November 4th, 2006:

Kish Island in Persian Gulf (NASA Satellite image)

Saturday 11/4/06 

TEHRAN, Nov. 4 (Mehr News Agency) — The managing director of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) said here on Saturday that Royal Dutch Shell is planning to take part in the bid on the Master Development Plan (MDP) of an Iranian offshore gas field.

Mahmud Zirakchianzadeh told Mehr News Agency (Mehr News Agency) that a number of Iranian and foreign companies, including Shell, have shown interest in participation of the MDP tender on the Persian Gulf Kish gas field. read more

Two zones, near existing infrastructure and more distant, determine minimum bid amounts, royalty suspension volumes

Kristen Nelson
Petroleum News
Week of November 05, 2006

The Minerals Management Service has information out for its next oil and gas lease sale in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s North Slope. Bids for Beaufort Sea Sale 202 will be read in Anchorage March 28, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Wilda Marston Theatre in the Loussac Library.

MMS has 180 active leases in the Beaufort Sea, 117 of which date from Sale 195 in March 2005, which was dominated by Shell’s re-entry into Alaska with some $44 million of $46 million in high bids at the sale. Of 367,546 hectares currently under lease by MMS in the Beaufort, 245,760 hectares were taken at the 2005 sale. In addition to Shell, MMS Beaufort Sea tracts (or interests in tracts) are held by BP Exploration (Alaska), Murphy Exploration (Alaska), ConocoPhillips, Anadarko Petroleum, Forest Oil and Eni Petroleum Exploration. read more

Joint venture groups in race for first Lower Tertiary production from ultra-deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Odum says Shell will win

Ray Tyson
For Petroleum News
Week of November 05, 2006

The race is on between joint venture groups led by Shell Offshore and Brazil’s Petrobras seeking to become the first to produce from the massive and highly touted Lower Tertiary play in the ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Shell made it a contest on Oct. 26 when the major announced plans to combine three Alaminos Canyon discoveries — Great White, Tabago and Silvertip — into a single “hub” development called the Perdido Regional Development Host. BP and Chevron are Shell’s principal partners in the Shell-operated joint venture. read more

Suncor Energy CEO Rick George says industry may be “over the top” of the inflationary period; Athabasca project trio of Shell, Chevron, Western burdened with higher costs, pushes expansion; Nexen CEO says oil sands economic threshold $45 per barrel

Gary Park
For Petroleum News
Week of November 05, 2006

A rapid cooling in the North American house market and other industry slowdowns are not all bad news, especially in the Alberta oil sands sector.

Rick George, chief executive officer of bitumen pioneer Suncor Energy, said he has an “intuitive feeling … that we’re kind of over the top of this inflationary period” that has seen the costs of major projects balloon by 50 percent and more since the turn of the century. read more

Unmanned aerial vehicles studied for use in monitoring of remote Arctic seas

By Alan Bailey
Week of November 05, 2006

With heightened interest in offshore oil and gas exploration coinciding with elevated awareness of the need to protect marine wildlife, oil companies are scrambling to find ways of meeting government-mandated stipulations for wildlife protection. And, in the Alaska Arctic, the protection of Native subsistence hunting of marine mammals such as the bowhead whale is a major issue.

The unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, could prove to be a pivotal technology in the drive to reconcile oil exploration with environmental and subsistence hunting concerns. read more

EXTRACT: …a swing to the left is likely to lead to ever more vociferous calls for policy initiatives such as windfall taxes, should a renewed spike in oil prices result in more sets of record profits for Big Oil such as BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil. On the flip side, companies that specialise in alternative energy sources could find themselves in a better position.

THE ARTICLE

David Litterick in New York analyses what the elections mean for business

It has been billed as one of the most important set of elections for a generation. President Bush may be safe in the White House for another two years, but on Tuesday the opposition Democrats, so long used to shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to elections, finally have a good chance of winning back control of Capitol Hill for the first time in more than a decade.  
 
The most recent polls put the Democrats on 53pc, with the Republicans on 40pc and 7pc still undecided. If they are right, the implication for the economy and corporate America could be far-reaching. read more

EXTRACT: Japanese makers now control half the global solar cell market. A Showa Shell official said: “Compared to the major players, our share will be peanuts at the start. But our intention is to complement the conventional solar cell market, and eventually develop our second-generation product share.”

THE ARTICLE

KUMAMOTO–As the producer of half the world’s solar cells, Japan is the global leader in the pursuit of this alternative energy source.

Published: Nov 04, 2006

Now the region of Kyushu, with its plentiful sunshine and the enthusiastic backing of the local government, is becoming Japan’s center for the production of solar technology. Solar-cell production has grown at an annual rate of 30 percent, and Kyushu is positioning itself as the “solar island.” Along with sunshine, Kyushu offers the advantage of safety. “There are fewer earthquakes to worry about,” said an official at Fuji Electric Systems Co., which has recently constructed a solar-cell production base in the region, where local governments are encouraging such expansion read more

Published: Nov 04, 2006

Madam, – Brendan Cafferty (October 21st and 25) is entitled to his views and, while we disagree with him, we respect his right to air them as he has done.

But readers should be aware that he is not a local: his address is in Ballina more than 40 miles away from the Rossport area. Many people from Ballina and other areas support the real locals in the Rossport area, objecting to the environmental damage being inflicted on our beautiful landscape which is, incidentally, listed as a National Heritage Area (NHA). We very much welcome their support and appreciate wholeheartedly their messages of goodwill to the campaigners in Rossport and beyond. read more

By David Bowen: Published: November 3 2006 17:54 | Last updated: November 3 2006 17:54

In common with the rest of the world, I can’t escape talking about greenery this week. And if I am bringing together business, web and the environment, I come inevitably to the energy giants. What are they doing online, and who does it best?

You could say that BP does it too well. Hand up here – BP is a client, though I have had no effect on the bits I’m talking about. Look at its site (www.bp.com). It is bright yellow and green, sunshine and grass. All part of its overall branding of course but particularly effective on the computer screen because it is lit up by whatever makes computer screens light up. read more

Crude-oil futures rose Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, approaching $59 a barrel, boosted by threats of attacks on Nigerian oil output and U.S. government reports that unemployment fell to its lowest level in five years. Here’s Friday’s roundup of oil and energy news:

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RECORD GREENHOUSE GASES: Heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2005 and are still increasing, according to the World Meteorological Organization, the U.N. weather agency. Scientists say carbon dioxide and other gases primarily from fossil-fuel-burning trap heat in the atmosphere and have warmed the Earth’s surface an average one degree in the past century. A British government report this week warned global warming would devastate the world economy on the scale of the world wars and the Great Depression if left unchecked. But the Financial Times’ Max Wilkinson argues that report was based on flawed data. read more