April 3rd, 2007:

Reuters

LONDON — Oil majors love to boast about their renewable energy activities but the glossy advertisements showing windmills and solar panels often mask modest investments and even skepticism.

The companies say their investments show they are doing their part to help fight climate change.

Environmentalists counter that the spending is inadequate and aimed solely at deflecting criticism away from the role that burning oil and gas plays in global warming.

“The advertising campaigns that are suggesting a big green shift within these companies are misleading,” said Tony Juniper, executive director at Friends of the Earth. read more

By Áine Ryan

THE LARGEST Garda presence in north Mayo for months facilitated the first day of peat removal, since before the jailing of the Rossport Five in June 2005, from the proposed Shell refinery site at Bellanaboy on Monday morning last.

Shell to Sea members claimed that over 200 gardaí were deployed between Bangor and Bellanaboy, outnumbering the protest group by around four-to-one. They also claimed that the inflated force of gardaí had been conveyed to the area by a large coach as well as seven Paddy Wagons and six squad cars. read more

By Stephen Voss

April 3 (Bloomberg) — Oryx GTL, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and South Africa’s Sasol Ltd., will this month begin its first product shipment from Qatar’s first gas-to- liquids plant, a month later than planned, a spokesman said.

The $950,000 million Oryx venture in Ras Laffan Industrial City had previously planned to send its first fuel cargo by the end of the first quarter.

“The first shipment is ready; it’s just a question of doing the administration and logistics for an April sailing,” said Malcolm Wells, a London-based spokesman for SasolChevron, which is handling product marketing. read more

Major oil companies are looking to invest in increasingly risky corners of the world, as high oil prices and tightening access to oil reserves make these regions more attractive.

As oil prices have increased, resource-rich countries such as Venezuela and Russia have tightened their grip on oil and gas assets, shrinking the pool of available reserves for companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., and ConocoPhillips.

The companies also have to contend with security problems in West Africa and in Iraq, which could soon attract investment. read more

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, April 3 (Itar-Tass) – Investment in the offshore oil and gas projects Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 in 2007 will be 2.3 billion dollars, the press service the Sakhalin regional committee for foreign economic relations said on Tuesday.

One more oil platform called PA-B will be placed in the Sea of Okhotsk in the summer under the Sakhalin-2 project, an operator of which is the company Sakhalin Energy.

The platform will make complete a group of four sea platforms and one coast platform that will begin the oil and gas output in 2008. read more

But no dramatic change is expected to the operations or future strategy
NORVAL SCOTT AND DAVID EBNER

CALGARY — Shell Canada Ltd.’s existence as an independently run Canadian energy company is effectively over after parent Royal Dutch Shell PLC said yesterday that it has won the right to buy out the company’s remaining minority shareholders.

Although the ownership change could hit the boardroom, with key decision making now potentially taking place in Houston or the Hague, it likely won’t have a dramatic effect on the company’s future strategy or on its operations, according to industry observers. read more

Published: Tuesday, April 03, 2007

CALGARY – After acquiring nearly 99 per cent of Shell Canada Ltd. shares, Royal Dutch Shell PLC is moving to buy out the rest and take its Canadian subsidiary private.

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant said yesterday it will use compulsory acquisition provisions under Canadian business laws to buy remaining stock for $45 a share.

The $8.7-billion deal, expected to close by the end of June, ends a lengthy bid by Royal Dutch, which first offered $40 a share in October and failed to win over shareholders. read more

EXTRACT: The hydrocarbon law specifies the oil revenues-the residue accruing to Iraq-will be shared equally among the Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish regions, on a basis of population. This is the feature President Bush (above) relies upon exclusively to justify, to insist on the passage of the hydrocarbon law. His real reasons are Exxon/Mobil, Chevron/Texaco, BP/Amoco, and Royal Dutch/Shell.

THE ARTICLE

If the Iraqis Get Revenue Sharing, Exxon Gets Their Oil
Courtesy of  CounterPunch
By Richard W. Behan read more

By Stephen Voss

April 2 (Bloomberg) — Argentina’s threat to ban oil companies that explore around the Falkland Islands from working in Argentina will have no effect, since none of them operate in Argentina, a Falklands Islands Government official said.

The threat last week by Argentine President Nestor Kirchner came before today’s 25th anniversary of a war with the U.K. over the control of the islands.

Exploration-license holders around the U.K.-controlled islands include small London-listed companies such as Falklands Oil & Gas Ltd. and Rockhopper Exploration Plc. read more

By Dinakar Sethuraman

April 3 (Bloomberg) — Oryx GTL, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and South Africa’s Sasol Ltd., has postponed the first inaugural shipment from Qatar’s first gas-to-liquids plant, the International Oil Daily said, citing Mohamed Mushiri, commercial manager for Oryx.

Oryx was scheduled to send 30,000 tons of fuel that contain virtually no sulfur by the end of the first quarter, the report said. The first cargo will probably leave the plant later this month, the Oil Daily said without specifying a date. read more

EXTRACT: The truth about the wars is distinctly otherwise. They are bald acts of retrograde imperialism undertaken, as many have long suspected, for oil: to secure a pipeline route across Afghanistan for the Unocal Corporation and to force access to 115 billion of barrels of Iraqi crude for American and British oil companies-specifically Exxon/Mobil, Chevron/Texaco, Conoco/Phillips, BP/Amoco, and Royal Dutch Shell. This is not speculation; it is sordid fact.

THE ARTICLE:  Impeachment and Patriotism read more

Shell Houston Open Helps PGA TOUR Reach $800 million in Charity Contributions, While Helping A Million Children in the Gulf Coast Region

HUMBLE, Texas, April 2 /PRNewswire/ — With the 2007 Shell Houston Open, the PGA TOUR regular golf tournaments will pass $800 million in total charity contributions since 1938. Combined with charitable donations from the Champions and Nationwide events, more than $1.1 billion has been generated for charities over the history of the PGA TOUR.

At the Shell Houston Open, charity contributions are focused on local youth-related charities. More than 14 Super Bowl stadiums could be filled with children who have benefited from these charities through the Shell Houston Open. read more

EXTRACT: The danger of counting one’s LNG chickens before they hatch was underlined in March, when Shell decided it was aborting the already approved 1bn cu ft a day Gulf Landing offshore project in Louisiana, citing demand realities.

THE ARTICLE

The biggest crude oil import waterway in the US, situated in the nation’s refining nerve centre, needs a substantial dredging upgrade to keep up with bigger ships and growing trade prospects. Rajesh Joshi reports for Lloyds List

Published: Apr 03, 2007 read more

Shell’s wind- and solar-powered design gets green light, writes Martyn Wingrove, Lloyds List: Published: Apr 03, 2007

BRITAIN’S Department of Trade and Industry has approved the construction of three gas platforms in the southern North Sea to boost the nation’s offshore output in 2008, writes Martyn Wingrove .

Secretary of State Alistair Darling has given the green light to the development of Shell’s Caravel and Shamrock fields and ConocoPhillips’ Kelvin project that will involve three wellhead platforms installed in the fourth quarter. read more

Tom Shiel in Castlebar
Published: Apr 03, 2007

Shell E&P Ireland has resumed a massive operation to remove peat from the terminal site at Bellanaboy, Co Mayo, virtually unimpeded. There was one early morning incident, when gardaI seized a van which was being driven at a snail’s pace on the main haulage route and brought it to Belmullet Garda station.

From about 9.40am, a fleet of trucks operated by Shell E&P Ireland contractors began removing the remaining 350,000 tonnes of peat from the terminal area to a deposition site near Bangor-Erris, 11km away. read more

Published: Apr 03, 2007

CANBERRA, April 3 Asia Pulse – Energy companies will spend more than $A1 billion ($US815.55 million) seeking oil and gas off the Australian coast after the government awarded 12 new offshore petroleum exploration permits today.

Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said the permits were for exploration areas off Western Australia, Tasmania and the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands in the Indian Ocean.

“A record 52 bids were received for 20 of the 22 areas on offer,” he said in a statement. read more

By Ed Crooks, Energy Editor
Published: April 3 2007 03:00 | Last updated: April 3 2007 03:00

Royal Dutch Shell has succeeded in its bid to buy out the minority shareholders in its Shell Canada unit, opening the way to restructuring the subsidiary and integrating it fully with the parent company.

Shell is paying C$8.7bn (£3.8bn) for the 22 per cent of the company that it did not own, representing a vote of confidence in the relatively high-cost production from Canada’s oil sands.

The Athabasca oil sands project in Alberta, 60 per cent owned by Shell, is an important part of the company’s future, particularly following Shell’s setback in Russia, where it was forced to cede majority ownership of the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas and oil projectto Gazprom at the end of last year. read more

Tue, April 3, 2007
By CP
 
CALGARY — Royal Dutch Shell remained discreet on the future of Shell Canada projects after announcing yesterday its success in acquiring 99 per cent of the Canadian subsidiary’s shares.

Few analysts foresee any shifts in direction, as Royal Dutch Shell had already been majority owner of Shell Canada’s oil and natural gas assets, refineries in Alberta and Ontario and more than 1,600 gasoline stations.

“They’ve been running it as if it were their company with a minority tag-along,” said Tom Ebbern, an analyst with Tristone Capital Inc. read more