August 1st, 2007:

August 1, 2007
BY ANN ALEXANDER

Like a pious preacher caught with the secretary in a cheap motel, the oil company that spent years promising to take us “beyond petroleum” has suddenly found itself at the center of a growing storm brought on by a severe case of hypocrisy.

Instead of a public atonement, BP is digging in its heels. Odds are that this is a losing game, one that will leave both corporate and political reputations battered and broken.

BP has spent millions promoting itself as the greenest oil giant. But soon, the company plans to start dumping 1,600 pounds of ammonia and nearly 2½ tons of contaminated sludge each and every day into Lake Michigan from its refinery in Whiting, Ind., a mile from where 11 cities get their drinking water. read more

1 August 2007

Demand from US refineries has increased for six successive weeks

Oil prices have climbed to a record high of $78.71 a barrel amid worries about whether oil supplies can meet global demand.

The price of a barrel of US light, sweet crude passed the previous high of $78.40 a barrel, reached in July 2006.

Prices have risen steadily in the past few weeks following disruption to output in Nigeria and the North Sea and set a new closing high on Tuesday.

The latest rise was triggered by data showing a fall in US crude stockpiles. read more

Map of disputed Arctic region

Daily Telegraph: Russia claims North Pole with Arctic flag stunt

By Matthew Moore
Last Updated: 2:08pm BST 01/08/2007

An audacious Russian mission to claim the North Pole for Moscow is due to reach its climax in the next 24 hours, after a week-long journey through thick ice-sheets.
  
Two Russian vessels – including an atomic icebreaker – are expected to reach the Pole this afternoon.

There they will release two mini-submarines which will drop a metal tube containing a Russian flag onto the seabed. The release is likely to take place tonight or tomorrow morning, according to organisers. read more

Wednesday, August 01, 2007
ROY L. WILLIAMSNews staff writer

Shell Oil Co. President John Hofmeister admits the nation’s second-largest oil producer has gotten its share of hate mail from consumers fed up with high gasoline prices.

Hofmeister said in an interview Tuesday that federal energy policy preventing oil and natural-gas companies from more drilling offshore – not oil companies boosting prices to cash in on demand – deserves the blame for the run-up that has sent crude oil to near record levels, subsequently making it more expensive to fill up at the pump. read more

August 01, 2007: 08:29 AM EST

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s biggest oil company by production and reserves, Wednesday said former Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) chairman Mark Moody-Stuart and James W. Kinnear, former president and chief executive of Texaco, are joining the company’s board.

The state-run company, known as Saudi Aramco, said in a statement that Salim Al-Aydh, an Aramco senior vice president, and Peter Woicke, a managing director at the World Bank, are also taking up positions on Aramco’s 12-member board. The new board, which is chaired by Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi, begins serving its new term Sept. 27. read more

Ashok Dutta, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The Royal Dutch/Shell Group is gearing up to tackle one of the biggest and costliest projects in oilpatch and Canadian construction history.

The company announced Monday that it has filed a regulatory application to build a new upgrader east of Edmonton to serve its oilsands expansion projects in northern Alberta and that the cost could run as high as $27 billion.

The Scotford Upgrader 2 will have a total capacity of up to 400,000 barrels per day and will be built in four phases, taking as long as two decades to complete. It will be located adjacent to Shell’s existing upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan. read more

Date Published: August 01, 2007

Producing a new generation of biofuels from waste products is an exciting next step for green energy, but considerable technical obstacles remain before it becomes a reality. Stuart Nathan reports

From the earliest days of the coal-powered railways through the rise of the internal combustion engine and into the jet age, mechanised transport has always depended on fossil fuels.

But concerns over climate change, increasing scarcity of fossil fuel resources and worries over energy security are leading to new ideas across industry, and vehicle fuel is no exception. read more

The Guardian: Do corporate sponsorships compromise theatres?: The National’s new production is brought to you by Shell: an ethical minefield or much ado about nothing?

There are three Shell plays at the National in the pipeline. Photograph: Rengku Bahar/AFP/Getty Images

One of the highlights of the autumn season at the National Theatre looks set to be Nicholas Hytner’s new production of Much Ado About Nothing. Boasting the not inconsiderable pairing of Zoe Wanamaker and Simon Russell Beale as Beatrice and Benedick, it opens in December and will be the first of three annual productions of classic drama sponsored by Shell. read more

Associated Press – August 1, 2007 6:45 AM ET

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Dominion Resources and Shell WindEnergy say they’ll proceed with building 50 more wind turbines next year at West Virginia’s Mount Storm wind farm.

That’s despite a legal challenge.

Dominion Resources spokesman Dan Genest says Mount Storm is a good project and a good location.

Construction of the project’s first phase is nearing completion. The companies say the first 82 turbines will be hooked up to the region’s power grid by the fourth quarter of this year. The turbines are expected to generate 164 megawatts of electricity — enough for 41,000 homes. read more

By ASHLEY COX

A small light appears on the dashboard of your car. You look down. The gas tank is on empty and it’s time to fill up. Again.

With gas prices reaching record highs this summer, many people will scour their neighborhoods for the lowest prices.

Some opt for discount gas, while others stay true to brand names.

“Generally it’s price over brand,” Clermont resident James Armstrong said of his choice of gasoline as he filled up Tuesday afternoon at the Kroger station on Thompson Bridge Road. read more

Aug 1st 2007

The Kazakh government has warned Western investors in the giant Kashagan oil project that delays and massive cost overruns amount to a breach of contract, which demands renegotiation of the deal. Currently, this seems likely to be limited to financial penalties rather than redistribution of equity in favour of the national oil company. However, it underlines the growing assertiveness of the Kazakh authorities in dealing with foreign investors that were welcomed with open arms in the 1990s. read more

August 01, 2007: 07:28 AM EST

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s (RDSB.LN) 65,000 barrel of oil equivalent-a-day Shearwater gas field in the U.K. North Sea will shut for scheduled maintenance work Thursday, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The field undergoes maintenance every two years and the work has typically taken 30 days, she said.

A large number of North Sea oil and gas fields will be closed for maintenance in the week ahead. Total SA’s (TOT) Elgin and Franklin gas fields are shut for three weeks, starting last weekend. ConocoPhillips’ (COP) Britannia gas field will be closed Aug. 4-6. Centrica PLC’s (CNA.LN) Morecambe South gas field is expected to shut down for an unknown duration next week. read more

By Upstream staff

Gazprom will almost halve gas supplies to Belarus from Friday after failing to reach a deal with Minsk over a $456 million gas debt, the Russian gas giant said today.

“We will cut supplies by 45% but fully maintain our transit supplies to Europe via Belarus,” a Gazprom spokesman told Reuters.

“Belarus has so far offered nothing to resolve the debt issue, which we consider a violation of our previous agreements. They have the money to pay back the debt and we do not understand why they don’t want to do it,” he added. read more

By Upstream staff

US energy company Dominion and Shell Windenergy plan to add a second phase to a West Virginia windfarm, boosting its output to 264 megawatts, the companies said today.

Shell Windenergy is a unit of Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell.

The companies formed a third company, NedPower Mount Storm to own the Grant County, West Virginia windfarm.

The plans call for 50 turbines producing 100 megawatts to be located next to the first phase of 82 turbines producing 164 megawatts near Dominion’s Mount Storm Power Station, in Grant County. read more

Inflated Gear Prices
Almost Guarantee
New Crude Records
By BHUSHAN BAHREE
August 1, 2007; Page A3

•  Pumping Prices: Oil companies are encountering cost run-ups and delays as they compete for scarcer, pricier field equipment and services.

•  Demand Disconnect: The trend complicates oil-industry efforts to tap new projects to capture higher prices.

•  Off Balance: Projects driven by higher prices have helped quell oil’s rise in the past.During past surges, higher oil prices pinched consumers and the economy but also made a greater amount of untapped oil economical to pump. read more

The Wall Street Journal: Marathon Oil Seeks Canadian Deal

By TINA PENG
August 1, 2007; Page A4

Marathon Oil Corp. offered to purchase Western Oil Sands Inc. for $5.45 billion, which would give the Houston company a foothold in Canada’s massive heavy-oil deposits and deepen the ties between the northern Alberta oil reserves and U.S. refineries.

The proposed deal is the latest example of growing production from Canada’s oil sands being sent by pipeline into the Midwest to be turned into gasoline for U.S. drivers.
 
It follows a deal last year between the U.S.’s ConocoPhillips and Canada’s EnCana Corp. to create a joint venture with oil sands and U.S. refining assets. Husky Energy Inc., based in Calgary, bought a refinery in Ohio earlier this year to turn gunky heavy oil into high-value transportation fuel. read more

By JANE SPENCER
August 1, 2007

HONG KONG — Massive stores of methane gas buried deep inside Asia’s coal beds could be shaping up as the next hot energy play.

Trillions of cubic meters of clean-burning methane are trapped in Asia’s coal deposits. The gas — which produces lower levels of air pollution and carbon emissions than oil or coal — could be used to meet some of the region’s huge power needs. Merrill Lynch says China alone holds nearly 30 trillion cubic meters of methane gas, about three times the U.S. amount. read more

By ERICA HERRERO-MARTINEZ
August 1, 2007; Page B5A

LONDON — European officials are urging air-pollution authorities in several U.S. states to avoid the problems that have plagued Europe’s system for trading carbon-emissions credits since it was set up 2½ years ago.

The U.S. doesn’t plan to introduce a nationwide emissions-trading system, but 10 Northeastern states are trying to set up their own systems, starting in 2009. California also aims to set up a program, though it hasn’t set a date. Officials in those states are now looking to Europe’s experience in carbon trading as they sketch out how their own plans will work. read more

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) — Increased output of biofuels and natural gas liquids may lead to an oversupply of oil products by 2010, reducing gasoline prices worldwide and lowering operating rates at refineries, Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd. said.

Supplies of fuels not produced in oil refineries are expected to increase by more than 80 million metric tons between 2006 and 2010 due to increased output of natural gas liquids and moves to boost the use of biofuels, the Edinburgh-based consulting firm said in a statement yesterday. read more

01 Aug 2007 bbj.huEni, the Italian operator of the development project at the Kashagan oil deposit, has demanded that the budget for the project be raised from $57 billion to $136 billion.

Kazakh authorities are willing to do that only under the condition that the product sharing agreement be reexamined and their share in the profit from the oil be raised from 10% to 40%. Shell made similar demands of Russian authorities in negotiations over the Sakhalin2 project at one time, leading eventually to control over it being transferred to Gazprom. read more

Companies spend billions to boost shares, but industry observers say money could be better spent increasing production and undertaking alternative energy projects.

By Elizabeth Douglass, Times Staff Writer
August 1, 2007

The oil business has rarely been so good. Crude prices closed at a new high Tuesday and gasoline-refining profits are more than double what they were a few years ago.

It was no surprise, then, that last week’s earnings reports showed that the cash had been rolling in at Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and overseas giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell. read more

01/08/2007 – 7:58:36 AM

The Government is reportedly set to hike the amount of tax imposed on energy firms that discovery oil and gas off Ireland’s coast.

At present, such companies pay just 25% in tax on their profits.

However, reports this morning say the cabinet has approved new plans to raise this to 40% in some cases.

The move has reportedly been prompted in part by the controversy surrounding the Corrib gas project and the low return it will have for Irish taxpayers.

Opponents of the project say the Government effectively allowed Shell to make massive profits from the exploitation of Irish natural resources without ensuring a similar benefit for the Irish Exchequer. read more

Published: Aug 01, 2007

What’s the fuss?

THE current surge in demand for energy, coupled with high oil prices, has led to a boom in exploration and production. Given that offshore activity is expected to represent 43% of oil production and 83% of gas production by the end of 2008, there is a lot of interest in the offshore market.

In addition, as oil and gas prices continue to rise, the exploration and production of previously ignored marginal fields is becoming economically viable, meaning drill ships, production vessels and supply ships are in demand. read more

Tom Shiel, Irish Times
Published: Aug 01, 2007

A Circuit Court judge has given opponents of the Corrib gas project a deadline of noon on Friday to vacate the Rossport Solidarity Camp in north Mayo.

At a sitting of the Circuit Court in Castlebar yesterday, Judge Harvey Kenny set the timescale for the vacating of the encampment pending a full hearing on September 3rd of an application for an interlocutory injunction by Mayo County Council, which is seeking that the facility be closed down.

The local authority maintains the camp is unauthorised and that it is causing “irreparable damage” to the local environment. read more

Lorna Siggins, Western Correspondent, Irish Times
Published: Aug 01, 2007

Two prominent poets and a musician participating in the Feile Iorrais arts festival in north Mayo this week have refused to accept any payment linked to Shell E&P Ireland sponsorship of the event.

Galway poet Rita Ann Higgins, Donegal poet Cathal O Searcaigh and musician Andy Irvine, formerly of folk group Planxty, have said they are very disappointed at not having been informed beforehand of the sponsorship deal, in the light of Shell’s role as developer of the Corrib gas project. read more

Published: Aug 01, 2007

THE State is to get hundreds of millions more from energy giants who strike oil and gas off our shores.

The Government, stung by accusations of giving the likes of Shell cheap access to natural resources, has decided to adopt a much tougher stance on profits.

In future multi-national oil and gas companies will be hit with a large tax hike on profits from future finds.

Instead of paying 25pc on profits from a field, they will have to pay, in some cases, as much as 40pc tax on the profits. read more

TOM GILLESPIE, The Mirror
Published: Aug 01, 2007

A JUDGE has slapped a Friday noon deadline on Corrib Gas protesters to move out of their “Solidarity Camp”.

Castlebar Circuit Court judge Harvey Kenny set the date yesterday for leaving the site ahead of a full hearing on September 3.

An application will then be made by Mayo County Council to shut the camp for good.

Council chiefs claim the encampment is unauthorised and is causing “irreparable damage” to the local area.

Mr Sean Deegan BL, acting for four defendants Mark Robinson, Eoin O’Leidh’n, Bob Kavanagh and Niall Harnett, applied for an adjournment to enable him to mount a defence. read more

Published: August 1 2007 03:00 | Last updated: August 1 2007 03:00

Royal Dutch Shell this week filed for regulatory clearance to upgrade its oil sands processing facility at its Edmonton refinery, a project which could cost as much C$27bn ($25.4bn) and take two decades to complete.

The project, known as the Scotford Upgrader 2, could ultimately process up to 400,000 barrels a day of oil sands bitumen from the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in northern Alberta and other oil sands projects in the area.

The Alberta oil sands are “the new frontier” for the world’s oil companies ,according to Fadel Gheit, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. He adds Shell and other companies investing in the oil sands will incur heavy costs because of strict environmental regulations. read more

By Daina Lawrencein Ottawa
Published: August 1 2007 03:00 | Last updated: August 1 2007 03:00

Marathon Oilhas agreed to buy Canada’s Western Oil Sands in a $6.2bn deal, giving the US’s fourth-largest oil and gas company control of a 20 per cent stake in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, one of the world’s largest untapped reservoirs of unconventional crude oil.

The deal will see Marathon pay $3.6bn in cash and about $1.9bn in shares and assume debt of $650m.

It gives Marathon its first toehold in the Alberta oil sands project in northern Canada, a move that the company has been studying for some time. read more

By REUTERS
Published: July 31, 2007
Filed at 2:59 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Calling for an end to Iranian nuclear ambitions and years of bloodshed in Sudan, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bills on Tuesday to give legal protections to investment managers who pull money out of key sectors of either nation’s economy.

The bills call on the U.S. government to list companies with more than $20 million invested in Iran’s energy sector or with business in Sudan supporting that government’s “genocidal practices,” said a statement from Democratic backers. read more

July 31, 2007: 06:58 PM EST

By Hyun Young Lee
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

OTTAWA -(Dow Jones)- Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) might have to fend off competition in its C$6.5 billion ($6.2 billion) bid for Canada’s Western Oil Sands Inc. (WTO.T), as analysts anticipated counterbids from other heavy hitters in the Canadian energy scene.

Houston-based Marathon said Tuesday it would buy Western Oil Sands, whose main asset is a 20% stake in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in northern Alberta, but analysts said this wasn’t yet a done deal. read more

10:33 | 01/ 08/ 2007 

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK (Far East), August 1 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s industrial safety watchdog, Rostekhnadzor, said Wednesday the construction of a trunk pipeline under the giant Sakhalin II oil and gas project in the country’s Far East has resumed.

Last Thursday, Rostekhnadzor suspended the construction of the pipeline on the stretch running over a tectonic fracture near the village of Yasnoye, citing violations of design-stipulated requirements on the drainage system. read more