June 21st, 2007:

EXTRACT: Greer may now have time to reflect on his observation in the email that: “Success is how we bounce when we are on the bottom.”

MARK WILLIAMSON June 22 2007

The Shell executive who told staff on a controversial project in Siberia to follow him or get out of his way has decided to get out of the way of the oil and gas group instead, it emerged yesterday.

A spokesman for Shell confirmed that David Greer had resigned two weeks after the gung-ho contents of a motivational email he sent to staff were published across the world. read more

June 21, 2007: 03:37 PM EST

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) said Thursday it expects the Russian government to continue to honor a contract on the development of hydrocarbons reserves off Russia’s Pacific coast.

Rival Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) earlier this year ceded a stake in a similar project off Sakhalin Island to a Russian state-controlled gas monopoly. Also, Shell reportedly agreed to ramp up its compensation to the Russian government in a bid to salvage the multibillion-dollar venture. read more

By Emiliya (edited by) Mychasuk
Published: June 22 2007 03:00 | Last updated: June 22 2007 03:00

David Greer might be feeling slightly less motivational after resigning as the deputy chief executive of Sakhalin Energy Investment Company to “pursue other business opportunities”.

An e-mail from Mr Greer to his staff urging them to “lead me, follow me or get out of my way”, which leaned heavily on the words of General Patton, was leaked this month.

SEIC runs Royal Dutch Shell’s $22bn Sakhalin 2 gas and oil project off Russia’s far-eastern coast. read more

By Ed Crooks
Published: June 21 2007 03:00 | Last updated: June 21 2007 03:00

FRONT PAGE – FIRST SECTION: ‘Patton’ e-mail man resigns SEIC post

David Greer, the deputy chief executive of Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, has resigned to “pursue other business opportunities.”

A motivational e-mail from Mr Greer urging staff to “lead me, follow me or get out of my way”, which leaned heavily on the words of General George Patton, was leaked this month.

SEIC runs Royal Dutch Shell’s $22bn Sakhalin 2 gas and oil project off Russia’s eastern coast, which aims to deliver its first cargo of liquefied natural gas by the end of next year. read more

David Greer, Project Director and Deputy Chief Executive of Sakhalin Energy responsible for the $22 billion Sakhalin-2 project owned by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, has resigned after being exposed as a plagiarist after circulating a motivational memo. Greer, a Royal Dutch Shell Executive, was on assignment to the project.

In April 2007, David Greer, the Project Director and Deputy Chief Executive of Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, sent a motivational email to senior employees working on the $22 billion Sakhalin-2 project in Russia, the biggest energy project of its kind in the world. read more

FROTHING WITH SALACIOUS DELIGHT. Much of the media coverage gleefully revealed details of Lord Browne’s (above) relationship with former escort Jeff Chevalier. (Xtra West files)  

EXTRACT: It has been rumoured that Browne hoped to have one final business coup. A takeover of another oil giant, Shell, to leap over Exxon-Mobil and become the undisputed giant of the industry. It was not to be.

THE ARTICLE

ANALYSIS / A hustler’s betrayal reveals the limits of gay tolerance

Michael Thompson / Xtra West / Thursday, June 21, 2007 
 
“I have always regarded my sexuality as a personal matter, to be kept private.” read more

Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:29 PM BST

MOSCOW, June 21 (Reuters) – An executive from Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) has resigned two weeks after a motivational email he wrote to staff on the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia was leaked to newspapers, a company spokesman said on Thursday.

“This is true,” a Shell spokesman in Moscow said, without giving details.

David Greer, deputy chief executive of Sakhalin Energy, the consortium running the $22 billion project, sent an email in which he said he despised cowards and urged staff “lead me, follow me or get out of my way.” read more

21 June 2007 
 
SANTO DOMINGO.- The top executive of the firm Shell in the country said today Thursday his presence in the Dominican Accounts Chamber seeks to cooperate with the investigation ordered by the Justice Ministry, after the Government waged a “slander” campaign agaisnt the multinational last week, by alleging it “altered” fuel imported invoices, bilking the country out of millions of dollars.

Rafael Maradiaga said in a statement received by Dominican Today that he went to the Accounts Chamber invited by its president Andrés Terrero. “Our presence confirms our position of absolute cooperation in any investigation that is made in order to assure the transparency that must be priority in a private company, though of mixed capital, as Refidomsa is.” read more

Forbes

06.21.07, 9:57 AM ET
 
LAGOS (Thomson Financial) – Nigerian union leaders have vowed to press ahead with their general strike, launched yesterday, until the government of incoming President Umaru Yar’Adua reverses a decision to hike petrol prices by 15 pct.

‘We are pressing forward with the strike’, Owei Lakemfa, spokesman for the umbrella Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) told Agence France-Presse, amid signs early today the shut-down was having an effect.

None of the major oil companies operating in the world’s sixth largest exporter of crude oil has reported any disruption to production or exports so far. read more

By Julie Ziegler

June 21 (Bloomberg) — Nigerian oil workers left the country’s export terminals as a nationwide general strike began its second day, intensifying the protest against an increase in domestic fuel prices.

“What we did is halt exports,” said Lumumba Okugbawa, the deputy general secretary of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, or Pengassan, one of the main oil workers’ unions. “We tried to make it everywhere.”

Union leaders are meeting today with the federal government after talks stalled yesterday. read more

By Tom Cahill

June 21 (Bloomberg) — Electricite de France SA overtook Total SA as the euro-region’s biggest company by market value after analysts raised their stock-price targets on prospects nuclear power generation will keep growing.

Shares of EDF, whose 58 nuclear plants generate almost half of Europe’s nuclear power, rose as much as 5.80 euros, or 7.8 percent, to a record 79.90 euros in Paris.

The gains lifted EDF’s market value to 144 billion euros ($189.8 billion), exceeding Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company, for the first time. The stock traded at $78.77 at 12:48 p.m. local time. read more

Penny Sukhraj, Accountancy Age, 21 Jun 2007

Informal arrangements being made to ensure arrangements are in place before the caps comes into effect in October 2008

Firms have begun liability cap negotiations with their clients – in some cases amounting to about ten times the audit fee.

The moves come on the back of legislation introduced last year that comes into effect in October 2008. The informal arrangements are being made to ensure arrangements are in place before the caps come in.

Firms may either choose to cap liability as a multiple of audit fees – with suggestions of between five and ten times the audit fee being mooted – or on the basis of ‘proportionate’ liability. read more

21 Jun 2007

Their ties with Kremlin-backed Gazprom are vexing EU efforts to create an energy security policy that would lessen dependence on Russia.

Burckhard Bergmann, chairman of the board at German energy supplier E.ON Ruhrgas, holds another title not likely to appear on his business card: Russia’s honorary consul in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Bergmann took the post late last year, raising some concern about conflicts of interest between Germany’s largest energy company and one of the world’s largest energy exporters. “President Putin told me, ‘You are my new employee in Germany now,'” joked Bergmann – the only foreigner with a seat on the board of Gazprom, Russia’s energy giant – during a recent interview in Der Spiegel, a prominent German news magazine. “But he was laughing when he was saying that.” Brussels isn’t laughing. read more

By Llewellyn King
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, June 21, 2007

As Congress debates the new energy bill, nothing is dearer to the hearts of most Democrats than a provision known as the renewable electricity standard. Simply, this means that electric utilities will be mandated to generate about 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as biomass, landfill gas, ocean geothermal, solar and wind.

Before Congress goes all the way down this road, it might want to take a look at the catastrophic misadventure that has befallen Western Europe as a result of the pursuit of a similar goal. Renewables are supposed to clean the air by reducing the amount of coal that is burned. But there is a hidden agenda: a pathological disinclination to use nuclear power. read more

Published: Jun 20, 2007

Madam, – Bob Kavanagh (June 18th) presents a skewed picture of the Corrib gas project. For example, the recent open day of community consultation went fine until a mob of Shell to Sea people stormed into the room, unfurled a banner and ordered everybody present to line up behind them. We got on with the consultation process when they had left.

Shell to Sea never asked local people if we wanted to be represented by them, yet Mr Kavanagh gives your readers the impression that he does speak for the local people. He does not. read more

Published: Jun 21, 2007

• Supplies around 75% of UK energy needs

• Sector supports 380,000 jobs

• Industry annual spend GBP10bn ($20bn)

• Around 37bn barrels oil equivalent produced so far

• Anticipate 16bn-25bn boe remains to be produced

• Around 300 offshore fields in production

• Oil and gas production expected to be 3.1m boe per day in 2007

• Oil production expected to be 1.65m-1.7m bpd in June

• UK net gas importer, expect slight oil exporter this year

• Buzzard largest oil project brought on stream this decade read more

Published: Jun 21, 2007

THE summer sales season is well underway for North Sea oil and gas assets. Oil majors Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron all putting their infrastructure up for auction is a strong indicator that the sector is becoming unprofitable despite high oil prices for the big players, writes Martyn Wingrove.

London City rumours are flowing as to which companies will be making a play for the assets, but whoever takes them on will need to have strong financial backing for reinvestment and to pay for the decommissioning liabilities. read more

British oil production is slowly rising again. After seven years of decline, fresh industry investment from a growing pool of large independent operators is pushing the industry forward again, but can this be sustained asks Martyn Wingrove, Lloyds List

Published: Jun 21, 2007

THE headline exodus of Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron from the North Sea recently should not be seen as the death knell of North Sea production.

The oil majors may have put their larger assets on the market, preferring to focus on more profitable international projects, but UK oil production is going through something of a resurgence. read more

Martyn Wingrove
Published: Jun 21, 2007

FAIRFIELD Energy is planning to invest in the Dunlin fields to increase production and reserves once the deal with Shell and ExxonMobil is completed.

The Staines-based independent company will be getting its first taste of oilproduction when it acquires the oil majors’ interests in the Dunlin platform and satellite fields Dunlin SW, Merlin and Osprey.

Combined, these fields pump out around 8,000 barrels per day from quadrant 211 and the platform handles oil from the nearby Murchison and Thistle platforms. Crude then goes through a pipeline to Cormorant and then on to Sullom Voe in Shetland. read more

By Armorel Kenna and Adam L. Freeman

June 20 (Bloomberg) — Eni SpA Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni said Italy’s biggest energy business will seek more agreements with OAO Gazprom, the world’s No. 1 natural-gas company.

“It’s obvious,” Scaroni said today in Rome on the sidelines of a conference that Gazprom Chairman Dmitry Medvedev is also attending. Italian Industry Minister Pierluigi Bersani said today that the governments of the two countries were also negotiating non-energy cooperation agreements. read more

By Nariman Gizitdinov

June 20 (Bloomberg) — Kazakhstan will push an Eni SpA-led venture developing the giant Kashagan oil field to reach peak output faster, as the Caspian Sea state tries to triple its crude production by 2015.

The Energy Ministry wants production to reach 1.5 million barrels a day, it said in an e-mailed reply to questions from Bloomberg late yesterday. Eni Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni said in April production would start in 2010 and peak at 1.2 million barrels a day in 2015. read more

EXTRACT: But Greenpeace was sceptical, pointing out that global energy investment was in the region of $1 trillion a year and that BP and Shell spent 5% or less of their money on supporting renewables and 95% on oil and gas schemes.

THE ARTICLE

Report sees energy mix turning greener sooner ‘Great news’ but ‘still peanuts’, says Greenpeace

TERRY MACALISTER
Published: Jun 21, 2007

$70.9bn The global investment last year in sustainable energy

A gold rush of new investment into renewable power over the past 18 months has led the United Nations to conclude that clean energy could provide almost a quarter of the world’s electricity by 2030. read more

Martyn Wingrove
Published: Jun 21, 2007

THESE are heady days for the offshore rig market not seen since the early 1980s and the boomtime for owners looks set to roll into the next decade with dayrates in excess of half-a-billion dollars.

Every month charter dayrates are climbing to record levels as rigs move on to more profitable contracts, increasing contractor revenues and profits.

For those owners at the top end of the rig market there are serious gains to be made for the foreseeable future ultra-deepwater rigs under construction for delivery within two years can secure dayrates of up to $525,000 for three to five-year charters. At a newbuild cost of a minimum of $450m, these rigs need long-term charters at these high rates for contractors to regain their investments. read more

20th June 2007
By Clare Watson

Anglo-Dutch oil titan Royal Dutch Shell is reportedly planning to become the second largest fuel retailer in Poland, behind domestic oil player PKN Orlen, PetrolPlaza has revealed.

This would involve Shell usurping current runner-up BP, which has 325 petrol stations in Poland at present, equating to 10% of the market.

According to PetrolPlaza, Shell is aiming to establish a 550-station strong fuel network across Poland, and an ambitious 20% market share. However, Shell appears to be being realistic about its chances of knocking PKN Orlen off the top spot. The firm has 1,910 petrol stations and a 27% share of Poland’s fuel retail sector. read more

EXTRACT: The increasingly bellicose pronouncements of President Vladimir Putin suggest risks are rising too, especially in the “strategic” areas of energy and natural resources, where government control is being reasserted. Shell and BP have run into highly publicised problems (though it is worth remembering that BP, for example, has already recovered its original Russian investment through dividends).

THE ARTICLE

Published: June 21 2007 03:00 | Last updated: June 21 2007 03:00

Adventurers have sought their fortunes in the mythical El Dorado since the 16th century. Yesterday, UK retailer DSG International decided its own quest was too risky, terminating its option to buy into Russian electrical retail group Eldorado. read more

By Daniel Thomas
Published: June 21 2007 03:00 | Last updated: June 21 2007 03:00

Invesco Perpetual launched a new share class for its UK Strategic Income Fund at the end of May, which has opened it up to all retail investors for the first time in its 36-year history.

The UK equity fund, run by Mark Barnett, was previously open only to investors with more than £250,000 to invest, but is now available to all investors with an initial £500 lump sum.

The fund rose by 1.6 per cent during the three months to March 31, compared with the FTSE All-Share index, which rose by 2.9 per cent. This placed the fund in the third quartile of its peer group, the IMA UK Equity Income sector. read more

Contented fish join the life flourishing under oil platform Grace. (Photo by Kim Anthony)

In a raging debate, some say Mother Nature has warmed to California’s offshore oil rigs

By MICHAEL SUNDBERG
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 – 6:00 pm
 
A MASSIVE FRAMEWORK OF TWISTED metal pipes, rusty support beams and storage bins, the hulking oil platform “Grace” stands just above the ocean 10 miles off Ventura, 28 years after its stark and square industrial blob was plopped — to loud protests — into the picturesque scenery of the California coast. read more

Senate proposal faces test today while House plan moves forward

By DAVID IVANOVICH
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
June 20, 2007, 10:31PM

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in both houses of Congress continued to focus Wednesday on energy legislation, the future of which could hinge on a close vote in the Senate today.

The Democratic-controlled Senate has been struggling to finish work this week on a far-reaching energy conservation package that would raise fuel mileage requirements for cars and trucks and dramatically expand the nation’s reliance on renewable fuels. read more

Exxon-Mobil’s Rex Tillerson

By Russell Hotten
Last Updated: 1:09am BST 21/06/2007

Exxon-Mobil has become the latest western oil and gas company to become embroiled in Russia’s attempt to curtail foreign control of its energy assets.  
 
State-run gas company Gazprom wants to halt an Exxon-led project from supplying China, in a move that echoes attempts to restrict the operations of Royal Dutch Shell and BP.

Exxon, the world’s largest oil and gas company, run by chief executive Rex Tillerson, said yesterday that it was in talks with Gazprom. “The purpose of the discussions is to find a mutually acceptable option for the parties involved,” Exxon said. read more

By Tom Stevenson
Last Updated: 1:11am BST 21/06/2007

It’s one thing to look enviously at the amazing economic growth in emerging markets but another to know how to cash in on it. BP and Shell looked clever when they muscled in on Russia’s vast oil and gas wealth, less so when a newly assertive bear decided it had given away too much, too cheaply and snatched it back again.

If President Putin is prepared to face down some of the most powerful companies in the world, it’s hardly surprising that DSG International (Dixons to you and me) should think twice about doing business there. We don’t know exactly why outgoing chief executive John Clare pulled the plug on DSG’s option to buy Eldorado, but the clue is probably in the name. read more

June 21, 2007
Carl Mortished, International Business Editor

PetroChina is planning to raise $6 billion (£3.03 billion) in a listing of new shares in Shanghai, the latest in a queue of long-awaited cash calls on mainland bourses by leading Chinese enterprises.

The oil colossus, controlled by CNPC, the state oil company, said that the new money would finance exploration and overseas acquisitions.

News of the cash-call and Shanghai listing sent PetroChina stock soaring to record levels, valuing the group at $273 billion, ahead of Royal Dutch Shell. However, Shanghai’s market closed 2 per cent lower as investors anticipated the impact of the huge fundraising on share values. read more

June 21, 2007
Patrick Hosking: Business Commentary

Congratulations to Sir John Collins and John Clare for pulling off a diplomatic coup worthy of a Talleyrand or Metternich. The chairman and chief executive of DSG International, formerly Dixons, probably didn’t have British foreign policy uppermost in mind when they scrapped plans to buy Russia’s biggest electrical goods store Eldorado. But there can hardly have been a more emphatic way of underscoring Tony Blair’s recent message to President Putin that British companies would shun Russia if it did not change its interventionist spots. read more

Letter to the Editor –

Wed 06/20/2007 09:01PM MST

Editor:

I would like to commend Shell for their go-slow approach to oil shale development and praise their foresight in withdrawing the recent application to the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety for the proposed oil shale test project.

Shell’s thoughtful, cautious approach to oil shale shows their dedication and commitment to environmentally responsible and economically sustainable development.

The permit application was withdrawn in an effort to allow Shell to reevaluate the project given emerging technologies and up-to-date information from ongoing research efforts. It is my opinion that this slow approach will allow Shell to move forward more efficiently with future testing and development. read more