March, 2007:

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

March 16 (Bloomberg) — Tohoku Electric Power Co., Japan’s fourth-largest power utility, agreed to double the volume of liquefied natural gas it buys from Australia’s North West Shelf venture.

Tohoku Electric, based in Sendai City, agreed to increase its LNG purchases from the Perth-based venture by about 500,000 metric tons a year to about 1 million tons a year starting in 2010 for eight years, North West Shelf Australia LNG Pty., the venture’s marketing arm, said in an e-mailed statement. read more

FIRST ARTICLE: Bloomberg: Total’s De Margerie Says Refining Is `Strategic’ for Company

By Tara Patel

March 15 (Bloomberg) — Total SA, Europe’s third-largest oil company, will invest 1 billion euros a year through 2010 in refining, a “strategic” business for the company, its chief executive officer said.

“Refining remains an important strategy for us,” Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie said today at a news conference in Normandy, the site of Total’s largest French refinery. “We are not getting out of the sector because at one point in time it’s not profitable. We don’t have a stop-and-go kind of policy.” read more

March 15, 2007
Posted to the web March 16, 2007

Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington, DC

The United States is partnering with Nigeria to counter growing violence in its oil-rich delta region that is threatening an ally that has made valuable contributions to peacekeeping and regional stability in Africa, says a U.S. defense official.

Theresa Whelan, deputy assistant secretary of defense, told a March 14 forum in Washington, “There are no quick-fix solutions” to the security problems in the Niger River Delta where most of Nigeria’s oil is produced. The forum was sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
 
The Niger Delta extends over an area in southern Nigeria of approximately 70,000 square kilometers and accounts for 7.5 percent of the country’s land mass, according to government statistics. read more

Deal comes week after agreement to promote use

Associated Press

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL — An official from Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, said the company plans to start exporting ethanol to the United States in 2007.

Silas Oliva Filho, manager of ethanol and oxygenates at Petrobras, said during a sugar and ethanol conference in São Paulo on Thursday that the company planned to enter the U.S. ethanol market for the first time in 2007.

The announcement comes a week after the U.S. and Brazil signed an agreement to join forces to promote more ethanol use. read more

Royal Dutch’s $8.7-billion offer for rest of its Canadian unit expires tonight

By DAVID EBNER
Friday, March 16, 2007 Page B3
 
CALGARY — Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s $45-a-share offer for Shell Canada Ltd. expires tonight, and several investors say the takeover attempt will be a close call.

Royal Dutch, one of the world’s biggest public energy companies, already owns about 78 per cent of Shell Canada and wants to buy the rest, saying its offer is contingent on getting more than half of the minority shares. read more

BY GORDON HAMILTON

GREENHOUSE GASES Canadian oil and gas companies have failed to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, putting themselves and their investors at risk of the the kind of eco- campaigns that targeted forest companies or the multi- billion- dollar lawsuits launched against tobacco companies, according to a new sustainability report.

Head in the Oil Sands, a 25- page report by the $ 2.2- billion Ethical Funds Company, reveals that only three of 50 publicly traded oil and gas companies tracked by the fund have decreased greenhouse gas emissions while increasing production. Only seven are factoring the cost of carbon into capital allocation decisions. All 50 were Canadian companies except two, Royal Dutch Shell and BP plc. read more

By Upstream staff

Iran’s Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh has insisted that tougher United Nations sanctions would fail to choke development of Iran’s oil and gas industry.

US, UK , French, German, Russian and Chinese diplomats at the UN have reached a tentative deal on imposing fresh sanctions on Iran and hope to introduce the measure at the Security Council today, providing their governments agree.

Vaziri-Hamaneh brushed off reporters’ suggestions that Iran’s energy industry would suffer as a result. read more

March 15, 2007, 5:56 pm
Posted by WSJ.com Staff

BP has been criticized for its safety standards since the deadly Texas City refinery explosion in 2005. But Royal Dutch Shell was a far more dangerous company to work for in the past two years.

Thirty-seven Shell employees and contractors died last year, the company reported in its annual filing with the SEC yesterday, compared with just seven BP employees. In 2005, 36 Shell employees died, compared with 27 BP employees. BP had about 97,000 employees at the end of 2006, compared with 108,000 for Shell. read more

Lisa Schmidt, CanWest News Service
Published: Thursday, March 15, 2007

CALGARY — The future of Shell Canada Ltd. could be decided Friday with an $8.7-billion buyout offer from its parent Royal Dutch Shell PLC set to expire.

Shell Canada minority shareholders have until this evening to tender their shares, although Royal Dutch still has the option to extend or increase the bid.

The offer is conditional on a majority of Shell Canada’s minority shareholders accepting the $45-a-share bid, which has been supported by Shell Canada’s board of directors. read more

Mar 15th 2007 | LAGOS

Elections could further destabilise the violent, oil-rich Delta region

THE seedy drinking-holes frequented by burly foreign oilmen in Nigeria’s main oil city of Port Harcourt are pretty empty these days. Kidnappings and killings of expatriate workers, car-bombs and violent robberies have persuaded many to stay behind the high walls and barbed wire of their own homes, as armed groups wreak havoc ahead of national elections next month.

In the past year, attacks on oil facilities have forced Nigeria to shut down a fifth of its production; over 100 foreign workers have been kidnapped in the oil-producing Niger Delta region. Higher security costs and a shrinking number of expatriates willing to take the risks of working there have sharply slowed new investment. The Nigerian government has lost billions of dollars in oil revenues. read more

SHAWN MCCARTHY

Mergers and acquisitions by global oil and gas producers slumped in the second half of last year after a torrid pace in the first half, setting the stage for a “frustrating” 2007, a report from two industry research firms said Thursday.

Fuelled by record cash flow and earnings, global oil companies concluded roughly 280 major upstream transactions, worth $166-billion (U.S.) in 2006, said the report from Houston-based John S. Herold and London-based Harrison Lovegrove & Co. Ltd. That’s the highest transaction value since the mega-merger year of 1998, although the number of deals fell from 302 in 2005. read more

Posted on March 15, 2007 06:07 PM under: World News & Politics

Qatar Airways plans to become the first airline in the world to fuel its aircraft with natural gas, the company’s chief executive said in an interview.

Akbar al-Baker said the airline was talking to oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and engine manufacturers about using a form of diesel made from natural gas, known as GTL, or Gas-to-Liquids fuel, in its planes; and as soon as the engine manufacturers certify their engines to be used with GTL, Qatar Airways will be the first airline to fuel its airplanes with GTL. read more

MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — International Paper (NYSE: IP) today announced the election of Lynn Laverty Elsenhans to its board of directors, effective March 15.

“Lynn brings global business and manufacturing expertise to our board,” said John Faraci, International Paper’s chairman and chief executive officer. “A senior executive at Shell, Lynn is highly regarded within industry. Her accomplishments and experience around the world in a capital-intensive industry like ours will add significant benefit to International Paper.” read more

Published: Thursday, March 15, 2007 8:38 AM CDT
 
BATON ROUGE (AP) – Shell Chemical Co. has settled six years of violations with a $6.5 million agreement, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said Wednesday.

The settlement covers 21 violations between 1999 and 2004 at four sites in St. Charles Parish and one in Ascension Parish, according to DEQ.

It includes a $1 million fine and $5.5 million in donations and improvements to its flare reduction systems at the sites, DEQ spokesman Rodney Mallett said in a news release.
 
The donations include money for the DEQ hurricane-storm cleanup and recovery fund, an air-quality study, emergency response improvements in the St. Charles Parish School system, and for equipment at the St. Charles Emergency Operation Center, Mallett said. read more

By : Richard Orange
14/03/2007

ROYAL Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil company is angling for a role in developing the $40bn (£20.7bn, E30.3bn) Shtokman field in the Russian Barents Sea, one of the world’s largest energy projects.

The Business understands that Shell made contact with Gazprom earlier this year when it became clear the Russian giant was once again seeking an international partner to help develop the field.

In September 2005, the Russian giant produced a shortlist of five Western oil and gas companies to help it to develop Shtokman, thought to contain 113 trillion cubic feet of gas, the third largest reserve in the world. This comprised US oil groups ConocoPhillips and Chevron, France’s Total and Norway’s Statoil and Norsk Hydro. But not Shell. read more

March 15, 2007, 5:56 pm

Posted by WSJ.com Staff

BP has been criticized for its safety standards since the deadly Texas City refinery explosion in 2005. But Royal Dutch Shell was a far more dangerous company to work for in the past two years.

Thirty-seven Shell employees and contractors died last year, the company reported in its annual filing with the SEC yesterday, compared with just seven BP employees. In 2005, 36 Shell employees died, compared with 27 BP employees. BP had about 97,000 employees at the end of 2006, compared with 108,000 for Shell. read more

By Dan Lonkevich

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest oil company, won’t raise its C$45 ($38.25) a share offer for the stock it doesn’t already own in Shell Canada Ltd., Chief Financial Officer Peter Voser said today in an interview.

“We think it’s a full and fair offer, and the only offer to shareholders,” Voser said from Shell’s offices in New York. The offer is 37 percent higher than the price of shares of Shell Canada the day before the offer was made, he said. read more

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent
Published: Mar 15, 2007

A number of former Greenpeace activists have taken part in a training exercise in support of Mayo fishermen’s objections to the Corrib gas project.

Up to 20 members of environmental group International Sea Solidarity (ISS) participated in the exercise in Belmullet harbour with members of the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association. The association withdrew from discussions with Shell E&P Ireland in January, after failure to reach agreement in relation to its concerns about the project. read more

By Ed Crooks, Energy Editor
Published: March 15 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 15 2007 02:00

Royal Dutch Shell has created a new global health and safety function and launched a safety programme after 37 employees and contractors were killed in accidents and other incidents last year.

This was one more than in 2005 and a much higher number than that of BP, which has been strongly criticised for its safety performance following the deaths of 15 people in an explosion in its Texas City refinery in 2005. read more

By Carola Hoyos in Vienna
Published: March 15 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 15 2007 02:00

State-owned oil and natural gas companies last year went on a $57bn shopping spree, accounting for a third of the value of all transactions in oil and gas exploration and production worldwide, according to an industry report out next week.

Statoil’s $32bn merger with fellow Norwegian Norsk Hydro in December accounted for more than half the value of all the deals.

But it was China’s and India’s drive to secure oil and gas resources for their fast-expanding economies and the increasing trend of resource nationalisation, that fuelled the rest of the buying spree. read more

By Chris Tighe
Published: March 15 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 15 2007 02:00

One of the world’s largest bioethanol plants is to be built in Teesside by a new company established by British business heavyweights with backing from two global private equity firms.

Ensus will today announce it has secured an investment approaching £250m for the “green fuels” facility, which will have an annual production capacity of 400m litres at the Wilton International site, near Middlesbrough. Even before the plant has been built, the company has secured a contract to sell all bioethanol output to Shell for 10 years. read more

By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: March 14 2007 22:03 | Last updated: March 14 2007 22:03

Internet censorship is spreading rapidly, being practised by about two dozen countries and applied to a far wider range of online information and applications, according to research by a transatlantic group of academics.

The warning comes a week after a Turkish court ordered the blocking of YouTube to silence offensive comments about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, marking the most visible attack yet on a website that has been widely adopted around the world. read more

Posted by WSJ.com Staff

Unlike his peer, BP CEO John Browne, Royal Dutch Shell chief Jeroen van der Veer got a raise last year.

Van der Veer was paid 3.69 million euros (about $4.9 million) last year, up from 3.48 million euros in 2005,according to Shell’s annual  report, filed yesterday. His pay was close to that of Lord Browne — but that CEO has taken pay cuts two years running, as his company deals with safety issues and a host of other problems.

Van der Veer, in contrast, oversaw a record annual profit in 2006 and a fourth-quarter gain of oil and gas production, long a sore spot for Shell. His 2006 compensation included a 2-million-euro bonus, a car allowance and transportation between his home and office. One assumes said car and transportation run on gasoline. read more

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — OPEC ministers on Wednesday spoke out against pumping more crude into world markets, suggesting they favored present levels — and prices — despite jittery stock markets and concerns about the health of the global economy.

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting by the 12 OPEC oil ministers, comments by the ministers of Nigeria and Kuwait reflected satisfaction on the part of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries with present prices. While well off the record highs of over $78 last summer, a barrel of oil still costs around 40 percent more than in 2004. read more

March 15, 2007

— How bad are things at Shell these days? At Shell Centre, the head office at London’s Waterloo, the sign above the door is missing the initial “S”.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article1517019.ece

March 15, 2007
By Michael Horsnell

Sir Martin Sorrell, the global advertising magnate, accused two former Italian colleagues yesterday of a hate campaign in which they labelled him and a female executive “the mad dwarf and the nympho schizo”.

The diminutive founder and chief executive of WPP Group, which is worth £7.8 billion, also complained in the High Court about a “vicious image” that had been disseminated of him and Daniela Weber on the internet.

The “vicious” image is understood to be a mocked-up picture of Sir Martin and Ms Weber in a compromising position. In a further slur, Ms Weber, 44, who replaced the two ex-colleagues after they had been sacked by Sir Martin, was allegedly referred to as his “hot lover”. read more

By Michael Harrison, Business Editor
Published: 15 March 2007

The total pay of Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive Jeroen van der Veer shrank 7 per cent last year to £3.7m despite the oil giant reporting record profits.

Shell’s annual report and accounts show that a reduction in Mr van der Veer’s pension entitlement cut his overall package by about £275,000 compared with the £3.98m he took home in 2005.

Shell’s executive directors also missed out on a payment from the group’s long-term incentive plan (LTIP) for the second year running. read more

For Immediate Release Contact: Rodney Mallett
March 14, 2007 Telephone: 225.219.3964

BATON ROUGE – Shell Chemical has agreed to pay a $1 million penalty to the state and invest $5.5 million in beneficial environmental projects in a settlement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

The settlement stems from a variety of violations which occurred between 1999 and 2004 and includes Shell Chemical sites located in St. Charles and Ascension parishes.

The environmental projects consist of installing a flare reduction-flare improvement system, donating to the DEQ hurricane/storm cleanup and recovery fund, donating to an air-quality study, donating to the St. Charles Parish School system for improvement in emergency response and donating to the St. Charles Emergency Operation Center for the purchase of equipment. read more

Thursday, March 15, 2007
By Matt Scallan

Shell Chemical has agreed to spend $6.5 million to settle charges that it violated air and other emissions standards between 1999 and 2003 at its plants in St. Charles and Ascension parishes. The settlement with the state Department of Environmental Quality, which includes $1 million in penalties, was announced Wednesday.

Under the settlement Shell does not admit to any wrongdoing, and the company noted that many of the violations were self-reported.

The bulk of the settlement, $5.5 million, will go toward what the DEQ calls “beneficial environmental projects,” including installing a new flaring system that will reduce the number of flaring events as well as the light and noise from those events. read more

Advocate staff report
Published: Mar 15, 2007
   
Shell Chemical will pay a $1 million fine and invest $5.5 million in projects to improve the environment as part of a settlement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality the agency announced Wednesday.

The settlement stems from a variety of violations between 1999 and 2004 and includes Shell Chemical sites in St. Charles and Ascension parishes.

The environmental projects consist of:

Installing a flare reduction-flare improvement system. read more

By Nancy Lofholm
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 03/15/2007 12:53:44 AM MDT

Grand Junction – Representatives have been buying land for Shell in the desert west of Grand Junction, but the company won’t divulge why it wants the acreage.

Most of the purchases have been made near Mack in the mostly barren stretches of land west of 10 Road and along U.S. 6 and 50. Some residents have been toting sales and contracts, and say the company has bought thousands of acres.

Roy Howell, a commercial appraiser with the Mesa County assessor’s office, said he doesn’t know how many acres have been purchased because the land is being bought in other names and by three large companies – Shell, Marathon Oil and Cam-Colorado LLC. read more

(Linda Cook: ‘Investing in Qatar is close to my heart’)

Published: Thursday, 15 March, 2007, 08:56 AM Doha Time 
By Pratap John

LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell will be one of the biggest foreign investors in Qatar by 2010, the company’s executive director (Gas & Power), Linda Cook has said.

Shell’s two projects in Qatar – Qatargas IV and Pearl GTL are long-term, cost billions of dollars, depend on innovative technology, advanced skills and access to global markets, she said here yesterday. read more

By Carmen J. Gentile Mar 15, 2007, 4:54 GMT

MIAMI, FL, United States (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell has no plans on leaving Nigeria despite the ongoing violence plaguing its operations in the Niger Delta, officials said Wednesday.

Although 17 Shell workers were killed in Nigeria during 2006, the company said it was committed to remaining in the country, the No. 1 African oil producer.

‘Shell is here to stay,’ said Dale Rollins, deputy managing director for Shell in Port Harcourt.

The remarks followed the release of Shell`s annual report in which the company said the fatalities were caused by militant attacks on the company`s installations, though the majority of the deaths were the result of road accidents and drowning at off-shore facilities.

Rollins said the business relationship the company has with the Nigerian government in the form of the Shell Petroleum Development Co. was important to the future of the delta. read more

Shell performed well in 2006. Our financial position is strong and we posted record income of $26.3 billion, returning $16.3 billion to shareholders. We built on our achievements of 2005 by focusing on delivery and growth, laying solid foundations for our future.

Our strategy of more upstream, profitable downstream is on track. We made good progress in rejuvenating our diverse portfolio. Our upstream exploration efforts are paying off. We invested large stakes in major integrated long-life projects that will generate cash for decades to come. Downstream, we added to our growth portfolio, especially in China. read more

In this, my first message to shareholders, I would like to share with you some of the impressions I have gained since I became Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell plc in 2006.

The energy business, as I am seeing first-hand, is at the heart of some of the most important economic, environmental and social issues facing the world. Reliable and affordable supplies of energy are essential for economic growth and for raising living standards amongst the world’s poorest people. Equally, as the growing concern over climate change shows, providing those energy supplies in a way that minimises the impact on the environment is one of the greatest
challenges we all face. read more

By Stephen Voss

March 13 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, relied on the advancement of its gas-to-liquids project in Qatar for more than half of the gain in its proven reserves last year, the company’s annual report showed.

Shell, based in The Hague, had proven oil and gas reserves equal to 11.807 billion barrels of oil at the end of 2006, including its share of equity-owned investments, up from 11.466 billion barrels at the end of 2005, according to the report, filed with regulators today. read more

By Benoit Faucon
Last Update: 6:35 AM ET Mar 14, 2007

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC expects oil prices to stay robust in 2007 but see them trending lower this year than in 2006, the company said Tuesday in its annual report.

In its report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said “we expect oil prices, on balance, to remain robust in 2007 with ongoing geopolitical tensions.”

But without major supply disruptions, prices “may trend lower than in 2006” because of potentially slower economic growth, along with stronger supply growth and higher capacity levels from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Shell added. read more

March 14, 2007
Steve Hawkes

The oil major proposes easier bonus targets as Jeroen van der Veer pockets £2.5 million for 2006

The oil giant Shell is altering its bonus structure to make it easier for main board directors to scoop bigger payouts, it emerged today.

The news came as the group’s annual report for 2006 showed that Jeroen van der Veer, the chief executive, took home more than £2.5 million last year, up 6 per cent.

Shell is proposing to modify its bonus structure so that Mr van der Veer and his board colleagues can receive more for “overall above-target performance” in any one year. read more

SHELL TO STAY: A Nigerian schoolboy walks past the logo of Dutch oil giant Shell near Warri in the volatile Niger-Delta region. Despite incessant attacks on its facilities and personnel by militants Shell is staying in the oil-rich region. (REUTERS)
——————————————————————————–
 
March 14, 2007: LAGOS, Nigeria —  Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell said Wednesday it has no plans to leave Nigeria’s oil-rich but volatile Niger Delta, despite incessant attacks on its facilities and personnel by militants. read more

By Benoit Faucon
Last Update: 6:35 AM ET Mar 14, 2007

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC has reiterated a warning about the risks it faces from possible sanctions being imposed on Iran, as pressure intensifies in the U.S. against foreign companies investing in the Islamic republic.

The U.S. State Department last week warned that international companies investing in Iran face an increasing business risk given heightened chances for harsher sanctions amid efforts to halt Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program. read more

Royal Dutch Shell Plc Annual Report and Form 20-F for year ending December 31, 2006

Extract from page 135

Included in legal provisions at December 31, 2006 is $0.5 billion in respect of a class action for alleged losses relating to the 2004 recategorisation of certain hydrocarbon reserves (see Note 32).

(Extracts from pages 146 to 148 inclusive , includes Note 32)

Groundwater contamination

Shell Oil Company (including subsidiaries and affiliates, referred to collectively as SOC), along with numerous other defendants, has been sued by public and quasi-public water purveyors, as well as governmental entities, alleging responsibility for groundwater contamination caused by releases of gasoline containing oxygenate additives. Most of these suits assert various theories of liability, including product liability, and seek to recover actual damages, including clean-up costs. Some assert claims for punitive damages. As of December 31, 2006, there were approximately 69 pending suits by such plaintiffs that asserted claims against SOC and many other defendants (including major energy and refining companies). In 19 of the suits, plaintiffs allege aggregate compensatory damages of approximately $1.25 billion and aggregate punitive damages of approximately $3.35 billion. No amount of monetary damages has been claimed in the other 50 suits. Management of the Shell Group considers the amounts set forth by plaintiffs in these pleadings to be highly speculative and not an appropriate basis on which to determine a reasonable estimate of the amount of the loss that may be ultimately incurred, for the reasons described below. Therefore, no financial provisions have been established for this group of cases. From time to time, individual oxygenate matters are resolved and provisions are taken when appropriate.  Reasons for the determination that amounts claimed by plaintiffs in their pleadings are not an appropriate basis on which to ascertain a reasonable estimate of the amount of the loss that may ultimately may be incurred can be summarised as follows: read more

By  Hassan Hafidh

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) has expressed its willingness to the Iraqi government to invest in Iraq’s gas fields and to set up a pipeline that would connect these gas fields to Europe via Turkey, a senior Iraqi oil official said Tuesday.

“There are attempts by Shell to open talks with the Iraqi government to develop Iraq’s vast gas fields,” the senior official at the Iraqi Oil Ministry told Dow Jones Newswires.

He said that Shell held serious talks with Iraq on development of gas fields during the government of former Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi. “Now the company is trying to revive these talks.” read more

Author: Jim Ensom

Nigerian troops have been fighting militia fighters in swamps around a Royal Dutch Shell PLC oil platform that militants attacked on 11 March 2007, the third assault on Shell oil facilities in less than a week in the troubled region.

Shell confirmed the attack on the Benisede oil platform in the southern oil-rich Niger Delta and said some of its staff had been injured and taken to hospital.

Militants have carried out attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Delta and the UK government believes that armed groups may be planning further attacks on oil and gas industry targets in the Delta, and other non oil and gas industry targets and individuals throughout the country. On 18 December 2006 two bombs exploded in Port Harcourt, one in a Shell residential compound and the other at Agip’s headquarters.  Further attacks are possible. As a result Shell have evacuated all dependants from the residential compound in Port Harcourt.  Other companies have followed suit.
 
According to the UK Foreign Office, there is an ongoing high risk of politically or financially motivated kidnapping, especially in the Niger Delta.  In nine separate incidents 22 British nationals were kidnapped between January and November 2006, one of whom was killed.  On 23 January 2007, a British national and a US national were taken hostage while driving to work in Port Harcourt. read more

EXTRACT: Ms. Pelosi endorsed toughening American sanctions on Iran by stripping the executive branch of the power to waive the sanctions. Her position would effectively establish a trigger to deny companies such as Royal Dutch Shell access to the American financial markets if they continued to work with Iran.

THE ARTICLE

Engel Emerges as Key Hawk
By ELI LAKE
Staff Reporter of the Sun
March 14, 2007
 
WASHINGTON — Two Democratic congressmen from New York City quietly intervened with the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to preserve President Bush’s authority to use military force in the gathering showdown with Iran. read more

EXTRACT: Jill Davis, spokeswoman for Royal Dutch Shell, which plans to commercially produce oil shale in the Piceance Basin, said it’s highly unlikely the company will release information about its long-term water consumption and oil production because such information is speculative.

By BOBBY MAGILL
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Commercial oil shale, tar sands and increased natural gas development are likely coming to the northern Colorado Plateau, and the state is struggling to figure out how much water all that drilling will suck from the Colorado River. read more

Published: Mar 14, 2007

A WOMAN who sued two North Sea oil giants for pounds 800,000 over her husband-to-be’s death has settled out of court.

Jacqueline Ogilivie took on Shell and services firm Wood Group after a gas leak on an oilrig killed her partner, Keith Moncrieff.

Up to 2.5 tons of gas suffocated the Wood Group technician, 45, and colleague Sean McCue, 22, while they inspected a leaking pipe on Shell’s Brent Bravo platform.

It later emerged a temporary patch had been placed on the leak for nearly a year before the tragedy in September 2003. read more

By Carola Hoyos in Vienna
Published: March 14 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 14 2007 02:00

Saudi Arabia, the most powerful member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has told Angola, its newest entrant, not to assume it will be able to expand production past 2m barrels a day.

This is a blow to the world’s biggest oil companies, which have already paid Angola billions of dollars for the right to explore and produce its oil.

For all but Royal Dutch Shell, the west African country is one of the most important new oil frontiers of the past five years. read more

CEO’s Part-Time Stint in Middle East
Is Move to Cash In on 3-Year Boom
By ANA CAMPOY, RUSSELL GOLD and CHIP CUMMINS
March 14, 2007; Page A8

Halliburton Co.’s chief executive joins the swelling ranks of Westerners hoping more face time in the Middle East will help them cash in on the region’s investment surge and bustling oil-field activity.
 
The oil-field services company’s announcement this weekend that Chief Executive David J. Lesar would set up an office in Dubai and spend a portion of the year there is a grand gesture intended to pick up business in the region. Mr. Lesar follows others who are courting increasingly powerful government and national-oil company executives from the Middle East and Asia. The three-year surge in oil prices and the region’s vast reserves have helped turn Dubai, a semi-autonomous state and part of the United Arab Emirates, into an oil boomtown. read more

(Michael Stravato for the New York Times
Chevron has leased the 1.2-million-square-foot tower that used to be Enron’s headquarters and plans to move in this year.)

By KRISTINA SHEVORY
Published: March 14, 2007
HOUSTON — The good times are back.
 

Galvanized by the record profits at energy companies, this city, the center of the country’s energy industry, has shaken off the effects of the Enron implosion six years ago and is enjoying its strongest resurgence in more than 20 years, business officials and real estate developers say. read more

Wednesday 14 March 2007

Pipe dreams I was interested to read the excellent article by Owen Bowcott (Pipe dreams and distrust) about the proposed Irish gas project.

As an environmentalist and resident of Ireland since 1993, I have felt utterly disgusted at the way both Shell and the Irish government have behaved regarding the proposal to bring in gas from the Atlantic via Rossport, County Mayo. I have visited several times and seen where and what is proposed. This is a scenic part of the west of Ireland coast, much of it designated as special areas of conservation. [Residents] have suddenly been besieged by the forces of the multinationals backed by the government, without proper consultation and with scant regard for environment, culture or way of life. Without consulting the community, engineers went straight to households telling them where test pits were to be dug on their land. When meetings were held, the message was of money for nothing and lots of jobs – all for having a harmless gas pipeline running past their houses to a refinery hidden in the forestry plantation. read more