November 1st, 2006:

01.11.2006, 21.49 
 
MOSCOW, November 1 (Itar-Tass) — Some 16.7 billion U.S. dollars worth of production sharing agreements have been signed in Russia over years, including 56 percent by Russian enterprises, Deputy Industry and Energy Minister Andrei Dementyev told the State Duma on Wednesday.

In his words, Russia’s total income from the Sakhalin-1 project will be 52.2 billion U.S. dollars under a pessimistic scenario. “This sum is based on the price of 35 U.S. dollars per barrel of oil, up to 2054,” he said. read more

Shell Gas offices near Chesterfield were occupied today, while a simultaneous noise demo outside woke up Shell staff to our feelings about the multinational’s abuse of the Rossport people and their environment.

Campaigners had to use sophisticated techniques and technology to overcome the electronic door security and gain access to the building. So they found an old cardboard box and wrote the address of the office on it with felt tip. They then, cunningly, rang the doorbell and said they had a delivery, at which point the door was opened and the protesters walked in. read more

Energy company will go ahead despite rising costs
By IAN WILSON,

Despite rapidly escalating costs at the oilsands, Shell Canada announced today it’s going ahead with the first phase of expansion at its Athabasca project.

“The heated market has upped the stakes on oilsands investments,” said Shell Canada president and CEO Clive Mather. “However, our analysis is that increasing world demand for energy will encourage the development of unconventional resources now and into the future.” read more

Published: Wednesday, 1 November, 2006, 08:45 AM Doha Time
 
DUBAI/TEHRAN: Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest oil company, may pipe gas into the United Arab Emirates from Iran as the US presses the international community to enforce sanctions to halt Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Shell and RAK Petroleum are “looking at the whole supply dynamics of the UAE in the context of supply opportunities in Iran,’’ Philip Turberville, chief executive officer of the UAE-based energy company, said in a phone interview yesterday. read more

Created: 01.11.2006 12:19 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 13:36 MSK,

Royal Dutch/Shell and its partners in the $22 billion Sakhalin-2 oil and gas venture may seek to agree with Russia on a new accord to clear the way for state-run gas monopoly Gazprom to take a stake in the project.

Shell plans to offer to sign a supplementary deal to the existing production sharing agreement that was signed in 1994 and that now governs the operation of Sakhalin-2 project. This information appeared on Tuesday, Oct. 31, of the official website of Russia’s Audit Chamber. The text cited U.K. Ambassador to Russia Anthony Brenton on this matter. The chamber said that its chairman Sergei Stepashin met with Brenton and discussed the issue of Sakhalin-2 on Monday, Oct. 30. read more

• Royal Dutch Shell may pipe gas into the United Arab Emirates from Iran as the US presses the international community to enforce sanctions to halt Tehran’s nuclear program.

• North Sea divers who help establish and maintain oil and gas platforms yesterday voted to strike after rejecting a pay offer.

• BP’s Russian unit plans to spend at least $1.7bn cleaning up polluted land and replacing pipelines amid a crackdown by President Vladimir Putin’s government.

• E.ON, Germany’s biggest utility, got approval from the British Government to build a £350m power plant fuelled by natural gas. read more

EXTRACT: While most western investors remain upbeat about prospects for that country under the dynamic but authoritarian leadership of the premier, Vladimir Putin, there are worries about state wrangles with foreign investors such as Shell.

THE ARTICLE

· Controversy over Rosneft fails to deter investors
· Many in City are worried by the rush to float

Terry Macalister
Wednesday November 1, 2006

Russian companies are looking to raise £2.5bn on the London Stock Exchange by the end of this year, delighting some investors but renewing fears that the reputation of the City could be hit by a scandal. read more

EXTRACT: The float of UES subsidiaries is also being overshadowed by reports that state-controlled Russian energy giant Gazprom — the company which is behind putative land grabs against oil giant Royal Dutch Shell — could bid to buy up all the shares on offer.

By: Robert Lea, Evening Standard – London: KRTBN
Published: Oct 31, 2006

The London flotation of the Russian state’s power company, Unified Energy Systems, has been dealt a blow by President Vladimir Putin.

UES executives, who were in London last week roadshowing a share sale to fund massive investment in the giant group’s ageing power stations, were criticised by Putin, who said the company does not have a clear strategy. read more

The Associated Press
Wednesday 1 November 2006

Russia’s natural resources minister said Wednesday that a final decision on whether to allow a Shell-led consortium to continue working at an oil and liquefied natural gas project on the Far Eastern island of Sakhalin would be made in late November.

Last month, Yuri Trutnev threatened to revoke a key permit that would effectively halt work at the US$22 billion (€17.3 billion) project over environmental concerns.

“A decision will be taken when the comprehensive check is completed. I think this will be the third week of November,” he said. read more

By SHAI OSTER
November 1, 2006; Page A8

BEIJING — China has re-emerged as a buyer of natural gas, signing a string of deals and setting purchasing frameworks that signal a willingness to accept higher prices.

While some question how much of a turning point these deals represent, the emergence of China as a rising importer of liquefied natural gas will likely encourage more investment in the sector. Uncertainty about the size of the Asian LNG market has contributed to a slow pace of development for gas-export projects across Asia and in the Middle East. As China — and to a lesser extent India — demonstrates a willingness to pay rising prices to ensure gas supplies, producers are likely to push ahead. Still, most industry observers expect the Asian LNG market to remain tight in coming years, keeping prices high. read more

EXTRACT: In September, Russia intervened in the Sakhalin-2 oil-and-gas project led by Royal Dutch Shell PLC that also involved Mitsubishi and Mitsui. The government has accused Shell of violating environmental standards and threatened to pull its permits.

THE ARTICLE

By ARRAN SCOTT
November 1, 2006

TOKYO — Japanese trading companies Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. yesterday posted sharp increases in first-half net profit and forecast stronger results amid booming commodities prices.

Mitsubishi, Japan’s biggest trading company by revenue, posted a group net profit of 234.83 billion yen ($2 billion) for the six months ended Sept. 30, up 32% from 178.31 billion yen in the year-earlier period, on strong earnings from metals trading and its coal business in Australia. Group revenue was up 9.1% to 9.836 trillion yen. read more

November 1, 2006

Our favorite headline last week had to be “Big Worries for Big Oil,” reporting that oil company profits are under pressure as oil prices decline.

Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and other members of the vast energy conspiracy may have a hard time keeping their run of profit growth going now that oil prices have fallen to $60 or so a barrel from upwards of $80.

Imagine that: Oil companies are subject to market forces. They may make big profits when the price of oil rises, but those profits invariably fall back down to Earth when oil prices decline. This is also what happened in the 1990s, as oil crashed below $20 a barrel after the heights reached in the 1970s. The companies and their shareholders swallowed those declines, as they should have. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
October 31, 2006 5:14 p.m.

Crude-oil futures stabilized after tumbling to $57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, thanks in part to word of a natural-gas pipeline leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s Tuesday’s roundup of oil and energy news:

* * *
•REFINERY EQUIPMENT CALLED DEADLY: Federal investigators examining the deadly March 2005 explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery called on the U.S. oil industry to eliminate the type of equipment that caused the explosion. The equipment problems at Texas City weren’t unique to the refinery, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said, and require further attention from federal regulators and the industry. read more

13:34 | 01/ 11/ 2006

MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) – Sakhalin Energy, the Shell-controlled operator of the Sakhalin II oil and gas project in Russia’s Far East, has one more week to rectify environmental violations, Russia’s natural resources minister said Wednesday.

The multibillion-dollar Sakhalin II project has been accused of inflicting large-scale ecological damage on Sakhalin, including illegal deforestation, the dumping of toxic waste, and soil erosion.

Yury Trutnev said Sakhalin Energy has so far failed to submit its plans on this issue to the ministry. read more