Tue Aug 8, 2006
LONDON (Reuters) – BP Plc’s U.S. troubles have cost the oil giant its place as the world’s second-largest fully publicly-traded oil company, pushing it into the shadow of arch rival and industry laggard Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
London-based BP’s shares fell 1.2 percent to trade at 615-1/2 pence at 0834 GMT on Tuesday, adding to heavy losses on Monday after BP announced the shut-down of the U.S.’s largest oil field at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, due to pipeline corrosion.
This gave BP a market capitalization of $232 billion compared to Shell’s $237 billion. Anglo-Dutch Shell’s London-traded A shares traded up 0.32 percent at 1,873 pence, helped by a positive research note from ING.
Previous Alaskan pipeline leaks, the delayed startup of a key U.S. oil platform and renewed fears about safety at BP’s U.S. refineries following criticism over an explosion that killed 15 people last year, and new accidents have weighed on BP’s shares in recent months.
The stock has underperformed Shell by around 10 percent since March 24, Citigroup said in a note on Monday.
It is a big turnaround for what had been Europe’s largest oil company.
Many analysts have long rated BP as Europe’s best run oil company, while Shell has struggled to rebuild investor confidence since a reserves overbooking scandal in 2004 and massive cost overruns on key projects last year.
“BP has given up a lot of its premium rating and we estimate the shares are now trading around parity with Shell on a 2007 P/E of 10.5 times,” Citigroup said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
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.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
