July, 2007:

By Emma Amaize
Posted to the Web: Monday, July 23, 2007

WARRI —  IJAWS of Ogbe-Ijoh Community in Warri, Delta State are at loggerheads over the execution of the Odidi Associated Gas Gathering Project by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

The disagreement came to light following a protest letter, dated 17 July, by the Ogbe-Ijoh community to the General Manager, SPDC, Warri, alleging that there was a clandestine and provocative plan, promoted by some Ogbe-Ijoh indigenes in collaboration with some SPDC officials to deny the community of its benefits from the project. read more

Shell’s six-story administrative building on Texas 225 will consolidate office space for as many as 750 employees now scattered in buildings throughout the area.
GENSLER

By KATHERINE FESER
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

What will be the tallest office building in Deer Park is taking shape at the Shell chemical plant and refinery on Texas 225.

A six-story, 172,000-square-foot administrative building is going up on 12 acres at 5900 Texas 225. Jacobs Engineering is the construction manager, and JE Dunn is the general contractor. read more

EMMA ARUBI Warri
Posted to the Web: Sunday, July 22, 2007

OIL spillage in the Niger-Delta coastal communities has been described as being at the root of the never ceasing frosty relationship between oil multinationals and their host communities in recent times with its attendant violence and blood-letting.

Sometimes the spill is traced to wanton acts of vandalisation from unknown persons while at other times it has been discovered to be due to the age of the pipes that have remained buried underground for donkey years. read more

(Iran plans to export 83 million tons of LNG by 2014)

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 10:41:38 
 
Iran and China are planning to establish a joint shipping line for transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) between Iran and China.

The Planning Manager of the National Iranian Oil Tanker Company Abdolsamad Ta’aqol noted NIOTC and Chinese company China Shipping LNG Investment Company will establish the firm to take a total of three million tons of liquefied natural gas from Iran to China, Shana reported.

He said negotiations for establishing the shipping line were held during a recent visit by NIOTC’s Managing Director, Mohammad Souri to China. read more

I hate getting unsolicited CDs and DVDs. When one fell out of my current copy of National Geographic Magazine for a split second I thought it might hold promise. “Eureka” it was titled, “The best ideas come from the most unlikely places.” Then I noticed the “A Shell Films production” label.

What on Earth?

“Eureka” is a heartwarming tale with sweeping orchestral music recounting the life and times of Shell Oil Co. chief engineer Jaap Van Ballegooijen. Van Ballegooijen (let’s just call him VB) is trying to figure out how to pump some oil out of underwater reserves in Southeast Asia. For ecological reasons it’s tough to get to, but you can’t just leave it to “otherwise go to waste.” read more

© AP 2007-07-22

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (AP) – A Nigerian staff member of a petrochemical company was kidnapped Saturday in restive southern Nigeria’s oil region, police said.

Rivers State police spokeswoman Irejua Barasua said four gunmen seized the man in the state capital, Port Harcourt. The victim works for Indian-owned Eleme Petrochemical, Barasua said.

A private security contractor, speaking on condition anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the press, said the man was kidnapped from his residence at midday. No other details of the incident were immediately available. read more

Heather Connon
Sunday July 22, 2007

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell will this week report a record profit of about $13.7bn (£6.9bn) for the first half of the year – equal to more than £430 a second – as soaring oil prices have boosted its coffers.

The 10 per cent profit rise comes as motorists face paying more than £1 a litre for petrol – and, with Goldman Sachs warning this week that oil prices could rise to $95 a barrel compared with last week’s $77, prices could rise still further. read more

Alex Brett
Sunday July 22, 2007

British companies in Russia are on high alert as Anglo-Russian relations plunge to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War amid the fallout from the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London last year.

Analysts say high-profile newcomers to the Russian market, such as Kingfisher and Marks and Spencer, which have both opened stores in Moscow, could find themselves targeted by far-right groups in Russia as sections of the country’s media take an increasingly hostile attitude to the British. read more

(Putin’s Russia is not playing by the Western rules it adopted after the collapse of the Soviet Union)

By Olga Craig
Last Updated: 12:04am BST 22/07/2007Page 1 of 3

If the stand-off between Britain and Russia has brought back memories of the Cold War, then that is just how Vladimir Putin wants it. Olga Craig investigates the ruthless tactics employed by the Kremlin as it attempts to restore the country’s faded might. 
 
The two pilots and their navigators had just brewed fresh coffee when the red phone rang in the corner of the crew room at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire. The voice on the other end said a single word: “Scramble!” The instant they heard the order, just before dawn last Tuesday, the Quick Reaction Alert teams hauled on their bulky flight equipment and sprinted across the runway, coffee cups tumbling in their wake. Within minutes they were strapped into the cockpits of their Tornado F4 interceptors and set for take-off. read more

22/07/2007

Anyone who has ventured too close to the electric fence surrounding Boris Berezovsky’s sprawling mansion in Wentworth, Surrey, will know: the Russians are very much here.

The exiled tycoon is one of more than 300,000 Russians now living in Britain and, despite the apparent chill in relations between the two countries, the social and economic ties binding them have never been stronger.

At the end of the Cold War, there were just a few thousand Russians in Britain, many of whom did not stay longer than a few months. How times change. From billionaires to barbers, nannies to neurologists, Russians now permeate every sphere of our working life. read more

July 22, 2007

By David Budworth and Clare Francis

The high oil price is not only good news for the big exploration companies – silicon producers and coal miners could also benefit.

OIL has been one of the big investment surprises of 2007. At the start of the year, analysts thought it would fall back, but this month an international energy watchdog warned that a supply crunch could send prices soaring to record levels.

The price of crude has already leapt 25% since January, when it briefly dipped below $50 a barrel after mild weather in America and Europe convinced investors that demand would fall. That view was wide of the mark and the Paris-based International Energy Agency predicts a severe shortage over the next five years as China, India and other fast-developing countries consume more, while oil-producing nations supply less. read more

July 22, 2007
David Leppard and Mark Franchetti

THE senior British official was unequivocal. The murder of the former KGB man Alexander Litvinenko was “undeniably state-sponsored terrorism on Moscow’s part. That is the view at the highest levels of the British government”.

This official had access to the latest police and intelligence findings, and he was reflecting the views of senior Home Office counter-terrorism officials, Scotland Yard detectives and others with close knowledge of the murder investigation. All confirmed last week that they believe the plot to poison Litvinenko in London last year was ordered by the Russian secret service, the FSB. read more

By JAD MOUAWAD
July 22, 2007

Oil refineries across the country have been plagued by a record number of fires, power failures, leaks, spills and breakdowns this year, causing dozens of them to shut down temporarily or trim production. The disruptions are helping to drive gasoline prices to highs not seen since last summer’s records.

These mechanical breakdowns, which one analyst likened to an “invisible hurricane,” have created a bottleneck in domestic energy supplies, helping to push up gasoline prices 50 cents this year to well above $3 a gallon. A third of the country’s 150 refineries have reported disruptions to their operations since the beginning of the year, a record according to analysts. read more

Setbacks: Unrest in the Niger Delta has hammered output

Saturday 21 July 2007
By Sam Fleming

THE soaring price of crude will be of cold comfort for investors in BP and Royal Dutch Shell as the terrible twins of the oil industry unveil further production declines next week.

They are likely to admit to further setbacks at their upstream divisions when they announce earnings on Tuesday and Thursday, despite a rebound in the price of Brent crude.

BP suffered the biggest volume decline of any European oil major in the second quarter, according to Citigroup estimates. read more

July 20, 2007, 1:40PM EST text size: TT

With supply flagging, prices could reach exorbitant levels by fall, but experts say the world economy should be able to handle it
by Stanley Reed

Over the past few months, the oil markets have sharply changed course. After dipping below $60 per barrel in early 2007, prices have come roaring back. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is now trading at $76.19 per barrel, its highest level since last August.

What’s even more striking is that the OPEC Basket, which is composed of heavier, lower-quality crude oils, hit an all-time peak of $73.23 per barrel on July 19. The OPEC Basket usually trades at a substantial discount to the Western marker crudes, Brent and WTI, but the differentials have narrowed as thirsty consumers in the U.S. and emerging markets push the pedal close to the floor. read more

By Vic Kolenc / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 07/21/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT

The United States is living on the “knife’s edge of a (energy) shortage,” but the country has plenty of energy sources for the future if Congress and other policymakers open more areas to oil drilling and provide incentives for developing other forms of energy.

That’s what John Hofmeister, 59, president of Houston-based Shell Oil Co., the U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell, told a group of El Paso business people Friday. Forbes ranks Royal Dutch Shell as the world’s third-largest company by revenues. read more

By Okello Oculi, The Nation (Kenya)

After underdeveloping the Niger Delta, the Nigerian government is building roads and bridges in the region – which is too late – as the people have learnt that kidnapping foreigners produces rapid results.

And, to end the problem once and for all, some Nigerians say corrupt Delta business people, council chairmen, MPs and contractors should be kidnapped as well.

On July 10, a workshop was organised in Abuja, Nigeria, to discuss the epidemic of kidnappings which have evolved from targeting oil-workers to seizing primary or kindergarten children either from inside classrooms or from inside cars taking them to school. read more

EXTRACT: Many of the so-called “mega-cap” stocks are on low valuations with high yields and strong balance sheets. We expect better performance from these companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland, GlaxoSmithKline and Royal Dutch Shell.

By Ellen Kelleher
Published: July 21 2007 03:00 | Last updated: July 21 2007 03:00

Simon Gergel has managed the Allianz RCM UK Equity Income Fund since May last year. The fund, which is benchmarked against the FTSE All-Share, aims to achieve high income as well as capital growth. Gergel is able to use a number of strategies to improve returns such as writing covered call options. read more

Two policemen stay on guard outside the British Embassy in downtown Moscow
 
By Russell Hotten, Industry Editor
Last Updated: 12:27am BST 21/07/2007  

Russia’s most powerful business lobby group has warned that British firms will fall out of favour with Moscow following the current diplomatic row, perhaps losing out on big contracts and facing tougher scrutiny from the tax and regulatory authorities.

Alexander Shokhin, president of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (UIE), also said that if the dispute escalates, Russian firms intending to float in London could review their plans, while firms already on the Stock Exchange may switch to other bourses if politics demanded it. read more

Saturday 21 July 2007

Business in Brief

Royal Dutch Shell was ordered yesterday to cease its drilling operations in offshore Alaskan oilfields by a US federal appeals court. The Anglo-Dutch oil group is facing a legal challenge to its activities in the Beaufort Sea by a group of Alaskan native groups and environmentalists. They claim that Shell’s drilling plans are damaging the area and that impact studies conducted by the company are inadequate. The oil group had expected to start a controversial three-year programme next month with a small armada of ships drilling a dozen wells in the Beaufort Sea, 30 miles off the Alaska coast. (Robin Pagnamenta) read more

Vol. 12, No. 29  Week of July 22, 2007

Shell Canada’s 11.4 percent stake in the Mackenzie Gas Project is up for review now that Royal Dutch Shell has taken over the Canadian unit.

Adrian Loader, the “caretaker” president of Shell Canada to oversee integration of the Canadian operations into Royal Dutch Shell’s global business units, said July 17 there will be a sweeping review of all major projects on the table in Canada except for the first-phase expansion of the Athabasca oil sands complex. read more

NSB, Earth Justice appeal EPA permit; Shell remains firm on Beaufort plans

Alan Bailey
Vol. 12, No. 29  Week of July 22, 2007

Anyone who’s placed bets on whether or not Shell will drill any exploration wells in the Beaufort Sea this summer must be having some sleepless nights. In the latest twist in the “will they, won’t they” saga of the company’s plans to punch three holes into the Sivulliq prospect on the west side of Camden Bay, the North Slope Borough and Earth Justice have both appealed to the Environmental Appeals Board the granting of minor air quality permits for the Sivulliq drilling, Dan Meyer from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Seattle office told Petroleum News on July 17. read more

By Bangkok Bureau
Last Update: 6:37 AM ET Jul 20, 2007

BANGKOK (MarketWatch) — A Thai unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC plans to renovate its 570 retail gasoline service stations over the next three years at a cost of up to THB1.14 billion ($34 million).

The upgrade aims to boost sales and raise market share to 18% in two years from the current 16.2%, said Simon Hirst, general manager for retail sales and operations at Shell Company of Thailand Ltd.

The company will initially renovate 50 stations in the second half of this year, at a cost of over THB100 million, Hirst told reporters Friday. read more

By Karen Gullo and Tony Hopfinger

July 20 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s plan to drill the deepest offshore Alaskan oil well was halted by a court to allow consideration of the project’s effect on bowhead whales and other animals.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco yesterday ordered the company’s vessels to stop operating pending resolution of a request by environmental groups and Eskimo villages to require more research on their impact on marine wildlife. The court put on hold the U.S. Minerals Management Service’s approval of the plan and scheduled an Aug. 14 hearing. read more

The Associated Press
Published: July 20, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Shell Oil has been ordered to halt its exploratory drilling program off the north coast of Alaska until a court hearing can be held on the possible environmental impact of the venture.

The order came Thursday from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

The order comes after the U.S. Minerals Management Service in February approved Shell’s offshore exploration plan for the Beaufort Sea.

Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said Friday that company officials are obviously disappointed. read more

Fri Jul 20, 2007 3:44pm ET

By Yereth Rosen

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 20 (Reuters) – A U.S. federal appeals court has ordered Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) to suspend oil exploration operations in the Beaufort Sea off the north coast of Alaska pending a legal challenge being brought by environmental activists and Alaska native groups.

The ruling deals a serious blow to Shell’s plan to drill up to four exploration wells during the brief Arctic summer to test a $44 million bet the company placed on the region in 2005. Oral arguments in the case are set for Aug. 14. read more

By Karen Gullo and Tony Hopfinger

July 20 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s plan to drill for oil off the Arctic coast of Alaska was halted by a court to allow consideration of the project’s effect on bowhead whales and other animals.

The federal appeals court in San Francisco yesterday ordered the company’s vessels to stop operating pending the resolution of a request by environmental groups and Eskimo villages to require more research on marine wildlife. The court put on hold the U.S. Minerals Management Service’s approval of the plan and scheduled a hearing for Aug. 14 to hear arguments. read more

GENEVA (Thomson Financial) – An independent scientific panel has expressed concern over a decision by oil and gas companies developing Russia’s Sakhalin II offshore fields to ignore noise limits aimed at preserving whales, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) said.

The international panel set up by the IUCN said the decision by the Gazprom led consortium including Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell, Japan’s Mitsui and Mitsubishi to reject construction noise criteria on technical grounds could jeopardise western grey whales. read more

By Gonzalo Vina and Sebastian Alison
 
Gordon Brown with Nicolas Sarkozy July 20 (Bloomberg) — U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown justified expelling four Russian diplomats, saying he won’t tolerate “assassinations,” even as Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to defuse tensions.

The Russian government expelled four British diplomats yesterday, three days after the U.K. said it would send home four Russian envoys over Putin’s refusal to extradite ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi, wanted in the U.K. for the murder of fellow former spy Alexander Litvinenko in London. read more

Times staff
Article Launched: 07/20/2007 05:40:14 AM MDT

El Pasoans will have an opportunity to meet and talk with John Hofmeister, President of Houston-based Shell Oil Company, today.

Hofmeister will lead a town hall meeting at 3:30 p.m. today in the Undergraduate Learning Center Grand Hall.

Business and community leaders, as well as UTEP students, faculty and staff, will discuss some of the most pressing issues facing the energy industry.

The meeting is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required. Call 747-8244 to RSVP. read more

EXTRACT: In related news, the Times reported Shell, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank could face punitive sanctions over investments in Iran from American authorities, under proposed legislation expected to be approved by Congress in the coming months.

Fri 20 Jul 2007, 7:15 GMT
By Michael Taylor

LONDON (Reuters) – The FTSE 100 of Britain’s leading shares edged up early on Friday as miners and M&A activity continued to support despite a lack of corporate and economic data.

At 0730 GMT the UK’s main share index was 26.4 points, or 0.4 percent, higher at 6,666.6 with investors looking to preliminary UK second-quarter economic growth data due at 0830 GMT for further market direction. read more

By Halia Pavliva

July 19 (Bloomberg) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended the government’s policies of regaining control over energy industry from foreign investors and said energy resources help Russia pursue its foreign policies.

“Russia does consider energy to be a strategic sector that helps safeguard independence in its foreign relations,” Lavrov said in an article written for Foreign Affairs magazine and published on the ministry’s Web site today. “The Russian government’s energy policy reflects a global trend toward state control over natural resources.” read more

© AP
2007-07-20 10:12:29 –

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (AP) – A Lebanese businessman was shot dead in his home early Friday in oil-rich southern Nigeria, police said.

State police spokeswoman Irejua Barasua called the 3 a.m. attack in central Port Harcourt an attempted kidnapping, but did not say why police believed the assailants were trying to abduct the man.

Barasua said a nearby police station was attacked shortly afterward and three officers were wounded in the gunfire. It was not immediately clear whether the incidents were related. Barasua did not provide further details. read more

By Greg Walters

July 20 (Bloomberg) — The Chevron Corp.-led Caspian Pipeline Consortium received a $290 million back-tax claim from Russian authorities for 2004 and 2005.

The venture is challenging the claim alongside similar back-tax claims for previous years in the Moscow City Court, Olesia Kuznetsova, a spokeswoman for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, said by phone in Moscow today. The claim was levied by Russia’s Federal Tax Service, she said.

The venture operates a pipeline that transports Kazakh crude-oil exports through Russia to markets in the rest of the world. read more

EXTRACT:It soon grew to be one of the biggest sellers for Dow and Shell Oil Co., the two major producers of the chemical. An Occidental Petroleum Corp. subsidiary mixed DBCP with other ingredients at its factory in Lathrop, Calif.

THE ARTICLE

The food company used a product by the chemical maker that made Nicaraguan workers sterile, lawyer says. The firms deny it.

By T. Christian Miller, Times Staff Writer
July 20, 2007

Nearly three decades of legal struggle came to a head in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, as a trial began in a case pitting impoverished Latino field hands against two of America’s largest corporations. read more

20 July 2007

Dear Mr Donovan,
 
I have passed your email to the company secretariat of Shell International Limited. I am sure that they will in due course answer if and as appropriate. There is no general email address for the company secretariat of Shell International Limited and I suggest that you use the email address.
 
 
Best Regards,
Michiel Brandjes
Company Secretary and General Counsel Corporate
Royal Dutch Shell plc
Registered office: Shell Centre London SE1 7NA UK
Place of registration and number: England 4366849
Correspondence address: PO Box 162, 2501 AN  The Hague,
The Netherlands read more

06:41 PM CDT on Thursday, July 19, 2007
By Lee McGuire / 11 News

What else is there to do on a soggy summer Thursday, than stand outside Shell’s US headquarters, and speculate about the future of the oil industry?

AP

“The merger of Shell and BP has been rumored for at least five years that I know of and people think that it could be a super oil company,” said Andy Lipow with Lipow Oil Associates.

As usual, the rumors are coming from London.

On one day this month the Daily Mail mentioned “red hot rumors,” and the Times of London wrote “the City is awash with talk” of a merger between Shell and BP. read more

Jul 12th 2007 | ABERDEEN
From The Economist print edition

Offshore production has spawned a high-tech cluster of British businesses with global ambitions

“EVERYONE else in Britain hangs on what the Bank of England does with interest rates,” says one proud Aberdonian. “Up here, we don’t care about that. We’re much more interested in what OPEC does to the oil price.” An exaggeration maybe, but Aberdeen is the Houston of an offshore industry that has long made Britain a big oil and gas producer. read more

Jul 17th 2007
From Economist.com

But talk of a “new cold war” is overblown
Tim Marrs

“THE Russian government,” David Miliband, Britain’s new, young foreign secretary, told Parliament on Monday July 16th, “has failed to register either how seriously we treat this case or the seriousness of the issues involved, despite lobbying at the highest level.” The case is the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, an ex-KGB agent who was murdered by radioactive poisoning in London last November. Russia’s failure to treat it with due seriousness, said Mr Miliband, would result in the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from London, the first such evictions since 1996—prompting widespread if hasty talk of a “new cold war”. read more

By Jimitota Onoyume
Posted to the Web: Friday, July 20, 2007

Port Harcourt—AN appeal has gone to the Anglo Dutch oil giant, Shell to shut down its Trans Niger pipeline in Ogoni area in Rivers State.

In a statement the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) said the action would rescue communities hosting the facility in Gokana local government from environmental hazards and pollution that often arises from damage on the facility.

According to the statement since Shell said the facility no longer contributes to its oil production then it should be shut down for the safety of the area. Meanwhile, MOSOP has also dismissed as untrue reported allegations by the oil firm that Ogoni youths were barring its staff from putting out the inferno on theTrans Niger Pipeline. read more

July 20, 2007
Tom Baldwin in Washington

British businesses with investments in Iran face punitive sanctions from American authorities under proposed legislation expected to be approved by Congress in the coming months.

Companies that could be hit include Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil group, as well as British banks such as Standard Chartered and HSBC.

The Bill is causing deep concern among diplomats in Washington who have sent officials to Capitol Hill warning about the possible consequences of igniting a transatlantic trade dispute. read more

July 20, 2007

Moscow’s decision to expel four British diplomats and to suspend cooperation on counter-terrorism will come as no surprise. Russia had already announced that it would retaliate for the expulsions and visa restrictions announced by David Miliband, who was responding to the refusal to extradite the main suspect in the Litvinenko case. There were fears that an angry Kremlin would go farther, hitting out at the British Council (which has already suffered harassment), British business people and broader international cooperation. The revelation of a bizarre plot by a Russian hitman to murdera Russian exile in London last month made Moscow’s reaction particularly unpredictable. read more

David Rothnie
20 Jul 2007
 
Europe’s supermajor oil companies may be forced to merge under pressure from shareholders to generate growth after more than two years of flat performance.

 Ian Howat, a managing director in energy and power investment banking at Merrill Lynch, said: “Finding ways to grow is one of the biggest challenges to resources companies and M&A is an optimal route.”

The sector has been transformed with the emergence of a new generation of national oil companies from China, the Middle East and Russia. read more

 Published: July 19, 2007 at 10:58 AM 
By CARMEN J. GENTILE
UPI Energy Correspondent

A Nigerian activist is calling for Royal Dutch Shell to shut one of its pipelines, saying the company has done little to control the fires burning along it for the last several weeks.

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People — a local activist group — said fires have burned along the line since June and are threatening several communities in the Niger Delta, home to the country’s multibillion-dollar oil and gas industries. read more

July 19, 2007

Dubbed an “honorary Texas oil lawyer” by Time Magazine, records show that Rudy Giuliani’s business ties to Big Oil rival that of another Texas oil man: President George W. Bush. In Iowa today, Giuliani will have to explain how he can “commit” to energy independence when his businesses have profited from the same oil and gas interests that benefit from President Bush’s failed energy policies and the country’s over-dependence on foreign oil.

In addition to netting hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying for Citgo, the giant oil company which is controlled by Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, Rudy’s Houston law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, also has lobbied on the behalf of Saudi Arabia’s oil ministry and BMB Munai, which develops oil wells in Kazakhstan. In fact, Giuliani’s law firm has operated an office in the Republic of Kazakhstan”to service oil producers and their lenders in the Caspian Sea region” since 1997. [Associated Press, 3/20/07, 5/15/07, Bloomberg, 3/14/07; Newsday (New York), 6/22/07] read more

By Tanya Mosolova
Issue #1290 (56) Thursday, July 19, 2007 
Reuters

MOSCOW — The government has revived the idea of tax breaks for offshore oil and gas deposits, and will discuss it with global oil majors Tuesday following a landmark deal with France’s Total over the huge Shtokman gas field.

The Natural Resources Ministry said Monday that its chief, Yury Trutnev, would meet executives from ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Total and Chevron among other firms Tuesday.

“Among the issues to be discussed … will be possible ways for further tax differentiation aimed at increasing inflow of foreign investment into the [resources] sector,” the ministry said. read more

EXTRACT: “We were overoptimistic on budget and underestimated a number of things,” says Malcolm Brinded, Shell’s executive director for Exploration & Production.

THE ARTICLE

Big Oil’s future lies in such forbidding places as Russia’s Far East
 
MAY 15, 2006
 
With their home reserves depleting fast, the big Western giants are increasingly compelled to go to any extreme to find new oil and gas. Sakhalin Island is about as extreme as they come.

Anton Chekhov, who visited in 1890, described the island, then a penal colony, as a hellish place. Even today Sakhalin is a remote, sparsely populated area whose few towns are dominated by shabby Soviet-era apartment blocks and patrolled by packs of semi-wild dogs. read more

By John Donovan

19 July 2007

Earlier this week I sent an email to the senior U.S. Senator for California, Dianne Feinstein, concerning Shell’s unscrupulous commercial relationship with militant activists in Nigeria.

Today, following an email received from the Senator, I have faxed information to her at the United States Senate office in Washington DC.

Related story

Blogger News Network: Is Shell skulduggery in Nigeria pumping up global oil prices?

19 July 2007

EXTRACT: But there is still the prospect of a true surprise. It has been suggested that BP is discussing a friendly merger with Shell, creating a £250bn company that would leapfrog ExxonMobil to become the world’s biggest oil group.

THE ARTICLE

Whatever happened to Lord Browne? Less than three months after BP’s long-serving chief executive bowed out in an oil-gusher of a scandal, Browne has already been largely forgotten. Considering the circumstances of his departure, that probably suits him just fine. read more

 Times News Service
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 10:46:17 PM Oman Time
 
MUSCAT — Irshad Moosa Al Lawati has tendered his resignation as the managing director of Shell Oman. His resignation will come into effect from September 1, 2007. He will take up a senior role elsewhere in the Royal Dutch Shell Group,” Dr Andrew Wood, chairman of the board of directors of Shell Oman Marketing Company said here.

Irshad, however, will remain as a non-executive member of the board. The members of the board of directors place on record the valuable contributions made by Irshad Lawati during his tenure and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. Following his resignation, the board of directors, which met on July 16, appointed Faisal Khamis Al Hashar as the new managing director of the company, effective from September 1, 2007. Faisal is currently an executive director of the company, also serving as the retail general manager. read more