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January 15th, 2007:

The Guardian: City fears BP will be seen as ‘dead money’ until new king is crowned

· Analysts give warning on eve of US safety report
· Company braced for strong criticism

Terry Macalister
Tuesday January 16, 2007

The management vacuum left by the unexpected announcement that Lord Browne will leave his chief executive post this summer – 17 months earlier than planned – could mean that investors will regard BP as “dead money”.

City analysts gave the warning yesterday over Britain’s biggest company on the eve of what will be a highly damaging report into safety procedures at its Texas City refinery. An explosion killed 15 workers there in 2005. 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.

Financial Times: Seasoned greetings

By Maggie Urry
Published: January 16 2007

A late Christmas card – late even by the Russian calendar – turns up from the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, which runs the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project.

Christmas must have been a pretty glum affair there, with Vladimir Putin playing the Grinch role just before the holidays, strong-arming Shell and the two Japanese shareholders out of half their holdings.

Illegal logging was one of the suspiciously convenient charges levelled against the project as the Kremlin was making its move, so it was plucky of the company to use a picture of a snow-covered pine on its card. But surely the tree should have been felled and lying on its side. 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 Wall Street Journal: Beijing’s Gas Ties to Iran Grow

CNPC Is Latest Firm
To Arrange LNG Deal;
U.S. Voices Concerns
By DAVID WINNING
January 15, 2007

BEIJING — China is set to deepen its involvement in Iran’s energy sector through a $3.6 billion liquefied natural-gas project led by its biggest oil company, ignoring pressure from the U.S., which opposes all business dealings with the Middle Eastern country.

China National Petroleum Corp., or CNPC, is finalizing a memorandum of understanding with Iran’s oil ministry to invest the sum in developing Iran’s South Pars natural-gas field, a Chinese official familiar with the plans said Friday. 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 Wall Street Journal: Cheaper Oil May Jolt Industries, Economies

EXTRACT: Major oil companies also are likely to see shrinking earnings from their oil-production operations, the largest source of income for integrated oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Chevron Corp. and others.

THE ARTICLE

Shift Could Help Lift
Auto, Airline Profits,
Dent Producers’ Clout
By MARK WHITEHOUSE, ANN DAVIS and BHUSHAN BAHREE
January 15, 2007

Oil prices fell sharply last week and are hovering near the lowest levels since mid-2005, raising the prospect of significant changes in the outlook for corporate profits, consumer spending and the global economy. 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 Wall Street Journal: Report Broadens Criticism Of BP Safety Practices

Baker panel outlines
‘systemic’ problems
with U.S. refineries
By CHIP CUMMINS
January 15, 2007

LONDON — BP PLC board members and executives face a report this week from former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III that will significantly broaden criticism of safety and management practices at the British oil giant and heighten pressure on board members and management to make deep changes as it transitions to its first new chief executive in more than decade.

BP and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, an American investigative agency with no regulatory role, have issued a series of reports on poor management, maintenance and safety practices at BP’s Texas City, Texas, refinery, the site of an explosion in March 2005 that killed 15. The Chemical Safety Board, for instance, blamed cost cutting at the company for contributing to the accident, a finding BP had vigorously denied. Investigators, including the Justice Department, are continuing to probe that accident. 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 Wall Street Journal: CORN SCRAMBLE

15 January 2007

Fears are growing that the growing ethanol boom might severely limit the availability of corn, which is not only a staple food ingredient in many countries but is also widely used as feed in the poultry and livestock sectors. Not only could poorer consumers be prices out of the market, the move could increase food prices generally.

In Mexico, where some lawmakers are calling for price controls, incoming Economy Secretary Eduardo Sojo, who sees increased diversion of U.S. corn toward ethanol production and away from Mexico’s consumer market as a major factor in higher prices, wants to help farmers increase production. Mexico’s Federal Competition Commission is looking into allegations that major companies were price gouging and reaching deals that were contributing to the shortage of corn. 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 Wall Street Journal: PRESSURING IRAN

ASIALINKS DAILY VIEW
By MICHAEL CONNOLLY
January 15, 2007

Further ignoring pressure from the U.S. after Beijing warned Washington not to meddle in its trade relations with Iran, China’s biggest oil company is set to deepen its involvement in Iran’s energy sector through a $3.6 billion liquefied natural-gas project. National Petroleum Corp. is finalizing a memorandum of understanding with Iran’s oil ministry to invest the sum in developing Iran’s South Pars natural-gas field. 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 Wall Street Journal: Lukoil’s Net Rose 10% in Quarter On Price of Crude

By GEOFFREY T. SMITH
January 15, 2007

OAO Lukoil Holdings, Russia’s largest oil producer by volume, said its net profit rose 10% in the third quarter to $2.43 billion because of higher average crude-oil prices.

The company said higher taxes had somewhat offset the higher oil price. The average price for Lukoil’s Urals blend of crude in the period was 15% higher than a year earlier.

Deputy Chief Executive Leonid Fedun also said that Lukoil isn’t in talks with Royal Dutch Shell PLC about the U.K. oil company’s French refinery assets. Shell has said it is considering selling its French refining assets as part of an “ongoing strategic review” to streamline and concentrate its downstream assets. 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.

Globe & Mail (Canada): Global dealers bolstering Calgary ranks

BOYD ERMAN AND ANDREW WILLIS
Update

The hottest commodity in Calgary these days isn’t oil, but investment bankers who know the oil business.

In a trend that points to foreign interest in Canadian energy companies, the biggest global investment banks are all bulking up in the capital of the oil patch to prepare for an expected wave of cross-border deals.

Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse Group, Lehman Brothers Inc. and Lazard Ltd. are among the firms either out headhunting, or considering whether to add bankers in Calgary. Citigroup’s investment-banking arm already has an office there, and Lehman Brothers is just opening one. For Credit Suisse and Lazard, two firms that specialize in advising on takeovers, Calgary will be a new outpost. 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.