January, 2008:

Shell Admits Cheap Oil Is Running Out

January 25, 2008 03:48 PM ET
By Marianne Lavelle

I’m getting a ton of E-mail, from the congressional peak oil caucus and others, about Shell Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer’s acknowledgement that the world is running out of oil—at least, cheap oil.

Here is what van der Veer writes about the two new future energy scenarios that have been developed by the quintessential business-scenario writers at Shell:

“We are experiencing a step-change in the growth rate of energy demand due to rising population and economic development. After 2015, easily accessible supplies of oil and gas probably will no longer keep up with demand.” read more

Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25 — A new managerial consortium consisting of Eni SPA, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Total SA, and ExxonMobil Corp. has been formed to perform operational management of Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oil field, said Eni Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni. He said Eni will continue to manage the test phase.

In a conference call with financial analysts, Scaroni explained the details of the deal Eni reached several days ago with the Kazakh government (OGJ Online, Jan. 18, 2008). read more

Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:04pm EST

Due at 1300 GMT, Feb. 1 

* Average Q4 EPS forecast of $1.95 a share

* Royal Dutch Shell Plc Q4 earnings

* Due at 0700 GMT, Jan. 31

* Average forecast $5.52 billion for Current Cost of Supply net income

By Tom Bergin and Michael Erman

LONDON/NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) are forecast to, yet again, break corporate earnings records next week when they report their full-year results, as high oil prices continue to outweigh rising costs and taxes. read more

Royal Dutch Shell announced that the company is going to outsource more than 3,000 IT jobs to reduce its operational costs, and hoped to save nearly $850 million per annum

Friday, January 25, 2008 
By Imrana Khan 

It was the first week of this New Year and as many of us strutted to our offices with a hopeful glint in our eyes to make this year a great success, there were a few thousands for whom the year didn’t augur well. Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s second largest oil company headquartered in the Netherlands and the U.K., announced that the company is going to outsource more than 3,000 IT jobs to reduce its operational costs, and hoped to save nearly $850 million per annum. read more

Friday, January 25, 2008

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Shell’s CEO announced the world demand for oil would outstrip supply within seven years. European correspondent Stephen Beard outlines two possible resulting scenarios with Scott Jagow.

TEXT OF INTERVIEW

Scott Jagow: In Davos, Switzerland, they’re wrapping up the World Economic forum. Today, the head of Royal Dutch Shell met with Nigeria’s president to talk about security and oil. Shell’s CEO is Jeroen Van der Veer. He told his employees something this week that might surprise you: World demand for oil and gas will outstrip supply within seven years. read more

By Sophie Tan and Christian Schmollinger

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc sought to buy cargoes of premium gasoline in Singapore after a refinery fault in Australia led to fuel shortages in Sydney.

Shell bid to buy 97-RON gasoline at $104.35 a barrel for early February loading from Singapore, $1.95 more than the next highest offer by Vitol Group, said three traders who witnessed the bids. No transactions were done because there were no offers through the trading system run by oil-pricing service Platts. read more

(James Hrynyshyn above is a freelance science journalist based in western North Carolina, where he tries to put degrees in marine biology and journalism to good use.)

Category: climate
Posted on: January 25, 2008 10:27 AM, by James Hrynyshyn

That means two things: even more demand for the expensive stuff, like Alberta’s tar sands, and really expensive gasoline. Unless, that is, van der Veer’s more optimistic scenario comes to pass:

The other route to the future is less painful, even if the start is more disorderly. This Blueprints scenario sees numerous coalitions emerging to take on the challenges of economic development, energy security and environmental pollution through cross-border cooperation.Much innovation occurs at the local level, as major cities develop links with industry to reduce local emissions. National governments introduce efficiency standards, taxes and other policy instruments to improve the environmental performance of buildings, vehicles and transport fuels. read more

By JACK POIRIER

Shell would look to the local labour pool first to fill the thousands of jobs needed to build and operate a new Shell refinery in St. Clair Township.

“Our first effort would be to hire as many local people as possible,” said Amrik Ahluwalia, general manager of Shell’s St. Clair refinery project.

The multibillion-dollar oil refinery proposed for construction near Courtright would employ 450 to 850 full-time workers. In addition, between 2,000 to 4,000 tradesmen would be required for each of the four- to five-year construction phase, not 7,500 to 9,000 construction workers as previously reported. read more

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) “estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand,” the company’s chief executive said in a text obtained by a Web site.

In a document obtained by Royaldutchshellplc.com, a Web site critical of the company, Jeroen van der Veer also predicted that under the company’s preferred scenario, 90% of the carbon dioxide emitted by coal- and gas-fired power plants in developed countries would be captured by 2050. read more

The oil company with the best strategic planning says the day of reckoning is nigh:

World demand for oil and gas will outstrip supply within seven years, according to Royal Dutch Shell.

The oil multinational is predicting that conventional supplies will not keep pace with soaring population growth and the rapid pace of economic development.

Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s chief executive, said in an e-mail to the company’s staff this week that output of conventional oil and gas was close to peaking. He wrote: “Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.” read more

January 25, 2008: 07:55 AM EST

RIO DE JANEIRO -(Dow Jones)- Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), or Petrobras, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and at least three other companies have made proposals to buy ExxonMobil Corp.’s (XOM) Brazilian downstream assets, the Valor newspaper reported Friday.

ExxonMobil, under the Esso brand, holds 7.2% of the Brazilian fuel distribution market, the newspaper said, which is worth about $700 million.

Media reports in Brazil and Argentina for months have said that Petrobras is in talks to buy ExxonMobil’s South American downstream assets, but the company so far hasn’t confirmed the talks. read more

US broker JP Morgan cuts its rating on Shell, arguing that the oil giant’s results could disappoint.

25/01/08 08:13

JP Morgan downgraded Royal Dutch Shell to “underweight” from “neutral”, telling clients: “We think near-term newsflow could undermine confidence in Shell’s longer term prospects and cause the shares to underperform their peers.”

Namely, JP Morgan’s team expects Shell’s production volumes will fall 3% in 2008, against consensus expectations for flat a flat outturn. A combination of natural declines, a lack of large start-ups, and pricing effects from the group’s production-sharing contracts will offset improved figures from the likes of the Ormen Lange gas field in Norway, it said. read more

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
January 24, 2008 3:46 a.m.

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) has agreed to pay a lead counsel, Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz LLP, in a U.S. case related to its 2004 reserves restatements a fee of $27 million for its role in achieving compensation for the non-U.S. purchasers of its stock.

The agreement decision, part of a U.S. court mediation and dated Jan. 14, was obtained by Royaldutchshellplc.com, a Web site critical of Shell.

In April 2007, Shell agreed to pay $352.6 million to settle a similar case involving European investors as well as $47 million in fees to U.S. trial lawyers in an action filed in the Amsterdam Court of Appeals in the Netherlands. read more

Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:15am EST
(Adds details, background)

SYDNEY, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) will partially shut down its 125,000 barrels per day (bpd) Geelong refinery in Australia for scheduled maintenance work from Feb. 1 for about eight weeks, two industry sources said on Friday.

“There are no production problems. It’s just some regular maintenance and they are going to have a partial shutdown,” said an industry source who declined to be identified. read more

B.C. project will set new environment standards

Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post 
Published: Friday, January 25, 2008

CALGARY – A month after its dramatic re-entry into the oilsands, BPPLC is charting a big comeback into Canadian natural gas with a $1-billion project in Northeastern British Columbia that uses new environmentally friendly methods.

In addition, Randy McLeod, president and chief executive of BPCanadaEnergy Co., said the British oil super-major has started evaluating oilsands leases it owns in Alberta’s Kirby area that could support a 60,000 to 70,000 barrels a day in-situ project. read more

By Robert Amsterdam
January 25, 2008

Some may look into his eyes and see the soul of democrat, and others may see something far more sinister. Regardless of their general impression of President Vladimir Putin as an individual, each U.S. presidential candidate needs to make a careful reckoning of the enormous foreign policy challenge posed by Russia. Each must come forward with innovative proposals to constructively engage the former Cold War adversary on everything from terrorism and nuclear proliferation to basic adherence to the rule of law and human rights. read more

By Maggie Urry
Published: January 25 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 25 2008 02:00

Regal Petroleum’s colourful stock market career took a further twist yesterday when it said it would raise £80m from a placing to develop its Ukrainian gas reserves.

The oil and gas company also revealed that it had been the subject of investigations by the Financial Services Authority and the London Stock Exchange over the failure of its Greek oil exploration, which in 2005 led to a sharp fall in the share price and the ousting of the group’s founder Frank Timis, who was chairman and chief executive. read more

By Andrew Hill
Published: January 24 2008 19:56 | Last updated: January 24 2008 19:56

When David Greer, Regal Petroleum’s latest chairman and chief executive, refers to the company’s “somewhat chequered past”, he is understating the case. Few public companies have a more variegated recent history.

Nobody expects to get a smooth ride and predictable earnings growth from an Aim oil and gas company. But Regal has jolted even hardened investors in the sector with a succession of top executives, a failed Greek oil exploration, an impenetrable legal battle over valuable Ukrainian assets and on-off negotiations with partners, large and small. Behind it all – sometimes visible, sometimes not – was Frank Timis, Regal’s founder and largest shareholder. read more

By Russell Hotten
Last Updated: 12:28am GMT 25/01/2008

Colourful businessman Frank Timis has made a highly unusual pact with his former company, Regal Petroleum, promising not to interfere in the running of the business.

The “relationship agreement” was signed as part of an £84m fundraising unveiled yesterday, in which Mr Timis has agreed to see his stake in the oil explorer diluted from around 19pc to 14.3pc.

Mr Timis, founder and former chief executive of the company, has long been rumoured to be a power behind the throne. Last November, he was thought to have had a hand in a decision to scrap a deal with Royal Dutch Shell just 24 hours after it was agreed, which he has denied. read more

Terry Macalister
The Guardian,
Friday January 25 2008

Regal Petroleum has been referred to a London Stock Exchange disciplinary committee after allegedly breaking the rules over the disclosure of price sensitive information regarding wells drilled in the Aegean sea. The small exploration and production company, which has been dogged by controversy over the last eight years, said it “understood” that the case against it related to rules 10 and 11 of the code covering the Alternative Investment Market. read more

City Diary: Martin Waller
January 25, 2008

A curious letter from Jeroen van der Veer, the Shell chief executive, has been acquired by the royaldutchshellplc website, which is nothing to do with the company but often seems to receive internal stuff in error. It is about how we get out of needing more energy but creating less CO2. As readers may know, internal memos at Shell are not always entirely transparent. Van der Veer sets out two scenarios, Scramble, which “resembles a race through a mountainous desert”, and Blueprints, which “develops like a cautious ride on a road that is still under construction”. Puzzling stuff. read more

By John Donovan

Printed below is a self-explanatory letter sent on 22 January 2008 to all Shell staff by Jeroen van der Veer, the CEO of Shell. I have provided my associated email correspondence with Mr Michiel Brandjes, the Company Secretary and General Counsel Corporate of Royal Dutch Shell Plc which also took place on 22 January.

Mr Brandjes argues that the fact that we received a Shell internal letter on the same day it was circulated does not justify it being described as a leaked letter. 

We will leave it to others to draw their own conclusions. read more

January 24, 2008

Would that it weren’t for this reason, but Mr. Putin’s increasingly heavy-handed dictatorial proclivities are going to benefit some of our companies. In November, I wrote that Shell (RDS.A) was going to have to come up with some big reserves in order to continue as a major player among integrated oils. Instead of buying Shell, I advised buying the type of company that I think Shell must buy if they are to increase their reserves and remain a serious player on the world energy stage. Among these are our currently-owned Chesapeake (CHK), Anadarko (APC), and Conoco Phillips (COP). I also personally own, and consider them a possible buyout from a company like Shell, EOG (EOG) and Ultra Pete (UPL). Others you might want to take a look at are former portfolio holdings Marathon (MRO) and Devon (DVN), as well as Cabot (COG), Occidental (OXY), Pioneer Natural (PXD), Talisman (TLM), and Murphy Oil (MUR). All are well-managed companies in an industry where it’s cheaper to buy resources than to drill for them. read more

Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:39am EST

DAVOS (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive said on Thursday he saw no reason to panic about the world economic outlook, saying energy demand growth this year would be higher than 2007.

“I look at the energy industry, and of course we look at the total economic climate, but we don’t see any reason for panic,” Jeroen van der Veer told Reuters.

Referring to the U.S. economy, he said: “I don’t see a real reason for a kind of panic. There may be a bit of slower growth.” read more

Published: Thursday, 24 January, 2008, 02:16 AM Doha Time 

By Jeroen van der Veer

BY 2100, the world’s energy system will be radically different from today’s.  Renewable energy like solar, wind, hydroelectricity, and biofuels will make up a large share of the energy mix, and nuclear energy, too, will have a place.

Humans will have found ways of dealing with air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies will have reduced the amount of energy needed to power buildings and vehicles. read more

By Maggie Urry
Published: January 24 2008 13:39 | Last updated: January 24 2008 13:39

Regal Petroleum’s colourful stock market career took a further twist on Thursday when it said it would raise £80m from a placing to develop its Ukrainian gas reserves.

The oil and gas company also revealed that it had been the subject of investigations by the Financial Services Authority and the London Stock Exchange over the failure of its Greek oil exploration, which in 2005 led to a sharp fall in the share price and the ousting of the group’s founder Frank Timis who was chairman and chief executive. read more

Three years ago, the top six names on the PFC Energy 50 ranking of the world’s largest oil & gas industry companies were ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Chevron and Eni. This year’s top six include Petrochina, Gazprom, Sinopec and Petrobras, National Oil Companies (NOCs), whose shares are traded on public markets, but which are majority-owned by the governments of China, Russia and Brazil. The preeminent positions of these NOCs on the PFC Energy 50 list reflect a profound change in read more

Joanna Lillis
Thursday, January 24, 2008   

The renegotiation of a deal covering the development of the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan indicates that the balance of power in the Caspian Basin energy game is tipping.

Kazakhstan clinched the new deal with a foreign-dominated consortium, led by the Italian energy giant Eni SpA, on January 13. The agreement followed a standoff over rising costs and delays in oil production that had dragged out for six months. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In the days following the announcement, analysts proclaimed the big winner to be the Kazakhstani government. read more

Conditions need to improve before work resumes, top executive says
Jan. 23, 2008, 8:43PM
Associated Press

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND — The head of Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday that “conditions must improve” before the company could resume production that was cut because of unrest in Nigeria.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, CEO Jeroen van der Veer said he would meet with Nigeria’s president, Umaru Yar’Adua, on Friday about security and energy funding.

Van der Veer said he hoped to regain its share of lost oil output, but “conditions must improve for us to restart production, and we’re not there yet.” read more

Written by Emma Arubi    
Wednesday, 23 January 2008 

OVER five  hundred and forty staff of Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC has been penciled to lose their jobs before the end of February even as  management has indicated that more would still be eased out as the process of right sizing  continues.

Addressing the Union leaders about the reduction of staff strength in the oil company last Thursday, management disclosed that in the new organogram of the company, these 540 staff have “no slot” and they are yet to find places for them. read more

Published: January 24 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 24 2008 02:00

From Mr Dick Martin.

Sir, D.R. Myddelton argues that the idea that any ordinary shareholder could use the bulky annual reports of GlaxoSmithKline, British American Tobacco and Royal Dutch Shell to help them make decisions is “ludicrous”.

His argument patronises those shareholders who are still lucky enough to receive these weighty tomes, which are essential reading for a full understanding of the companies in which they invest. Many companies send out the contemptible “annual review”, a slim document which fulfils the professor’s call for brevity, but which often lacks even a consolidated cash flow statement, and is certainly useless as a guide to decision-making. read more

By Matthew Green
Published: January 23 2008 16:28 | Last updated: January 23 2008 16:28

Conventional wisdom suggests that China’s energy companies are marching across Africa, shoving aside established majors and grabbing huge oil reserves with the help of bottomless funding from Beijing.

A closer look reveals a more nuanced picture: China’s giants have won only a fraction of the continent’s crude, state backing has shown its limits, and they are perhaps more image-conscious than many people think. read more

By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: January 23 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 23 2008 02:00

National oil companies from China and Brazil continued their relentless rise to power last year, pushing the likes of Exxon, Shell and Total down the PFC Energy 50 rankings of the world’s largest listed energy companies.

The annual PFC rankings, due to be released today, reinforce the perception that international oil companies are losing access to global resources and their futures are not as definite as the growing state-owned competition. read more

By SPENCER SWARTZ
January 24, 2008

DAVOS, Switzerland — Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s chief executive, Jeroen van der Veer, plans to meet with Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua on Friday in an effort to resolve security and funding issues that have hampered the company’s output in the country, one of its largest production centers.

In an interview, Mr. van der Veer said he hopes Shell can regain its share of lost oil output but that “conditions must improve for us to restart production and we’re not there yet.” read more

23.01.2008 18:14

A key part to Europe’s long-term effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be a controversial and untried technology that aims to bury large amounts of carbon dioxide underground.

The European Commission on Wednesday pinned part of the EU’s climate change hopes on capturing greenhouse gas as it is burned in coal- or oil-fired power stations and pumping it into empty gas and oil wells under the North Sea. It said similar programs could make 7 million metric tons (7.7 million tons) of CO2 disappear by 2020, rising to around 160 million metric tons (176 million tons) by 2030 _ or 15 percent of the cuts the EU may need to make. read more

Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:48am EST
(Adds details, shares)

OSLO, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Norwegian energy group StatoilHydro (STL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) said it shut its Mongstad oil refinery after a fire broke out on Wednesday, and it was not clear when the 186,000 barrel-per-day plant would be back in operation.

“Production has been shut down … (and) it’s too early to say how long it will stay this way,” said Oerjan Heradstveit, a public affairs manager at StatoilHydro.

Heradstveit said a “controlled flame” was still burning in a flange pipe at the refining complex on Norway’s west coast, and plant operators were keeping it aflame to drain the pipe of oil. read more

23.01.2008 18:28

The FTSE 100 Index dropped back into negative territory after more volatile trading as persistent US recession fears held back a London recovery.

Tuesday’s rate cut from the US Federal Reserve gave the Footsie early momentum with a 100-point gain early on. But signs that the Bank of England may not follow America’s lead with dramatic rate cuts, coupled with ongoing fears over the US economy, dragged the index 130.8 points – or 2% – lower by close to 5609.3.

It was a third day of wild swings for London’s top-flight shares, following a 3% rise on Tuesday after the Fed’s surprise intervention buoyed investors, and the 5% drop on Monday amid global market gloom. read more

Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:26pm EST 
By Michael Erman – Analysis

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The oil industry is expected to be one of the losers if fears of a U.S. recession become reality this year, as falling oil prices take the steam out of the sector’s four-year boom.

Worries of a recession sparked sell-offs in financial markets around the world this week, and the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday in order to quell those fears. read more

By John Donovan

We recently decided to feature on our website news stories from 2004 – Shell’s so called ‘annus horribilis’ – the year of the reserves fraud which destroyed Shell’s reputation and cost hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and class action settlements.

It then struck us that Shell has an ‘annus horribilis’ on a regular basis bearing in mind that the same dramatic description was applied to Shell in reference to tubulent events in 1994 and 1998. read more

By Maher Chmaytelli and John Dawson

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Jeroen van der Veer said Europe’s economic growth remains sufficient, while global energy consumption will continue to increase.

“Demand for energy this year will be higher than last year’s,” Van der Veer said today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. U.S. economic growth concerns won’t immediately affect demand for crude oil and gas because “the jury is still out” on whether the world’s largest economy will enter a recession, Van der Veer said. read more

Jan. 23, 2008, 6:58AM
© 2008 The Associated Press

DAVOS, Switzerland — The head of Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Wednesday that “conditions must improve” before the company could resume production that was cut because of unrest in Nigeria.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, CEO Jeroen van der Veer told Dow Jones Newswires he would meet with Nigeria’s president, Umaru Yar’Adua, on Friday about security and energy funding.

Van der Veer said he hoped to regain its share of lost oil output but “conditions must improve for us to restart production, and we’re not there yet.” read more

By Brian O’Connor,
23 January 2004 

DISSIDENT Shell investors are seeking a shake-up in the complex structure of the board and its committees. One result may be that an outside chairman is appointed when Sir Philip Watts steps down. 

This would be a revolution for Shell, but big investors are in a revolutionary mood.  

Though most boards now have a full-time chief executive and a part-time chairman, the UK company Shell Transport has traditionally had an executive chairman. So too has its sister company Royal Dutch Petroleum.  read more

Foreign Shares’ Tumble
Prompts Bernanke Call;
Biggest Trim in 20 Years
By GREG IP
January 23, 2008; Page A1

The Federal Reserve chairman, who normally tries to avoid reacting directly to financial markets, saw global markets in free fall, and yesterday abruptly orchestrated the single deepest cut in the Fed’s main interest-rate target in more than two decades.

U.S. and many global markets quickly rebounded from huge losses in response to the three-quarter percentage-point cut in the target for the federal-funds rate, to 3.5%. read more

By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: January 23 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 23 2008 02:00

National oil companies from China and Brazil continued their relentless rise to power last year, pushing the likes of Exxon, Shell and Total down the PFC Energy 50 rankings of the world’s largest listed energy companies.

The annual PFC rankings, due to be released today, reinforce the perception that international oil companies are losing access to global resources and their futures are not as definite as the growing state-owned competition. read more

“In 20 years the world will find itself desperately trying to put right what it could have avoided”

By GEORGE KEREVEN

IT HAS been a busy week. Global equity markets suddenly went into meltdown at the prospect of a US recession. Quite where the market traders have been living for the past six months is not clear. Then out of the blue, Jose Manuel Barroso, the mild-mannered president of the European Commission, threatened to impose carbon tariffs on US imports unless America agreed to limits. read more

22 January, 2008 12:00:00

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said a “problem” at the Bonny export terminal, operated by the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc, has delayed some crude shipments and is being resolved.

Force majeure has not been declared, NNPC spokesman Levi Ajuonuma said, referring to the legal clause that allows a company to miss contracted deliveries because of circumstances beyond its control. State-owned NNPC owns 55 percent of Shell’s Nigerian venture. Shell holds 30 percent, Total SA has 10 percent and Eni SpA owns 5 percent.
Ajuonuma didn’t specify the nature of the problem affecting the export terminal, the country’s oldest. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, pumped an estimated 2.15 million barrels a day in December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. read more

Thu 22 January, 2004 10:29

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Royal Dutch/Shell boss Phil Watts, facing shareholder wrath after the company’s downgrade of its oil and gas reserves, has cancelled an appearance at the World Economic Forum.

“He’s not coming,” said a Shell spokesman in the Swiss ski resort of Davos on Thursday. “You will understand that the schedules of chief executives are very busy and constantly changing.”

Watts, chairman of Shell’s Committee of Managing Directors, had been due to take part in a discussion on Thursday on “how business boosts development” at the annual gathering of political and business leaders. read more

BP is one of the few companies still offering a final salary scheme

Tuesday, 22 January 2008, 17:27 GMT 

Oil giant BP is the latest major company to announce it will make no contributions to its pension fund during 2008.

BP said the move followed its most recent annual valuation, which revealed that its pension fund was funded to 135% of its current liabilities.

Under the scheme’s rules, the company can stop making payments if the funding level is above 115%.

The move follows a similar announcement from Royal Dutch Shell. read more

22 January 2008 14:35

Pension holidays could be making a comeback, following reports that BP is to take a break from paying into its scheme.

The oil giant has followed in the steps of rival Shell and is taking a one-year contribution holiday from its £14.7bn pension scheme after a valuation last year revealed it was funded to 135% of its liabilities.

Pension holidays in the 1990s were once seen seen as a key factor that contributed to many pension scheme tumbling into the red with huge deficits.

Paul McGlone, principal and actuary at Aon Consulting, said: “Shell and now BP’s announcement may seem radical – however this is not the case. This is a strategy that a number of smaller companies are already pursuing. read more