January 22nd, 2007:

January 23, 2007
Carl Mortished and Julian Evans in Moscow

State companies get monopoly rights
Region has huge untapped reserves
 
Moscow has closed the door further to Western participation in Russia’s Arctic energy wealth with a proposal to grant Rosneft and Gazprom, the state oil and gas companies, exclusive rights to develop offshore oil and gas.

President Putin has approved the decision to grant Gazprom and Rosneft a monopoly through amendments to laws on subsoil use and offshore activity, according to Russian media reports. 
 
The initiative will be another blow to the big Western energy companies, for which the Russian Arctic offers tantalising reserves of oil and gas, now receding beyond reach. read more

Tuesday 23 January 2007

Live Chat Guest 7018 asks: “are there really spooks watching this site? is that just a scare story from donovans?

Reply from Alfred and John Donovan…

We have made no such claim or allegation. The short answer is that we do not know.

We are aware that Shell monitors the site. That of course is unsurprising.

We did catch a Shell spook red-handed several years ago. He used false credentials and fake documents during his visit to our offices but got caught inspecting private mail. Shell General Counsel Richard Wiseman admitted in writing the “activities “of a Shell undercover agent, after being cornered by our lawyers. Shell’s solicitors DJ Freeman (now known as Kendall Freeman) made a similar admittance in writing and astonishingly tried to intimidate us by warning in the same letter that other Shell agents were also on our case. Shell refused to reveal the scope of the spying activities. This form of intimidation was used against us in the run up to a High Court trial in1999 after we had once again sued Shell for stealing our intellectual property. Shell had already settled our first SIX court actions (which included claims for libel and breach of contract). read more

Crude-oil futures tumbled 1.7% to $51.13 a barrel after earlier rising as high as $53.44, shrugging off forecasts for colder U.S. weather and increased heating oil demand.

Here is Monday’s roundup of oil and energy news:

* * *
BETTER TIMES FOR SINOPEC: Conditions for Sinopec, China’s biggest oil refiner, were looking good this year — until China’s central government on Jan. 14 announced its first reduction in prices of refined products in 19 months. The announcement cooled investors’ ardor for Sinopec, as they feared lower gasoline prices could cut profit. But some analysts believe Beijing’s price decision could actually mean better times ahead for Sinopec. read more

Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:57am ET

HOUSTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) – A Saturday electrical failure upset equipment at Shell Oil Co.’s (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) 99,000 barrel per day (bpd) Los Angeles-area refinery in Wilmington, California, according to a notice filed with the state Office of Emergency Management.

The early-morning upset triggered the refinery’s safety flare, according to the notice.

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

22 January 2007 16:24

An engineering consultancy firm has been appointed to help find an alternative route for the controversial Corrib Gas pipeline in Co Mayo.

Shell Ireland and its partner companies Statoil and Marathon made the announcement this morning.

Shell says it intends to modify the planned route, which has been strongly opposed by local landowners and residents on health and safety grounds.
 
In a statement today, it appealed for a process of community consultation and dialogue to find the best route for the onshore pipeline. read more

MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti) – Environmental damage inflicted by the vast Sakhalin II oil and gas project off Russia’s Pacific Coast amounts to $5 billion, the head of the Russian Audit Chamber said Monday.

The formerly Shell-led project experienced months of intense pressure last year from Russian authorities, who accused it of causing serious environmental damage to Sakhalin Island, including deforestation, toxic waste dumping and soil erosion.

A month ago Russian energy giant Gazprom acquired 50% plus one share in Sakhalin II for $7.45 billion. read more

Published:  22 January, 2007 

FRIENDS of the Earth today called on wildlife lovers and photographers to submit images that highlight the damage done to wildlife by oil and gas companies, including Shell, to the 2007 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is launched today.

The environmental campaign group is encouraging people to submit images showing how oil companies around the world are damaging wildlife and the environment to the competition’s “The World in Our Hands” section. read more

Simon Rubinsohn, Senior Strategist, Barclays Wealth
22 January 2007

EXTRACT FROM Companies and Markets:

The fortunes of BP and Royal Dutch Shell will depend to a large extent on the oil price, which is currently sliding towards its lowest level since the spring of 2005.

January 22, 2007 5:18 AM ET
 
MOSCOW (AP) – State-controlled energy giants OAO Gazprom and OAO Rosneft will divide up Russia’s oil and gas-rich seabed evenly, the financial newspaper Vedomosti reported Monday, a step that would leave foreign oil companies with a minority role at most.

While the move has not been officially backed by President Vladimir Putin, the paper said, it would be in step with the Kremlin’s policy of re-establishing state control over Russia’s vast reserves. read more

Created: 22.01.2007 12:03 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 12:04 MSK
 
Russia will equally split all new offshore oil and gas fields between state firms Rosneft and  Gazprom, further limiting foreign and private access to its energy, Vedomosti business daily said on Monday, Jan. 22.

The paper quoted government sources as saying the decision was taken at a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and government officials last week.

Gazprom and Rosneft declined immediate comments.

The newspaper said Russian officials had decided that all undistributed offshore fields would be offered only at closed auctions, which reduce chances of collecting maximum money to state coffers but guarantee no surprise winner. read more

Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:53 AM GMT
By Laurence Fletcher

LONDON (Reuters) – Justin Seager, a fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management, has bought a position in Royal Dutch Shell because the poor performance of its shares means it is now attractively valued.

“The big ones (oil stocks) have been awful. Now they are sufficiently distressed that it’s no longer appropriate to have none. We’ve bought the one that is more cheaply valued,” Seager told Reuters in an interview.

Seager said Royal Dutch Shell now accounts for 6 percent of his Jupiter UK Growth Exempt fund. This portfolio has recently been restructured as a fund taking the best stock ideas from Jupiter’s UK equity team and will be renamed the UK Alpha fund. read more

01.22.07, 2:33 AM ET
 
LONDON (AFX) – Outgoing BP PLC chief executive Lord Browne of Madingley backed a merger with Royal Dutch Shell, said a report in The Daily Telegraph.

A source told the newspaper Browne planned to merge BP (nyse: BP – news – people ) with Shell, but the proposal was never formally put to Shell or BP’s board.

Less than two weeks ago, Browne announced his surprise decision to step down in the summer.

[email protected]

sjm/tc

Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. read more

Iris Cecilia C. Gonzales, BusinessWorld (Philippines)
Published: Jan 22, 2007

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. of the Royal Dutch Shell Group may defer its multibillion-dollar expansion plan for its refinery in Batangas due to the high cost of the project.

Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said the timing of Shell’s planned expansion is “something that is not as definite as we will want it to be.”

He added that oil firms in the region are revisiting plans to build new refineries or expand existing ones. read more

By Mariko Sanchanta in Tokyo
Published: January 22 2007 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2007 02:00

Japan and Russia will tomorrow begin their first high-level talks in four years as Tokyo aims to build a stable, long-term energy relationship with Moscow.

The two countries are also set to discuss the contentious issue of four Russian controlled islands that are claimed by Japan, an unresolved dispute that has kept the two governments from formally concluding their second world war clash with a peace treaty. read more

Hot Stock Market Makes
Russian Leader a Hero
With Money Managers
By GUY CHAZAN
January 22, 2007; Page A1

MOSCOW — In Western capitals, Vladimir Putin has an image problem. Politicians in the U.S. and Europe routinely accuse him of squelching domestic dissent, strong-arming foreign oil companies and using Russia’s vast energy resources to blackmail neighbors.

One constituency, however, has a strikingly different take on the Russian president. To many investors, Mr. Putin is a hero. The reason: the Russian stock market’s spectacular rally during his seven years of rule. read more

Asher Moses

THE internet could become even more difficult for governments to regulate with a new website, Wikileaks, promising to provide a safe haven for whistleblowers to upload confidential documents.

Australians are among the volunteers behind the site. “Your country’s support for the underdog and for a fair go is showing through,” a spokeswoman said.

Comparing themselves with the leaker of the Pentagon papers that damaged the Nixon administration and eroded US public confidence in the Vietnam War, Wikileaks’ creators say they will uncover unethical behaviour by developing “an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis”. read more

By JOHN RATHER

AT the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hearings this month on Broadwater Energy’s proposed floating natural gas plant in Long Island Sound, opponents seemed to be addressing a man who was not there.

That would be Eliot Spitzer, New York’s new governor, who has been silent so far on the $700 million project but will soon make a decision that could determine whether it proceeds.

In coming weeks, Mr. Spitzer will rule whether the liquefied natural gas plant is consistent with New York’s coastal management program for the Sound. The plant — 1,800 feet long and 80 feet high — would be permanently moored 9 miles off Wading River and 11 miles from Connecticut. The program, administered by the New York State Department of State, tries to balance economic development and environmental preservation in and around the Sound. The department is reviewing the Broadwater project. read more

(Lord Browne planned to invite Shell to join him at the big table)

By Christopher Hope and Andrew Pierce
Last Updated: 1:21am GMT 22/01/2007

Lord Browne of Madingley, chief executive of BP, decided to quit the oil company after a year which saw his hopes for a £220bn merger with Shell frustrated and his plans for staying on for another five years rejected by the board.

The longstanding chief executive announced 10 days ago his surprise decision to leave BP this summer.
  
However the reason for Lord Browne’s unexpectedly early departure can be traced back 12 months to the bold plans to merge with Shell to create a £220bn oil giant. The merger was discussed informally and papers were produced by BP into the viability of the merger. Lord Browne would have stayed on as chief executive, possibly with a Shell director as chairman. read more

January 22, 2007 
 
Sir, Shell has announced a consultation exercise regarding the approaching decommissioning requirements for its Brent Field production platforms located 170 northeast of Shetland in the inhospitable environs of the North Sea.

I was working on these installations in the 1970s and 1980s when we discussed this very question. The most supported proposal was turning them into jails, until it was pointed out that the accommodation standards, even then, did not come near that required by legislation. 
 
PETER WRIGHT
West Kilbride, Ayrshire
 
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,59-2559241.html read more

Mon 22 Jan 2007

LONDON (SHARECAST) – Lord Browne of Madingley, chief executive of BP, decided to quit the oil company after a year which saw his hopes for a £220bn merger with Shell frustrated and his plans for staying on for another five years rejected by the board, reports the Telegraph.

The longstanding chief executive announced 10 days ago his surprise decision to leave BP this summer.

Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, plans to break into the home building business by redeveloping urban sites. read more