January 26th, 2007:

Crude-oil prices rallied all day and finished above $55 a barrel Friday as freezing temperatures across the East Coast raised the prospects of increased heating-fuel consumption.

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

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BELARUS THREATENS NEW DUTIES: President Alexander Lukashenko threatened to slap fresh duties on Russian oil sent through Belarus to Europe unless Moscow sells it oil at a cheaper price — raising the specter of a repeat of this month’s supply cutoff. Mr. Lukashenko, who was been branded “Europe’s last dictator” for his iron-fisted rule, has made a series of defiant statements in recent weeks, accusing Russia of trying crush or absorb the former Soviet republic. He has also pledged to seek less-strained ties with Europe. read more

Vol. 12, No. 4  Week of January 28, 2007

Company adds another C$1 billion to offer for minority shares; Jan. 23 C$45 per share offer replaces earlier offer of C$40 per share

Gary Park
For Petroleum News

Three months after putting C$7.7 billion on the table, Royal Dutch Shell caved in to mounting pressure by adding another C$1 billion to its bid for the minority shares of Shell Canada, a 12.5 percent increase that falls short of 15 to 20 percent being demanded by some minority shareholders.

The deal is grabbing industry-wide attention as the possible yardstick for an expected flood of consolidations in the Canadian oil and gas sector this year, with special emphasis on the value of oil sands assets. read more

By Fergal O’Brien

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s proposed natural-gas refinery in western Ireland should be granted a license, subject to certain conditions, the country’s Environmental Protection Agency said.

“Emissions from the refinery, when operated in accordance with the conditions of the proposed license, will not adversely affect human health or the environment,” the Wexford, Ireland- based agency said today.

Shell, Europe’s largest oil company by market value, has been embroiled in a battle with local residents that has delayed work on the refinery, located in Bellanaboy, near Rossport, for more than a year. The residents also oppose a pipeline needed to link the facility with the $1.1 billion offshore Corrib field. read more

Last Update: 1:34 PM ET Jan 26, 2007

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RSDA.LN) intends to continue searching for new investment opportunities in Russia despite recent problems with the Russian government over the management of its Sakhalin-II oil and gas project, Shell’s Chief Executive Jeroen Van de Veer said Friday.

“We will at least start to look at those new opportunities for the simple fact that Russia is so large in oil and gas reserves and we think we are still a good fit with the things we can offer to the Russian companies,” Van de Veer said in a CNBC television interview broadcast from the sidelines of a conference in Davos, Switzerland. read more

By William L. Watts,
Last Update: 2:12 PM ET Jan 26, 2007

DAVOS, Switzerland (MarketWatch) — Alexander Medvedev went to Davos with the tall task of convincing European leaders and others that they have nothing to fear from the state-controlled Russian energy giant Gazprom.

The company enraged European leaders earlier this month when it temporarily shut off the flow of oil through a key pipeline due to a dispute with Belarus. The move came a year after it had similarly clamped off natural gas supplies due to a dispute with Ukraine. read more

EXTRACT: Jorma Ollila, Chairman, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, said, “This is a welcome effort to streamline the growing demands on companies and to improve objectivity for disclosure of climate-related information.”

THE ARTICLE

Davos, Switzerland, 26 January 2007 – The World Economic Forum announced today the formation of a new international partnership of seven organizations to establish a generally accepted framework for climate risk-related reporting by corporations. Founding members of the institutional consortium, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), include the California Climate Action Registry, Carbon Disclosure Project, Ceres, The Climate Group, International Emissions Trading Association, World Economic Forum Global Greenhouse Gas Register and World Resources Institute. read more

26/01/2007 15:00  – (SA)  

Lagos – Six Chinese oil workers who went missing in an armed attack in Nigeria on Thursday are believed to have been abducted, bringing the number of hostages from that assault to nine, says an oil company source.

There were now 38 foreign workers being held by four different armed groups in Africa’s top oil producer, where violent crime and militancy had surged in the past 12 months.

Shell had originally said that three Chinese staff of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) were abducted and another seven were missing after the raid in which one attacker was killed. read more

Jan. 26, 2007, 7:58AM
By MATT MOORE AP Business Writer

DAVOS, Switzerland — Russia’s OAO Gazprom sought to assure jittery Europeans on Friday that new deals for the sale of natural gas to Belarus and Ukraine would prevent any more disruptions to western Europe.

But European Union Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said the continent should steel itself for future disruptions regardless.

Gazprom’s deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev was asked whether Europe should be concerned that supply disruptions over disputes with Ukraine at the beginning of 2006 and with Belarus earlier this year could continue. read more

Created: 26.01.2007 17:08 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 17:08 MSK

The chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell said on Friday, Jan. 26, the company will continue to seek new business in Russia, despite the fact that last year it had to cede part of its Sakhalin-2 project to state gas monopoly Gazprom.

Jeroen Van der Veer told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Russia had “a lot of oil, a lot of gas and we happen to know something about it.”

“We will continue to look at all opportunities that we have and might be possible,” he was quoted by Reuters. read more

Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:37 AM GMT
By Tom Bergin

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is expected to post a 3 percent drop in its underlying fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday, due to easing oil prices and rising costs, but the oil major is still predicted to post a record-breaking $25 billion (13 billion pounds) full-year profit.

A Reuters poll of 10 analysts gave an average forecast of $5.216 billion for Shell’s fourth quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net profit, which strips out changes in the value of inventories, excluding non-operating items. read more

By Stephen Voss and Lucian Kim

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — OAO Gazprom, racing to develop natural-gas reserves, will discuss Russia’s biggest untapped deposit with the five foreign producers the company rejected in an earlier round of negotiations.

Gazprom sent letters to companies including Chevron Corp. and Total SA, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said today in Davos, Switzerland. State-run Gazprom estimates Shtokman holds 3.7 trillion cubic meters of gas, enough to meet U.S. demand for five years. read more

26.01.2007, 10.34
 
TOKYO, January 26 (Itar-Tass) – Chairman of the board of directors of Russia’s natural gas monopoly Gazprom Alexei Miller has promised that the company will stick to stability of supplies to Japan of liquefied natural gas produced within the framework of the Sakhalin-2 project, Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari told journalists on Friday providing information on the results of a meeting between the Gazprom leadership and Director-General of the Japanese Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Harufumi Mochizuki held in Moscow. read more

By John Donovan

As regular visitors to this website know, we receive a regular flow of leaked Shell emails and other information brought to our attention by Shell insiders. A substantial proportion relate to the subject of employee recruitment.

For example, a few days ago we reported on Shell’s attempt to recruit a dozen investigators to cope with some 200 cases of fraud, contract corruption, bribery, money-laundering and organised crime per year inside the Shell Group (is that just within Shell senior management?): Shell to investigate fraud and corruption inside Shell Group read more

EXTRACT: The Forum panel — which also included Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Ukrainian Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych, Gazprom deputy chief executive Alexander Medvedev, Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex W. Tillerson and Royal Dutch Shell PLC CEO Jeroen van der Veer — covered a range of topics from climate change to the rise of state-owned producers.

By: BRADLEY S. KLAPPER – Associated Press

DAVOS, Switzerland — U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman defended President Bush’s drive to reduce oil consumption without introducing a gasoline tax, saying such a proposal would be too divisive. read more

ENERGY

Royal Dutch Shell earned the Offshore Energy Achievement Award for project of the year Thursday for restoration of its Mars oil and natural gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Katrina wrought millions of dollars in damage.

It’s the top honor among awards that recognize other offshore achievements such as geosciences and safety.

Mars, 130 miles south of New Orleans, sustained some of the worst damage to Gulf infrastructure when Katrina barreled through in August 2005.

This year’s other contenders were an offshore West Africa development by oil-field services provider Schlumberger and ATP Oil & Gas Corp.’s completion of infrastructure modifications at its Wenlock development in the North Sea. The awards were presented at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. read more

One fan’s idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is another cynic’s greenwash. Over the past 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 kudos.

Scrutiny by the NGO sector of corporates such as Shell and Gap has mobilised firms to align charitable and community activities increasingly with core business strategy. Companies are being judged on ethical business practices towards staff, customers, suppliers, local communities and host countries, rather than the size of their cheque to charity. read more

 
Andrei Lugovoi speaks to the media in Moscow.
Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
 
EXTRACT: Last month Shell was forced to sell its controlling share in the world’s biggest oil and gas venture, Sakhalin 2, to the Russian energy giant Gazprom. BP has also come under pressure to give up some of its share in a UK-Russian oil company, TNK-BP. It has been targeted by the state licensing agency, Rosnedra, which is threatening to strip it of its permit for a string of alleged infringements. read more

26/01/2007
by Fiona McGarry

Shell E&P Ireland has moved to progress efforts to find an alternative route for the Corrib gas pipeline through Erris.

Shell and its partners in the Corrib project, Statoil and Marathon have recruited an engineering consultancy firm to study and advise on alternative pipeline routes.

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, the company appealed for a process of community consultation and dialogue to find the best route for the onshore pipeline. read more

(Two Shell petrol stations blockaded by activists)

On the evening of the 24th January two Shell petrol stations in north London were blockaded by activists who are concerned over Shell’s aggressive business practices and poor human rights record.

For more details of Shells record see:

www.shelltosea.com
www.shellfacts.com
www.corporatewatch.com
www.artnotoil.org.uk

The non-violent actions took place at Shell stations on Holloway Road and Upper Street in north London. No arrests were made. However some motorist became aggressive, made threats and insulted blockaders. read more

TRENTON, N.J., Jan. 25 Shell Oil Co. and a subsidiary have agreed to a $1.2 million fine for gasoline at a New Jersey service station that leaked from tanks into the water.

The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a statement announcing the settlement Thursday with Shell and Motiva Enterprises LLC, co-owned by Shell and Saudi Refining Inc.
 
“Of the total penalty, $500,000 recoups the economic benefit that Shell/Motiva reaped by evading DEP cleanup orders, said DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson. read more

(How about the red pants?)

President Ilham Aliyev met today in Davos with Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer to discuss prospects of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the company.

Jeroen van der Veer said Royal Dutch Shell is keen to cooperate with Azerbaijan in energy sector.

President Aliyev, for his part, welcomed the idea, and said he will take efforts towards establishment of cooperation with Shell.

January 25, 2007