March 2nd, 2007:

Vol. 12, No. 9  Week of March 04, 2007

A decision by Royal Dutch Shell on whether to begin commercial oil shale development won’t happen by the end of this decade as planned because the permit process has taken longer than expected.

Jill Davis, spokeswoman for an experimental project in western Colorado, said they’ll decide shortly after 2010 whether to proceed.

“We just need a little more time to get our test projects going on the federal leases,” she said. “Those leases took a little more time than we thought.” read more

Vol. 12, No. 9  Week of March 04, 2007

Oil and gas deal-making tallied C$56.9 billion in Canada last year, an increase of 32 percent from 2005, and accounting for one-quarter of all Canadian mergers and acquisitions, said investment banker Crosbie & Co.

But the list includes the planned C$8.7 billion takeout of Shell Canada by its parent company Royal Dutch Shell — a transaction that has yet to be concluded.

The other major transactions were TransCanada’s US$3.4 billion purchase of ANR Pipeline from El Paso and Canadian Natural Resources’ US$4.25 billion acquisition of Anadarko Canada. read more

Shell to Sea national demonstration, in Dublin city centre last Saturday, highlighted the continued and widespread opposition to the construction of the controversial Corrib gas pipeline and terminal in North Mayo.

The demonstration was supported by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions, Waterford Council of Trade Unions and the Dublin Busworkers branch of the National Bus and rail Union.

Speakers at a rally outside the GPO included Mícheál Ó Seighin of the Rossport 5 and Michael O’Reilly of the Amalgamated Transport and genral Workers’ Union (ATGWU). read more

03.02.07, 6:27 AM ET 
 
BRUSSELS (AFX) – The European Commission said it has set a deadline of March 3 for its inquiry into the proposed acquisition of joint control of Shell Technology Ventures Fund by Shell Technology Ventures and Luxembourg-controlled private equity fund Coller Capital.

Currently, Shell Technology Ventures Fund is 100 pct controlled by Shell Technology Ventures, which in turn is owned by Royal Dutch Shell PLC. (nyse: RDSA – news – people )

The transaction will be examined under the EU’s simplified merger review procedure. read more

Created: 02.03.2007 07:22 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 07:22 MSK

Russia plans to start new checks on the Exxon Mobil-led Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project at the end of March, the country’s environmental watchdog official said on Thursday, March 1.

Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of the Russian environmental agency RosPrirodNadzor, said the examination of the scheme on the Pacific island of Sakhalin would focus on how Exxon and its partners fulfill their environmental obligations.

“We plan to start the first part of the checks —- the paperwork —- on March 28. About a month after that, probably in May, the second part —- the checks on the ground —- is to begin,” Mitvol said, quoted by Reuters. read more

March 2, 2007, 12:33AM
ConocoPhillips CEO says talks vital on decree but haven’t happened yet
By KRISTEN HAYS

ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva said Thursday that his company has yet to talk to the Venezuelan government about President Hugo Chavez’s intent to wrest control of oil production projects from foreign oil giants, but time is running out to get a dialogue moving.

“It’s a challenge for our company and all the international oil companies because of the size and scope of our investments. It’s important for us to have those discussions,” Mulva said Thursday, shortly before he gave a speech at Rice University about working with national oil companies. read more

Dublin Shell to Sea is encouraging Shell workers to ‘whistle-blow’ on Shell’s activities in Ireland.  Those working in Shell Ireland’s headquarters, ironically named ‘Corrib House, are being asked to provide ‘Shell to Sea’ with any information they might have in relation to Shell’s future strategy and plans in Ireland.

The request for information is contained in a leaflet produced by Dublin Shell to Sea which is aimed directly at those working within the Shell building on Leeson St, Dublin. read more

By SHAI OSTER
March 2, 2007

BEIJING — Royal Dutch Shell PLC has started producing natural gas from a field in northern China that aims to help quench Beijing’s growing thirst for the fuel as it strives to reduce pollution ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Shell will spend about $600 million to $700 million to drill about 50 wells during the next seven years to develop the 1,693-square-kilometer Changbei gas field that lies mostly in Shanxi province, near its border with Inner Mongolia. The company is developing the field as part of a production-sharing contract with PetroChina Co., which owns Changbei. read more

Friday, March 2, 2007. Issue 3607. Page 8.
Vedomosti

Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov tried to lure Japanese investors during this week’s visit to Tokyo with the following description of Russian markets: “You can’t say that business is risk-free … but the presence of risks in Russia makes standard profits higher.”

Returns on capital in Russia are significantly higher than in Japan or other developed countries. Russia was No. 5 on Standard and Poors’ list of the 22 most attractive developing nations for investors in 2006, and foreign investment was $31 billion (a 140 percent increase from 2005). The RTS index rose by more than 70 percent last year, compared with a climb of 6.9 percent by Japan’s Nikkei index. read more