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December 28th, 2007:

The Times: Gazprom takes aim at Exxon in battle against foreign ownership

December 28, 2007
Carl Mortished, World Business Editor

Gazprom has renewed its campaign against foreign ownership of Russian gas resources with an attack on ExxonMobil’s Sakhalin-1 project in Eastern Siberia, the last remaining Russian gas venture under foreign control.

ExxonMobil’s plan to sell gas to China was criticised heavily by Alexander Ananenkov, Gazprom’s deputy chairman. He described ExxonMobil’s efforts to export gas from Sakhalin as “attempts to sidestep Russian gas consumers, depriving them of gas which belongs to them by right”. 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.

Daily Telegraph: Shell delays decision on Iran project again

By Russell Hotten, Industry Editor
Last Updated: 10:23pm GMT 28/12/2007

Royal Dutch Shell has again delayed a decision on whether to press ahead with controversial investments in Iran, as Europe’s largest oil and gas company weighs up the increasing costs of the project and political opposition in the United States.

The Anglo-Dutch giant will not now decide on a $10bn (£4.9bn) project to exploit part of Iran’s vast South Pars gas field for at least a year. Shell risks seeing rivals also knocking on Teheran’s door being given first refusal on some of the many lucrative contracts instead. 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 Daily Journal (Illinois): Editorial: Lessons from Shell

12/28/2007, 10:52 am

News Note: Shell Oil settles pipeline spill case from 1988 for $46 million. Twenty million will go to build new water lines in Limestone Township. Another $26 million will compensate 1,500 residents.

If you follow the timeline, it goes like this. It took Shell six years to begin providing pure water for residents. It took nine years for the state and the county to sue Shell. It took 14 years for the spill to reach Wiley Creek.

One resident remembers buying his Limestone Township home four years after the break, and received no notice at all that 100,000 gallons of gasoline had seeped into the water system. 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 Moscow Times: Gazprom Seen in Talks on ExxonMobil’s Sakhalin-1

Friday, December 28, 2007. Issue 3815. Page 5.
Combined Reports

Gazprom this year held talks to join ExxonMobil’s Sakhalin-1 oil-and-gas project, an unidentified person close to the gas giant said.

Gazprom, which took control of Shell’s Sakhalin-2 project last year, now wants a stake in Exxon’s venture, Vedomosti reported Thursday. Gazprom held talks with both Exxon and its partner in Sakhalin-1, state-controlled Rosneft, Vedomosti said.

Exxon has only held negotiations with Gazprom regarding sales of gas from Sakahlin-1, Exxon spokeswoman Dilyara Sydykova told the newspaper. Sydykova and other company spokespeople were unavailable to comment. 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: Kazakhstan, Oil Firms May Be Near Deal on Kashagan Field

GABRIEL KAHN
December 28, 2007 2:27 p.m.

ROME—The government of Kazakhstan has signaled what could be a breakthrough in its long-running standoff with foreign oil companies developing the massive Kashagan oil field in the northern Caspian Sea.

In a Dec. 26 letter viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Kazakh President Narsultan Nazarbayev, has called the heads of the six foreign oil firms to Astana, the Kazakh capital, for a meeting on Jan 11 with himself and the country’s prime minister.

The presence of Mr. Nazarbayev, who holds a tight grip on power in the oil-rich country and has rarely been involved in talks over the oil field, is a signal that the two sides could be close to a deal. 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: Alaskan oil tax rise sparks BP review

By Dino Mahtani
Published: December 28 2007 02:00 | Last updated: December 28 2007 02:00

BP, Europe’s second-largest oil company, will review its investment plans in the US state of Alaska following legislation to increase taxes on oil producers there.

The move by the state government is a blow to all oil companies doing business in one of the most important oil provinces in the US, the world’s third-largest oil producer.

But it is also another piece of bad news for BP which is still under investigation by state officials for last year’s oil spill in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, for which the company has already paid $20m in fines. 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.

daily-journal.com (Illinois): Pipeline spill settlement claim forms mailed

12/27/2007, 3:01 pm

By Jon Krenek
[email protected]
815-937-3370

If you are one of 1,500 Limestone Township property owners, check the mail for an envelope marked with the word “important” in red ink. It may look like junk mail, but it’s not.

Forms were mailed this week, as well as instructions, for claiming the portion of the $26 million Shell Oil agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit over the 1988 gasoline pipeline spill.

“People will have to read them, get receipts for their expenditures and send them to the administrator,” said Joseph Yurgine, the attorney who represented residents in the class action lawsuit against Shell Oil. “In my view, every penny of that settlement should end up in the pockets of Limestone claimants.” 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: Italy’s Eni Raises Its U.S. Profile

Oil Firm’s Investment Aims at Stability
To Offset Less-Reliable Projects
By JOHN M. BIERS
December 28, 2007; Page A8

Italian oil titan Eni SpA, which has benefited from its ability to invest and expand in countries off-limits to American rivals, this year sharply raised its exposure on the home turf of Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp.

Eni’s shift toward greater investment in the U.S. reflects a strategic effort to diversify a production portfolio that has relied disproportionately on countries such as Iran and Nigeria, where political instability means a greater chance of a production disruption. 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.