November 19th, 2007:

November 19, 2007: 09:00 AM EST

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Maxygen, Inc. announced today that it expects to recognize approximately $7 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2007 under the terms of Maxygen’s license agreement with Codexis Inc.

The payment reflects the expanded collaboration agreement between Royal Dutch Shell plc and Codexis, announced November 6, 2007, for the development of new super enzymes to convert biomass to fuel. The expanded agreement covers five years of research collaboration. In addition Shell made an equity investment in Codexis as part of a larger financing. This financing reduces Maxygen’s ownership in Codexis to approximately 25% of Codexis’ outstanding shares. Maxygen owns approximately 8.9 million shares of various classes of Codexis preferred stock convertible into common shares and shares of Codexis common stock. The convertible preferred stock of the most recent Codexis financing is senior in liquidation preference to Maxygen’s shares and was sold at a price of $8.50 per share. read more

19 Nov 2007 10:57 GMT

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- A New Jersey court ruled last week that it had no jurisdiction over a European shareholders case concerning a 2004 reserves scandal at Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN), paving the way for a previous Dutch settlement to proceed.

In April, Shell agreed to pay $352.6 million, excluding lawyers fees, to settle claims brought by European shareholders, who accused the company of defrauding them by overstating its reserves.

But the settlement was dependent on the U.S. court ruling it had no jurisdiction over the case. Last week’s ruling, however, also allowed a separate U.S. action to continue. read more

By Angela Macdonald-Smith and Yu-huay Sun

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) — Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, signed an accord to sell as much as 3 million tons a year of liquefied natural gas to CPC Corp., a deal that may be worth up to A$45 billion ($40 billion).

The LNG will be supplied over 15-20 years from the proposed Browse project off Australia’s northwest coast, with deliveries starting in 2013-2015, Perth-based Woodside said today in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange. The agreement is preliminary and sets out key terms, including price, it said. read more

The Wall Street Journal: Oil Officials See Limit Looming on Production

By RUSSELL GOLD and ANN DAVIS
November 19, 2007; Page A1

A growing number of oil-industry chieftains are endorsing an idea long deemed fringe: The world is approaching a practical limit to the number of barrels of crude oil that can be pumped every day.

Some predict that, despite the world’s fast-growing thirst for oil, producers could hit that ceiling as soon as 2012. This rough limit — which two senior industry officials recently pegged at about 100 million barrels a day — is well short of global demand projections over the next few decades. Current production is about 85 million barrels a day. read more

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State oil and gas company Pertamina, along with foreign competitors Petronas and Shell Indonesia, will soon supply compressed natural gas (CNG) to the public.

Jakarta Mineral and Mining Agency spokeswoman Peni Susanti said Friday it was part of their obligation to provide and operate CNG pumps at their existing gas stations in the future, although she did not set a deadline.

“Pertamina, Petronas and Shell signed an agreement with the city administration in September in which they promised to provide natural gas at their gas stations,” she said at City Hall. read more

November 19, 2007, 12:01AM EST

State-run Petrobras’ “monstrous” new oil find has wide-ranging implications for the South American country, the oil majors, oil services providers, and beyond
by Joshua Schneyer

In a recent radio broadcast, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he’s convinced a “higher power” has taken a shining to Brazil. That, he said, might explain the providence of state-run oil company Petrobras (PBR), whose colossal new oil discovery could transform Brazil from a barely self-sufficient producer into a major crude exporter. read more

LONDON (Thomson Financial) – Anti-corruption investigators are probing payments by ChevronTexaco and Royal Dutch Shell to a company owned by a former Nigerian politician they suspect to be involved in money laundering activities, the Financial Times on Saturday reported, quoting Nuhu Ribadu, chief of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The politician is being investigated by British and Nigerian authorities over sums he is alleged to have accumulated during his years in office, it said. read more

Monday November 19 2007

Environment Minister John Gormley yesterday told Shell and its contractors that they must repair damage done to a special conservation area during unauthorised works for the Corrib Gas Pipeline.

Mr Gormley issued a ministerial direction instructing Shell and RPS Consultant Engineers to repair any damage to the protected Glenamoy bog complex at Glengad, Mayo.

Drilling and borehole installation were carried out at the site last month by RPS, who had been hired by Shell E&P Ireland to select a modified route for the Corrib gas pipeline. read more

EXTRACT: BHP has denied rumours that it was planning to put BHP Petroleum up for sale. But if circumstances change, BHP Petroleum would attract a wide range of bidders, including some of the world’s biggest oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Shell. PetroChina would also join in such an auction.

THE ARTICLE 

By Lina Saigol
Published: November 19 2007 02:00 | Last updated: November 19 2007 02:00

BHP Billiton’s attempted takeover of Rio Tinto has set in motion a complicated set of variables that could result in consolidation of the entire mining sector in the next few years. read more