October 2nd, 2007:

By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:35 PM ET Oct 2, 2007

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Oil prices of at least $100 a barrel are expected to become the norm as early as next year, as conventional supplies continue to decline and consumption in the developing world rises, CIBC chief economist Jeff Rubin said Tuesday.

“We’re in a world of triple-digit oil prices for the foreseeable future,” Rubin said at the CIBC 2nd Annual Industrials Conference. “Whether it’s $100 or $140 a barrel … is up to debate, but the bottom line is we’re in the bottom of the ninth inning of the hydrocarbon age.” read more

Tue Oct 2, 2007 12:02 PM BST
By Janet McBride

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil fell by more than $1 to below $80 a barrel on Tuesday, retreating for a third day as a strengthening dollar and concerns about the world economy prompted investors to take profits.

U.S. crude was down $1.07, or 1.3 percent, at $79.17 a barrel by 1055 GMT after dropping $1.42 on Monday. London Brent crude was off $1.19 at $76.45.

Watching a credit crunch in the United States and Europe that is showing signs of slowing economic growth, investors have pulled back and halted a rally that pushed oil to a record $83.90 on September 20. read more

October 2, 2007; Page B10

Oil major BP PLC reiterated that Chairman Peter Sutherland will still be on the job for its general shareholders meeting in 2009, denying press reports that he may leave earlier.

BP tends to have its annual general meetings in April.

London’s Sunday Times reported the hand-over to a successor could happen within a year if a suitable candidate is identified.

The 61-year-old Mr. Sutherland has been nonexecutive chairman for more than a decade.

The newspaper also said the company had hired Anna Mann, head of MWM Consulting Inc., to conduct the international search for a new chairman. BP declined to confirm or deny this. read more

By Nariman Gizitdinov

Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) — Kazakhstan’s Zhemchuzhina field, being developed by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, produced signs of oil at the first well drilled, according to state-owned KazMunaiGaz National Co., which owns 25 percent stake of the field.

“The first drilling well at the Zhemchuzhina oil structure found signs of oil,” KazMunaiGaz National Chief Executive Officer Uzakbai Karabalin said today at press conference in Almaty, the nation’s largest city. “We plan to continue drilling and complete this work within a month.” read more

Dear all

At 14:45 on Monday 24th September, the 2007 Tour de Sakhalin finished at the gates of the Zima camp. The entire SEIC International School and many other Zima residents turned  out to cheer the 11 strong Tour de Sakhalin team home (7 riders, 3 drivers and 1 cook). After 11 days cycling the team we were all tired, but very pleased to be home. Overall we have each cycled 1,237km (76 hours on the bike = 16.3km/hr overall average), climbed 12,470m, burned 45,000 kilocalories, and eaten a lifetime supply of chocolate and energy bars. Despite a few sore knees, and some minor cuts and bruises (and chafing), we all arrived home in good health. read more

 08:50 – 02 October 2007
 
Uk gas supplies were bolstered yesterday following the completion of a £5.5billion project to deliver gas from Norway’s Ormen Lange field.

The Langeled pipeline, the world’s longest underwater pipeline, began transporting gas for commercial use from the field to Easington after three weeks of testing.

National Grid said it expected the pipe to deliver more than a billion cubic feet of gas daily for the next six months, adding that there was potential to increase this over two years. read more

Gazprom, the operator of the Sakhalin II project, has resumed negotiations with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to secure financing for the Sakhalin II project, a company press-release stated.

Financing the multibillion dollar project has become a key issue after the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a core member of the planned lending syndicate, pulled out in early August because of concerns about how Gazprom gained control.

Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairman of Gazprom, said that Gazprom and the three Sakhalin II partners have reached a memorandum of understanding for financing from JBIC. read more

By Emiliya Mychasuk and Emiko Terazono
Published: October 2 2007 03:00 | Last updated: October 2 2007 03:00

Glass ceiling or glass elevator? While the debate rages about the role of women in business – see headhunter Heather McGregor’s FT Magazine cover story on ft.com – two senior women have hopped into the elevator at British American Tobacco. Karen de Segundo , who retired as president of Shell Hydrogen in 2005, and Christine Morin-Postel , former chief executive of Société Générale de Belgique and chief executive of Credisuez, are the newest recruits. read more

By Maggie Urry and Norma Cohen in London
Published: October 2 2007 03:00 | Last updated: October 2 2007 03:00

Shell UK, part of the Royal Dutch Shell oil group, is taking the unusual step of halting its contributions to its pension scheme for at least a year.

This is to take advantage of a combination of increasing equity values and rising interest rates this year.

In an announcement to scheme members on the company’s website, Shell UK said its latest actuarial valuation, completed last March, showed the £12.1bn scheme to be heavily in surplus. read more

A photograph taken in August from an icebreaker research cruise in the Arctic Ocean, about 600 miles north of the Alaska coastline.
 
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: October 2, 2007

The Arctic ice cap shrank so much this summer that waves briefly lapped along two long-imagined Arctic shipping routes, the Northwest Passage over Canada and the Northern Sea Route over Russia.

Over all, the floating ice dwindled to an extent unparalleled in a century or more, by several estimates.

Now the six-month dark season has returned to the North Pole. In the deepening chill, new ice is already spreading over vast stretches of the Arctic Ocean. Astonished by the summer’s changes, scientists are studying the forces that exposed one million square miles of open water — six Californias — beyond the average since satellites started measurements in 1979. read more

By Russell Hotten, Industry Editor
Last Updated: 12:19am BST 02/10/2007

Oil company Royal Dutch Shell has halted payments into its £12bn UK pension fund after latest valuations showed the scheme to be heavily in surplus.

The surprise move, the first pension holiday taken by the Anglo-Dutch company since 2002, will be reviewed next year.

Shell’s decision reflects the generally improving health of defined benefit schemes, but experts said the company’s move was unlikely to be followed by other large firms. Contribution holidays were widespread until the stock market falls early this decade hit investments and plunged many schemes into deficit. read more