November 14th, 2007:

By Alfred and John Donovan

The website royaldutchshellplc.com publishes on a daily basis confidential documents relating to Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s second largest publicly owned oil company. The website is owned by the authors of this article.

Shell hit the news headlines in January 2004 when news broke of a huge fraud involving the oil giant’s oil and gas reserves. Basically investors were conned into believing that Shell had significantly more proven reserves than it actually had. Shell had to pay $170 million in fines imposed by financial regulators. The settlement of class action lawsuits will cost Shell shareholders several hundred million dollars. read more

Reuters
Thursday, 15 November 2007

Opec officials at a summit of the producer group have said there was no easy way to crack down on speculators whom they blame for sending oil prices to a record high near $US100 ($NZ134.35) a barrel.

Oil’s climb to an all-time peak of $US98.62 on Nov. 7 has been fuelled by a flow of speculative money into the commodity, according to Opec. Some of that cash was pulled out this week, helping prices fall near $US93.

“I don’t know how to tackle them,” said Qatar’s oil minister, Abdullah al-Attiyah, when asked what should be done to rein in speculators. “They are like ghosts, how are you going to fight a ghost?” read more

Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:17pm EST 

NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said Wednesday its Mars platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was still raising output back to normal levels of 190,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day after completing scheduled work.

The nearby Ursa field, which supplies the Mars crude oil stream, remained shut after planned maintenance was extended by several days, Shell said.

Traders pushed the price of Mars blend crude oil up $3 per barrel against benchmark WTI in early trading on Wednesday on expectations of lower supplies of the medium sour grade. [CRU/C] read more

Motiva Enterprises LLC said Tuesday it has sold its interest in 54 Shell gas stations in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area to Bronson Oil Holdings LLC for an undisclosed sum.

Bronson, a newly formed real-estate company, will sublease the stations to ARFA Enterprises Ltd., a gasoline wholesaler that operates or supplies nearly 200 gas stations operating under seven brands. Bronson and ARFA have common owners and are based in Pennsauken, N.J.

ARFA will run the stations and supply them with fuel that it gets from Motiva, which will make sure the stations properly represent the Shell brand. read more

By JAD MOUAWAD
Published: November 14, 2007

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 13 — The price of crude oil dropped sharply on Tuesday after a prominent energy group lowered its estimate for worldwide oil demand, saying high prices were harming consumption.

Oil fell $3.45, or 3.7 percent, to $91.17 a barrel in New York. Last week, oil futures reached a high of $98.62 a barrel. Oil prices, which have more than quadrupled over the last four years, are close to the inflation-adjusted record of $101.70 a barrel reached in April 1980. read more

LAGOS (AFP) — Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell has restructured its upstream operations in Nigeria to promote effficiency, productivity and cut costs, a company statement said Wednesday.

It said subsidiaries like Shell Production and Development Company Limited, Shell exploration and Production Africa Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited had been merged into one.

“The One Shell project seeks to eliminate duplication of the activities of its subsidiaries,” Shell said. read more

Nigel Wilson, Energy writer
November 15, 2007

CHINA National Offshore Oil Corporation could increase its stake in the vast North West Shelf project in Western Australia.

The aggressive Chinese Government-owned company, which already has a 5.3 per cent interest in NW Shelf exploration permits, production licences and related reserves, has been offered Shell’s NW Shelf oil business – a move that would leave Shell with gas only.

The deal, if it goes ahead, would be worth more than $500 million. read more

By Alfred and John Donovan

Royaldutchshellplc.com, the website described by Reuters as being the “unofficial” company website of the oil giant Shell, continues to publish secret Shell related docoments on a daily basis.

Today, the site has published the minutes of a meeting of Shell Group Managing Directors held in December 2003, just weeks before news broke of the Shell reserves fraud which is still the subject of ongoing multibillion dollar litigation.

The Shell Group Managing Directors present at the CMD Meeting held on 9 December 2003 included Philip Watts, Jeroen van der Veer, Walter van de Vijver, Malcolm Brinded, Judy Boynton and Rob Routs. read more

By Richard Milne in Frankfurt
Published: November 14 2007 02:00 | Last updated: November 14 2007 02:00

Eon, the world’s largest utility by sales, is considering building power stations in the UK, Germany and Hungary with Gazprom, the Russian energy group.

Wulf Bernotat, chief executive of the German group, said a partnership with Gazprom would ensure adequate access to gas for the power plants. People close to Eon said there were already concrete plans for a gaspowered plant in Germany near the Baltic Sea. read more

By John Willman
Published: November 14 2007 02:00 | Last updated: November 14 2007 02:00

Macho attitudes at science, engineering and technology companies mean they are less likely to have women in their boardrooms or in senior management positions than companies in other sectors, according to the Cranfield report.

But some companies have brought women into the boardroom and senior management, including at the highest levels.

Drax, the electricity generator, and Anglo-American, the mining group, both have female chief executives. Royal Dutch Shell has three women on the board – one an executive director. read more

By ALEXANDER KOLIANDRE
November 14, 2007

Despite high crude prices, Russian oil-production growth may be damped because the country’s tax regime deprives producers of the bulk of export revenue while rising costs mean companies struggle to invest in new fields.

“We don’t gain much from high oil prices,” said a spokesman for OAO Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil company by volume. His counterpart at second-largest company OAO Lukoil agreed: “High oil prices have only a marginal positive effect on the company. In reality it’s the Stabilization Fund which gains from the high price of crude.” read more

The Wall Street Journal: Oil Falls to $91 As Data Suggest Demand Shift

By NEIL KING JR. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and ANN DAVIS in Houston
November 14, 2007; Page A1

Early signs of an easing in global demand growth and swings by Wall Street traders are pushing oil away from the historic $100-a-barrel mark, at least for now.

After rising as high as $98.62 a barrel a week ago, the benchmark oil-futures price on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit a low of $90.13 yesterday before closing at $91.17, a one-day drop of $3.45.
 
Over the next few years, supplies are likely to be tight and demand is expected to keep rising. A security scare, cutoff in supply or shift in sentiment could send prices soaring again. But traders have begun taking into account other factors that could complicate the near-term outlook. read more

By Dinakar Sethuraman

Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it discovered gas in Brunei’s waters, enabling the sultanate to sustain production of liquefied natural gas.

Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd., a venture between Brunei’s government and Shell, found gas in the Bubut area, located about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from a LNG plant that exports clean fuel to utilities in Japan and South Korea, the company said in a statement on Nov. 9 on its Web site. The company declined to give details on reserves and output from the new field. read more

Wednesday 14 November 2007  

RIYADH: Royal Dutch Shell plans to push on with drilling for gas in Saudi Arabia’s vast empty quarter, despite finding nothing with its first three wells, a senior company executive said yesterday.

“We will complete our plan to drill seven wells,” Shell Saudi Arabia Country chairman Robert Weener said at an oil exhibition in Riyadh.

“This is an area the size of the UK. You can’t just drill three wells and say there’s no gas.”

Shell is part of a joint venture with Total and Saudi Aramco called South Rub Al Khali (SRAK). SRAK had an exit option after three consecutive dry wells. read more

By Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Wednesday November 14 2007

THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday assured objectors to the controversial Corrib gas plant that the project will not affect human health or the environment.

The assurance came as the agency gave the green light to Shell E&P Ireland to process 9.9 million cubic metres of natural gas per day at the country’s first on-shore gas refinery.

It has been claimed that gas supplied by the Corrib field, 65km off Co Mayo, will provide 60pc of the country’s gas requirements for the next 20 years. read more

November 14, 2007: 12:44 AM EST

SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) is considering the sale of its oil assets in Australia’s North West Shelf, two people familiar with the matter said, in a move set to attract Chinese interest.

Shell is examining the potential value of its 16.67% stake in the oil output arm of the North West Shelf project, namely the Cossack Pioneer field, which produces 100,000 barrels of crude a day, the people said.

Another person said Cnooc Ltd. (CEO) has hired Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG.AU) to examine a possible bid for Shell’s oil assets in the North West Shelf, and China’s number-three oil producer may pitch an offer around $450 million. read more