July, 2007:

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 17/07/2007

The expulsion of four middle-ranking diplomats is a minimal response to Russia’s refusal to extradite the chief suspect in the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko. The poisoning in London last November of the former KGB agent, who had been granted British citizenship, will have reminded many of Cold War skulduggery. But, in its prodigal leaking of radioactive polonium-210 and its hideous effect on the victim, it put even the 1978 umbrella murder of the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov into the shade. read more

(The explosion at the Buncefield oil depot destroyed local businesses and forced residents from their homes)

By Katherine Griffiths, City Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:47am BST 17/07/2007
 
Investigators are still considering whether to bring legal action against companies and public bodies over the Buncefield oil depot explosion in 2005. Taf Powell, the investigation manager for Buncefield, said: “We are still pursuing all reasonable lines of inquiry.”

An explosion at the Buncefield depot in Hemel Hempstead on December 11, 2005 caused no deaths, mainly because it happened at the weekend. But the blast, the largest explosion in Europe since the Second World War, destroyed local businesses and forced residents out of their homes. read more

July 17, 2007
Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor and Tony Halpin in Moscow

The Kremlin vowed to retaliate last night after David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, expelled four Russian diplomats from London because of Moscow’s failure to extradite the chief suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

In a statement to the Commons, Mr Miliband took the boldest foreign policy decision of the new Government when he announced a series of measures against the Kremlin.

“The heinous crime of murder does require justice,” Mr Miliband said. “This response is proportional and it is clear at whom it is aimed.” read more

Email sent on 16 July 2007 to Royal Dutch Shell Plc Company Secretary & Corporate Counsel, Michiel Brandjes.  (Copied to Jeroen van der Veer, Jorma Ollila, Malcolm Brinded, John Hofmeister and Basil Omiyi, Country Chairman, Shell Nigeria)

Dear Mr Brandjes

Printed below is the revised draft letter/article relating to Shell activities in Nigeria. We note from Shell internal correspondence the accusation that we put unreasonable time limits when putting forward articles for comment. In fact we happily gave more time when requested in the particular instance mentioned. read more

To selected energy journalists and John Donovan of ShellNews.net from Bill Campbell, the highly respected former Group Auditor of Shell International

16 July 2007

I thought you might find it interesting that after publicly accusing the Chairman and Directors of Royal Dutch Shell of serious wrongdoing and inviting them if they dare to take me to Court for defamation they in turn ask me to return to mediation through which process they can induce me to stop making these allegations public, hardly I think, the actions of persons innocent of the accusations.  read more

Apex Resources Reports Progress on the Beaufort Sea Exploration as Shell Oil Company is to Start Drilling a Dozen Wells in the Beaufort Sea Opening Up a New Frontier for the Oil & Gas Industry

SALT LAKE CITY, July 16, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — Apex Resources Group, Inc. reports progress on the Beaufort Sea Exploration as Shell Oil Company is to start drilling a dozen wells in the Beaufort Sea opening up a new frontier for the oil & gas industry. Apex Resources Group Inc. owns 3.745% working interest in the Itiyok 1-27 Well in the Beaufort Sea. read more

By Paul Dobson

July 16 (Bloomberg) — U.K. natural gas for delivery today rose to the highest since Jan. 2 after flows of the fuel to a terminal operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc halted, cutting supplies that were already reduced by repairs and maintenance.

Gas for delivery today rose 6.8 percent to 34 pence a therm from a last day-ahead price on July 13 of 31.85 pence a them. Today’s price is equivalent to $6.92 a million British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.

Flows of gas at the Shell-operated Bacton subterminal halted at about 1:30 p.m. local time yesterday, according to grid data on Bloomberg. Deliveries of the fuel reached rates of about 6.6 million cubic meters a day last week, according to the data. read more

By Ying Lou
 
July 16 (Bloomberg) — PetroChina Co., the nation’s biggest oil company, increased first-half production 3.7 percent, surpassing growth at Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc as China intensifies efforts to meet energy demand.

Oil and natural gas output rose to the equivalent of 3.05 million barrels of oil a day, the Beijing-based company said today. Oil production gained 0.1 percent from a year earlier, while gas jumped 16.5 percent.

PetroChina will outspend Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP Plc this year to expand supplies to the world’s fastest-growing major economy. A government-backed drive to acquire and open fields has enabled Chinese companies to increase output as production at their global rivals falters. read more

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

July 16 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, and Australia’s Nexus Energy Ltd. will start drilling a well by early September to test a gas and condensates discovery off northern Australia after signing a venture accord.

Shell made an upfront payment of $5 million to Melbourne- based Nexus and will fund the first $30 million of the Fossetmaker-1 well, Nexus said today in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange. Shell may also pay $25 million to fund a second well to earn a 34 percent stake in the WA-377-P permit area in the Browse Basin, it said. read more

By Upstream staff
16 July 2007

Australia’s Nexus Energy has finalised the farm-in and joint venture agreements with Shell at the Echuca Shoals gas condensate discovery prior to the scheduled drilling of the Fossetmaker-1 well.

According to the farm-in agreement, Shell has made an upfront payment to Nexus of $5 million.

Shell will also fund the first $30 million of the Fossetmaker-1 well and has an option to fund the first $25 million of a second appraisal well in order to earn a 34% interest in the entire permit. read more

(The article is about the so called “Scandal of the Century” involving Shell in allegedly laundering billions from the sale of oil to fund corrupt payments in the arms-for-oil scandal: The Times: Secret account under spotlight)

· UK asked to hand over secret payments evidence
· Refusal could endanger sharing of intelligence

David Leigh
Monday July 16, 2007

A potential diplomatic collision with the US is looming over the corruption allegations against the arms company BAE. The department of justice in Washington has formally demanded that Britain hand over all evidence of secret payments the company made to members of the Saudi royal family to secure huge arms deals. read more

By Tim Bradner
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Shell is having trouble finalizing an agreement with Alaska Native subsistence whalers, which if unresolved, could complicate efforts to get key permits the company needs to begin exploration drilling in the Alaska Beaufort Sea later this month, federal officials say.   
 
The company is assembling a small armada that includes two drill ships, icebreakers and support tugs, a barge equipped with oil spill equipment and a small tanker, all in hopes to begin drilling in the Beaufort Sea in late July or early August. read more

Headline: Canary Wharf targets Docklands and the City for massive building projects

EXTRACT: Property sources said Canary Wharf is also keen on bidding for Shell Centre on the South Bank. This 2.2hectare site could be turned into a 102,000 sq m complex. Royal Dutch Shell has lined up CB Richard Ellis, the agents, for a possible sale of the site.

July 16, 2007
James Rossiter

The Canary Wharf Group is planning a huge new speculative building project in its Docklands estate, at the same time as eyeing up building opportunities in Central London, including the redevelopment of Bucklersbury House, the City’s largest new scheme for 25 years. read more

Sunday 15 July 2007: By Alfred Donovan

We have provided what may be some helpful information for any current or former Shell employees, or anyone else who has had dealings with Shell over the years, and would like to know what Shell has been saying about them in private. There is no time limit on relevant documents. Shell has supplied us with internal documents stretching back a decade.

Remember that ours was a complicated application involving several High Court actions and other litgation. A normal application will be much simpler. Shell will supply a questionnaire to complete. read more

5:00AM Sunday July 15, 2007
By Michelle Coursey

The two New Zealand men kidnapped in Nigeria for a week arrived home to relieved family in Wellington yesterday.

New Plymouth resident Bruce Klenner, 47, and Brent Goddard, 49, of Wellington, were released in the Niger Delta last Wednesday.

Klenner’s wife Linda confirmed her husband was home safe and well.

“He just wants to tell everybody he’s fine and pleased to be home. Now we’re going to have a bit of time together… But I think the public need to know, because they have given us so much support.” read more

Published: Sunday, 15 July, 2007, 02:35 AM Doha Time
 
LONDON: For decades, billions of dollars worth of natural gas have gone up in smoke, sending tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but dwindling energy supplies and rising gas prices could start to make a difference.

Historically, producers flared gas found in association with oil if it was too difficult and too costly to bring to market.

Concerns carbon emissions are causing global warming have added urgency to international efforts to end the practice. read more

Web posted at: 7/15/2007 8:33:53
Source ::: REUTERS

WASHINGTON • A World Bank panel is probing possible violations of bank procedures around its funding for the West African Gas Pipeline operated by Chevron Corp.

Washington-based environmental group Friends of the Earth said yesterday the investigation by the bank’s Inspection Panel will officially begin on July 15.

The probe follows complaints by 12 communities around the Badagry area in southwest Nigeria, who claim the project would damage land, destroy livelihoods and pollute fishing areas. read more

Edited by Iain Dey, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 1:26am BST 15/07/2007

Warnings that the world is running out of oil are usually met with a heavy dose of scepticism but last week’s report by the International Energy Agency, predicting a supply crunch in five years, has hit home. According to the IEA, demand is expected to rise more than 2 per cent annually but supply will not keep pace.

This imbalance helps explain why the oil price keeps rising; crude prices were trading at $71 a barrel last week. read more

EXTRACT: A big hitter with a claim to the title of Mr Carbon is Garth Edward, trading manager for environmental products at Shell, the oil major, who worked at Natsource, an American company that was one of the first brokers of greenhouse-gas trades.

THE ARTICLE

July 15, 2007

Farmer Rash has a spring in his step again because of green diesel
By Jenny Davey

FARMING is in the blood for Stephen Rash. His is the fourth generation to run Hall Farm in Suffolk: 970 acres growing cereals, field beans and oilseed rape in the sleepy parish of Wortham. Rash, 51, describes himself as an eternal optimist but during the last decade it has not been easy to maintain enthusiasm as grain mountains sprouted in Europe and cereal prices plunged. Despite his working sometimes 90-hour weeks, Hall Farm barely scraped a profit. read more

Published: 15 July 2007

Controversial Russian environmental regulator Oleg Mitvol has given the all-clear to ExxonMobil over its $10bn (£5bn) Sakhalin I oil and gas project. Mr Mitvol said the results of his inspections, due out later this month, had not uncovered any major problems. This means it is less likely that the US company will be forced to dilute its 30 per cent stake or stop operating altogether. Mr Mitvol targeted Shell, which had to cede control of the larger Sakhalin II project to Gazprom. read more

With reserves running dry in non-Opec countries, rumours of a marriage could finally come true. Even a combined group, though, might struggle in its quest for more black gold. David Strahan reports

Published: 15 July 2007

BP and Shell are finally set to merge. That’s if you believe the tittle-tattle in the Square Mile.

Of course rumours that the energy giants might unite are hardly new and have been the stuff of bankers’ fevered imaginations for years. But there is now an increasingly compelling case for the two to integrate. read more

The bane of Shell and BP he may be, but Russia’s environmental watchdog explains to Tim Webb that he is just as likely to punish Russian companies as Western ones

Published: 15 July 2007

Oleg Mitvol, the Russian environmental watchdog loathed by Shell and other Western natural resources companies, describes himself as Robin Hood with a difference. “I don’t only take from the rich, I also take from the middle class and poor. For me an enemy is a company who breaks our rivers, forest, landscape – an enemy of our children.” read more

An FT article we missed on 9 July 2007

Posted by Ed Crooks on July 9, 2007 in BP , Royal Dutch Shell , The Oil Majors
Once again, there has been a flurry on the web in several places, some of them unexpected, about a possible BP merger with Shell. The FT has long reported that the idea of a merger was kicked around by BP in 2005, when its management was one of the most respected in the world. (FT story may require subscription.) Then, BP was riding high, and Shell was weakened by the scandal over reserves misreporting that broke in 2004. read more

By Alfred & John Donovan
Saturday 14 July 2007

After making an application to Shell under the UK Data Protection Action, we have received copies of Shell documents, communications and a Shell article and employee leaflet in which our names are mentioned. We know that Shell has not given us all of the internal correspondence covered by the Act, but what we have obtained thus far – there is more to come – is revealing. 

A number of Shell internal emails relate to Bill Campbell and the Brent Bravo scandal. The names of the authors (lawyers) are deleted, as are the individuals to whom the emails were circulated. Otherwise than that, we have the majority of the content. Campbell’s name was deleted from the correspondence but we have reinserted it where we deem appropriate. read more

COMMENT FROM BREAKING VIEWS

As Oil Reserves Dwindle,
Giants Find That Size
Can Often Be a Liability
July 14, 2007; Page B14

Exxon Mobil this week became the first company worth more than $500 billion since the millennial stock boom burst. The Texas oil producer is now nearly twice as valuable as its nearest rival, Royal Dutch Shell. But the supermajor faces supersized obstacles if it ever hopes to become the world’s first $1 trillion company.
 
Size has traditionally been an advantage for Big Oil. As the world shrinks, the number of choice oil fields has diminished and new finds have become more expensive and complicated to tap. The trouble for Exxon chief Rex Tillerson is that to move the needle on a company bigger than most governments, he needs to broker ever larger deals. read more

Published: Jul 14, 2007

ANGRY protesters chained themselves to a van and blocked a road yesterday to prevent builders from working on the controversial Corrib gas terminal.

The blockade by Shell to Sea campaigners halted access to the proposed gas refinery site through Bellanaboy Road, Co Mayo, for more than five hours.

A two-prong protest was held both at Bellanaboy and outside the Justice Department in Dublin as tensions escalated following the sentencing of three Co Mayo fishermen for the assault of a garda during a stand-off. read more

Lorna Siggins, Teresa O’Malley Tom Shiel
Published: Jul 14, 2007

Two supporters of the Shell to Sea campaign were expected to be charged with public order offences in north Mayo last night following a five-hour protest related to the Corrib gas project.

The two men were arrested and taken to Belmullet Garda station after gardaI, fire brigade and ambulance personnel cut through chains – attached to a van on a public road – which the men had locked themselves on to yesterday morning. read more

By Eluned Price, Financial Times
Published: Jul 14, 2007

House prices in the UK rose by an average 9.9 per cent last year. However in Aberdeen, the principal city of Scotland’s north-east coast, whose elegant granite neo-classical buildings inspired its soubriquet the Granite City, residential values rose almost three times as much. And, thanks largely to oil, they look set to keep gushing.

Aberdeen’s geographical position has always accounted for its importance. Its deep harbours, where fishing and shipbuilding once thrived and where Thermopylae, the fastest clipper in the world, was launched in 1869, have now been sculpted to provide for the giant vessels of the energy industry. read more

EXTRACT: My latest thought, which smacks of desperation, is to buy into one of the oil giants, like Royal Dutch Shell. If the IEA is right, and the oil market is going to remain tight for the next five years and perhaps longer, then, even after its strong rally, Shell at a price of only 11 times forecast earnings per share is not bad value at all.

THE ARTICLE

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 14/07/2007

‘Climate change’ fails to register, says James Bartholomew

This is a curious time in the stock market. The background for shares keeps getting worse, yet the market continues a fairly steady rise. It is reminiscent of those old cartoons in which a character runs off the edge of a mountain and keeps on running on thin air until, eventually, he looks down and realises there is nothing supporting him. Only then does he fall. read more

Latest on oil prices
Angela Balakrishnan
Friday July 13, 2007

The price of oil jumped to an 11-month high yesterday, moving even closer to record levels hit last summer as fears mounted over shortages in supply.

Speculation in the world’s most actively traded commodity, rapidly rising demand and reports that production would slow over the next five years pushed Brent crude up to $77.07 briefly during early-afternoon trading, within $2 of the all-time high of $78.65 set last August.

Investors said hedge funds and pension funds were key drivers behind the latest rally. “This rally is very much fund driven,” said Graham Sharp, director at Trafigura, a commodities trading group. “The entry of long-only hedge funds into the market is a major factor this time around. We wouldn’t rule out Brent hitting $80 this summer.” read more

By Conrad de Aenlle
Friday, July 13, 2007

As the manager of a fund called Gartmore Cautious Managed, Christopher Burvill would never risk the entire portfolio on a hot horse running at Newmarket. But even in the context of the fund’s safety-first mandate – it aims to keep no more than 60 percent of its assets in British equities and the rest in bonds and cash – he has become extremely wary of the stock market.

After long being overweight in stocks, Burvill became concerned about valuations and sold enough of his holdings last month to move his allocation to just under 50 percent. Attracted by yields approaching 6 percent, he has raised the bond portion of the portfolio to 43 percent, the highest in the fund’s four-year-plus history. read more

EXTRACT: Bloomberg News acquired and reported on some of Penn’s in-house messages at Burson-Marsteller, which suggest that Penn, despite his denials, is also actively working with Royal Dutch Shell, an oil company. While Clinton has had little good to say about oil and the industry’s “windfall profits,” many of her “clean-energy” proposals would profit Penn’s client. For at least a decade, Shell has been investing hundreds of millions of dollars in “renewable fuels” such as solar energy and biomass, and the company supported the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. Through investments in currently uneconomical technologies, Shell could reap big profits if government action mandates or subsidizes these technologies. Sure enough, Hillary has sponsored or co-sponsored many bills pushing subsidies for renewable fuels such as those owned by Shell. read more

MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russian authorities Thursday approved a raise in the 2007 cost estimate for Kharyaga oil field being developed by French oil major Total SA by 12% to $164 million, the Industry and Energy Ministry said.

The approval marks the latest success for Total, which was named earlier in the day as the chosen partner of state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom to develop the huge Arctic Shtokman project in the Barents Sea.

A joint committee of the Finance, Industry and Energy, and Natural Resource Ministries, as well as the administration of the Nenets Autonomous Area where the oil field is located, authorized additional spending on roads, drilling design, and preparation of facilities, following a request from the project operator, Total’s Russian arm. read more

Friday, July 13, 2007

Gardai say a road that had been blocked by protestors at the site of the proposed Shell gas refinery in Co Mayo is now reopened.

The Shell to Sea group claimed earlier that two protestors chained themselves to a parked vehicle, blocking access to the site.

Protests have been taking place for more than five years against the location of the Shell refinery in Bellanaboy.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/ireland/article2766297.ece

13/07/2007  13:01

Shell to Sea campaigners have set up a blockade and halted traffic on the road between Belmullet and Ballycastle in Co Mayo.

Two men have chained themselves to a van on the road leading to the proposed gas refinery site at Bellanaboy.

Trucks working on the site have been unable to gain access to it since shortly after 9am. The fire brigade from Bellmullet has been called to try and untie the men.

The campaigners want Shell to refine gas from the Corrib gas field at sea rather than at Bellanaboy. read more

13 Jul 2007 

At 07:00 BST (08:00 CEST and 02:00 EDT) on Thursday July 26, 2007 Royal Dutch Shell plc will release its second quarter 2007 unaudited results and its second quarter 2007 interim dividend announcement. All related materials will be posted on http://www.shell.com/investor on July 26, 2007. 

Live audio webcasts for media and analysts will be hosted Thursday 26 July 2007.

As of next week it will be possible to register for the webcasts listed below.

• Media audio webcast from The Hague
A live audio webcast of the 2nd quarter results teleconference will be available at 08.15 BST (09.15 CEST / 03.15 EDT) on Thursday July 26, 2007. read more

KATHARINE HOURELD
IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

IN NIGERIA’S oil-rich south, foreign workers are known as “white gold” among the gangs who kidnap them for ransom.

“Ah, the whites are coming,” chuckled one young gang member as a heavily-guarded oil company convoy sped throughPort Harcourt, sirens blaring. “It’s like ice cream vans in your country.”

Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil, or “black gold”. But the country is in the grip of a kidnapping epidemic, with more than 150 foreigners seized so far this year, including many Britons and a woman and child – nearly double the total for all of last year. read more

Tony Gray
Published: Jul 13, 2007

QATAR Liquefied Gas (4) has officially become the long-term charterer of eight of the largest liquefied natural gas carriers, following the project’s incorporation earlier this week.

The time charters were transferred to Qatargas 4 by Qatar Petroleum, the majority partner in the project.

The charters were originally signed in February with the vessels’ owner Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat).

The eight vessels are split equally between the Q-Flex (about 215,000 cu m) and Q-Max (266,000 cu m) designs,and are being built by South Korea’sSamsung Heavy Industries andDaewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. read more

By Peggy Hollinger
Published: July 13 2007 03:00 | Last updated: July 13 2007 03:00

Gazprom’s decision to choose Total as its first foreign partner in the development of the Shtokman field is a vindication of the French company’s strategy of being a “good partner” in the countries where itoperates.

Total has only minimal experience in Russia, and no experience at all in the Arctic conditions that make Shtokman so challenging, yet it has been allowed to take a 25 per cent stake in exploiting the world’s second-biggest gas field: a hugely important asset. read more

By ANDREW E. KRAMER
Published: July 13, 2007

MOSCOW, July 12 — The French oil company Total has agreed to form a consortium with Gazprom to develop one of the world’s largest natural gas deposits offshore in the Arctic, an indication that major oil companies are willing to continue working in Russia despite the risk that their property will be nationalized.

Total’s deal is a long-sought prize for foreign companies in Russia as opportunities slow for energy investments worldwide. The field holds enough gas to meet all European demand for seven years. The deal comes after two similar, large investments in Russia were partially nationalized in the last six months. read more

Last Updated: 1:37am BST 13/07/2007

A round-up of headlines from across the financial sectors, provided by Bloomberg News.

ENERGY

• Royal Dutch Shell’s institutional investors that expect to share in a $353m settlement between the company and stockholders in Europe and other non-US nations have grown to 81 from about 50 when the deal was announced April 11.

The above is an extract: for the complete article go to..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/07/13/cxbloom113.xml read more

Gazprom-Venture Stake
Confers No Title to Gas;
Signal Sent to Sarkozy?
By GUY CHAZAN in London and DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS in Paris
July 13, 2007; Page A6

French petroleum company Total SA prevailed in a long-running effort to participate in the development of Russia’s vast Shtokman natural-gas field, one of the world’s last great untapped energy prizes.

But the tough conditions imposed by Russian gas monopoly OAO Gazprom underscore the huge difficulties major Western oil and gas companies face in trying to acquire ownership of fresh reserves, particularly in that energy-rich nation. read more

By SPENCER SWARTZ
July 13, 2007

COTONOU, Benin — Big foreign oil companies are finding it harder to make money in Africa because of the region’s often unstable politics, output restrictions and moves by some governments to rewrite contracts.

Africa remains one of the last big regions open to foreign oil exploration — and companies of all stripes are still benefiting from record energy prices. But fresh obstacles threaten to crimp future production in a region that is crucial to global energy supplies. read more

PRIVATE PROPERTIES 
By CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS
July 13, 2007; Page W8 

Shell Oil Co.’s president, John Hofmeister, is asking $4 million for his farm in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County.

Mr. Hofmeister, 59, and his wife, Karen Otazo, an author of books on management, bought the land in three parts between 1996 and 1999, paying a total of $1.47 million. It’s in Willow Street, Pa., about 70 miles west of Philadelphia. They rewired the main structures, added air conditioning and heating and restored all the exterior stonework. The 118-acre property includes a roughly 4,100-square-foot, 19th-century brick Victorian home, an early 19th-century stone farmhouse and a mid-19th century grist mill. The property, surrounded by Amish and Mennonite farmland, is next to a covered bridge. read more

By James Butty
Washington, D.C.
13 July 2007
 
The National Union of Ogoni Students, NUOS International USA has been commenting on the continuing crisis in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region.  At the conclusion of its annual conference held in Kansas City, Missouri, NUOS International USA said it is opposed to what it called the criminal negligence of the Niger Delta by successive Nigerian governments.

KorneBari Nwike is president of NUOS International USA.  He told VOA his organization is demanding an immediate end to the Niger Delta conflict. read more

July 13, 2007

Carl Mortished

Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP, is planning to strip out bureaucracy and complexity from the oil group in the wake of the departure of Lord Browne of Madingley earlier this year.

The drive to streamline the head office, in St James’s Square, is part of a cultural shift in which the new chief executive is trying to play down Lord Browne’s emphasis on the environment and refocus BP on profits and operations. Symbolic of the change in mood is a decision to move the office of Peter Sutherland, BP’s chairman, from the sixth to the fifth floor, opposite Mr Hayward’s office. During tense periods in relations between Lord Browne and Mr Sutherland, company executives shuttled up and down between the two offices, relaying messages between the two men in what was widely seen as a symptom of dysfunction at the top of BP. read more

Friday, July 13, 2007. Issue 3698. Page 1.
By Miriam Elder
Staff Writer

Gazprom on Thursday invited French energy major Total to help develop the Shtokman project, ending years of wrangling over whether foreign companies would take part in developing one of the world’s largest and most difficult gas fields.

The state-run gas company gave Total a 25 percent stake in the field’s operating company, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said in a statement. A further 24 percent stake could be doled out to one or more foreign companies, but Gazprom would retain a majority 51 percent stake in the project, the statement said. read more

By Ed Crooks in London and Neil Buckley in Moscow
Published: July 12 2007 19:54 | Last updated: July 12 2007 19:54

Gazprom’s decision to choose Total as its first foreign partner in the development of the Shtokman field is a vindication of the French company’s strategy of being a “good partner” in the countries where it operates.

Total has only minimal experience in Russia, and no experience at all in the Arctic conditions that make Shtokman so challenging, yet it has been allowed to take a 25 per cent stake in exploiting the world’s second-biggest gas field: a hugely important asset. read more

Friday, July 13, 2007. Issue 3698. Page 5.
Reuters

NERUNGRI, Sakha — The country’s pipeline monopoly will ask shareholders of a Chevron-led pipeline to meet again urgently in July to resolve a strategy dispute with Moscow over the country’s only private oil link, Transneft chief Semyon Vainshtok said Thursday.

Vainshtok told reporters that he wanted the shareholders to meet again to discuss Transneft’s proposals for higher transportation fees, lower borrowing costs and a bond issue. read more