March 17th, 2008:

Terry Macalister 
Tuesday March 18 2008

Shell is gearing up for a huge expansion of its carbon-intensive tar sands operation in Canada at a time when it has been struggling to replace conventional reserves.

In an annual strategy update yesterday, Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive, said the Canadian business was at the centre of its wider ambitions to meet growing energy demand – with the high cost of developing Athabasca and other projects easily accommodated by crude prices that hit new highs yesterday of $112 a barrel. read more

Shell oil pipeline near Warri, Nigeria. The company claims it has made progress with security and funding problems at its onshore facilities

By Sophie Brodie
Last Updated: 12:07am GMT 18/03/2008

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has reassured the market that it can replace reserves faster than they are being depleted, but warned that there is no clear reason why the oil price remains so high.
 
Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said that last year Shell replaced more than 100pc of its reserves and that net proved oil and gas reserves amounted to 11.9bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) – the industry measure. This is the same as at the end of 2006. read more

SHELL’s safety record on its Brent Bravo platform in the UK Northern North Sea is once again under scrutiny after the discovery of technical problems with two lifeboats on the installation that resulted in both of them being removed from service, writes Christopher Hopson.

Jake Molloy, general secretary of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee, told Upstream that in the past two to three weeks technicians had discovered problems with the clutches and brakes on one of the lifeboats, which means it was not held in place as it should have been. read more

Under fire: Shell is feeling the heat
over its Brent Bravo safety record

Calls mount for supermajor to explain poor safety record in UK North Sea after Health&Safety Executive reveals it was worst offender in play in two-and-a-half-year period

By Chris Hopson
Photo by Shell

Shell is under mounting pressure to explain its poor North Sea safety record after fresh revelations showed it has been by far the worst performer in the play, receiving six out of a total of 18 legal notices issued by the UK’s Health&Safety Executive (HSE) over a two-and-a-half year period. read more

By BENOÎT FAUCON
March 18, 2008

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell PLC said its net reserves at the end of last year were stable, easing fears that the company risked a repeat of its oil-reserves crisis of 2004.

The Anglo-Dutch oil firm said in its annual strategy update that it had net reserves at the end of last year of 11.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent, unchanged from a year earlier. Shell’s announcement comes after it delayed its disclosure by six weeks.

Resources under construction could yield an additional one million barrels of oil equivalent a day, Shell said. read more

By Upstream staff

Hundreds of villagers in the Ogoni area of Nigeria’s oil producing Niger Delta staged a protest against Shell after a rights group accused the firm of trying to resume operations without local consent.

Shell abandoned its oilfields in Ogoniland 15 years ago because of popular protests over pollution and a lack of development, but the area is still criss-crossed by pipelines.

Local rights group the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), whose former leader Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged by the then-military government in 1995, has accused the firm of trying to resume production without Ogoni agreement. read more

Shell retiree and former Group Chief Petroleum Engineer Iain Percival took the award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for his work mentoring a number of young professionals, both in Shell and other organisations, spending time with students and faculty from two universities in Aberdeen and visiting schools in his home area of the north of Scotland. Iain retired from Shell in 2006 after 33 years of service.
 
http://www.shell.com/home/content/media-en/feature_stories/2007/energy_institute_award.html read more

Shell retiree and former Group Chief Petroleum Engineer, Iain Percival, took the award for Outstanding Individual Achievement at the Energy Industry (EI) Annual Awards, for his work mentoring a number of young professionals, both in Shell and other organisations.

Iain is currently spending time with students and staff at RGU and the University of Aberdeen, and visits schools in his home area of the north of Scotland. Iain retired from Shell in 2006 after 33 years of service.

Iain remarked, “It is an honour I appreciate but of course I do derive a great deal of personal satisfaction from my activities.” read more

By Upstream staff

Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell is being probed by the US Department of Justice about its use of Basel-based logistics firm Panalpina.

The company said it is helping the agency in relation to suspected bribery in Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia, which may result in fines under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

“Shell’s US subsidiary, Shell Oil, was contacted by the US Department of Justice regarding Shell’s use of the freight forwarding firm Panalpina,” Shell said in its annual report published on its website on Monday. read more

Mon Mar 17, 2008 3:55pm GMT 

*No plans to spin off renewable energy businesses

*Wants closer integration of units with hydrocarbon ops

By Tom Bergin

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is not planning to spin off or part sell its renewable energy businesses as rival BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is considering, and instead wants closer integration of the units with its core hydrocarbon operations, Shell’s chief executive said on Monday. read more

Daily Trust (Abuja)
17 March 2008
Kayode Ekundayo
Lagos

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) said it has not returned to Ogoniland to resume oil and gas production in the area, nor has it requested or received any permission from the Rivers State Government for that purpose.

SPDC, in a statement said rather, following a directive by the immediate past Rivers State administration in April 2006, SPDC commenced a programme to secure its wells in Ogoniland which have been dormant since it left the area in 1993. The first stage of the exercise has seen the securing of 15 wells in Eleme and Tai local government areas.
 
Shell said the permission for the company to commence the programme of securing wells in Ogoniland was given in the aftermath of a pipeline fire at K-Dere early April 2006. Formal permission was conveyed to SPDC in a letter dated April 7, 2006, and advised SPDC to “resume activities for the repair of wellheads, manifolds and damaged pipelines. read more

Monday, 17 March 2008 14:35

A small group of environmentalists from Ireland have been demonstrating outside the Shell headquarters in London.

The St Patrick’s Day protest was to highlight what they described as ‘the giveaway and mismanagement’ of the State’s natural resources as part of the Corrib Gas Project.

About 30 protestors who are part of Gluaiseacht, a network of environmental and social justice groups, attempted to deliver a symbolic 21 metre foot pipeline to the Shell headquarters. read more

By Fred Pals

March 17 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, said reserves were little changed last year after it was forced to cede a stake in a Russian venture to state-controlled OAO Gazprom.

Net reserves as of Dec. 31, including oil sands, were 11.92 billion barrels of oil equivalent, compared with 11.94 billion barrels at the end of 2006, The Hague-based Shell said in its annual report published today.

Shell and partners last year sold Gazprom a controlling stake in the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas venture after Russia threatened to halt development because of environmental violations. The company has also seen output drop in Nigeria, and is in talks with the government over production terms as the nation demands a greater share of the resources in its territory. read more

Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:06am EDT 
By Tom Bergin

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice has contacted Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) about potential violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) which may lead to fines, the oil major said on Monday.

The Anglo-Dutch company said the DoJ was investigating its use of Basel-based logistics firm Panalpina (PWTN.S: Quote, Profile, Research), which has said it is helping the DoJ in relation to suspected bribery in Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. read more

March 17 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest producer, relied on the enlargement of its share of a Canadian oil sands project to offset the loss of half its oil and gas reserves in Russia’s Sakhalin-2 venture.

Shell’s total proved oil and gas reserves plus minable oil sands reserves declined 0.2 percent in 2007 to the equivalent of 11.92 billion barrels of oil, from 11.94 billion barrels in 2006, the company said in a strategy statement and annual report today. read more

March 17, 2008, 9:36AMBy KRISTEN HAYS
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

As consumers face see triple-digit oil prices, rising gasoline and natural gas prices and the never-ending squeeze of tight supply and growing worldwide demand, John Hofmeister will leave his post as president of Shell Oil Co. June 1 as per a company policy that essentially requires top executives to retire at 60. Hofmeister reached that age in January.

The company named Marvin Odum, 49, now Shell’s executive vice president of U.S. exploration and production, to step into Hofmeister’s top role. read more

March 17, 2008, 9:32AM
By KRISTEN HAYS
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., the U.S. arm of The Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell, is stepping down in accordance with a company policy of retirement of top executives at age 60, the company said today..

Hofmeister, who turned 60 in January, will retire as of June 1. The company has named Marvin Odum, 49, executive vice president of exploration and production in the U.S. for Shell, as Hofmeister’s successor in the top U.S. role in addition to his current operational position. read more

By John Donovan

We now have the information on which The Observers appears to have based its calculation of a loss by Shell of 1.1 billion boe reserves resulting from the Gazprom take over of Shell’s majority stake in the Sakhalin-2 project. 

SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE SHELL 2007 ANNUAL REPORT PUBLISHED TODAY (pages 17 & 18)

On April 18, 2007, Royal Dutch Shell completed the divestment to OAO Gazprom of 50% of its shares in Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd (SEIC), representing 27.5% of the total outstanding shares, for a sales price of $4.1 billion. Gazprom acquired a 50% interest plus one share, while Shell retains a 27.5% interest, with Mitsui and Mitsubishi holding a 12.5% and 10% interest, respectively. In addition, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation announced its approval of the revised Environmental Action Plan. Additional agreements were also signed with the Russian government, addressing the economic balance of the project. read more

03.17.08, 7:28 AM ET
 
LONDON (Thomson Financial) – Malcolm Brinded, head of Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s exploration and production business, said the group’s reserve replacement rate was 17 pct after taking into account the full impact of the 4.1 bln usd Sakhalin-2 deal in Russia.

‘After the Sakhalin (stake) dilution, the RRR was 17 pct,’ he told reporters in a strategy presentation.

Shell early last year sold half of its 55 pct stake in the Sakhalin-2 project to Russian gas giant Gazprom. read more

March 17, 2008
Lilly Peel and Agencies

Royal Dutch Shell today reassured investors over its oil and gas reserves after expectations had grown that the Anglo-Dutch oil giant would report a decline.

The group said net oil and gas reserves in 2007 were 11.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), in line with the level at the end of 2006, while the overall reserve replacement rate was above 100 per cent.

Shares in Shell added 7p to £17.22 in early trading. However, Shell refused to set short term growth targets, stating instead that it expects production to increase by 1-2 per cent up to 2010 and 2-3 per cent beyond that date. read more

By Fred Pals

March 17 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company by market value, replaced 124 percent of the oil and natural gas it pumped last year with new discoveries.

The so-called reserve replacement ratio fell from 150 percent in 2006, The Hague-based Shell said today in a statement distributed by PR Newswire. The figure excludes acquisitions and divestments and was calculated according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission standards. Shell replaced 109 percent of reserves including year-end price effects. read more

17/03/2008
 
Shell is rejuvenating its portfolio for a world of higher and more volatile commodity prices, increased competition, and higher costs. As part of the annual review of strategy, Shell said it is building over 50 large projects, that will underpin new cash flows for decades to come. Upstream, Shell has over 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) resources under construction, which will add ~1 million boe/d of production. Shell’s industry-leading fuels and lubricants portfolio is being positioned into growth markets. The company is also building significant new petrochemicals facilities, and new refining and downstream gas-to-liquids (GTL) capacity totaling ~300,000 b/d for Shell. 
 
Jeroen van der Veer, Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive commented “This is an unprecedented phase of activity for the company, leveraging our strong brand, technology, integration and scale. We are creating new heartlands for Shell in a new energy landscape.” read more

Mon Mar 17, 2008 3:30am EDT 
By Tom Bergin

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said its net oil and gas reserves held stable in 2007 compared with 2006, despite some expectations of a drop, but the company failed to commit to near-term growth targets while holding out the prospect of strong long-term growth.

The world’s second-largest non-government controlled oil company by market value, said on Monday that total net reserves were 11.9 billion boe at the end of 2007, in line with the level at the end of 2006. read more

17 maart 2008, 8:56 uur | FD.nl/Betten

Amsterdam (BETTEN FINANCIAL NEWS) – Hier volgt de tekst van een persbericht van Shell.

Shell is rejuvenating its portfolio for a world of higher and more volatile commodity prices, increased competition, and higher costs. As part of the annual review of strategy, Shell said it is building over 50 large projects, that will underpin new cash flows for decades to come. Upstream, Shell has over 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) resources under construction, which will add ~1 million boe/d of production. Shell’s industry-leading fuels and lubricants portfolio is being positioned into growth markets. The company is also building significant new petrochemicals facilities, and new refining and downstream gas-to-liquids (GTL) capacity totaling ~300,000 b/d for Shell. read more

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN
Published: March 17, 2008

In a shocking deal reached on Sunday to save Bear Stearns, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay a mere $2 a share to buy all of Bear — less than one-tenth the firm’s market price on Friday.

As part of the watershed deal, JPMorgan and the Federal Reserve will guarantee the huge trading obligations of the troubled firm, which was driven to the brink of bankruptcy by what amounted to a run on the bank.

Reflecting Bear’s dire straits, JPMorgan agreed to pay only about $270 million in stock for the firm, which had run up big losses on investments linked to mortgages. read more

Comments posted by Iain Percivil on the article…

AFP: Shell to slash oil reserve figures for 2007: report

March 17th, 2008 00:55

The arcane reporting rules of the SEC oblige Shell (and others) to report proved volumes in a particular manner. However, this figure does not have a one to one correspondence with how much more or less the company can produce. As I have written earlier on this site, companies plan for and ultimately produce from the reserve “expected”. This includes production from oil sands and other unconventional resource not recognised from the 1970’s mind set SEC rules. read more

pa.press.net – 17.03.2008 01:38

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is set to slash its 2007 reserves figures by more than half, it has been reported.

The company will mark down its reserves by 1.3 billion barrels – around one year’s production – according to the Observer newspaper.

Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer is also expected to say that production growth will be near zero until 2010 in a strategy update on Monday, the report says.

Shell was at the centre of the biggest crisis in its history in 2004 when it overstated its reserves by a fifth, shaking confidence in the firm and sparking lawsuits which the oil major has settled at a cost of more than £200 million. read more

Mon Mar 17, 2008 3:17am EDT

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said its net oil and gas reserves held stable in 2007 compared with 2006, despite some expectations of a drop, but the company failed to restate its growth targets in a strategy statement.

The world’s second-largest non-government controlled oil company by market value, said on Monday it enjoyed strong exploration success in 2007, adding 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of resources, helping push its total resource base to some 66 billion boe. read more

Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:56am EDT

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) hopes to boost oil output in Nigeria after agreeing a new plan to tackle funding shortfalls hitting production at its joint venture with the government, the Financial Times said on Monday.

The newspaper, citing people familiar with the talks, said Shell had accepted the outlines of a presidential proposal under which the joint venture would raise its own financing rather than rely on cash from the government. read more

By Nadja Brandt

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA NA): Europe’s biggest oil company is scheduled to give a strategic update on its long-term projects and its reserve replacement ratio. Shell dropped 13 cents, or 0.6 percent, to 22.37 euros.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nadja Brandt in Los Angeles at

[email protected]

Last Updated: March 16, 2008 22:27 EDT

By Peter Taylor
Last Updated: 12:31am GMT 17/03/2008

Shell pumped far more oil than it discovered last year after its reserves were severely depleted by complications in Russia and Nigeria.

The oil giant is expected to tell investors at a presentation today that its reserve replacement ratio fell to 2005 levels, about 80pc, compared with more than 150pc in 2006.

The fall in reserve levels follows Shell’s forced divestment, at the hands of Russian regulators, of a controlling interest in the $20bn Sakhalin 2 project off Russia’s east coast. Militant attacks in Nigeria have also affected operations, hitting production to the tune of 140,000 barrels a day. read more

By Nikhil Kumar
Monday, 17 March 2008

Today: The energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is due to host a strategy presentation. Analysts at UBS advise investors not to expect too much given Shell’s “strategy mantra (more upstream, profitable downstream) that hasn’t changed since current CEO Jeroen van der Veer took over and a focus on 2010-15 as the time period to revive Shell’s fortunes”. UBS also notes that guidance concerning 2008 production and capital expenditure has already been provided, reducing the risk to near-term forecasts, adding: “We expect longer-term guidance to remain intact.” read more