July 13th, 2007:

EXTRACT: My latest thought, which smacks of desperation, is to buy into one of the oil giants, like Royal Dutch Shell. If the IEA is right, and the oil market is going to remain tight for the next five years and perhaps longer, then, even after its strong rally, Shell at a price of only 11 times forecast earnings per share is not bad value at all.

THE ARTICLE

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 14/07/2007

‘Climate change’ fails to register, says James Bartholomew

This is a curious time in the stock market. The background for shares keeps getting worse, yet the market continues a fairly steady rise. It is reminiscent of those old cartoons in which a character runs off the edge of a mountain and keeps on running on thin air until, eventually, he looks down and realises there is nothing supporting him. Only then does he fall. read more

Latest on oil prices
Angela Balakrishnan
Friday July 13, 2007

The price of oil jumped to an 11-month high yesterday, moving even closer to record levels hit last summer as fears mounted over shortages in supply.

Speculation in the world’s most actively traded commodity, rapidly rising demand and reports that production would slow over the next five years pushed Brent crude up to $77.07 briefly during early-afternoon trading, within $2 of the all-time high of $78.65 set last August.

Investors said hedge funds and pension funds were key drivers behind the latest rally. “This rally is very much fund driven,” said Graham Sharp, director at Trafigura, a commodities trading group. “The entry of long-only hedge funds into the market is a major factor this time around. We wouldn’t rule out Brent hitting $80 this summer.” read more

By Conrad de Aenlle
Friday, July 13, 2007

As the manager of a fund called Gartmore Cautious Managed, Christopher Burvill would never risk the entire portfolio on a hot horse running at Newmarket. But even in the context of the fund’s safety-first mandate – it aims to keep no more than 60 percent of its assets in British equities and the rest in bonds and cash – he has become extremely wary of the stock market.

After long being overweight in stocks, Burvill became concerned about valuations and sold enough of his holdings last month to move his allocation to just under 50 percent. Attracted by yields approaching 6 percent, he has raised the bond portion of the portfolio to 43 percent, the highest in the fund’s four-year-plus history. read more

EXTRACT: Bloomberg News acquired and reported on some of Penn’s in-house messages at Burson-Marsteller, which suggest that Penn, despite his denials, is also actively working with Royal Dutch Shell, an oil company. While Clinton has had little good to say about oil and the industry’s “windfall profits,” many of her “clean-energy” proposals would profit Penn’s client. For at least a decade, Shell has been investing hundreds of millions of dollars in “renewable fuels” such as solar energy and biomass, and the company supported the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. Through investments in currently uneconomical technologies, Shell could reap big profits if government action mandates or subsidizes these technologies. Sure enough, Hillary has sponsored or co-sponsored many bills pushing subsidies for renewable fuels such as those owned by Shell. read more

MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russian authorities Thursday approved a raise in the 2007 cost estimate for Kharyaga oil field being developed by French oil major Total SA by 12% to $164 million, the Industry and Energy Ministry said.

The approval marks the latest success for Total, which was named earlier in the day as the chosen partner of state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom to develop the huge Arctic Shtokman project in the Barents Sea.

A joint committee of the Finance, Industry and Energy, and Natural Resource Ministries, as well as the administration of the Nenets Autonomous Area where the oil field is located, authorized additional spending on roads, drilling design, and preparation of facilities, following a request from the project operator, Total’s Russian arm. read more

Friday, July 13, 2007

Gardai say a road that had been blocked by protestors at the site of the proposed Shell gas refinery in Co Mayo is now reopened.

The Shell to Sea group claimed earlier that two protestors chained themselves to a parked vehicle, blocking access to the site.

Protests have been taking place for more than five years against the location of the Shell refinery in Bellanaboy.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/ireland/article2766297.ece

13/07/2007  13:01

Shell to Sea campaigners have set up a blockade and halted traffic on the road between Belmullet and Ballycastle in Co Mayo.

Two men have chained themselves to a van on the road leading to the proposed gas refinery site at Bellanaboy.

Trucks working on the site have been unable to gain access to it since shortly after 9am. The fire brigade from Bellmullet has been called to try and untie the men.

The campaigners want Shell to refine gas from the Corrib gas field at sea rather than at Bellanaboy. read more

13 Jul 2007 

At 07:00 BST (08:00 CEST and 02:00 EDT) on Thursday July 26, 2007 Royal Dutch Shell plc will release its second quarter 2007 unaudited results and its second quarter 2007 interim dividend announcement. All related materials will be posted on http://www.shell.com/investor on July 26, 2007. 

Live audio webcasts for media and analysts will be hosted Thursday 26 July 2007.

As of next week it will be possible to register for the webcasts listed below.

• Media audio webcast from The Hague
A live audio webcast of the 2nd quarter results teleconference will be available at 08.15 BST (09.15 CEST / 03.15 EDT) on Thursday July 26, 2007. read more

KATHARINE HOURELD
IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

IN NIGERIA’S oil-rich south, foreign workers are known as “white gold” among the gangs who kidnap them for ransom.

“Ah, the whites are coming,” chuckled one young gang member as a heavily-guarded oil company convoy sped throughPort Harcourt, sirens blaring. “It’s like ice cream vans in your country.”

Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil, or “black gold”. But the country is in the grip of a kidnapping epidemic, with more than 150 foreigners seized so far this year, including many Britons and a woman and child – nearly double the total for all of last year. read more

Tony Gray
Published: Jul 13, 2007

QATAR Liquefied Gas (4) has officially become the long-term charterer of eight of the largest liquefied natural gas carriers, following the project’s incorporation earlier this week.

The time charters were transferred to Qatargas 4 by Qatar Petroleum, the majority partner in the project.

The charters were originally signed in February with the vessels’ owner Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat).

The eight vessels are split equally between the Q-Flex (about 215,000 cu m) and Q-Max (266,000 cu m) designs,and are being built by South Korea’sSamsung Heavy Industries andDaewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. read more

By Peggy Hollinger
Published: July 13 2007 03:00 | Last updated: July 13 2007 03:00

Gazprom’s decision to choose Total as its first foreign partner in the development of the Shtokman field is a vindication of the French company’s strategy of being a “good partner” in the countries where itoperates.

Total has only minimal experience in Russia, and no experience at all in the Arctic conditions that make Shtokman so challenging, yet it has been allowed to take a 25 per cent stake in exploiting the world’s second-biggest gas field: a hugely important asset. read more

By ANDREW E. KRAMER
Published: July 13, 2007

MOSCOW, July 12 — The French oil company Total has agreed to form a consortium with Gazprom to develop one of the world’s largest natural gas deposits offshore in the Arctic, an indication that major oil companies are willing to continue working in Russia despite the risk that their property will be nationalized.

Total’s deal is a long-sought prize for foreign companies in Russia as opportunities slow for energy investments worldwide. The field holds enough gas to meet all European demand for seven years. The deal comes after two similar, large investments in Russia were partially nationalized in the last six months. read more

Last Updated: 1:37am BST 13/07/2007

A round-up of headlines from across the financial sectors, provided by Bloomberg News.

ENERGY

• Royal Dutch Shell’s institutional investors that expect to share in a $353m settlement between the company and stockholders in Europe and other non-US nations have grown to 81 from about 50 when the deal was announced April 11.

The above is an extract: for the complete article go to..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/07/13/cxbloom113.xml read more

Gazprom-Venture Stake
Confers No Title to Gas;
Signal Sent to Sarkozy?
By GUY CHAZAN in London and DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS in Paris
July 13, 2007; Page A6

French petroleum company Total SA prevailed in a long-running effort to participate in the development of Russia’s vast Shtokman natural-gas field, one of the world’s last great untapped energy prizes.

But the tough conditions imposed by Russian gas monopoly OAO Gazprom underscore the huge difficulties major Western oil and gas companies face in trying to acquire ownership of fresh reserves, particularly in that energy-rich nation. read more

By SPENCER SWARTZ
July 13, 2007

COTONOU, Benin — Big foreign oil companies are finding it harder to make money in Africa because of the region’s often unstable politics, output restrictions and moves by some governments to rewrite contracts.

Africa remains one of the last big regions open to foreign oil exploration — and companies of all stripes are still benefiting from record energy prices. But fresh obstacles threaten to crimp future production in a region that is crucial to global energy supplies. read more

PRIVATE PROPERTIES 
By CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS
July 13, 2007; Page W8 

Shell Oil Co.’s president, John Hofmeister, is asking $4 million for his farm in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County.

Mr. Hofmeister, 59, and his wife, Karen Otazo, an author of books on management, bought the land in three parts between 1996 and 1999, paying a total of $1.47 million. It’s in Willow Street, Pa., about 70 miles west of Philadelphia. They rewired the main structures, added air conditioning and heating and restored all the exterior stonework. The 118-acre property includes a roughly 4,100-square-foot, 19th-century brick Victorian home, an early 19th-century stone farmhouse and a mid-19th century grist mill. The property, surrounded by Amish and Mennonite farmland, is next to a covered bridge. read more

By James Butty
Washington, D.C.
13 July 2007
 
The National Union of Ogoni Students, NUOS International USA has been commenting on the continuing crisis in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region.  At the conclusion of its annual conference held in Kansas City, Missouri, NUOS International USA said it is opposed to what it called the criminal negligence of the Niger Delta by successive Nigerian governments.

KorneBari Nwike is president of NUOS International USA.  He told VOA his organization is demanding an immediate end to the Niger Delta conflict. read more