November 8th, 2006:

May 30, 2003
by Monica Perin
Houston Business Journal

A buried “treasure” could come back to haunt Houston-based Shell Oil.

A total of 190 boxes full of documents have been dug up in the New Mexico desert near a pipeline formerly owned by a Shell subsidiary, the Texas-New Mexico Pipeline Co.
 
The documents apparently pertain to operation of the pipeline and to environmental damage caused by an oil spill in the early 1990s.

Certain assets of the pipeline company were sold to Enron Corp. in 1999 and are now owned by Houston-based EOTT Energy, formerly an affiliate of Enron. read more

I understand that the letter printed below originated from a very senior source within Royal Dutch Shell. I have it on reliable authority that it is an authentic letter from Sir Henry Deterding, a founder of Royal Dutch Petroleum. It is evident from the content that he was somewhat less than fond of lawyers. read more

Last Update: 11:40 AM ET Nov 8, 2006

HOUSTON, Nov 08, 2006 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — On October 22, 2006 Shell Pipeline Company LP put into service the Seajack Pipeline, a 9.5 mile 20-inch diameter pipeline that connects the end of the Caesar Oil Pipeline to the Amberjack Pipeline System in the Gulf of Mexico.

“This connection provides additional market flexibility for Caesar shippers and also provides improved flow assurance for Caesar-connected production,” said Mark Hurley, President of Shell Pipeline Company LP. “It will be a great addition to our extensive pipeline network in the Gulf of Mexico.” read more

By Upstream staff

Big Oil will be a top target of Democratic lawmakers when they officially take over the House of Representatives early next year.

Democrats picked up enough seats in yesterday’s mid-term elections in the US to win majority control of the House and have promised to roll back billions of dollars in tax breaks and other financial incentives extended to the oil industry in energy legislation Congress passed last year.

Democrat representactive Nancy Pelosi, who is poised to be the next Speaker of the House when the new Congress convenes in January, said oil companies have unfairly earned record profits by gouging consumers at the gasoline pump. read more

HOUSTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) — This week’s decision by Norway’s ASA Statoil to spend nearly $1 billion for access to the Gulf of Mexico’s deep-water reservoirs underscores the area’s increasing allure to global energy operators.

Houston’s Anadarko Petroleum Corp. agreed to sell Statoil working interests in two discoveries, known as Knotty Head and Big Foot, and one prospect, North Big Foot, for $901 million. Statoil will hold a 25-percent stake in Knotty Head, which is operated by Canada’s Nexen Inc., a 15-percent share of Big Foot and a 15-percent interest in North Big Foot, both of which are operated by Chevron Corp. The properties have yet to produce one drop of oil but tests indicate massive reserves. read more

By Tom Cahill

Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) — Total SA, Europe’s largest oil refiner, said third-quarter earnings slid 34 percent after production fell because of disruptions in Nigeria.

Net income dropped to 2.42 billion euros ($3.1 billion), or 1.05 euros a share, from 3.65 billion euros, or 1.55 euros, a year earlier, Total said today in a statement. Profit excluding a stake in drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA was 3.11 billion euros, beating a median estimate from 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. read more

By ANDREW KRAMER
Published: November 8, 2006

The Russian prosecutor general’s office said two oil fields operated by a joint venture of BP, the British oil company, were in violation of their licensing terms and recommended that the Ministry of Natural Resources revoke the licenses.

The move came a month after authorities threatened to revoke BP’s license to the huge Kovytka natural gas field near China, one of the world’s largest such deposits. That field is also operated through the joint venture, which is known as Rospan and is operated by BP and the Tyumen Oil Company of Russia. read more

Richard Wiseman above, is Shell General Counsel (Mergers & Acquisitions). *Formally a Shell director, Mr Wiseman to his credit, has acquired a global reputation (with our help), as a purveyor of candid admissions on behalf of Shell. Perhaps this explains his apparent fall from grace. We are delighted in any event to have a nice photograph to use on leaflets. We know he was unhappy with the version previously used.

THE ARTICLE

Client report shows top companies will further slash panels to build adviser links
 
Overstretched legal departments at the UK’s leading companies are preparing to outsource more work to their advisers as they struggle to cope with an expanding corporate workload, according to a survey of nearly 300 companies. read more

(Lee Celano for The New York Times: The oil exploration ship Western Neptune pulls streamers, sensors that stretch four miles behind the ship and record data from the ocean floor.)

By JAD MOUAWAD
Published: November 8, 2006

ABOARD THE WESTERN NEPTUNE, Gulf of Mexico — Every 17 seconds, a small armada of ships trawling 130 miles from the Louisiana coast fire powerful air guns toward the bottom of the sea in a hunt for the next big oil discovery.

The Neptune and three other ships are on a three-month mission to map one of the most remote regions of the United States. The data they collect from the vibrations set off by the guns in the gulf’s deepest waters will help engineers form a picture of some of the world’s newest petroleum prospects. read more

As business comes under more pressure to be socially accountable, new charity and corporate partnerships are redefining the way the two sectors work together. Anita Pati reports.

Wednesday November 8, 2006

One fan’s idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is another cynic’s greenwash. Over the last decade, the concept of CSR has been pummelled and massaged to suit countless agendas. Both campaigners and corporates thumb their noses at a term whose meaning zigzags from ethical supply chains to carbon trading to human rights. But behind evolving definitions of CSR is a crude formula: charities need funds, and companies need cudos. read more

Government fiscal incentives are vital, writes Martyn Wingrove in Aberdeen, Lloyds List
Published: Nov 08, 2006

BRITAIN’s oil industry will need to invest up to GBP300bn ($572bn) to extract the remainder of the North Sea’s oil and gas resources, said a leading industry association yesterday.

But while the prospect is currently economically viable given the high oil price, in order to attract more oil company expenditure the UK government will have to improve the fiscal regime and provide more incentives in the long term, industry sources say. read more

LAGOS -(Dow Jones)- The Shell Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) announced late Tuesday it had put out the Yorla-13 wellhead fire in Ogoniland.

In a statement, SPDC said the fire, extinguished Tuesday, was first reported Aug. 14, 2006.

It said the intensity and nature of the blaze impeded initial attempts at putting it out, forcing the company to consider ‘a range of options,’ including disabling the well, and inviting Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc. (WEL) fire control specialists. read more

November 08, 2006
By David Robertson
 
WESTERN oil companies are monitoring the progress of a $50 billion (£26 billion) lawsuit against the Russian Federation as fears grow that the Kremlin is trying to gain more control over the country’s energy reserves, The Times has learnt.

TotalFinaElf, the world’s fourth-largest oil company, has sought advice from lawyers bringing the action on behalf of shareholders in Yukos, the Russian company that was bankrupted by the Kremlin. BP and Shell are also understood to be watching the case closely amid uncertainty about whether the Kremlin will honour exploration and development contracts signed with Western oil companies in the 1990s. 
 
Shell has come under pressure from the Russian Government over its $20 billion Sakhalin 2 project. The Kremlin is believed to want to renegotiate the revenue-sharing agreement that exists with Shell and is thought to be using environmental legislation to put pressure on the company. If Shell were forced out of Russia, it could follow Yukos’s example and claim compensation for the loss of its investment. read more

A Shell to Sea day of action has been called for this Friday (November 10th) at the Shell refinery site in Bellanaboy.

Supporters from around the country will assemble at the site in north west Mayo on Friday morning to support the local people in their struggle against Shell and the Irish government’s plan to impose a dangerous polluting refinery and an experimental pipeline scheme on them.

November 10th has been chosen based on its resonance as the date of the anniversary of the execution by hanging of the Ogoni nine. In 1995, Daniel Gbokoo, Dr. Barinen Klobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Saturday Dobee, Felix Nuate, Nordu Eawoh, Paul Levura and Ken Saro-Wiwa were killed by the Nigerian Government because of their protests against Shell’s activities in the Niger Delta. read more