July 8th, 2006:

From TradeArabia.com
Posted: Saturday, July 08, 2006
 
Amsterdam

Hydrogen, the ultimate clean fuel, may not be very suitable as a conduit of renewable energy because it is wasteful and there are better alternatives, scientists said.

One reason that hydrogen is embraced by politicians like US President George W Bush is that it promises a source of power for cars and buildings that emits only water.

The drawback is that hydrogen must first be produced, requiring a primary energy source, and this is where scientists see major obstacles. read more

From The Boston Globe
By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff, July 8, 2006

Stakes top $300 million; bill would force divestment

The Massachusetts state worker pension fund holds investments worth more than $300 million in 23 overseas companies doing business in Sudan, a Globe review found. A violent campaign in the Darfur region there has been called genocide by the Bush administration and has drawn worldwide condemnation.

In addition, the pension fund has $383 million invested in five companies active in Iran, which the United States considers a state sponsor of terrorism and which is at odds with the international community over its nuclear program. read more

The Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
By MATT VOLZ The Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska — With his re-election on the line and a $1-billion-US oil industry tax initiative looming, Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski will try again to line up his state legislature behind a deal with three oil giants to build a natural gas pipeline to Canada.

The Republican governor says his incentive-laden proposal with Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC and ConocoPhillips is Alaska’s best shot at making the long-coveted North Slope gas pipeline a reality. read more

From Petroleum News
By Gary Park

Company officials prefer single buyer for 340 million cf equivalent per day of gas and 1.6 tcf equivalent proved reserves

Lock-stock-and-barrel or piecemeal — that’s the question seizing the Canadian oil patch as Anadarko bids adieu to the Great White North.

In putting its wholly owned Western Canadian assets up for sale, with the prospect of covering 45 percent of the US$10 billion worth of divestitures needed to complete the blockbuster integration of Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources, Anadarko has offered properties that will have income trusts and junior E&Ps salivating yet likely to be left on the sidelines. read more

Headline: Deep Panuke back from Deep Six

From Petroleum News
By Gary Park

Nova Scotia-EnCana strike deal on benefits, royalties, R&D funding for what would be province’s second offshore gas project

Deep Panuke is off life support and breathing on its own, but the future of Nova Scotia’s second offshore natural gas project is not yet certain.

After several days of ill-disguised provincial government build-up, there is new reason to believe that the EnCana venture is back on track after being sidelined in early 2003 pending efforts to improve the economics by finding more reserves and seeking better fiscal terms. read more

From THE NEW YORK TIMES

Landor surveyed 510 American adults to investigate how the market for ecologically friendly products has been gaining a foothold among mainstream consumers.

Participants were asked to rank automotive and energy brands, as well as brands in categories such as personal-care products and coffee manufacturers. Rankings ranged from “least green” to “most green.” In the petroleum-and-energy category, BP was chosen as the greenest corporation, beating Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron’s Texaco. Toyota was picked as the greenest auto manufacturer, ahead of Lexus, Ford, General Motors and BMW. read more

From The New York Times/By REUTERS

Published: July 7, 2006
Filed at 2:30 p.m. ET

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil fell from a record high of $75.78 a barrel on Friday on signs of a decrease in tension between the West and Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil exporter.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator said he had a “positive impression” of a Western proposal for Iran to stop enriching uranium in return for a package of incentives. Oil had earlier risen due to strong demand in the United States. read more

From OilandGas.com

Nearly three football fields long, the ship appears to be sitting idle on the turquoise blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico, perhaps even abandoned.

Beneath the deck, there’s no such tranquillity. A crew of 200 geologists, engineers and technicians work around the clock at dimly lit keyboards, controlling every move of an adjoining oil rig as it uses an 16 1/2-inch pipe to bore through the ocean floor.

The Chevron crew is developing a deep-water oil field 190 miles off the Louisiana coast projected to produce 100,000 bpd by 2008 and 500 mm barrels overall. Each well will reach more than 26,000 feet below sea level. read more

From OilandGas.com

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest US oil company, said that it may spend as much as $10 bn to more than double capacity at its liquefied natural gas plant in Northern Australia to meet an estimated 40-% surge in world demand.

The company may build a second production unit at the Darwin plant by 2013, using natural gas from either the Sunrise or Caldita fields, off Australia’s northern coast, Laura Sugg, president of ConocoPhillips’ local unit, told at the South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference. It may then look at a third unit, she said. read more

From GasandOil.com

07-06-06 BG Group said it signed two production sharing contracts with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), for exploration blocks offshore China. The deals signal the entry of the UK company, which production is mainly in natural gas, into the world’s fastest growing energy market.

Under the terms of the PSCs, BG will be the operator and will retain 100 % in the blocks during the exploration phase. In the event of a commercial discovery CNOOC has an option to take an interest of up to 51 % in the field. The agreements are subject to final government approval. read more

From GasandOil.com

16-06-06 China’s biggest coal producer, Shenhua Group, plans to convert coal into 30 mm tons of oil by the year 2020 in four northern provinces.

Three of eight projects planned will be completed by 2010, Zhang Yuzhuo, in charge of Shenhua’s coal liquefaction business, told an energy forum hosted by the China Energy Research Society in Beijing.

The first three plants are expected to have a total capacity of 4 mm tpy, said Zhang. “We aim to produce 30 mm tpy by 2020,” the company executive said. The eight plants will be built in Shaanxi, and the autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui. read more

Investors Line Up
For an Oil Stake
By GREGORY L. WHITE
July 8, 2006; Page A2

When President Bush meets with Vladimir Putin Friday, he will have a chance to express his concerns about the Russian leader’s policies.

The day before, investors will have a chance to do the same. On Thursday, the $10 billion initial public offering by the state oil company, OAO Rosneft, is scheduled to be priced.

So far, investors seem so eager for a piece of Russia’s oil riches that they are willing to overlook Mr. Putin’s curbs on democracy and heavy-handed economic policies. “Greed is taking precedence over fear,” says one person close to the deal. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
July 7, 2006 8:05 p.m.

Crude-oil futures closed lower Friday, weighed down by an unexpected rise in gasoline supplies last week. But the front-month contract touched a record intraday level on the New York Mercantile Exchange during the session, at $75.55 a barrel, and scored a slight gain for the week. Strong U.S. petroleum demand, a fall in inventories and North Korea’s missile tests were among traders’ biggest concerns. Here’s Friday’s roundup of oil-related news: read more

Headline: Oil giant to Shell out 50pc more in Alberta

From Daily Mail – London
By: Sam Fleming

Shell’s record of overruns worsened after one of its partners in a massive Canadian project said it could go 50pc over budget.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant’s Canadian subsidiary revealed that the GBP3.6bn expansion of the Athabasca oil sands venture in Alberta was being hit by “significant upward pressure on capital costs.”

Shell infuriated investors with repeated delays to its Bonga installation in Nigeria and a eye-watering ramp up in costs at the Sakhalin gas project in Russia. read more

From London Evening Standard
By Bill Condie
7 July 2006

OIL and gas majors Royal Dutch Shell, BP, BG Group and Exxon Mobil are among a dozen companies bidding to buy up to 30% of a giant Indian gas field.

Under the deal, the winner will buy a stake and jointly operate the Gujarat State Petroleum Corp field. GSPC has an 80% stake in the field and plans to go public this year.

‘Twelve companies have shown interest to work with us in the KG basin. We are evaluating the offers and will soon finalise the deal,’ said state Energy Minister Saurabh Patel. read more