Shell 3,200 jobs could go Friday, 21 December 2007 16:25 Royal Dutch Shell is to outsource a ‘substantial’ part of its information technology operations to cut costs, in a measure that may result in thousands of job losses. A Shell spokewoman said today that the company was in negotiations with three companies about outsourcing the functions and that contracts should be signed in March 2008. One employee told the Shell protest website RoyalDutchShellPlc.com that 3,200 jobs could be lost, but the spokeswoman declined to confirm the numbers. Shell sources said thousands of jobs could be involved but that many of these were contract positions rather than staff members. An internal Shell email obtained by the website lists EDS, T-Systems, the business customer unit of Deutsche Telekom, and AT&T, as being the companies in final talks on taking on different aspects of the business. http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/1221/shell.html
December 21st, 2007:
RTE (IRELAND): Outsourcing threat to Shell jobs
Guardian Unlimited: Shell to cut thousands of IT jobs
Reuters
Friday December 21 2007
By Tom Bergin
LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc is to outsource a “substantial” part of its information technology operations to cut costs, in a measure that may result in thousands of job losses.
A Shell spokewoman said on Friday that the company was in negotiations with three companies about outsourcing the functions and that contracts should be signed in March 2008.
One employee told the Shell protest website RoyalDutchShellPlc.com that 3,200 jobs could be lost, but the spokeswoman declined to confirm the numbers.
Financial Times: Chevron in Australian LNG boost
By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: December 21 2007 22:00 | Last updated: December 21 2007 22:00
Chevron is planning to step up its investment in the huge Gorgon liquefied natural gas project off the coast of western Australia. The US’s second biggest oil and gas company is seeking approval from the Australian authorities to build an additional liquefaction plant, the company has told the Financial Times.
It has endorsed a change in project scope from two plants – with capacity of 5m metric tonnes per annum – to three in an effort to improve project economics amid mounting industry cost pressures.
Reuters: UPDATE 1-Shell resumes some oil sands mining
Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:24am EST
(Adds details)
CALGARY, Alberta, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has resumed some oil sands mining at its Athabasca project in northern Alberta, but volumes will be tied to the gradual start-up of its Scotford upgrader near Edmonton, a spokesman said on Friday.
One of two production trains at the 155,000 barrel a day upgrader, which was shut down after being damaged in a Nov. 19 fire, is still expected to resume operations before the end of this month, Shell’s Randy Provencal said.
SHELL TO CUT THOUSANDS OF IT JOBS…
IF ANY MEDIA SOURCE WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT ME FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ABOVE REUTERS STORY, I HAVE A LONG EMAIL FROM A SHELL IT VICE PRESIDENT LEAKED TO US ON THE SAME DAY IT WAS SENT: WEDNESDAY 19 DEC 2007. WE ALSO HAVE OTHER LEAKED DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE SAME SUBJECT AND INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY A SHELL INSIDER. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE WITH MICHIEL BRANDJES, COMPANY SECRETARY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC CONFIRMING TO US THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE LEAKED EMAIL. MR BRANDJES HAS ALSO SUPPLIED COMMENT FOR PUBLICATION.
Reuters: Shell to cut thousands of IT jobs
Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:18am EST
By Tom Bergin
LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is to outsource a “substantial” part of its information technology operations to cut costs, in a measure that may result in thousands of job losses.
A Shell spokewoman said on Friday that the company was in negotiations with three companies about outsourcing the functions and that contracts should be signed in March 2008.
One employee told the Shell protest website RoyalDutchShellPlc.com that 3,200 jobs could be lost, but the spokeswoman declined to confirm the numbers.
Itar-Tass: Sakhalin-2 project gas supply delayed till spring 2009
21.12.2007, 12.16
MOSCOW, December 21 (Itar-Tass) — The liquefied gas will be exported not in 2008, as it was planned earlier, but in spring 2009 under the Sakhalin-2 project, Governor of the Sakhalin region Alexander Khoroshavin told Itar-Tass on Friday.
“Some delays are taking place that make it clear that liquefied gas supplies will not be made in 2008. It will likely be spring 2009,” he said.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=12202677&PageNum=0
TradingMarkets.com: CNPC and Shell May Be Strategic Partners after Meeting
Friday, December 21, 2007
BEIJING, Dec 21, 2007 (SinoCast via COMTEX) — RD | charts | news | PowerRating — China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the nation’s No.1 oil & gas producer, is talking with Royal Dutch/Shell Group in Beijing and may sign a strategic cooperation agreement, after inking a 30-year contract with US-based Chevron Corporation to jointly exploit natural gas in China’s Sichuan Province days ago.
The top managers of the Chinese oil giant are discussing with Jeroen van der Veer, CEO of Shell, about the details of the downstream and upstream projects, and the two sides will likely sign related documents to clinch, sources said.
Reuters: UPDATE 1-Gazprom aims for Sakhalin-2 LNG export by end-2008
Fri Dec 21, 2007 8:06am EST
TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Russia’s gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) will try its best to begin first exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Sakhalin-2 to contracted customers by the end of 2008, its deputy chairman Alexander Ananenkov said on Friday.
His comments came shortly after the governor of Sakhalin said Sakhalin Energy, one of the world’s top LNG projects on Russia’s Pacific Sakhalin island, will delay first LNG exports to Asia by six months to spring 2009 due to problems with pipelines.
www.nam.nl
CNNMoney.com: Shell-ExxonMobil JV To Restart Large Dutch Oil Project In 2010December 21, 2007: 05:21 AM EST LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV, or NAM, a joint- venture between Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) and ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM), said oil production will resume at the Dutch Schoonebeck field in 2010. The decision to restart the oil field comes as rising oil prices and new technologies improve the economics of previously unprofitable oil and gas projects. In a press statement on its Dutch Web site, Shell, which owns 50% of NAM, said the venture will partner with Dutch-state-owned natural gas company Energie Beheer Nederland BV. EBN will contribute 40% of the costs of the project. TMCnet: Shell denies wrongdoing at Dominican refinery(EFE News Service Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday it is not responsible for alleged irregularities in the management of this Caribbean nation’s only fuel refinery, which is jointly owned by the Dominican government and the multinational but administered by Shell. Dominican government auditors found that the Shell managers running the Refidomsa facility have been shortchanging consumers and the state, Listin Diario newspaper reported Wednesday. The auditor-general’s office, which reviewed operations at the refinery for the 3 1/2 years ending May 31 of this year, said in a posting on its Web site that Shell managers engaged in at least a dozen questionable transactions during the period. Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Colorado): Officials’ opinions on oil shale mixedThursday, December 20, 2007 Rio Blanco and Garfield County officials sounded positive — and skeptical — notes after a federal document identified some potential effects of oil shale development on public lands in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Rio Blanco County Commissioner Forrest Nelson said the Bureau of Land Management took the proper go-slow approach toward oil shale. “We just don’t want any train wrecks,“ Nelson said. “Shell has run into a few problems at their test site up here, but I’m still optimistic something will happen, if oil prices stay where they’re at.” The Wall Street Journal: Bridging China’s Oil Gap CNPC Aims to Boost Domestic Recovery With Foreign PartnersBy DAVID WINNING BEIJING — China National Petroleum Corp. aims to let more foreign companies develop domestic oil fields, building on the success of major onshore gas deals, as it grapples with stagnant production, a senior executive said. The oil company, parent of PetroChina Co. and China’s largest by assets, hopes foreign firms can bridge its knowledge-gap in enhanced recovery, especially the injection of carbon dioxide into reservoirs to boost well pressure. China has used polymer-and-steam injection at fields in the northeast to boost recovery, but industry insiders say carbon-dioxide injection leads to higher recovery rates. Financial Times: Kazakhstan pushes for more after settling for 2% in original oil dealBy Ed Crooks in London and Isabel Gorst in Baku Kazakhstan agreed surprisingly generous terms in its 1997 contract with international oil companies for developing the vast Kashagan oilfield, prompting its much-criticised efforts to renegotiate the deal. The country’s expected income from the first phase of Kashagan was only $120m (€84m) a year for the first 10 years after the start of production, just 2 per cent of the project’s revenues. Reuters: Showa Shell, Sumitomo to merge LPG businessesFri Dec 21, 2007 3:22am EST TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Japanese refiner Showa Shell Sekiyu KK (5002.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and trading company Sumitomo Corp (8053.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday they would merge liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) businesses in April to remain competitive in the declining market. The two firms will consolidate domestic retail and some wholesale businesses under a new holding company, which will be owned 51 percent by Showa Shell and the rest by Sumitomo. allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Shell Donates N2.5m Llibrary to SchoolVanguard (Lagos) Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) will flag off the construction of a N2.5 billion ultra-modern library for the Niger Delta University (NDU) in Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State today, Friday, December 21. SNEPCo’s Managing Director, Chima Ibeneche noted that the groundbreaking event sets the stage for the full-scale commencement of physical development of the historic library project being financed from start to finish by Shell. Bloomberg: Gazprom Pitches $99 Billion Gas Development Plan (Update1)By Michio Nakayama and Megumi Yamanaka Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — OAO Gazprom, the world’s largest natural gas exporter, pitched a 2.44 trillion ruble ($99 billion) plan to develop new supplies of the fuel to potential investors in Tokyo. The Russian gas monopoly aims to build 9,000 kilometers (5,600 miles) of pipelines and drill 1,294 wells in eastern Siberia by 2030, according to a presentation to a group of about 300 businessmen and reporters today. Russia, the largest fuel supplier, wants to tap eastern fields to boost flagging output at older gas fields. The country is planning pipelines across Siberia to take advantage of demand in Asian markets such as China and Japan, two of the world’s three biggest energy users. The Moscow Times: A Little Oil Firm Playing a Big GameFriday, December 21, 2007. Issue 3812. Page 1. TOMSK — In a time of fast-encroaching state control over the oil sector, Imperial Energy is a rare bird. Founded in 2004 by a flamboyant English lawyer, the London-listed firm has seen a lot in its short history. From murky startup negotiations with regional authorities in Tomsk through tussles with federal environmental officials that sent its share price fluctuating wildly, the experience of this small firm exemplifies what it means to navigate the mazes of corruption that permeate President Vladimir Putin’s Russia. |