January, 2008:

February 1, 2008
Patrick Hosking: Business Commentary

Some people are never satisfied. Shell may have made greater annual profits last year than any other European company ever, but as one City sceptic remarked yesterday, one should expect nothing less from a company that has over the past decade enjoyed a ninefold increase in the selling price of its main product, crude oil.

However, big oil companies are facing nasty headwinds, not just from soaring exploration and production costs and thinner downstream margins, but also from the paucity of new finds. They are having to forage deeper into ever-costlier and politically suspect territories to rootle out ever-piddlier new pockets of the black stuff. The easy finds were all made long ago. read more

February 1, 2008
Robin Pagnamenta, Energy and Environment Editor

Royal Dutch Shell reported annual profits of $27.6 billion (£13.9 billion) yesterday, smashing European company records and prompting calls for a windfall tax on “obscene” oil profits.

But the record results, which were boosted by surging global crude prices, masked uncomfortable truths about the company’s lacklustre operational performance.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant suffered a 6 per cent slump in daily oil production last year to 3.3 million barrels, down from 3.5 million in 2006. It also faced a 10 per cent rise in costs and a steep drop in both refining margins and cashflow. read more

Lionel Laurent, 01.31.08, 8:50 AM ET

LONDON – Oil prices may be booming, but the strain of higher costs is beginning to show for Royal Dutch Shell.

The Anglo-Dutch oil and gas stalwart posted a 60.4% increase in fourth-quarter profits Thursday, to $8.5 billion, from $5.3 billion, but most of the gain came from the jump in crude prices this year. Excluding price fluctuations and a $963 million gain from asset sales, net profit for the quarter came in at a more modest $5.7 billion.

Royal Dutch Shell’s (other-otc: RDS.A – news – people ) ‘B’ shares fell 26 pence (52 cents), or 1.5%, to £17.18 ($34.22), on Thursday afternoon in London, while its ‘A’ shares fell 32 pence (64 cents), or 1.8%, to £17.57 ($35.00). Analysts had been hoping for profits of $5.8 billion, with Citigroup analyst James Neale noting that earnings from Shell’s oil products division missed forecasts by 33%. read more

By Marianne Lavelle
Posted January 31, 2008

Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s second-largest publicly traded oil company, today reported net income up 60 percent last quarter to a record $8.47 billion, thanks to the same rising crude oil prices that most observers expect will lift the profits of Exxon Mobil and Chevron tomorrow to nearly historic levels.

Shell’s results were shy of the largest quarterly profit ever for a company in the United States—the record $10.7 billion that rival Exxon earned in the fourth quarter of 2005. But Shell’s full-year profit for 2007 of $31.3 billion set a record for a European company. Still, CEO Jeroen van der Veer’s muted comment was that the results were “satisfactory,” and the company’s stock reacted to the news with a downward slide. It wasn’t just that Shell’s results were in the lower range of expectations. Weighing on the company appeared to be the now apparent fact that Shell is producing less oil and that its performance cannot be sustained if a slowing economy lowers oil prices. read more

By Andrew Hill, Mure Dickie and Richard Milne
Published: January 31 2008 18:08 | Last updated: January 31 2008 18:08

“Obscene” profits and calls for “windfall taxes”: it’s oil company reporting season again. Royal Dutch Shell formally launched the 2007 full-year results festival in the UK on Thursday by recording the largest profit ever reported by a European company – $27.6bn after tax, adjusted for changes in the value of fuel stockpiles.

If the chorus of complaint from UK unions and environmental groups at the “£1.6m-per-hour” profit was predictable, so was the reaction of analysts: disappointment. Fourth-quarter net income was slightly below the market consensus. If the company reaped a bonus from the higher oil prices last year, it had to use it to offset lower production. read more

Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:37am GMT
By Tom Bergin

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell added “at least 1 billion barrels” of new oil and gas resources in 2007, Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said on Thursday, around half the level the oil giant flagged last year.

Van der Veer told reporters on a conference call that Shell made 11 material discoveries in 2007 and had an exploration success rate of 40 percent, yielding an extra 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent of resources.

A year ago Shell said it added “over 2 billion barrels oil equivalent of new conventional resources” in 2006. read more

Reuters
Thursday January 31 2008
(Adds closing shares, share comparison)

By Tom Bergin

LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell notched up the biggest ever profit of a European company of $27.6 billion in 2007, but lower production and indications of disappointing reserves suggest future earnings growth will rely on oil price rises.

The world’s second-largest non-government controlled oil company by market value said on Thursday its fourth-quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net income rose 11 percent to $6.7 billion. Excluding one-off items, the result was in the lower end of analysts’ range of forecasts. read more

Terry Macalister
Thursday January 31 2008

Shell has started to “streamline” its operations in the Delta region of Nigeria in what appears to be a final realisation that it is fighting a losing battle against militants in the region.

The company announced today it had taken a $716m (£359m) charge in its fourth quarter accounts to pay for the cost of restructuring the business in the light of security and funding problems there.

Nigeria has always been a controversial part of Shell’s business with much criticism from campaigners worried about both human rights and environmental problems in the area. read more

This Day (Lagos)
31 January 2008
Chuks Okocha
Abuja

The Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva has appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the planned job cut by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) as it would have a spiral negative effect on the Nigerian economy.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Timi Sylva also called on the Federal Government to pay its equity contribution to the oil companies, as it is defaulting in the payment of the mandatory 60 percent of the Joint Venture Partnership.
 
SPDC had threatened to sack over one thousand staff of its over 3,500 staff strength. This is apart from the move to fire 5,000 staff engaged as contract staff. read more

The Sierra Club (Washington, DC – www.sierraclub.org)

…is planning to bring a shareholders’ resolution to Royal Dutch Shell’s 20 May 2008 AGM. The resolution focuses on risks to shareholder value from Shell’s operating in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Sierra’s concerns include the company’s failing to report on possible impact to value from operating in the Arctic oceans and failing to assess reputational risk from an oil spill in Alaskan waters, particularly one that impacts threatened marine mammals such as polar bear. read more

Thursday, 31 January 2008, 12:04 GMT 

The Unite union has called for the government to impose a windfall tax on the profits of oil companies after Royal Dutch Shell reported record profits for a UK-listed company.
“Shell shareholders are doing very nicely whilst the rest of us, the stakeholders, are paying the price and struggling,” said its joint general secretary Tony Woodley.

Would a windfall tax be a good idea?

——————————————————————————– read more

By Russell Hotten
31/01/2008
Front page of Daily Telegraph Business Section

The accounting scandal that forced resignations and fines at Royal Dutch Shell in 2004 looks like returning to haunt the company, with lawyers pursuing legal action on behalf of US shareholders about to step up their campaign for compensation.

Following years of wrangling, key Shell executives involved in the 2004 “oil reserves” affair appear ready to give sworn statements to the lawyers about their role in what was the biggest crisis in the company’s history. read more

Terry Macalister
8.15am update: Thursday January 31 2008

Shell was accused of making “obscene” profits at a time when pensioners, motorists and industry are struggling with higher energy prices when it unveiled annual earnings of $27.6bn (£13.9bn).

The oil major has made British corporate history with the record figures, which are equivalent to more than £1.5m an hour and come at the end of a three month period when crude prices have averaged over $90 a barrel.

Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, described the performance as “satisfactory” and admitted that overall production for the year had actually dropped 2%. read more

Fiona Walsh, business editor guardian.co.uk, Thursday January 31 2008

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is facing renewed accusations of profiteering after reporting record profits of $27.6bn (£13.9bn) – the highest-ever figure reported by a British company.

The huge profits – equivalent to more than £1.5m an hour and a 9% increase on last year – will cause anger amongst Britain’s motorists who are paying over £1 a litre for petrol after the huge increase in oil prices in recent months. read more

Last updated at 07:14am on 31st January 2008

Record profit: Shell earnings soar as motorists struggle with high petrol prices

Shell has announced earnings of £13.9billion today – the biggest-ever profit by a British company.

The oil giant has reported that profits have risen 9 per cent since last year, pushed up amid fears of instability in the Middle East.

But critics have branded the earnings “obscene”, pointing out that pensioners, motorists and industry are all struggling to afford soaring energy prices. read more

January 31, 2008

Shell’s numbers beat City expectations by a shade as lower output levels were offset by $100 barrel oil Angela Jameson

Concerns over the excessive profits made by oil companies were reignited today when Shell, the Anglo-Dutch giant, revealed a 9 per cent leap in full year profits to a new record of $27.6 billion (£13.9 bn).

The world’s second biggest quoted oil company said fourth quarter income climbed 60 per cent, during a period when the oil price soared to $100 a barrel and prices at the petrol pump climbed to more than a £1 a litre. read more

Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:53am EST

(Adds detail, background)

LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) posted record European company earnings of $27.6 billion in 2007, but fourth-quarter profit missed forecasts as a fall in production dampened the benefit of high oil prices.

The world’s second-biggest non-government controlled oil company by market value said on Thursday its current cost of supply (CCS) net income, which strips out changes in the value of fuel inventories, rose 11 percent to $6.7 billion in the final quarter of 2007. read more

By Kristian Rix

Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc may spend $2.5 billion on a natural gas plant in southern Iraq to meet energy demand in the Middle East, where economies are growing 5.9 percent a year, according to a person involved in the plan.

Shell met with Iraqi officials in The Hague last week to propose building a pipeline that would link the Basrah region to a new facility on the country’s coast, the person said. Shell would also build a facility that could freeze 16 million cubic meters of gas a day and ship it to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, the person said. read more

Thursday, 31 January 2008, 08:09 GMT  

The Anglo-Dutch oil firm Royal Dutch Shell has reported record annual profits for a UK company.
 
Its profit measured by current cost of supply was $27.56bn (£13.9bn) for 2007, beating its own 2006 record of £12.9bn.

Much of the rise in profits has been attributed to rising oil prices, which currently stand at about $91 a barrel compared with $57 this time last year.

But there is concern among analysts that Shell has delayed publishing figures showing its oil reserves. read more

By BENOIT FAUCON
January 31, 2008 3:35 a.m.

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell PLC Thursday reported a 60% rise in fourth-quarter net profit as higher oil prices and divestments outweighed tighter refining margins and a lower output.

Shell’s results underscore how oil companies are defying the global economic gloom. U.S. crude peaked at about $100 a barrel early January. (See related article.)

The Anglo-Dutch firm, the world’s fourth-largest publicly-listed oil company by market capitalization, said net income for the three months ended Dec. 31 was $8.47 billion, or $1.36 a share, compared with $5.28 billion, or 83 cents a share, a year earlier. Results included a net gain of $963 million, compared with a year-earlier gain of $515 million. The latest figures also reflect tax-rate changes in Canada and Italy, and divestments in the company’s exploration and production unit. read more

With New Reserves Harder to Snag,
Western Firms Could Opt for Smaller Role
By GUY CHAZAN and RUSSELL GOLD
January 31, 2008

Big oil companies, benefiting from oil’s recent rise toward $100 a barrel, are expected to report more flush earnings in coming weeks.

But fat results aren’t likely to impress investors, many of whom are focused on more worrying long-term trends. By several other key measures, Big Oil is shrinking.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the second-largest Western oil company by market capitalization, reports fourth-quarter results today, followed in coming days by No. 1 Exxon Mobil Corp., then No. 4 Chevron Corp., No. 3 BP PLC and No. 5 Total SA. Exxon Mobil could set another record for annual corporate profit. Investment bank Credit Suisse estimates last year’s earnings from producing oil and natural gas, the companies’ most profitable segment, rose 43% from a year earlier to a combined $106.7 billion. read more

By Dino Mahtani
Published: January 31 2008 08:18 | Last updated: January 31 2008 08:18

Royal Dutch Shell reported full year current cost of supply earnings of $27.6bn (£14bn), a record for a European company, despite lower oil and gas production and weaker refining margins.

Higher oil prices and one-off items helped lift profits by 9 per cent from the previous year and offset lower production figures at Europe’s biggest oil company.

For the year oil and gas production fell to 3.315m barrels a day of oil equivalent, down 4.5 per cent compared to 2006. read more

By Matthew Green in Lagos and Ed Crooks in London
Published: January 31 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 31 2008 02:00

The future of one of Royal Dutch Shell’s most important businesses is at risk because the Nigerian government has not funded it properly, an internal company memo has warned.

The government’s failure to finance its majority share in the Shell Petroleum Development Company, which is responsible for Shell’s onshore business throughout Nigeria, posed a “big risk” to its existence, according to the memo from Basil Omiyi, Shell’s country chair. read more

By Matthew Green in Lagos and Dino Mahtani in London
Published: January 31 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 31 2008 02:00

Royal Dutch Shell’s admission in an internal memo that its biggest oil operation in Nigeria may not survive is the starkest sign yet of the precariousness of the company’s position in the restive Niger Delta.

The question now is whether the “One Shell” restructuring plan to turn around its businesses in the country it ushered into the oil era half a century ago will deliver salvation. read more

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Moscow
Last Updated: 12:15am GMT 31/01/2008

The Kremlin has offered a rare admission that Russia’s hard-nose diplomacy and the manipulation of the energy sector for political goals is deterring investors, leaving the country friendless as the credit crunch spreads to Eastern Europe.

Alexei Kudrin, the finance minister, acknowledged yesterday that spats with Europe and America on a raft of issues have gone too far. “Our dependency on global economic ties, on our exports, is so strong that we need to shift our foreign policy goals as soon as possible to safeguard stable investment,” he told the Russia Forum, a summit of economic and political leaders organized by investment bank Troika Dialog. read more

By Russell Hotten, Industry Editor
Last Updated: 7:51am GMT 31/01/2008

The world’s independent oil majors are about to announce a series of eye-popping profits numbers.

ith crude averaging $90 a barrel for the final three months of 2007 the likes of Shell and ExxonMobil have been given a nice little end-of-term boost to their full-year figures. So expect to hear the word “record” used a few times in the next few days as they unveil their Q4s.

But is this going to be as good as it gets? It’s difficult to feel sorry for a company like Exxon, which will tomorrow announce profits equivalent to around $75,000 a minute. read more

A worker at a liquid gas site in Sakhalin

By Russell Hotten
Last Updated: 7:54am GMT 31/01/2008

Profits at oil giant Royal Dutch Shell soared in the final three months of the year as crude rallied strongly.

With crude averaging $90 a barrel for the final three months of 2007, Shell said today that fourth quarter profits rose to $8.47bn from $5.28bn a year earlier. Profits for the whole of 2007 soared to $31.3bn from $25.4bn.  

Shell is the first of the oil majors to report results and while most analysts are forecasting profits to be strong across the industry, 2008 may prove tougher. read more

Filed from Aberdeen
1/30/2008 6:12:18 PM GMT
 
RUSSIA: Nineteen local and international environmental organizations have called on Sir Fred Goodwin, CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), to recall a controversial US$1 billion loan by ABN AMRO for the Russian energy giant Gazprom’s purchase of a controlling share of the enormous Sakhalin II oil and gas project in Russia.

Sakhalin II has caused many severe environmental problems and violates the Equator Principles, to which RBS has signed, claim the Pacific Environment organisation. The groups have also requested to meet with Goodwin. RBS leads a consortium of banks that purchased ABN AMRO in 2007. read more

Solar reflectors: ‘We think we can achieve 15 times the biofuel yield per hectare of land by using algae rather than conventional crops’

Solar reflectors could one day make petrol from thin air, and algae may provide all the diesel we need. Simon Usborne reports on the race to perfect energy sources for the future

Wednesday, 30 January 2008

The need to find a new generation of fuels has never been greater. Earlier this month, the cost of oil hit $100 a barrel for the first time, leading to sky-high prices at petrol pumps all over the world. And consumption shows no signs of slowing as the new economic powerhouses of China and India continue to develop a seemingly insatiable thirst for the black gold. In smog-choked Beijing alone, more than 1,000 new private cars hit the roads every day – that’s about one every 90 seconds. read more

January 30, 2008
British Columbia 

A GROUP of Tahltan elders have added their voices in opposition to Shell’s plan to drill for coalbed methane natural gas in the Klappan area.

The elders, centered in Telegraph Creek but who now also live around the northwest, feel the Klappan area is too important for development because it is the headwaters of three major rivers, says Lillian Moyer, who speaks for the group.

“For these elders, their traditional fishing spot is the Stikine River at Telegraph Creek and the Stikine has its headwaters in the Klappan. They’re worried about the downstream effect,” she said. read more

Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:02am EST

CALGARY, Alberta, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Oil sand projects operated by Suncor Energy Inc (SU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) are running normally despite a bitter cold snap in northern Alberta that forced Syncrude Canada Ltd to suspend production at its 350,000 barrel per day project.

Suncor and Shell both said that their oil sands mining projects near Fort McMurray, Alberta, were producing at normal rates. Suncor’s output is about 260,000 bpd, while Shell has a capacity of 155,000 bpd. read more

Published by Andy Rowell January 29th, 2008
 
Maybe the oil industry is running out of reserves faster than it is letting on, but Shell is to delay publication of key data about its oil reserves that it would normally have released alongside profits figures being published this week.

The decision is said to have disappointed some analysts, who have been told that the subject will not even be “up for discussion” and which has sparked concern the reserves numbers could be poor.

The amount of reserves booked by Shell is always a sensitive issue for the company as it was the revelation in 2004 that Europe’s largest oil firm had overstated the amount of oil in its wells that led to the resignation of chairman Sir Philip Watts and investigations by regulators in London and New York. read more

Adrian Ash, 29 Jan ’08

The FSA… has just got round to bringing its first ever criminal case for insider dealing – despite being the statutory prosecutor for insider dealing since 2000.

“That’s a long while,” as Sara George of Allen & Overy noted to the Financial Times. Not least because the regulator itself says insider dealing is “rife” in the City of London, affecting almost 24% of takeover and merger announcements in 2005 – utterly unchanged from the proportion subject to insider dealing in 2000, the year the FSA became responsible for preventing it. read more

Experts say the world’s major oil fields are declining. (AFP)

The idea that the world’s supplies of oil have either peaked or will soon start declining has suddenly gained new respectability.

The concept of ‘peak oil’ has been derided by the big oil companies for years, but at the end of last week came a turnabout.

The chief executive of the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, Jeroen van der Veer, put out a paper on Friday forecasting the end of easy oil.

Mr Van der Veer said the result could be a worldwide scramble to mitigate climate change. read more

By Nikhil Kumar
Wednesday, 30 January 2008

At the other end of the table, shares in the energy giant Royal Dutch Shell fell after the company said it would not provide oil and gas replacement guidance with its annual results, which are due tomorrow. Dresdner Kleinwort said that news was “regrettable” and Royal Dutch Shell was down 10p at 1,766p.

For the full report go to…

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/market-report-investors-dig-into-miners-as-copper-price-spikes-775691.html read more

By Sabine Pirone

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) — The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in the U.K. and Irish markets. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.

The FTSE 100 rose 96.30, or 1.7 percent, to 5,885.20 yesterday. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 1.8 percent to 3,003.90. Ireland’s ISEQ Index rose 1.2 percent to 6,720.07.

U.K. Companies:

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA LN): Europe’s largest oil company and Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s joint venture, Petroregional del Lago, will in the next week start to study development of an oilfield in Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo. The stock fell 11 pence, or 0.6 percent, to 1808 pence. read more

A WSJ NEWS ROUNDUP
January 30, 2008

Royal Dutch Shell PLC encountered concerns yesterday that the oil major had little luck adding new reserves last year after a report that it wouldn’t publish such figures with its annual results tomorrow.

Shell’s London-listed Class A shares edged down 0.6% to 1808 pence ($35.87), compared with a 1.35% rise in the Dow Jones Stoxx European oil-and-gas-sector index.

The Daily Telegraph reported earlier yesterday that Shell wouldn’t report its 2007 reserve-replacement ratio — the rate at which production is matched with new finds — when it releases its fourth-quarter results, as it has done in the past. read more

Written by Emma Ujah    
Wednesday, 30 January 2008 

The Bayelsa State Governor, Timi Sylva, yesterday, said the planned 1000 job cut by Shell had nothing to do with issues of militancy in the Niger Delta.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, he said Shell, like many other Joint Venture partners in the oil industry, has been complaining over the failure of the Federal Government to pay its JV Cash Calls and therefore urged the President Umaru Yar’Adua administration to release all necessary JV funds to save the situation. read more

By Justine Lauin
Published: January 30 2008

CNOOC, the Chinese offshore oil and gas producer said it expected it would be immune to a global economic slowdown because of tight oil supply in China.

State-owned CNOOC lifted production forecasts and spending this year to meet the country’s hunger for oil. Output is set to rise as some projects are expected to come on stream in 2008.

Yang Hua, chief financial officer, said: “I read from newspapers that about 60 per cent of oil used in China in 2007 was produced locally. About 30 per cent to 40 per cent was imported. That’s why I am not worried about sales of our products.” read more

By Ben Bland
Last Updated: 8:21pm GMT 29/01/2008

Oil behemoth Royal Dutch Shell saw its ‘B’ shares slip 10p to £17.66 amid disappointment that the company will not be providing an update on its reserves alongside its fourth quarter results tomorrow.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/01/30/cxmktrep130.xml

By Benoit Faucon
Last update: 8:44 a.m. EST Jan. 29, 2008

(Adds content of SEC 2006 letters to Shell)

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) won’t provide oil and gas reserves replacement guidance – as it normally does – along with its annual results Thursday, despite its reserves having been an issue in recent years.

Correspondence released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, suggests the U.S. market regulator has continued to pay particularly close attention to Shell’s reserves accounting. In contrast to its closest European oil major rivals, Shell has on more than one occasion been asked by the SEC for additional details. read more

This Day (Lagos)
29 January 2008
Stanley Nkwazema And Patrick Ugeh
Abuja

It emerged yesterday that Anglo Dutch oil and gas giant, Shell, may have secured “critical” concessions from President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua over key Federal Government policies which the firm considers to be unfavourable to its operations in Nigeria.

This development is believed to have informed the decision of Shell to put on hold the planned re-organisation of its Nigerian operations which had threatened the jobs of about 1000 workers – in addition to a drastic reduction in its operations in the Niger Delta.
 
THISDAY was informed last night that Yar’Adua met with Shell’s CEO, Jeroen van der Veer, and the Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, last Friday in Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum to discuss the burning issues. read more

Reuters
Tuesday January 29 2008
(Adds closing shares, analysts)

By Tom Bergin

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Shares in Royal Dutch Shell Plc fell on Tuesday on concerns that the oil major had little luck adding new reserves last year after a report that it wouldn’t publish such figures with its annual results this week.

Shell’s London-listed “A” shares closed down 0.6 percent at 1808 pence, compared with a 1.35 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx European oil and gas sector index. read more

Published: January 29, 2008 8:40 AM

(Adds content of SEC 2006 letters to Shell)

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) won’t provide oil and gas reserves replacement guidance – as it normally does – along with its annual results Thursday, despite its reserves having been an issue in recent years.

Correspondence released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, suggests the U.S. market regulator has continued to pay particularly close attention to Shell’s reserves accounting. In contrast to its closest European oil major rivals, Shell has on more than one occasion been asked by the SEC for additional details. read more

January 29, 2008
Nick Hasell: Tempus

It may be Shell that kicks off the full-year reporting season of the oil majors this week, but it is likely to be BG Group’s numbers – due the following Thursday – that are more eagerly awaited.

Whereas shares in BP and Shell have remained virtually flat over the past 12 months – respectively falling and rising 3 per cent – those of the exploration arm of the old British Gas have surged 54 per cent, leaving them more vulnerable to disappointment.

That BG has so far outpaced its bigger integrated peers owes much to November’s discovery of the Tupi field off the coast of Brazil. On the initial estimates of Petrobras of recoverable reserves of between five billion and eight billion barrels of oil and gas, Tupi – which is operated by the Brazilan group but is 25 per cent owned by BG – is the world’s biggest new find since Kazakhstan’s Kashagan strike at the start of this decade. read more

January 29, 2008  
 
As Iran’s deadline for Shell and Total — with partners — to commit to their LNG projects draws near the companies are again demonstrating activity, but only to a reversible degree; meanwhile, domestic political tension surrounding Iran’s gas is mounting.

Shell, along with partnering Spanish company Repsol-YPF, has launched a prequalification round for suppliers of subsea pipelines to its Persian LNG venture and its connected South Pars gas field upstream development phases 13 and 14, Upstream reported. read more

01.29.08, 6:37 AM ET

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) – Shares were higher in midday deals, with Corporate Express leading the gainers as hopes of a new cut in US interest rates pushed the AEX higher, trading sources said.

At 11.54 am, the AEX was up 7.72 points or 1.76 pct at 447.04.

Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell (nyse: RDSA – news – people ) bucked the trend and dropped 0.41 pct to 23.47.

KBC downgraded shares in the oil services group to ‘accumulate’ from ‘hold’ and said it would review its 24.47 eur target price after the oil company publishes its fourth quarter and full year results on Thursday. read more

January 29, 2008: 06:40 AM EST

LONDON, Jan. 29, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE:RDS A) will not provide an update on oil and gas reserves estimates alongside its annual results on Thursday, a company spokesman said.

He said the latest reserves figures will be included in the group’s 20F annual report.

‘We’ve said in the Q3 (results announcement in October last year) that the Q4 statement will be purely financial results and we think the right place to give an update on reserves is on the 20F annual report,’ he said, noting the move is consistent with what other major oil companies are doing. read more

Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:14am GMT

Shares in oil major Royal Dutch Shell are flat as concerns mount that the company had a tougher time in replacing reserves in 2007 than thought.

Shell’a London-listed “A” shares trade down 0.1 percent at 1818 pence, compared to a 1.2 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx European oil and gas sector index .

Shell told analysts earlier this month that it would not publish its reserves replacement rate with its full year results, as it usually does, but would wait until later this year to do so. read more

Jan 29th 2004

From The Economist print edition

What, if anything, can Sir Philip Watts do to survive at Royal Dutch/Shell?

A HOSTILE mob of investors will greet Sir Philip Watts, chairman of Royal Dutch/Shell, on February 5th when he announces the Anglo-Dutch oil group’s annual results. It will not be the profit number that interests shareholders most, but rather a planned 75-minute presentation showing how much crude oil the company has access to around the world.

On January 9th, Shell shocked the financial markets and oil industry by downgrading nearly four billion barrels of its “proven” reserves to “probable”. At a stroke, this wiped one-fifth off a measure most observers use to value oil companies. The firm’s shares dived. read more