were beaten to death as they slept...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2004 January 11 NGC 2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf Credit: H. Bond (STScI), R. Ciardullo (PSU), WFPC2, HST, NASA Explanation: Like a butterfly, a white dwarf star begins its life by casting off a cocoon that enclosed its former self. In this analogy, however, the Sun would be a caterpillar and the ejected shell of gas would become the prettiest of all! The above cocoon, the...

[12/11/03]An artillery shell from the Civil War, still dangerous after 140 years, was detonated in south Warren County Wednesday night after law enforcement and a military team hauled it from downtown Vicksburg. "A lady asked me to identify the cannonball and tell her if it was loaded," said Joe Gerache, 77, and owner of Corner Drug Store.Gerache has collected Civil War-era items, including medicines and weapons, since he was a teen. The drugstore is filled with his collectibles and he's well-known as an expert. "I told her I can't tell just by looking at it," Gerache said, "but I would...

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - An American executive with Shell oil company was found slain in his Rio home, and the city's top police official said Monday investigators are trying to determine how attackers entered the heavily guarded house. Todd Staheli, 39, vice president for joint ventures in the Southern Cone gas and power unit of oil giant Shell, was found dead Sunday morning by one of his four children. His wife, Michele Staheli, suffered face and head wounds and remained in critical condition Monday at the Copa D'Or Hospital following emergency brain surgery. Mrs. Staheli is "in a deep...

Shell's Activity in Iran RestrictedFree Iran at ActivistChat.comTEHRAN -- “The activities of Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company will be restricted in Iran.” said an informed official in an interview with ILNA (Iran Labor News Agency) adding: “One of the main factors behind the restriction is the probable involvement of the Shell Oil Company in revealing Iran’s classified information including the country’s peaceful nuclear energy activities.” In response to questions posed by ILNA’s correspondent, Shell Director General, Robert Wiener said: “As part of the plan on regionalizing Shell’s exploration and production departments, the company will transfer some of its staff in...

LONDON (AP) - Iraq plans to invite executives from as many as 60 foreign oil companies to a Baghdad conference to discuss ways of developing the country's vast oil resources, the first event of its kind since the ouster of Saddam Hussein. The meeting, scheduled for December, would be "a brainstorming session" for companies hungry for investment opportunities and for Iraqi oil officials eager to acquaint themselves with key players and technologies long denied them under U.N. sanctions, the event's organizer, Paul Bristol, said Thursday. The Iraqi Oil Ministry has hired Bristol, an independent, London-based oil consultant, to arrange the...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.LONDON, Aug. 30 — One of the largest oil companies in the world, Royal Dutch/Shell, has promised to avoid exploring or drilling on sites that carry the United Nation's World Heritage designation. It is the first energy company to make such a promise. Shell's decision comes a week after the International Council on Mining and Metals, a group of the world's 15 largest mining companies, said it would stop exploring or mining on World Heritage sites. Taken together, the commitments are a "big step forward," said Dr. Mechtild Rossler, director of European...

British oil giants BP and Shell are poised to start selling oil from Iraq after success in a tendering process. The two groups are understood to be among four firms worldwide chosen to buy shipments of crude from Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) in the second such tendering process since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The two firms, which were both unsuccessful in the previous round, confirmed today that they had each been awarded a cargo of two million barrels of crude in the process which was completed yesterday. A Shell spokesman was unable to confirm whether the oil...

Camarillo, California - Shell Solar will introduce two new lines of monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) modules in Europe starting this Autumn. According to the company, each new offering will have a power output capacity six percent higher than its predecessors despite the surface areas remaining unchanged. The greater power output is the result of a change in design. Whereas the solar cells in the lines being replaced have rounded corners, those in the new modules are almost square. The unoccupied spaces between the cells are smaller so that the end-user obtains more power for the area covered. The new modules...

SHIZUOKA -- A collector of dud shells who was seriously hurt when a number of his cherished possessions exploded earlier this month has died, police said Wednesday. Noritaka Katsumata, 43, had been hospitalized since last Saturday after both his legs were broken in the accident. He died of massive organ failure Tuesday night. The explosion occurred inside a hut belonging to the Katsumata family in Gotenba, Shizuoka Prefecture, seriously injuring the 43-year-old truck driver. Investigators recovered 212 shells and 242 spent rifle bullets from the wrecked hut. Seventy-three of the shells were duds but still contained live explosives. It is...