January, 2008:

Jan 22 2008
By Nicky Burridge

A record £15 billion was wiped off the value of the UK’s biggest pension schemes on Monday as global stock markets dived, figures showed today.

The fall was the biggest loss recorded in a single day since the accounting standard FRS17 was first introduced in June 2001, according to Aon Consulting.

The group said a further £9 billion was knocked off the value of the UK’s biggest 200 defined benefit schemes this morning, leaving them collectively facing a £42 billion deficit. read more

Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:09pm GMT

MOSCOW, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov on Tuesday appointed a long-time ally to head the country’s top environmental watchdog, ignoring calls by Greenpeace to clarify his record. The government said Vladimir Kirillov had been appointed to head the agency, Rosprirodnadzor, which is part of the Natural Resources Ministry. He will replace Sergei Sai, who tendered his resignation earlier this month.

Rosprirodnadzor’s role has risen significantly in recent years due to its involvement in a number of disputes with big foreign companies. Analysts say the agency often uses environmental claims as a fig leaf to help state companies regain bigger stakes in large projects. read more

Wednesday January 23, 2008

It is difficult to separate fact from green marketing fiction, writes Steve Dow.

It is not easy washing green, or drying for that matter. Consider the LG combined steam washer and dryer promoted with full-page advertisements in glossy magazines that promise water savings if you install and use this $2900 product.

Yet the manufacturer’s claims are a “blatant greenwash”, according to the 2007 shonky awards bestowed last month by Choice, the magazine of the Australian Consumers Association. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines greenwash as “disinformation disseminated by an organisation so as to present an environmentally responsible public image”. read more

January 22, 2008

One hour after the Fed announced an emergency 75bp rate cut and markets appear to be unconvinced that it is enough. Investors are still selling again in the US and after a brief recovery on the RTS, the Russian market also gave up all its gains and fell back to 1960, which appears to be the floor for the moment. This result will surely be taken as a bad sign by investors.

AP: Fed Cuts Interest Rate
Tuesday January 22, 8:47 am ET
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer 
Fed Cuts Interest Rate Amid Global Stock Sell-Off and Fears of Recession

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve, confronted with a global stock sell-off fanned by increased fears of a recession, cut a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday, the biggest one-day move by the central bank in recent memory.
 
The Fed said it was cutting the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other on overnight loans, to 3.5 percent, down by three-fourths of a percentage point from 4.25 percent. read more

By Ed Crooks and Norma Cohen
Published: January 22 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2008 02:00

BP is to take a break from contributing to its UK pension funds for at least a year, in a move that will save it about £250m in 2008.

Its decision came as PwC, the advisory firm, calculated that market movements – falling interest rates and equities – had turned an aggregate £10bn surplus in FTSE-350 pension schemes into a £25bn deficit, following the share price falls on Monday.

BP’s move follows a similar decision by Royal Dutch Shell, which announced in October that it was taking a contributions holiday for the Shell UK pension fund, into which it paid £67m last year. read more

Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:55am EST 

AMSTERDAM, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has planned turnarounds for its 412,000 barrels-per-day Dutch Pernis refinery around April-May and in September 2008, an industry source said on Tuesday.

The source said the refinery, Europe’s biggest, planned to shut one unit in the spring and one unit in September, with both turnarounds expected to last between four to six weeks. He said it was not yet clear which units would close.

“For next year there are some bigger operations going down than normally but, on the other hand, every year they have a large programme for turnarounds,” the source told Reuters. read more

By Matthew Green in Lagos
Published: January 22 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 22 2008 02:00

Nigeria has warned energy companies it wants to complete its planned renegotiation of contracts covering offshore oilfields in the next three months, saying record prices mean western groups are having “a ball”.

It is the first time Nigeria has come up with a timeframe for renegotiating the complex agreements, which the government signalled it would review late last year in an effort to secure a greater share of profits from offshore production. The urgency will put the oil majors under greater pressure. read more

But refining margins to temper results, some say

By KRISTEN HAYS
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Oil at $100 a barrel came and went in a flash. But crude prices that hovered at or above $90 through most of the last three months of 2007 are expected to mean pumped-up quarterly profits as the largest oil companies report their earnings in coming weeks.

Profits for the full year, however, may not surpass 2006 levels for some companies, largely because U.S. refining margins tightened as prices for gasoline and other fuels made with crude lagged behind the hike in crude prices. read more

· Charles appears via hologram in Abu Dhabi
· Emirate plans to lead way in funding research

John Vidal in Abu Dhabi The Guardian, Tuesday January 22 2008

In the many years in which the Prince of Wales has attended official functions he has never appeared quite like this. At the alternative energy conference in Abu Dhabi he was not exactly there in the flesh. There was no video link either.

Instead, delegates were treated to a full-size, walking, talking, fiddling hologram of his royal highness, who made a brief speech then vanished back into thin air. read more

Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:40am GMT 
(Adds nuclear plans, background)
By Simon Webb

ABU DHABI, Jan 22 (Reuters) – France’s Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it was facing “huge cost issues” on a major liquefied natural gas project in Iran and was reviewing plans with the Iranian government.

“We are restudying the project. We are facing huge cost issues,” Philippe Boisseau, president of gas and power at Total, told reporters on the sidelines of a renewable energy conference in Abu Dhabi. read more

Analysts fear that weakness in US economy could potentially drop energy demands.
 
SINGAPORE – World oil prices continued lower in Asia Tuesday on deepening worries about a potential drop in energy demand owing to weakness in the US economy, analysts said.

In afternoon trade, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, shed 2.51 dollars to 88.06 dollars per barrel.

The contract slid 1.76 dollars to 88.81 dollars per barrel in electronic deals Monday while floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange was closed for the Martin Luther King holiday. read more

By James Daley
Published: 22 January 2008

The oil giant BP has become the latest major company to freeze contributions into its pension fund, following in the footsteps of its main rival, Royal Dutch Shell, which sparked controversy when it revealed it was taking a so-called “pensions holiday” in October last year.

David Nicholas, a spokesman for BP, confirmed yesterday that the company would not be making any contributions to its £27bn pension fund in 2008, after the scheme’s latest actuarial valuation, in October last year, revealed that it was funded to 135 per cent of its liabilities, on an IAS 19 basis. read more

By Roland Gribben
Last Updated: 7:59pm GMT 21/01/2008

Pressure has paid off for a small pioneering company wanting to produce electricity from geo-pressure.

Malcolm Wicks, energy minister, has performed a second U-turn in accepting the technology as a renewable source of energy. The first came almost a year ago, when he intervened to overrule Ofgem, the energy regulator, which had given the go-ahead for Bath-based 2oC to develop the technology as a subsidised renewable source.

At the time, he accepted the advice of officials who felt the gas-based technology did not have renewable credentials. read more

EXTRACT: Oil, the other FTSE support, failed to offer stability as oil prices succumbed to US recession fears, leaving Cairn Energy down 218p at £22.99, BP down 35p at 519p and Shell off 108p at £17.75. BP has already guided analysts that its fourth-quarter figures will be far below expectations.

THE ARTICLE 

January 22, 2008
Large caps
Robert Lindsay

“It’s as though we’ve hit an air pocket and there’s nothing to hold up prices,” one senior trader said yesterday, as shares suffered their biggest decline since September 11, 2001. “This is closer to Black Monday, 1987,” he added. “There’s just a complete change of sentiment”. read more

EXTRACT: Shares of BP and Royal Dutch Shell also fell as oil prices slid by almost $2 to a six-week low below $89 a barrel.

January 22, 2008
Siobhan Kennedy, Leo Lewis, Peter Stiff and Christine Seib

Some of the most influential UK fund managers sounded a warning of more turmoil to come yesterday as global investors fled financial markets in mounting fears of an imminent American recession.

Stock markets around the world tumbled in the worst falls seen since the panic selling that took hold in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States. read more

By Joanna Chung and Robert Orr in London and Andrew Wood in Hong Kong
Published: January 21 2008 19:12 | Last updated: January 21 2008 21:45

Global equities plunged on Monday as investor concerns over the economic outlook and financial market turbulence snowballed into a sweeping sell-off.

Tumbling Asian shares led European stock markets into their biggest one-day fall since 9/11 as the prospect of a US recession and further fall-out from credit market turmoil prompted near panic among investors, who rushed to the safety of government bonds. read more

Associated Press
January 21, 2008 6:43 a.m.

Oil prices fell sharply Monday as fears over the U.S. economy drove down stock markets in Asia and Europe. Further pressure came from concerns OPEC won’t raise crude production levels.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell $1.48 to $89.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. The contract rose 44 cents to settle at $90.57 a barrel on Friday. In London, Brent crude futures fell $ 1.29 to $87.94 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. read more

By MARK LANDLER and HEATHER TIMMONS
Published: January 21, 2008

FRANKFURT — Fears that the United States is in a recession reverberated around the world on Monday, sending stock markets from Frankfurt to Bombay into a tailspin and puncturing the hopes of many investors that Europe and Asia will be able to sidestep an American downturn.

U.S. Worries Deliver a New Jolt Overseas (January 21, 2008) On a day when United States markets were closed in observance of Martin Luther King’s Birthday, the world’s eyes were trained nervously on the United States. Investors reacted with what many analysts described as panic to the multiplying signs of weakness in the American economy. read more

21 January 2008

The Guardian newspaper published an article today by Caitlin Fitzsimmons which made the point that “Consumers are becoming more environmentally aware and demand the same from their brands, which means a new role for marketers…”

The article mentioned that in November 2007 the UK Advertising Standards Authority censored Royal Dutch Shell for advertising which claimed Shell “used its waste carbon dioxide to grow flowers, when less than 0.5% of Shell’s waste CO2 is used for this purpose.” read more

Monday, January 21st, 2008
By Jason Simpkins
Associate Editor

After months of discussion and management restructuring, work at one of the world’s largest oil fields is set to continue.

Under the terms of a new agreement Eni S.p.A (E), the Italian oil company, will cede its control over operations at the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s state oil company, KazMunayGaz, will pay $1.78 billion to double its stake in the project from 8.33% to 16.81%.

The Kashagan field is located in the icy shallows of the Caspian Sea, and is one of the largest discoveries of the past 40 years, with estimated oil reserves of 38 billion barrels. But extraction has proved difficult as the project jointly managed by Eni, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Total SA (TOT), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A, RDS.B), Conoco Phillips (COP), and INPEX Holdings Inc., has suffered repeated setbacks and cost overruns. read more

By Michael Taylor ReutersPublished: January 21, 2008

LONDON: The FTSE 100 fell 5.5 percent on Monday, suffering its largest one-day loss since September 11, 2001 as the index tracked global markets lower on deepening fears of a possible U.S. recession.

The FTSE 100 closed down 323.5 points at 5,578.2, its lowest close since June 2006 and wiping nearly 77 billion pounds from the value of its constituent stocks.

The blue-chip index has now lost more than 13 percent since the start of the year.

“Very nervous,” said Jawaid Afsar, a trader at Securequity on the current equity climate. “It is very, very nerve-racking. It’s very frightening and people are just concerned (over) recession fears, credit fears … Writedowns and all the rest of it are just part of the same sort of thing at the moment.” read more

EXTRACT: Most recently, in November, the Advertising Standards Authority rapped Shell for an ad that claimed the oil company used its waste carbon dioxide to grow flowers, when less than 0.5% of Shell’s waste CO2 is used for this purpose.

THE ARTICLE: The Guardian: Make it green and keep them keen

Inside marketing & PR: Consumers are becoming more environmentally aware and demand the same from their brands, which means a new role for marketers, says Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Caitlin Fitzsimmons MediaGuardian, Monday January 21 2008 read more

21/01/2008 16:10 LAGOS, Jan 21 (AFP)

Anglo-Dutch energy group Shell said Monday it has complained in a letter to the Nigerian parliament that the activities of oil thieves and vandals are hampering its operations in the country.

“The letter in question was to inform the Federal Legislature on the challenges posed to our operations by illegal bunkering and crude oil theft,” company spokeswoman Caroline Wittgen said.

“We remain concerned about the effects of these illegal activities on the Nigerian economy and appeal for concerted efforts to stop them,” she told AFP. read more

By Reuters | 21 Jan 2008 | 05:38 AM ET

OPEC will examine all options when its ministers meet in February, the UAE oil minister said on Monday, adding that there was a disconnect between market fundamentals and high oil prices.

Mohammed al-Hamli declined to comment on his meeting earlier on Monday with visiting U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman or on what he expects OPEC to decide at the meeting, which is due to consider output policy.

“OPEC will meet in February and we will look then at all the options,” Hamli told reporters in Abu Dhabi. “There is a disconnect between fundamentals and the price.” read more

EXTRACT: Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) and France’s Total SA (TOT) have contracts to develop gas fields in southern Iran. But Iranian officials have criticized the companies the past year, suggesting they were slowing their work under US pressure.
 
TNA with wire services
21 January 2008

Tehran and Ankara are continuing negotiations on restoring Iranian gas to Turkey which stopped about two weeks ago due to domestic shortages.

“We are still in talks with Iran to resume export of 30 million cubic meters of gas per day to Turkey,” Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said over the weekend. read more

Shell’s van der Veer warns against “destroying” shareholder value

Monday, 21 January 2008, 12:41 GMT 

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso is under pressure to respond to fears that new proposals on climate change will harm industry.

Some of Europe’s top business leaders warn the plans could hit the amount firms invest in the field and actually be worse for the environment.

Industrialists say changing the carbon emissions trading system is premature.

In a speech on Monday, Mr Barroso will urge business to pick up the baton and seize the opportunity with both hands. read more

Jan 19, 2008 12:00 PM

BEST EVENT MANAGEMENT, CALGARY, ALBERTA

Shell Canada celebrated 97 years as one of the most prominent oil companies in Canada with “A Ship in Full Sail” road show, which served as a morale-boosting grand finale for the company after Royal Dutch Shell acquired it.

The event included 11,000 employees, 13 events, nine cities, six weeks and two languages — English and French.

The event wasn’t green-lighted until Royal Dutch Shell made an official offer to Shell Canada — meanwhile the event team kept mum and put suppliers on retainer in case the event moved forward. read more

January 21, 2008

By Dr. Robert Weber

Royal Dutch Shell has long been seen as one of the early business scenario planning pioneers. Scenario Mapping form of scenario plannning was created by Dave Mason, Jim Herman, and others at NCRI with awareness of Shell’s methods.

Paddy Briggs, who retired from Shell after 37 years, isn’t so upbeat on Shell’s use of scenarios. Briggs’ main point is that Shell uses scenarios for public relations and that their scenarios have little actual impact on corporate decision-making and shareholder value. After discussing several examples of how scenarios made no difference to Shell’s decision-making regarding China and Russia, Briggs concludes: read more

By Peggy Hollinger in Paris
Published: January 21 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 21 2008 02:00

Europe’s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, due to be unveiled as part of a radical green agenda this week, risk working against the environment and could destroy the competitive position of European industry, say the region’s leading industrialists.

The warning comes in a letter to Gunter Verheugen, European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, from Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell and chairman of the energy and climate-change working group of the European Roundtable of Industrialists. ERT is a group of about 50 of Europe’s biggest industrial companies with aggregate sales of about €1,600bn. read more

Published: January 21 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 21 2008 02:00

From Prof D. R. Myddelton.

Sir, Jennifer Hughes reports (January 14) that the heads of the six largest accounting firms are calling for more freedom for people to use their own judgment in preparing and auditing company accounts, instead of having to follow highly restrictive and complex regulations. The latest UK Companies Act weighs in at more than 700 A4 pages, in addition to more than 2,000 pages of accounting standards. So it is high time that the leaders of our profession paused to consider where the modern tendency to over-regulate has got us. read more

Mon Jan 21, 2008 8:49am GMT 

NEW DELHI, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Indian refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it will form a joint venture with the Indian unit of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) to sell jet fuel in southern India.

“It will be a 50:50 joint venture with an initial investment of 300 million rupees,” the company’s managing director R. Rajamani told reporters.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by John Mair) read more

By Megumi Yamanaka

Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K., the Japanese unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, will join Nippon Oil Corp. and Cosmo Oil Co. in cutting crude processing this month as unusually warm weather reduces kerosene demand.

The Tokyo-based company will process 2.35 million kiloliters (14.8 million barrels) of oil in January, spokesman Ichiro Miyawaki said by phone today. It had planned to process 2.52 million kiloliters this month.

Nippon Oil and Cosmo Oil Co. last week said they would also cut processing for January because of flagging demand. Consumers bought less kerosene for heating due to warmer weather. The average temperature in Tokyo was 6.5 degrees Celsius (43.7 Fahrenheit) in the first two weeks of January, 0.7 degree higher than the average for the 30 years to 2000, according to Japan’s Meteorological agency. read more

 21.01.2008 07:42

Aker Kvaerner has signed a five-year partnership agreement with Shell U.K. Ltd and Norske Shell covering the provision, installation, commissioning and life-of-field support of subsea control systems in the North Sea.

The framework agreement is signed for an initial five year period, with five optional one-year extensions. It could be worth between GBP 20 and 30 million over the first five years. The contract encapsulates the two companies’ solid working relationship, which has been running since the late 1970s.
 
The deal brings Aker Kvaerner Subsea’s controls delivery and service, including aftermarket services, into one contract arrangement to ensure maximum efficiency in supporting Shell’s projects.
 
Rémi Birkeland, senior vice president Controls, Aker Kvaerner Subsea, said: “The agreement means Shell will get a sustained, across-the-board service to meet their current operational requirements. Delivering such a broad scope of services needs a single focal point and this agreement avoids the inefficiences of one-off contracting.
 
“This is the latest agreement for Aker Kvaerner Subsea where a major operator can bring our services into play at any time, with short notice, calling upon the specific resources in question”.
 
Delivery of the terms of the agreement will be managed from Aker Kvaerner Subsea’s Aberdeen operations, where the global management of the controls systems organisation is located. The Aberdeen office supervises subsea controls operations in Australia (Perth), Brazil (Curitiba), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Port Klang), Norway (Oslo) and the US (Houston).
 
(Press release)
 
Rolleiv Solholm read more

Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
Oleg Mitvol

Monday, January 21, 2008. Issue 3824. Page 7.
By Nabi Abdullaev and Catrina Stewart
Staff Writers  
 
Oleg Mitvol, the state environmental inspector who led aggressive campaigns against foreign energy companies, abruptly resigned Friday to protest the possible appointment of a new head to his agency.

But Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev refused to accept the resignation, and Mitvol remains in his position as deputy head of the Federal Service for the Inspection of Natural Resources Use. read more

By Peggy Hollinger in Paris
Published: January 20 2008 19:02 | Last updated: January 20 2008 19:02

Europe’s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, due to be unveiled as part of a radical green agenda this week, risk working against the environment and could destroy the competitive position of European industry, according to the region’s leading industrialists.

The warning comes in a letter to Gunter Verheugen, European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, from Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell and chairman of the energy and ­climate change working group of the European Roundtable of Industrialists. ERT is a group of about 50 of Europe’s biggest industrial companies representing sales of about €1,600bn ($2,300bn, £1,200bn). read more

In a letter sent to George Clooney the rebels warned of an ‘imminent battle’ brewing in the Niger Delta

By Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Last Updated: 9:43pm GMT 20/01/2008

Rebels in the Niger Delta yesterday called on the actor, George Clooney, to visit the region in his new capacity as UN messenger of peace.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which has been responsible for the kidnapping of scores of foreigners, warned Clooney that its campaign against “oil exploitation” by firms, including Shell, was “building up to a crisis that will make Darfur an adjective for child’s play”. read more

Former Royal Dutch Shell Brand Executive, Paddy Briggs, comments on the recent New York Times article reporting that Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer “lifted the veil on Shell’s latest long-term energy scenarios, titled Scramble and Blueprints, which he will make public next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.”

The New York Times: Oil Demand, the Climate and the Energy Ladder

January 20th, 2008 05:57

The phoney hype from Shell on Scenarios

And so another Shell CEO is to be feted at Davos as he presents the oil giant’s latest “scenarios” – the hype being , of course, that these scenarios shows the company’s intellectual edge in planning and decision-making. Having been involved in Scenario planning from time to time during my Shell career I can see this phoney exercise for what it is – pompous and self-aggrandising PR which has little or no benefit to any of Shell stakeholders. read more

20 January 2004 

A GROUP of City investors has lined up a meeting with Shell’s senior independent director Lord Oxburgh to air grievances following the oil giant’s shock downgrade of reserves. 

Oxburgh, 69, an expert geologist and former rector of Imperial College, should have no difficulty dealing with the technical issues. 

Explaining away the tremors in Shell’s share price may be more difficult. At least it stopped falling yesterday, rising 2 3/4p to 362 3/4p. It was 405p before chairman Sir Philip Watts dropped his reserves bombshell. read more

Terry Macalister
Tuesday January 20, 2004

Cairn Energy has made a massive find in India worth up to $500m (£278m) on acreage sold to it 18 months ago by Shell for $7m. The discovery sent the British oil company’s share price soaring 40% to 518p and is another embarrassment for Shell, which has recently been forced to downgrade its global reserves by 20%. 

Cairn – led by former Scottish rugby player Bill Gammell, who counts both Tony Blair and George Bush among his friends – hit significant quantities of oil with its N-B-1 exploration well in Rajasthan, north-west India.  read more

By Carl Mortished, International Business Editor 
January 20, 2004 

THE head of Shell suffered another embarrassment yesterday after a small Scottish company found more than half a billion barrels of crude on land bought from the oil giant for just $7.2 million (£4 million). 

Shares in Cairn Energy jumped 182¼p, or 50 per cent, to 552¼p after stock market analysts said that the find could be worth up to $500 million. 

The find will come as an embarrassment to Shell, which infuriated shareholders earlier this month after writing down the value of its proven oil reserves by 3.9 billion barrels. More than £4 billion has been wiped off the company since the announcement, prompting calls for the resignation of Sir Philip Watts, the chairman. read more

By Joanna Chung in London
Jan 20, 2004 

Royal Dutch/Shell, under pressure after slashing reserves estimates this month, suffered another blow yesterday when it emerged it sold its stake in an oil field that could be one of the finds of the year.

Shell sold its 50 per cent interest in the Rajasthan Basin in western India to Cairn Energy, the UK independent, for $7.25m (£4.1m) in September 2002. Cairn’s shares soared 49 per cent yesterday after it announced “a significant discovery” potentially worth 75 times as much. read more

(Bloomberg News Story)
Jan. 20, 2004, 12:20AM

Royal Dutch/Shell Group Chairman Philip Watts, criticized by shareholders for an unexpected cut in Shell’s proven reserves, defended the decision and assured Shell’s work force there had been no wrongdoing.

Shares plunged Jan. 9 after Europe’s second-largest oil company told investors it cut its estimate of proven oil reserves by 20 percent and that it failed for a third year in a row to replace its production with new reserves.

“The purpose of my note today is to you assure you that I am committed to the full resolution of this issue as soon as possible and to advise you of the process that is under way,” Watts said in a message to staff posted on the company’s Web site. read more

(Bloomberg News Story)
Jan. 20, 2004, 12:32AM

Five years ago, Royal Dutch/Shell Group was the world’s largest publicly traded oil company. Today it’s third and sliding.

Since 2001, Shell has missed goals it set to boost oil and gas output and failed to build up enough reserves to match the volume pumped from the ground. On Jan. 9, Shell said its proven reserves in 2002 were 20 percent lower than stated earlier, tarnishing the century-old company’s image for prudent management.

Its shares have since lost more than 10 percent, and Standard & Poor’s said it may cut Shell’s AAA long-term credit rating. read more

Sunday January 20, 2008 6:01 PM
By CAIN BURDEAU

Associated Press Writer

IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA (AP) – Service canals dug to tap oil and natural gas dart everywhere through the black mangrove shrubs, bird rushes and golden marsh. From the air, they look like a Pac-Man maze superimposed on an estuarine landscape 10 times the size of Grand Canyon National Park.

There are 10,000 miles of these oil canals. They fed America’s thirst for energy, but helped bring its biggest delta to the brink of collapse. They also connect an overlooked set of dots in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath: The role that some say the oil industry played in the $135 billion disaster, the nation’s costliest. read more

Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:54pm GMT 
By Paul Taylor

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe’s steel, aluminum and cement industries will have a special, less strict regime for greenhouse gas emissions under European Commission proposals to fight climate change to be announced this week.

After weeks of intense lobbying by business and governments, EU sources said on Sunday those three energy-intensive industries would be introduced more slowly into a new system for auctioning permits to emit carbon dioxide (CO2) from 2013. read more

Pilings are driven into the ground for the $7 billion expansion of the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, one of the large-scale energy projects pumping life into the Beaumont-Port Arthur area’s economy.
STEVE UECKERT PHOTOS: CHRONICLE

Houston Chronicle: Beaumont-Port Arthur: Energy helping revive a region

By BRETT CLANTON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Jan. 19, 2008, 1:57AM

PORT ARTHUR — In 1901, a prolific oil field called Spindletop transformed the Beaumont-Port Arthur area from a quiet rural outpost to a booming hub of oil production. read more

Sun, January 20, 2008
By GEORGE MATHEWSON, SUN MEDIA     

SARNIA — Residents will learn Tuesday how a proposed multi-billion-dollar oil refinery would affect the area’s people and environment.

Shell Canada has completed field studies on air, water and human health for the proposed mega-project near Courtright and will present preliminary findings at a Point Edward open house.

“It’s really open to anybody who has an interest in the project and wants to learn more about our progress on the environmental assessment,” said Shell’s Leigh Anne Richardson. read more

The Associated Press
Article Launched: 01/19/2008 02:04:32 PM MST

ALBUQUERQUE—Public Service Company of New Mexico has reached a deal with Shell Energy North America to sell some of its wholesale power, natural gas, and gas and electricity transmission contracts for $5.8 million.

The deal announced Friday is expected to close on March 31. It’s the first step in an agreement made in a 2002 electricity case, under which PNM consented to separate itself from all unregulated operations, said company spokesman Frederick Bermudez. read more

20 January 2008

Who should succeed Peter Sutherland as chairman of the oil giant?

Russell Hotten assesses the potential candidates

One of the biggest jobs in British business will be filled this year when the white smoke goes up to signal who will replace Peter Sutherland as chairman of BP. Headhunters were appointed last September, but it is only now that some front-runners are starting to emerge.

Suggestions that BP non-­executive Sir William Castell is a potential favourite are being perceived in the City as the start of a campaign to win over the board and key shareholders. He remains the bookies’ favourite, but a shortlist of serious alternatives is emerging. read more