February 12th, 2007:

Shell Imperial Grand Challenge Programme to address energy challenge – News Release  Monday 12 February 2007

Discovering ways to produce cleaner fossil fuels will be the focus of a new multi-million pound joint research programme between Imperial College London and Royal Dutch Shell plc, to be launched on Thursday 15 February.

The Shell Imperial Grand Challenge Programme on Clean Fossil Fuels will focus on developing processes that will enhance extraction of difficult hydrocarbons with minimal release of greenhouse gases. It will examine processes from the extraction stage through to downstream delivery of energy and chemicals to the consumer. read more

RBC, 12.02.2007, Moscow 15:28:54.Russia will assist in supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Sakhalin-2 project, Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said during a meeting with the Japanese Ambassador to Russia Yasuo Saito. According to Khristenko, Russia plans to meet the deadlines specified in the contracts.

Meanwhile, Saito pointed out that joint projects enable the two countries to not only diversify energy supplies to Japan, but also guarantee stability of supplies for Russia, the ministry’s press office reported today. read more

By SCOTT BAUER / Associated Press Writer

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Jim Doyle will propose taxing big oil companies more than $270 million over the next two years to help pay for the state’s transportation needs.

Doyle said the assessment will equate to $1.50 per barrel of oil sold in the state, and the companies would be prohibited from passing the tax on to customers at the pump by raising the price of gas.

A longtime critic of big oil companies’ profits, Doyle promised aggressive enforcement of the provision, with any violation carrying a criminal penalty of up to six months in prison. read more

BY CALUDIA CATTANEOCalgary Bureau Chief
Financial Post [email protected]

CALGARY • Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tightening grip over his country’s oil sector is good news for Canadian energy companies looking to invest there, said a top official with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

First vice-president Varel Freeman said the Russians are making their rules clearer, which should mean fewer surprises for foreign investors.

“We feel that it’s going to be a lower-risk situation as the rules become part of laws and part of a stated practice and regulatory framework,” said Mr. Freeman, who is based in London and was visiting Western Canada late last week. “You will know the risks that you are taking, the rules of the game with which you have to work.” read more

By Upstream staff

BG Group has signed a deal with Nigeria LNG (NLNG) to buy liquefied natural gas for shipment to the US, the UK company said today.

BG Group has agreed a 20-year deal to take 2.25 million tonnes a year of LNG from NLNG’s planned Train 7 project in Finima, Bonny Island. Deliveries are expected to start in 2011 or 2012, depending on when the plant comes on stream.

The cargoes of LNG will be delivered to BG Group’s North American marketing arm at Lake Charles, Louisiana.

BG Group already has supply deals in place to buy supplies from Nigeria’s expanding LNG industry, Reuters reported. read more

By Upstream staff

Oil companies in Port Harcourt, the main city in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta, have reinforced security for their staff following a wave of kidnappings and attacks, industry sources said today.

Two security experts working for oil majors said companies had enforced a lockdown, meaning that staff were not able to leave their gated compounds. One of the experts said this was in response to threats of new attacks by a militant group.

Shell, Italy’s Agip and Total of France are the three biggest oil companies with offices and residential compounds in Port Harcourt, where violence has surged since the start of 2007. read more

Bby Ray – WSM (personal capacity) Monday, Feb 12 2007, 1:34pm

The Cork branch of the Workers’ Solidarity Movement Thuesday 28 Feb held a public meeting in the Quality Hotel, Shandon, Cork, which was attended by about twenty people. There was a high number of familiar faces from the Shell to Sea campaign, and a couple of new (well, not-quite-so-new) faces, all of whom came to hear comrade Fin Dwyer give a loosely-structured talk covering his observations as an anarchist active in the Mayo end of the campaign. read more

Monday, 12 February 2007 11:48

The Shell oil company has taken the first step to secure planning permission from An Bord Pleanála for a controversial gas pipeline through north Mayo.

Shell has sought what are termed ‘pre-application discussions’ under the new Strategic Infrastructure Act to clarify procedures for lodging an application.

The Act came into force at the end of January and Shell lodged its application for talks just days later on 8 February.

Up to this point, permission to construct a gas pipeline had been subject to the granting of an order from the Minister for Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey. read more

Published: Monday, 12 February, 2007, 09:17 AM Doha Time
Business Reporter

QATARGAS is celebrating 10 years of its existence by bringing to Doha all its customers worldwide which helped the state’s first LNG producer to clock 10mn tonnes a year production figure, exceeding the target.

The formal celebrations will be kicked off this evening with a gala dinner at the Ritz Carlton which will be attended among others by Second Deputy Premier HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah.

Interestingly, Qatargas’s history is the same as that of the country’s LNG industry. The first LNG cargo was dispatched to Japan (Nagoya LNG receiving terminal) in 1997. read more

(All at sea: the big oil companies fear that the Government’s assessments of oil and gas reserves are too optimistic)

By Roland Gribben
Last Updated: 11:34pm GMT 11/02/2007

Optimistic Government assessments about North Sea oil and gas prospects will be tempered by industry reservations in a survey due out today.  

Oil companies are concerned the Government is in danger of prematurely “talking up” the outlook for a recovery in offshore production after the award of a record number of new exploration and production licences and what Alistair Darling, Trade and Industry Secretary, regards as a “bumper year for discoveries.” read more

They’re pushing other energy sources, more effective ways of producing gas

The Associated Press

HOUSTON – With dwindling oil supplies, pollution concerns and the ever-present threat of high gas prices, talk of new and better ways to fuel our cars, heat and cool our homes, and power our factories has never been greater.

What’s more, the conversation is emanating increasingly from a source that has been surprisingly quiet until recently — the oil companies themselves.

When some of the industry’s top executives gather in Houston this week to discuss global energy challenges, finding more effective ways to produce oil and gas — as well as alternatives to fossil fuels — will dominate the discussion. read more

EXTRACT: A possible option is for BHP Petroleum and Woodside to merge into a separate listed structure. Woodside’s biggest shareholder, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, could throw in more assets to maintain its 34 per cent stake of the bigger group, and BHP would be the biggest shareholder, with a 50 per cent stake of the new Woodside.

THE ARTICLE

By Adele Ferguson
February 12, 2007 12:00am

AS the BHP Billiton board moves closer to picking a replacement for chief executive Chip Goodyear, the market is bracing for an announcement that it will ditch its dual listed structure and make a bid for an oil, aluminium or diversified mining company. read more

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Shell Oil Co. said on Sunday operations were back to normal at its 156,000-barrel-per-day San Francisco Bay area refinery in Martinez, California, after emergency flaring on Friday.

The refinery carried out an emergency depressurization of equipment at the refinery on Friday night, according to a notice filed with the California Office of Emergency Services.
Refinery spokesman Steve Lesher declined to identify the unit depressurized on Friday but said operations on that unit were back to normal on Sunday. read more

Canada’s oil companies are preparing themselves for possible tax increases and environmental controls from a Conservative government under pressure to enforce tougher policies on the industry, according to a letter obtained by the Toronto Globe and Mail.

In a letter to Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers chairwoman Kathleen Sendell addressed criticisms that the oil sands industry is unfairly subsidized and can afford tax increases, calling the industry “a major driver of the Canadian economy.” read more

By Robert Tuttle

(Bloomberg) — Four workers were injured in a “flash fire” yesterday at an electrical substation at Royal Dutch Shell Plc.’s refinery in Wilmington, California, a spokeswoman said.

The refinery is operating normally, said the spokeswoman, Brissa Sotelo. Three of the workers have been released from the hospital and reported to work today, she said. The fourth worker is undergoing medical evaluations.

The refinery has the capacity to process 98,500 barrels of crude oil a day, according to U.S. Energy Department data. read more

EXTRACT: “It is very worrying, because you know that Malaysian deepwater development is booming now and foreign oil companies such as Shell are entering the local market in the hope of clinching new projects. “When these oil companies expand their operations here, they are going to draw people from the industry and local shipyards like MMHE can’t pay the salaries that the oil companies can pay,” Gomes said.

THE ARTICLE

Presenna Nambiar,
Published: Feb 12, 2007

WITH the increase in deepwater oil and gas exploration, an age-old problem has resurfaced – that of not only getting the right people for the job, but also keeping them. read more

Published: Feb 12, 2007

BEIJING, Feb 12 Asia Pulse – Chinese companies need to get serious about sustainable development with the government repeating calls for a resource-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable national economy in its 11th five-year plan.

So far 18 companies have issued sustainable development reports or social responsibility reports in China, said Zhai Qi, deputy general secretary of the China Business Council for Sustainable Development (CBCSD), on Friday.

Eleven of the firms are domestic companies such as COSCO, Baosteel, China Mobile and Ping An Insurance, five are foreign ones — including Alcoa China and Ford China — and two are Sino-foreign joint ventures like Shanghai Volkswagen. read more

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent,
Published: Feb 12, 2007

Shell E&P Ireland has sought preliminary discussions with An Bord Pleanala on its modified route for the Corrib gas onshore pipeline.

The request has been made on behalf of the Corrib gas partners under the new Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act – legislation which came into force at the end of January to speed up planning approval for major projects.

If the partners subsequently submit an application to the appeals board, it will be the first time that the controversial onshore pipeline has been submitted to any planning authority – as distinct from the Bellanaboy terminal, which was approved by An Bord Pleanala on a revised application. read more

EXTRACT: Experiences such as Shell’s, which had to relinquish control of its Sakhalin 2 gas project to the state-owned Gazprom, have raised concerns about political interference.

THE ARTICLE

HSBC has applied for a Russian retail banking licence in a move that would make it the first UK bank to build a consumer presence in the former Soviet Union.

A retail banking presence would add to HSBC’s corporate and investment banking interest in the fast-growing Russian economy.

It is understood that HSBC wants to target personal and small business banking. Should it be awarded a licence, it may choose to operate just as a phone or internet bank without high street branches. The application was filed in October last year but no decision has yet been made. read more

BEYOND BIG OIL
 
• The Situation: Houston is one of several areas around the country jockeying for position in the emerging alternative-energy industry.
 
• The Background: Major oil companies and start-ups alike are building alternative-energy businesses in the Houston area.
 
• What’s Next: The city’s energy pedigree, a welcoming regulatory environment and state efforts to promote alternative energies suggest Houston will be a leader in this field.

THE MAIN PLAYERS
 
Houston has a growing cast of alternative energy players who are working in different facets of the industry. read more

WSJ: Is a new hegemony developing in Russia in which the country’s energy infrastructure and resources, rather than military might, are used against its detractors? This is what many analysts were saying after the Putin government recently took control of the big gas project on the Russian island Sakhalin from Royal Dutch Shell.

“Where the Russians went wrong is instead of going to Shell and saying let’s renegotiate the production-sharing agreement contract, they said all sorts of other things about the environment, which is all beside the point. The original sin was to sign the contract based on the poor conditions at the time.” read more

STANDING PAT
 
•  What’s New: Saudi Arabia’s oil minister says OPEC output changes aren’t needed if current market trends hold.
 
•  The Background: Saudi Arabia is the oil cartel’s de facto leader and the world’s largest oil exporter. Its recent cuts have contributed to rising oil prices after a recent drop.
 
•  What’s Next: OPEC officials are scheduled to meet March 15 in Vienna.

THE ARTICLE

Naimi Confirms Reduction
Of 1 Million Barrels a Day
In Kingdom’s Production
By KAREN ELLIOTT HOUSE
February 12, 2007; Page A3 read more

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2007  
Interview with Art Smith

Where would natural gas be more fairly priced?

It should be worth its BTU equivalents in crude oil. If crude oil is 55 or so, that would translate into $8 or $9 a million BTUs in natural gas. People have been worried about the inventory overhang that’s been a function of the very warm weather we had earlier in the year. But utilities are now burning gas and not oil. The supply of natural gas is still a tremendous issue and we’re running up the down escalator in terms of drilling more and more wells to produce the same amount of gas as we did last year. read more