Royal Dutch Shell Group .com Rotating Header Image

July 26th, 2007:

Financial Times: Moscow ‘to expel top UK trade diplomat’

By Neil Buckley in Moscow
Published: July 26 2007 08:31 | Last updated: July 26 2007 18:39

Britain’s top trade official in Moscow is one of the four diplomats being expelled by Russia, raising concerns that the dispute over the extradition of a murder suspect could start to damage commercial links between the two countries.

Andrew Levi, counsellor for economic, commercial and scientific affairs – one of the most senior diplomats after the ambassador and deputy head of mission – must leave Moscow by Sunday, the Moscow Times reported, quoting sources close to Mr Levi. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Guardian: Shell makes £1.5m an hour and defends drilling in Arctic

· Company says it will not bow to environmentalists
· ExxonMobil blames lower gas prices for fall in profits

Terry Macalister
Friday July 27, 2007

Shell made profits of £1.5m an hour in the second quarter of the year and said it would not turn away from drilling in environmentally sensitive areas such as the Arctic or producing from carbon-intensive tar sands such as those in Canada, where governments give it the go-ahead.

Combined cycle profits – the common way of measuring an oil company’s financial performance – soared 20% to $7.6bn (£3.7bn) on the back of high refining margins. Shell’s larger rival, ExxonMobil which has a long tradition of beating analysts’ forecasts, shocked Wall Street with an unexpected fall in earnings, revenues and production. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Times: Shell rakes in profits from Canadian oil sands unit

July 27, 2007
Carl Mortished, International Business Editor

The world’s dirtiest oil is producing the highest profit per barrel for Royal Dutch Shell, which yesterday said it would begin to report the earnings of its controversial Canadian oil sands operations as a separate business unit.

Shell showed a clean pair of heels to its competitors yesterday, revealing a profits surge from refining which helped to boost the oil group’s earnings from $6.3 billion to $7.5 billion in the second quarter. In contrast, BP this week reported a 1 per cent fall in profits to $6 billion owing to its weak US refining business, while ExxonMobil, attributed a slippage in profits to $10.2 billion to weaker natural gas profits. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Times: Even in hard times, you can still be sure of Shell

July 27, 2007
Nick Hasell: Tempus

The City can be hard to please, as Jeroen van der Veer, the chief executive of Shell, will doubtless tell you.

Yesterday’s second-quarter profits of nearly $7.6 billion (£3.7 billion) were the best produced by the Anglo-Dutch oil major to date, and $1.5 billion more than those unveiled two days previously by BP. Yet the overwhelming reaction from analysts and investors was disappointment.

They pointed out that over the past seven years Shell has beaten forecasts by an average of 4.6 per cent. Once $660 million of one-off gains are stripped out of yesterday’s numbers, Shell has beaten forecasts by only a modest 2 per cent. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Sydney Morning Herald: Shell reports big finds in Australia

Friday July 27, 2007 – 6:11AM

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has said it had made material finds in Australia and Malaysia in the first half of this year.

Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said the company had made the finds of gas at its Prelude and Persephone prospects off Australia’s northwest coast and of oil and gas offshore northwest Sabah in Malaysia.

The CEO singled out Prelude, in the Browse basin, for particular mention.

“We think it may be an important new resource,” he told a news conference in London. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reuters: Shell reports big finds in Australia, Malaysia

Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:05 PM BST

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) – Oil major Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday it had made material finds in Australia and Malaysia in the first half of the year.

Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said the company had made the finds of gas at its Prelude and Persephone prospects off Australia’s northwest coast and of oil and gas offshore northwest Sabah in Malaysia.

The CEO singled out Prelude, in the Browse basin, for particular mention.

“We think it may be an important new resource,” he told a news conference in London . read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reuters: Apache doesn’t want Shell, Exxon N. Sea assets-CEO

Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:06 PM BST

HOUSTON, July 26 (Reuters) – The chief executive of independent oil and gas exploration company Apache Corp. on Thursday said he is not interested in buying the North Sea assets put up for sale in June by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp.

“Frankly, that’s not something we’d be interested in,” Steven Farris, Apache’s CEO, told analysts on a conference call to discuss the Houston-based company’s second-quarter earnings.

In June, Shell and Exxon put North Sea oil and natural gas fields with around 74,000 barrels per day of production up for sale. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Daily Express (UK): RICHES THAT RUSSIA WILL GRAB BELOW THE ARCTIC

Thursday 26 July 2007: Page 11

A Russian submarine is on the way to the North Pole in a bid to capture the potentially lucrative oilfield beneath. But who actually owns the North Pole and who has a right to the oil? And what’s known about this mysterious and beautiful region?

JULIE CARPENTER reports

If Vladimir Putin’s plans go as expected, a Russian flag will soon be proudly flying at the North Pole – or rather, under it. A Russian expedition set sail on Tuesday for the Arctic with a view to sending a submarine junder the ice shelf to plant a special titanium flag and symbolically claim the area for the Kremlin. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

‘Simon’ comments on our article: How long until Shell admits defeat and pulls out of Sakhalin…

The article in question: –

How long until Shell admits defeat and pulls out of the $26 billion Sakhalin project in Russia?

John

I would like to differ from you on one point. Shell was a good Company when the likes of professionals like Van Sponsen, Greer and Bouman worked for them. They were all excellent professionals and I knew them all. Too bad for Shell that they have all gone.

Today, it is only the weak that rule the roost at Shell and it is they you should scrutinise and criticise. You only have to look at the calibre and incompetence of Chadwick, Craig, Botts, Brinded, Finlayson etc, etc, etc to get a flavour of who Shell values most today. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The New York Times: Exxon Profit Slips, Surprisingly

By JAD MOUAWAD
Published: July 27, 2007

Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, reported an unexpected slip in quarterly profit today as refining gains failed to offset drops in oil and natural gas production.

Shell Net Profit Rises 18 Percent to $8.67 Billion (July 26, 2007) But its profit still remained substantial. The company reported net income of $10.26 billion for the second quarter, down 1 percent from $10.36 billion in the period a year earlier. Exxon has had quarterly profits of more than $10 billion for five of the last seven quarters. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

How long until Shell admits defeat and pulls out of the $26 billion Sakhalin project in Russia?

By John Donovan (written in association with a Shell insider)

Russian environmental authorities have instructed Sakhalin Energy Investment Co. Ltd (SEIC) the operator of the $26 billion Sakhalin-2 project, to suspend work on an onshore pipeline.

Lidia Vostretsova, chief inspector at the local branch of the Federal Environmental, Engineering, and Nuclear Supervision Agency has been quoted by RIA Novosti (news) as saying: “According to findings, the project operator has deviated from design-stipulated requirements on the drainage system at a tectonic fracture for the Sakhalin II project to develop the Piltun-Astokh and Luna fields”. Vostretsova said SEIC was “using the wrong kind of pipes and violating pipe-laying procedures” and that “construction would be suspended until the operator rectified the violations”. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Pravda.ru: Russia begins to expel British diplomats

07/26/2007 16:42 Source: AP ©           

The head of the British Embassy’s economic section was one of four diplomats told to leave Russia in the tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions that have followed the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London.
 
Economic Counsel Andrew Levi is to leave Russia on Sunday, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing unnamed sources. The report said Levi is one of the four British diplomats sent home in response to Britain’s decision to expel four Russian diplomats after Moscow refused to extradite the main suspect in the killing of Litvinenko. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reuters: Shell finds new Nigerian oilfield

26 July 2007

ABUJA (Reuters) – The Nigerian arm of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) has made an oil discovery and a test well flowed at up to 5,000 barrels per day, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) said on Thursday.

The discovery was made onshore in the eastern Niger Delta in Shell’s Oil Mining Licence 17. The exploration well, Aghata-1, was drilled to a total depth of 4,679 meters and encountered 245 meters of hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs.

“Aghata-1 well is a material exploration success for SPDC and Shell,” said Basil Omiyi, the managing director of SPDC, a Nigerian arm of the Anglo-Dutch oil major. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reuters: Shell CEO says doesn’t expect “miracles” in Nigeria

Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:09 PM BST
(Adds fresh quotes)
By Randy Fabi

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) – The chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Thursday he didn’t expect any “miracles” in restoring lost oil production in Nigeria.

Shell said 195,000 barrels per day of its production in Nigeria was shut-in at the end of the second quarter due to security concerns, up from 177,000 bpd during the same period last year. The Anglo-Dutch company declined to provide a timeline on when it expected to return to normal output levels. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Dow Jones Newswire: Shell Mulls Iran Deal Despite U.S. Pressure

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) is still studying the possibility of investing in a key natural gas project in Iran, Jeroen van der Veer said Thursday.

The statement comes despite pressure in the U.S. for the oil company to scrap the plans, including a letter from pension funds warning Shell against the risks of Iran.

Speaking at an earnings press conference, van der Veer said Shell would have to “take political considerations into account” when it gets closer to a decision on the matter. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Times Online: Tempus: Pump primed

July 26, 2007
Steve Hawkes

The City can be a hard audience to please and Jeroen van der Veer will doubtlessly concur today.

Shell’s profits of nearly $7.6 billion are the group’s best ever for a quarter and $1.5 billion more than BP, yet the overwhelming reaction from analysts is one of disappointment.

They point out that over the past seven years, Shell has beaten forecasts by an average of 4.6 per cent. Once $660 million of one-off gains are stripped out of today’s figures, Shell has only beaten expectations by a modest 2 per cent. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BankWatch.Org: Sakhalin II pipeline construction suspended again by authorities, catalogue of violations mounting

For immediate release: July 26, 2007

Sakhalin Island, Russia — The construction of the Sakhalin II onshore pipelines was suspended today by the Russian state agency responsible for industrial safety and environment protection –   Rostekhnadzor – because of violations during the pipeline construction through an active seismic fault in the Tymovskiy district in the central part of Sakhalin Island. [1]

Rostekhnadzor stated that the project operator, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company (SEIC),  has digressed from project decisions on the construction of drainage systems on active seismic faults and has used pipes which were not planned by the project. The suspension will remain in force until SEIC properly addresses the violations during the drainage system construction. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

MoneyCNN.com: Russia Regulator Asks Sakhalin-2 To Suspend Pipe Work-Mitvol

July 26, 2007: 04:36 AM EST

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Russian environmental regulators have asked Sakhalin Energy Investment Co. Ltd., operator of the Sakhalin-2 project, to suspend work on an onshore pipeline, a top Russian official said Thursday.

Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of the Russian environmental protection agency Rosprirodnadzor, said his colleagues from another authority, the Federal Environmental, Engineering, and Nuclear Supervision Agency, had requested the suspension.

The Sakhalin Energy venture operates a large oil and gas project on the Russian Far Eastern island of Sakhalin, control of which was handed over by Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) to OAO Gazprom (GSPBEX.RS) earlier this year. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

afriquenligne.fr: Nigeria moves to unravel source of ‘killer kerosene’

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) – The ‘killer kerosene’ that has left at least 20 people dead and many more badly burnt in Nigeria’s southern Delta state was actually condensate siphoned by unscrupulous persons from a Shell pipeline, the private Punch newspaper reported Thursday.

The newspaper said it got the information from a preliminary report of the team raised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to probe the series of explosions in Warri and Effurun in recent times.

The report said the condensates were siphoned from the pipelines leading to the Utogu Gas Plant of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to various markets in the state as kerosene. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BBC News: Refining arm lifts Shell profits

BBC News image

Profits at fuel stations helped Shell beat its European rival BP

26 July 2007
 
High oil prices have helped Royal Dutch Shell to increase profits by more than 20% in the April-to-June quarter.

The Anglo-Dutch firm said net profit, measured by current cost of supply, was $7.6bn (£3.7bn) for the period, up from $6.3bn in the same period a year ago.

The rise came after increased profit margins at its refinery business and on fuel sales, which outweighed the anticipated 2% fall in production.

Earlier this week, rival BP reported a fall in its second-quarter earnings. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Jiji Press (Japan): Showa Shell to Transfer Int’l Trading Biz to Royal Dutch Shell

Published: Jul 25, 2007

Tokyo, July 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese oil distributor Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. said Wednesday it will transfer its international trading operations to its top shareholder, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, on Aug. 1.

To be integrated into Royal Dutch Shell’s global trading network are Showa Shell’s international trading operations in oil products, including gasoline, kerosene and jet fuel, and chemical feedstocks, including naphtha and condensate.

The operations will be subject to a business lease, with Showa Shell to receive lease fees from the parent. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

AP Worldstream: Oil executives reject `hot fuel’ argument about gasoline overcharging

H. JOSEF HEBERT
Published: Jul 25, 2007

Oil executives denied that U.S. drivers are overpaying for gasoline because the fuel expands in hot weather and provides less energy per gallon.

“The idea that temperature adjustments will somehow give people more for their money simply does not take into account the realities of the gasoline market,” Hugh Cooley, a vice president for Shell Oil Co., told a U.S. House hearing Wednesday.

Critics say that when drivers buy gasoline during hot weather, they are paying as much as $1.5 billion (A1.09 billion) a year in overcharges. That amounts to 3 cents to 9 cents per gallon, depending on the pump price and the temperature, consumer advocates say. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The New York Times: Russia Expelled Top British Trade Official: Paper

By REUTERS
Published: July 26, 2007
Filed at 3:19 a.m. ET

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has expelled Britain’s top commercial and trade diplomat as part of its retaliation in a continuing row over the extradition of a murder suspect, the Moscow Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

The English-language daily reported that Andrew Levi, minister counselor for economic affairs at the British Embassy in Moscow, was the highest ranking of the four British diplomats asked to leave by the Foreign Ministry last week. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Guardian: The west’s great new threat is right at home in the City

Britain’s indulgence of Russian and Chinese business models is undermining what is left of liberal democracy

John Kampfner
Thursday July 26, 2007

From terrorism to floods and back to terrorism again; even in the infancy of his premiership, Gordon Brown has demonstrated a sure touch in coping with crises. His statement to MPs yesterday on bolstering security, following the failed bombings in London and Glasgow, managed to please authoritarians while just about reassuring enough civil libertarians – for the time being. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Guardian Unlimited: Shell makes £1.5m an hour

Terry Macalister
Thursday July 26, 2007

Shell has produced a stunning financial performance over the second quarter of the year with profits soaring by 20% to $7.6bn (£3.7bn) on the back of very high refining margins and despite a fall in production.

The record results – amounting to some £1.5m an hour – underlined Shell’s current supremacy over arch-rival BP which barely lifted its profits when measured on the same basis.

The Anglo-Dutch group raised its dividend 14% to $0.36 per share and gave an upbeat assessment of future prospects. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Wall Street Journal: Shell’s Net Rises 18%, Helped By Strong Refining Margins

By BENOIT FAUCON
July 26, 2007 2:41 a.m.

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell PLC Thursday posted an 18% rise in net profit for the second quarter as strong refining margins more than offset barrels lost from unrest in Nigeria.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant posted a net profit of $8.67 billion, or $1.38 per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with $7.32 billion, or $1.13 a share, for the same period last year.

The rising profit confirms the merits of being an integrated oil major, as refining margins make up for stagnant oil output and prices. The number contrasts with Shell’s rival BP PLC, whose second-quarter results were hurt by outages at a U.S. refinery. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Times: Need to know: Royal Dutch Shell… is coming under intense pressure to scrap a £5 billion natural gas project in Iran

July 26, 2007

Natural resources
Down 0.8%

Braemore Resources, the London-listed nickel and platinum mining group, plans to launch a test facility for processing platinum group metals and nickel using new technology ahead of building a smelter and refinery in South Africa.

Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas group, is coming under intense pressure to scrap a £5 billion natural gas project in Iran after a call from a group of leading US pension funds for energy companies around the world to cut their ties with the Middle Eastern state. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Times Online: Soaring oil price pushes Shell to new record

July 26, 2007

Anglo-Dutch oil giant reveals profits of $7.6 billion for the second quarter of the year, trumping rival BP by $1.5 billion

Steve Hawkes

Shell has turned the screw on rival BP by posting a record quarterly profit of £40 million a day on the back of sky-high crude oil prices and refining margins.

Results today showed the Anglo-Dutch giant made $7.56 billion (£3.7 billion) in the three months to June 30, up 20 per cent on last year and nearly $500 million ahead of its previous best.

Analysts had expected Shell to report quarterly profits of $6.7 billion. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

RIA Novosti: Regulator suspends Sakhalin II pipeline over building violations

10:34 | 26/ 07/ 2007 

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK (Far East), July 26 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s industrial safety regulator said Thursday it had suspended the construction of a pipeline, part of the giant Sakhalin II oil and gas project in the country’s Far East, citing violations.

“According to findings, the project operator has deviated from design-stipulated requirements on the drainage system at a tectonic fracture for the Sakhalin II project to develop the Piltun-Astokh and Luna fields,” said Lidia Vostretsova, chief inspector at the local branch of the Federal Environmental, Engineering, and Nuclear Supervision Agency. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

International Herald Tribune: Shell 2Q net profit up 18 percent to US$8.67 billion

The Associated Press
Published: July 26, 2007

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday net profit rose 18 percent in the second quarter, thanks to asset sales and strong increases in margins at oil refineries — but the company’s oil production fell.

Net profit at the Hague, Netherlands-based company was US$8.67 billion (€6.27 billion), up from US$7.32 billion, as sales rose 2.2 percent to US$84.9 billion (€61.4 billion).

In all, asset sales and other benefits totaled US$660 million (€478 million), compared with a charge of US$232 million in the same quarter a year ago. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Daily Telegraph: Shell’s profits jump on refining

By Richard Blackden
Last Updated: 8:12am BST 26/07/2007

Oil giant Shell has seen its second-quarter profits rise faster than rival BP after the company made more money from its refining operations.

Profits climbed to $7.5bn from $6.3bn in the same period in 2006, helped by record prices for petrol in the US.

Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said: “We have delivered another set of competitive results, driven by operating performance.”

While crude oil prices were lower in the second quarter than in the equivalent period in 2006, Shell was boosted by jump in US petrol prices during the period. US petrol retail prices hit a record $3.22 a gallon in May. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reuters: Shell profit jumps as refining shines

Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:03AM BST
 
By Tom Bergin

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a 20 percent rise in second-quarter current cost of supply (CCS) profit to $7.556 billion (3.687 billion pounds) on Thursday, as fat refining margins helped outweigh lower production.

Shell said in a statement that the CCS result, which strips out changes in the value of inventories, included a non-operating gain of $660 million.

 Excluding this gain, the underlying result was up 5 percent at $6.896 billion, beating an average forecast of $6.770 billion from a Reuters poll of 10 analysts. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Oil Drum: Stuart Staniford and Robert Rapier on the National Petroleum Council Report Released Today (and some other posts as well)

26 July 2007

Just passing this along re: your peak oil post today…you might also want to check out our latest post on projections as well.

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/2716

PG

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc: 2nd Quarter 2007 Results

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Financial Times: US funds criticise Shell for Iran activities

By Rebecca Bream
Published: July 25 2007 22:54 | Last updated: July 25 2007 22:54

Royal Dutch Shell has been criticised by a group of US pension funds over its activities in Iran, home to the world’s second-largest gas reserves.

A group of the largest public pension funds in the US, including the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), the New York State Common Retirement Funds and New York City Pension Funds, have written to Shell emphasising the risks of doing business in Iran. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Financial Times: Spanner in the works over BP and Shell merger

Published: July 25 2007 22:44 | Last updated: July 25 2007 22:44

Tony Hayward, BP’s new chief executive, will have saddened investment bankers everywhere this week with his rejection of speculation about a possible merger with Royal Dutch Shell.

As well as denying rumours that the companies were in talks, he suggested a merger would be the wrong answer to BP’s problems. BP needed to fix its operations, not its strategy, he said.

In saying so, he contradicted what is now a widely held view among bankers, consultants and analysts who follow the industry: that consolidation is in fact the only answer to the challenges facing the oil “majors”. They predict a fresh wave of mergers to match the spate at the end of the 1990s that brought BP together with Amoco, Total with Elf, Exxon with Mobil, and Chevron with Texaco. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Persian Journal: Shell oil company to abandon Iran

Jul 25, 2007
 
A political row threatens to overshadow tomorrow what promises to be one of the best sets of results from Shell for months after it emerged that a group of US pension funds have called on the group to scrap billions project in Iran.

Some of America’s most influential institutional investors have written to Shell and other seven international energy companies warning they are becoming increasingly exposed by guarding their ties with the pariah state.

The investors include New York City’s five main pension funds and the California Public Employee’s Retirement System. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Bloomberg: Shell Profit Climbs as Oil-Refining Earnings Gain (Update1)

By Stephen Voss and Fred Pals

July 26 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, said second-quarter profit rose 18 percent because it earned more from its refining operations.

Net income climbed to $8.67 billion from $7.32 billion in the year-earlier period, The Hague-based company said today in a statement. Profit excluding gains from holding oil inventories and one-time items was $6.9 billion, higher than the median estimate of $6.7 billion from 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.