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June 3rd, 2004:

Senator Wyden Maintains Hold On FTC Nominee Over Gas Prices

The Wall Street Journal: Senator Wyden Maintains Hold On FTC Nominee Over Gas Prices

By MARK WIGFIELD

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

June 3, 2004

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said Wednesday he would continue to block the Bush administration’s nominee for chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission after she failed to convince him that she would aggressively police gasoline prices.

Wyden’s questioning of Republican nominee Deborah Majoras dominated the confirmation hearing as he pushed her to change direction of an agency he said has failed to protect consumers from what he called anticompetitive practices in the gasoline industry. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Oil majors reining in exploration says Expro

Daily Telegraph: Oil majors reining in exploration says Expro

 

By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 03/06/2004)

 

Expro International, the oil services group, yesterday dived into the red and appeared to criticise big oil companies for using profits from high prices to give more cash to shareholders rather than investing in exploration. 

 

The comments come weeks after BP and Shell announced plans for more share buybacks to take advantage of the high value of crude oil, down $2.22 at $36.86 a barrel last night.

 

Expro posted a £4.5m pre-tax loss in the 12 months to the end of March, compared with a profit of £34.4m last time, on turnover down 7pc to £208.4m. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell vows to stay on in Australia

Herald Sun News Au: Shell vows to stay on

 

Mathew Charles

03 June 2004

 

SHELL Australia has pledged to keep its Australian refineries open as part of the industry-wide move to develop cleaner fuels by 2006 amid cheaper Asian imports.

 

Chairman Tim Warren said yesterday Shell would continue to make multi-million dollar investments into its two refineries, in Geelong and Clyde, New South Wales, to meet the new fuel standards by the 2006 deadline.

He said the Geelong refinery would start producing new fuels late this year, putting it well ahead of schedule. But he warned other companies were likely to close their doors as ExxonMobil did at its Port Stanvac plant last year. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

East Timor Dispute Could Hurt Sunrise Gas Plan

The Wall Street Journal: East Timor Dispute Could Hurt Sunrise Gas Plan

 

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

June 2, 2004 7:01 p.m.

By Eric Johnston

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Posted 3 June 04

 

MELBOURNE — A long-running territorial dispute between Australia and East Timor over the huge Sunrise gas fields is unsettling customers and threatens to delay the multibillion dollar project.

 

While the Sunrise partners haven’t yet agreed on development options for the lucrative gas fields, the Australian arm of Royal Dutch/Shell (RD) said the border uncertainty is hurting marketing efforts. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Transport doesn’t come much greener than that

Daily Telegraph: Transport doesn’t come much greener than that

At the Hay Festival last weekend Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, the Anglo American chairman and former Shell boss, appeared on a debating panel. The discussion was entitled “Is this the End of the Oil Age?” and all the guests were eager to display their green credentials to the assembled tree-huggers. One questioner asked each panellist how they had travelled to the festival and Moody-Stuart explained he’d come in his car.

“It’s a Toyota,” he said, before adding: “And it’s powered by a hydrogen cell.” The audience seemed impressed until Moody-Stuart’s fellow panellist, one of those dreary Greenpeace representatives, blew him out of the water. He’d arrived by canoe. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Guardian: Q&A: Oil

The Guardian: Q&A: Oil

 

Mark Tran looks at the reasons behind the surge in oil prices and their possible impact on the world economy

 

Wednesday June 2, 2004

Posted 3 June 04

 

How much does a barrel of oil cost?

 

US light crude touched a fresh 21-year high of over $42 (£22.7) in New York today before dropping back a few cents. That means oil prices have gone up by about a quarter since the start of the year and are now well over the $22-$28 target range set by the Opec oil cartel.

 

Why have prices gone up?

 

The main factor has been strong economic growth in the US and China. With a red-hot economy, China’s oil demand looks set to rise about 20% in the first half of this year on top of 11% growth last year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). At the same time, higher growth in the US economy, which devours 25% of all world oil, is driving competition between Asia and the US for supplies. The rate of demand growth has caught forecasters by surprise, with the lack of refining capacity in the US also putting pressure on prices. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell, Texaco pump again as bad gas replaced

Palm Beach Post: Shell, Texaco pump again as bad gas replaced

 

By Paul Owers, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, June 3, 2004

 

The last of the 420 Shell and Texaco gas stations in South Florida that sold sulfur-laden fuel reopened Wednesday.

 

All gas supplied by Motiva Enterprises for sale at Shell and Texaco stations in this area has been tested and approved. The contaminated gas also was sold in the New Orleans and Tampa regions.

 

“Everything is back to normal in all three areas,” Shell spokesman Johan Zaayman said.

 

About 9,000 consumers in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana filed claims as of Tuesday, saying that fuel from Shell or Texaco damaged their gas gauges. Zaayman said he could not confirm how many more claims were filed Wednesday. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.