February 21st, 2008:

By CAROL CHRISTIAN
Today staff
Thursday February 21, 2008

An exclusive deal first inked between Fort McKay First Nation and Shell Canada in 2006 to develop an oilsands operation on treaty lands has expired.

But that doesn’t mean the Fort McKay band is out of the oilsands business. In fact, it still wants to develop the estimated 8,300 acres of treaty land, and welcomes potential partners to the table for talks, even Shell.

Jeff Winsor, Fort McKay First Nation spokesman, said this morning when the two groups entered into the exclusive agreement, a finite timeline was set for the end of the 2007 calendar year “when we wanted to see something happening.” That deadline came and went with no movement forward on the project. read more

February 22, 2008
Christine Seib

Marcel Ospel, who was criticised for overseeing UBS’s first annual loss, of SwFr4.4 billion (£2.06 billion), has been nominated by the bank for reelection as its chairman at its annual meeting on April 23.

However, under proposed new rules, directors are to be reelected annually instead of for three years. Mr Ospel said that it was his idea to have the new, more limited tenure for board members.

The move comes as it emerged that headhunters used by UBS have approached some of London’s top bankers to become executive vice-chairman as a launch pad to the chairmanship. read more

Malcolm Wicks, holder of the Government’s energy brief, believes that the key to tackling climate change will be the active citizen

February 22, 2008
Robin Pagnamenta, Energy and Environment Editor

The interview has not yet begun, but Malcolm Wicks has already left the building. Clutching his pager, the Energy Minister is scuttling through the glass doors of his Westminster office to a Commons vote on Northern Rock. “Just ten minutes!” he pleads as he leaps into the ministerial Prius for the 400-yard dash to the House. read more

By Ian Talley
Last update: 8:08 a.m. EST Feb. 21, 2008

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. regulators are on the verge of modernizing oil and gas reserve accounting rules that could revalue much of the petroleum sector.

The Securities Exchange Commission finished posting public comments on Wednesday, which overwhelmingly support the agency’s proposed rules revisions that were based on recommendations made by the petroleum industry.

If the SEC moves ahead with its proposals, as industry insiders predict, it would the first time in several decades the commission has updated its reserve accounting rules. Modernized rules would create consistent valuation standards for unconventional resources such as tar sands and hard-to-produce natural gas. read more

EXTRACT: When Royal Dutch Shell admitted schmearing millions of dollars to corrupt Nigerian oil officials for greasing the bureaucracy, “usual and customary business practices” were called what they were: bribery.

Vol. 14, No. 3,364 – The American Reporter – February 21, 2008

By Mark Scheinbaum
American Reporter Correspondent
Boca Raton, Fla.

BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 26, 2006 — The young, fabulously rich, brilliant minds of Google need to learn the toughest thing in business: when to fire a client. read more

By Simon Webb and Amie Ferris-Rotman ReutersPublished: February 21, 2008

DUBAI: As the United States warns the world away from business with Tehran, Moscow is deepening its ties to Iran’s energy sector, underscoring Russia’s differences with Washington over Iranian nuclear plans and Kosovo’s independence.

While the timing of Moscow’s announcement on Tuesday may have been political, the deal for Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled energy giant, to take on big new Iranian oil and gas projects dovetails with Gazprom’s strategic ambitions, analysts said. read more

Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:22pm GMT
By Mark Trevelyan

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The world faces a doubling of energy demand by 2050 but renewable sources are still too expensive and will take decades to make a big impact, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer said on Thursday.

In a speech on “Shell scenarios for the 21st century,” van der Veer said one of the three hard truths facing the world was a big rise in demand as the global population rose from around six billion to nine billion by mid-century. read more

Thursday, February 21, 2008
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 323
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Royal Dutch Shell announces timing for Strategy presentation and
Q1 2008 results
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Royal Dutch Shell has announced that the 2008 Strategy presentation for analysts and shareholders will take place on Monday, 17 March, 2008 at 14.00 GMT (15.00 CET and 09.00 EST). This event will be live and will be webcast. read more

By John Donovan

Has anyone else reached the conclusion that Shell now has an active permanent presence on this website via Live Chat?

This would be no surprise given the revelations in a Shell internal document we obtained from Shell after making an application under the Data Protection Act.

Shell set up a team in March 2007 to combat our activities with the specific objective to separate us from Bill Campbell, the retired Group Auditor of Shell International.

http://royaldutchshellgroup.com/2007/07/14/shellnewnet-shell-and-the-dreaded-donovans/ read more

February 21, 2008
Christine Seib

Marcel Ospel, criticised for overseeing UBS’s first ever annual loss of SwFr4.4 billion (£2.06 billion), has been nominated by the bank for re-election as its chairman at its annual meeting on April 23.

But under proposed new rules each director will now have to be re-elected each year instead of every three years. Mr Ospel said it was his idea to have the new, more limited tenure for board members.

Switzerland’s largest bank also appointed the Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne, who is already a board member, as non-executive vice chairman. There has been speculation that Mr Marchionne could replace Mr Ospel as chairman. read more

Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:54am EST

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell hopes Iraq will pass an oil law this year and sees this and improved security as prerequisites for being able to work there, CEO Jeroen van der Veer said on Thursday.

“You need basically two green lights before you can work…first of all you have to know the rules of the game,” van der Veer told a security conference in Brussels.

He told an Iraqi questioner he hoped the oil law would be passed this year “but it doesn’t go very fast.” read more

Thursday, 21 February 2008, 02:27 GMT 
By Gary Duffy
BBC News, Sao Paulo 
 
Confidential information stolen from Brazil’s oil company Petrobras related to the recent discovery of a huge offshore gas field, police say.

The disappearance of four laptops and two hard drives is being treated as a case of industrial espionage.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has referred to the stolen material as a “state secret”.

The investigation into this mysterious and high-profile theft, which happened late last month, is continuing. read more

February 21, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. — Legislation that gas-station operators in Northern Virginia sought for their protection survived the state Senate but was all but killed this week by a House of Delegates subcommittee, according to a report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The legislation would have given gasoline dealers the right of first refusal to buy the filling station property they operate should the major oil company from which they lease the property decide to sell it.

One angry gasoline dealer charged that a House committee chairman intentionally torpedoed the measure by sending it to an unfriendly subcommittee, where he then cast the deciding vote against the bill, the newspaper reported. read more

By Christopher S. Rugaber
Associated Press
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared to side with power suppliers in a series of contract disputes with electric utilities stemming from the 2000-2001 California energy crisis.

Utilities in Washington state and Nevada are seeking to set aside long-term contracts they signed with power companies such as American Electric Power Co. Inc. and Allegheny Energy Inc. During the crisis, electricity prices soared 15-fold. read more

By Warren Giles

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) — UBS AG, under pressure to shake up management after a record loss, said it will reduce Chairman Marcel Ospel’s next term of office to one year from three and appoint a new head of the board’s audit committee.

Shareholders of Europe’s largest bank by assets will vote on re-electing Ospel and two other board members to the shortened terms at the bank’s annual general meeting on April 23, the Zurich-based bank said in an e-mailed statement today. read more

Web posted at: 2/21/2008 9:57:45
Source ::: REUTERS

LONDON • Recruiting and retaining more women by setting quotas could help big international oil and gas firms cope with a severe shortage of skilled staff in future, a senior executive at Royal Dutch Shell said.

“A wasted potential resource in the industry is women,” said Lynda Armstrong, vice president technical solutions at Shell International Exploration and Production.

Armstrong, speaking at a seminar during International Petroleum Week in London, said women were typically under-represented in the technical side of the oil business and one way to address this was to introduce official quotas. read more

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, acquired three exploration permits off Australia’s northwest coast as it seeks more natural gas resources for export into Asia.

Shell bought the permits, located in the south Exmouth Basin, from Octanex NL and Strata Resources NL, members of the Albers Group of Companies, Shell’s Australian unit said today in an e- mailed statement. It didn’t disclose terms.

The Hague-based company, a partner in Chevron Corp.’s Gorgon liquefied natural gas venture, is boosting exploration for gas in Australia to meet growing demand for the fuel in Asian countries including Japan, South Korea and China. The permits lie to the west and southwest of the producing Enfield and Stybarrow petroleum fields. read more

As Energy Prices Soar,
Petroleum Engineers Get Top Dollar
By RUSSELL GOLD
February 21, 2008; Page B1

With energy prices soaring and oil-company ranks graying, petroleum-engineering graduates have become a hot commodity.

As a result, students are swelling the ranks of college engineering programs, positioning themselves for energy-industry jobs with salaries that make tenure-track professors envious. Top-ranking petroleum-engineering graduates this year can expect starting pay of $80,000 to $110,000, plus signing bonuses and other perks. read more

By IAN TALLEY
February 21, 2008; Page A14

Regulators are on the verge of modernizing oil and natural gas reserve-accounting rules that could revalue much of the petroleum sector.

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday finished posting public comments, which overwhelmingly support the agency’s proposed rule revisions. The revisions were based on petroleum-industry recommendations.

If the SEC moves ahead with its proposals, it would be the first time in several decades the commission has updated its reserve-accounting rules. Modernized rules would create consistent valuation standards for unconventional resources such as tar sands and hard-to-produce natural gas. read more

By GORAN MIJUK
February 21, 2008 1:44 a.m.

ZURICH — UBS AG, Europe’s worst-hit bank by the subprime-mortgage crisis, Thursday proposed sweeping changes to the way its board operates and rejigged the responsibilities of several members.

UBS said the bank’s board members will have to stand for re-election every year in the future instead of every three years as required under Swiss rules.
 
Also, the bank said it has appointed Sergio Marchionne, chief executive at Italian car maker Fiat Spa, as non-executive vice chairman and Peter Voser, Chief Financial Officer at Royal Dutch Shell PLC, as chairman of the audit committee. Both managers have already been on the UBS board. read more

By ALEX WILSON
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA
February 21, 2008

MELBOURNE, Australia — Woodside Petroleum Ltd. signaled yesterday it is stepping up its drive to bring a series of planned liquefied-natural-gas developments on line.

The Australian oil-and-gas producer outlined an aggressive new timetable for delivery of projects aimed at taking advantage of strong demand in Asia.

Woodside also posted a full-year net profit of A$1.03 billion (US$946.3 million), down 28% from A$1.43 billion in 2006, but just ahead of market expectations of A$1.02 billion. It said the profit was hurt by a loss of A$233.1 million related to the sale of its underperforming assets in Mauritania. read more

February 20, 2008; Page B3D

More than 70% of energy companies expect their future operations to be hit by shortages of skilled personnel, according to a survey commissioned by the London-based Energy Institute.

The survey of senior energy-company management, individual employees and human-resource specialists conducted from 2005 to 2007 found about half of the international-energy work force will retire within 10 years, and internal training programs aren’t delivering enough personnel to replace them at the senior level. read more

Fed Cuts Outlook
For Economic Growth
Amid Credit Crunch
By GREG IP
February 21, 2008; Page A1

The U.S. faces an unwelcome combination of looming recession and persistent inflation that is reviving angst about stagflation, a condition not seen since the 1970s.

Inflation is rising. Yesterday the Labor Department said consumer prices in the U.S. jumped 0.4% in January and are up 4.3% over the past 12 months, near a 16-year high. Even stripping out sharply rising food and energy costs, prices rose 0.3% in January, driven by education, medical care, clothing and hotels. They are up by 2.5% from the previous year, a 10-month high.
 
The same day brought a reminder of possible recession. The Federal Reserve disclosed that its policy makers lowered their forecast for economic growth this year to between 1.3% and 2%, half a percentage point below the level of their previous forecast, in October. They blamed a further slowdown on the slump in housing prices, tighter lending standards and higher oil prices. They warned the economy’s performance could fall short of even that lowered outlook. read more

By Ben Bland
Last Updated: 1:05am GMT 21/02/2008

Petrel Resources, the Iraq-focused oil prospector, surged 28½ to 119p after the Iraqi oil ministry extended its technical co-operation agreement with Petrel for another year.

Investors are hoping the deal will help Petrel to clinch potentially lucrative exploration rights as and when Iraqi politicians finally pass the long-awaited oil law.

More than 70 international firms – believed to include Royal Dutch Shell and BP – have registered to compete for tenders to help develop Iraq’s oil reserves. read more

Reuters
Thursday February 21 2008
(Adds quotes, details, background)

ASTANA, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Kazakhstan will stop using production sharing agreements (PSAs) as a form of cooperation with companies seeking to tap its vast energy and metals reserves, Prime Minister Karim Masimov said on Thursday.

Kazakhstan has been toughening its energy policy over past years, alarming foreign investors who see its new-found assertiveness as part of the growing global trend of resource nationalism.

Masimov, addressing a meeting with tax officials, said the oil-rich Caspian nation will remain committed to contractual obligations stipulated in all existing PSAs with foreign and domestic companies. read more

More people are putting their money into ethical funds. But many might be shocked to learn how it’s being invested

Proinsias O’Mahoney
Thursday February 21 2008

What does the fast-food multi-national McDonald’s have in common with oil giant Shell and uranium miners Rio Tinto? No, not that they have long been the focus of angry protest by campaigners, but that their shares now feature in a wide array of ethical investment funds. Long lampooned in financial circles as the preserve of those who care more about their conscience than a decent return on their money, a new study by Holden and Partners, who advise on ethical investments, says that most of these funds are now “surprisingly mainstream” in their choice of stocks. read more

Written by Anayo Okoli    
Wednesday, 20 February 2008 

ABIA State Environmental Protection Agency [ASEPA] has threatened to shut down Shell Petroleum Development Company oil flow stations in Owaza, Ukwa West Local Government Area of the state for alleged environmental degradation and neglect of the host community.

The agency accused Shell of “totally messing up the community”, and providing no social amenities to them. The agency also accused Shell of refusing to attend a meeting it called in Owaza. read more

By Peter Smith in Sydney
Published: February 21 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 21 2008 02:00

Woodside Petroleum, Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, said 2008 full-year production would rise as much as 22 per cent, a figure that does not include fresh reserves from its US$399m purchase of Royal Dutch Shell’s oil assets in the North-West Shelf.

The production update came as the company, which is 34 per cent owned by Shell, reported a drop in full-year profit of 28 per cent to A$1.03bn (US$950m), after A$152m of losses relating to asset sales. read more