February 28th, 2008:

AP – 28.02.2008 19:15

A fire has broken out at one of Britain’s largest gas terminals. Fire officials in Norfolk, a county north-east of London, said on Thursday that crews were dealing with a “very large scale incident”. A number of fire engines have been deployed to the Shell UK-owned Bacton terminal, said a fire department spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with official policy. The site is the third largest of its kind in Britain and is responsible for brining natural gas ashore from the North Sea. read more

28 February 2008 | 19:12
 
Emergency services were called to reports of an explosion at the Bacton gas terminal on the Norfolk coast this evening.

Villagers said they had been told to stay indoors pending further advice.

One said she had “felt an earth tremor” and had seen smoke coming from the vicinity of the terminal.

A spokesman for Norfolk fire service confirmed there had been initial reports of an explosion and said he had been told there was a “major fire” at the Shell terminal at the site. read more

Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:23pm GMT 

LONDON (Reuters) – Firefighters said on Thursday they were tackling a major fire at the Bacton gas terminal, but that the blaze appeared to be confined to the terminal itself.

“We have a very large scale incident ongoing at the moment at the Bacton Gas Shell UK Ltd site … on the Norfolk coast,” a spokeswoman for Norfolk fire brigade said.

She said there were 10 fire engines tackling the blaze which broke out shortly before 6 p.m..

She said the fire was in the water treatment plant and that there was no immediate evidence of any chemicals being involved. read more

By Alexander Kwiatkowski and Grant Smith

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Firefighters doused a blaze at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Bacton terminal in the U.K., which handles gas flowing from the North Sea into Europe’s biggest gas-consuming country.

A fire erupted in the water-treatment plant at Shell’s terminal, according to a recorded message by the Norfolk Fire Service press office today. Ten fire engines attended the incident, which the message described as “very large-scale.” No chemicals are believed to be involved, according to the message. read more

Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:53pm

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday that repair works to a pipeline connected to the Bonny Light oil terminal in Nigeira had been completed and oil had started flowing.

Early in February, Shell declared force majeure on Bonny Light exports and stopped shipments from the terminal to repair three pipeline leaks, which were first discovered in January.

“The Nembe Creek pipeline has been repaired and oil started flowing,” a Shell spokesman said. “Force majeure is still in place.” read more

By John Donovan

A guest on Live Chat has taken issue with the content of my recent article…

26/02/2008  Shell’s atrocious track record in Nigeria

The allegations in my article were made by independent reputable sources with verification links provided. The article included a link to a leaked Shell internal report, the contents of which were commented upon in the cited news media reports. They also commented on the admissions made in the report.

I have not visited or lived in Nigeria and have no ambition to do so. I do not accept that anyone is disqualified from giving an opinion on the issues being discussed unless they have lived in or visited Nigeria. Neither do I accept that someone who has lived in Nigeria will automatically provide a more informed impartial opinion on relevant issues. read more

Charles Crowell/Bloomberg News
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority headquarters in the city of Abu Dhabi.

By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
Published: February 28, 2008

Abu Dhabi has about 9 percent of the world’s oil and 0.02 percent of its population. The result is a surfeit of petrodollars, much of which is funneled into a secretive, government-controlled investment fund that is helping to shift the balance of power in the financial world.
 
After decades in the shadows, the fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, is turning heads on Wall Street and in Washington by making high-profile investments in the United States and elsewhere. read more

Scott G. Borgerson: Scott G. Borgerson
From Foreign Affairs, March/April 2008

Summary:  Thanks to global warming, the Arctic icecap is rapidly melting, opening up access to massive natural resources and creating shipping shortcuts that could save billions of dollars a year. But there are currently no clear rules governing this economically and strategically vital region. Unless Washington leads the way toward a multilateral diplomatic solution, the Arctic could descend into armed conflict.

SCOTT G. BORGERSON is International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard. read more

Conference confronts issues businesses face on environment

By TOM FOWLER
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

The likely regulation of greenhouse gases in the U.S. will bring huge business opportunities, but cleaning the environment won’t be cheap or easy, speakers said Wednesday at a Houston conference.

The trading of carbon dioxide pollution credits is already a multibillion-dollar business in Europe just a few years after markets were launched there under the Kyoto Protocol, an international climate treaty the U.S. did not sign. read more

Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post 

CALGARY — Former oilsands skeptic BP PLC now seems in a hurry to catch up, signaling on Wednesday that it would forge a second partnership similar to its US$11.7-billion deal with Husky Energy Inc. if the right match came along.

After combining its Toledo refinery in Ohio in December with Husky’s Sunrise project in northern Alberta to create a US$11.7-billion business, CEO Tony Hayward said BP could make a similar move involving its refinery in Whiting, Ind., where a US$3.8-billion retooling and expansion to handle Canadian heavy oil is on its way. read more

From the Associated Press
February 28, 2008

LONDON — Oil giant BP’s chief executive hinted Wednesday that the company might offload part or all of its “green” business unit, reversing a central part of its previous strategy as he seeks to turn the company around.

Tony Hayward, giving his first annual presentation to analysts since taking over from former CEO John Browne in May, also said BP could be producing about 4.3 million barrels of oil equivalent a day by 2012.

BP intends to expand its alternative energy business “predominantly for its equity value,” Hayward said. The green unit, much prized by Browne, is worth $5 billion to $7 billion, based on market valuations for similar companies, Hayward said. read more

By Anthony DiPaola

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — ERG SpA called delays in government approval for a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal the Italian refiner plans to build in Sicily “unacceptable,” Il Sole 24 Ore reported, citing Chairman Edoardo Garrone.

The project has already cost 15 million euros ($22.7 million) and has been awaiting approval for three years, Il Sole said.

ERG and Royal Dutch Shell Plc in February 2005 proposed building the facility at Priolo in Sicily. The terminal would have capacity to process 8 billion cubic meters of gas a year. read more

By Danny Fortson
Thursday, 28 February 2008

Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP, brushed off worries about the world’s dwindling oil supplies yesterday by predicting that the company will be able to pump more than 4 million barrels per day through 2020, even if the oil giant doesn’t make any new discoveries.

Speaking at the company’s annual strategy briefing, Mr Hayward said based on an assumed base price of around $60 per barrel BP could sustain daily production of at least 4 million barrels, “with no new discoveries or access to new opportunities”. The bullish outlook sits in stark contrast to the cautious forecasts of Jeroen van der Veer, his opposite number at Royal Dutch Shell, who says production will fall over the next few years and warned that the world would soon reach the peak of “easy oil”. read more

CEO to Take New Look
At Green-Energy Arm;
Focus on ‘Equity Value’
By GUY CHAZAN
February 28, 2008; Page A13

LONDON — BP PLC Chief Executive Tony Hayward pledged to increase the energy titan’s oil production and improve results at its marketing and refining division, and signaled a shift in its renewable-energy business.
 
Analysts said the shift in emphasis could result in the sale or flotation of some parts of BP’s renewables business or tie-ups with other companies. A BP spokesman said the comments didn’t mean BP had any immediate plans to divest itself of its solar, wind and biofuels units. read more

By SIOBHAN HUGHES
February 28, 2008; Page A12

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted to repeal $18 billion of tax breaks for oil and gas producers, and to use the savings to finance tax incentives for wind-power projects, solar panels and more energy-efficient cars.

The bill, which passed by 236-182, faces long odds amid opposition in the Senate and a White House veto threat. But it allowed House Democrats to promote renewable energy as an alternative to high-priced oil, and to take aim at the oil industry, which is in the midst of a profit boom as prices keep rising. read more

Gas prices are rising to record highs across the nation.

updated 5:25 p.m. EST, Wed February 27, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved $18 billion in new taxes on the largest oil companies Wednesday as Democrats cited record oil prices and rising gasoline costs in a time of economic troubles.

The money collected over 10 years would provide tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy sources and for energy conservation. The legislation, approved 236-182, would cost the five largest oil companies an average of $1.8 billion a year over that period, according to an analysis by the House Ways and Means Committee. Those companies earned $123 billion last year. read more

Published: February 28 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 28 2008 02:00

As BP’s strategy presentation entered its fourth hour yesterday, weary attenders could have been forgiven for letting their minds drift, perhaps back to a similar event five years earlier. Lord Browne, then chief executive, indicated total production would swell by 1m barrels to 4.5m barrels a day by the end of 2007. As it turned out, BP managed less than half that rise.

That is the company’s problem in a nutshell. Back in February 2003 oil industry valuations were clearly stratified – at the top, on a forward price/earnings ratio about 30 per cent better than the FTSE Eurofirst 300, sat BP, flanked by Shell. In the intervening period, following regular production disappointments, the market has fallen out of love with size. For most of the past year, both BP and Shell have traded in a 10 per cent band beneath that benchmark. read more

By Daniel Pimlott in New York
Published: February 26 2008 23:18 | Last updated: February 26 2008 23:18

A sharp drop in US consumer confidence, to its lowest level since the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003, and a jump in inflation among producers highlighted the deepening risk of stagflation, figures released on Tuesday showed.

Separately, data on house prices and foreclosures showed that the housing market continued to plumb record lows at the end of last year and the beginning of this year.

The consumer confidence index fell to 75 in February from 87.3 in January, the worst reading in five years, according to figures from the Conference Board. Consumers’ perspective on current situations fell to its most downbeat since October 2001, during the last extended period of contraction in US economic growth, while future expectations hit their worst level since 1991. read more

The biggest individual company fines under EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes

guardian.co.uk
Wednesday February 27 2008

1 Microsoft €899m (software)

2 ThyssenKrupp €479m (lifts)

3 Siemens €396m (engineering)

4 Microsoft €280.5m (software)

5 ENI €272m (synthetic rubber)

6 Otis €225m (lifts)

7 Heineken €219m (beer)

8 Arkema €219m (acrylic glass)

9 Solvay €167m (chemicals)

10 Shell Netherlands €161m (synthetic rubber)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/feb/27/microsoft.europe2

If we use sewage, refuse or agricultural waste, biofuels can be sustainable – and cut poverty, says Ron Oxburgh

Lord Oxburgh
Thursday February 28 2008

George Monbiot has gone too far. Whatever sympathy one has with his campaign against some present-day biofuels, it is absurd to say none are sustainable (Apart from used chip fat, there is no such thing as a sustainable biofuel , February 12).

A month ago the Royal Society published a thoughtful paper, Sustainable Biofuel: Prospects and Challenges, which concluded that, done carefully, biofuels could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport. There certainly are sustainable biofuels, and producing some of them can help alleviate poverty in developing countries. read more

Terry Macalister guardian.co.uk
Wednesday February 27 2008

The price of oil reached $102 per barrel today – a second record is as many days – as traders switched their investments from shares and currencies into commodities amid growing fears of a US recession.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery reached $102.08 on the New York Mercantile Exchange while North Sea crude broke through the $100 mark for the first time in London.

“Commodities are moving and oil has gone with it. In terms of financial news, there’s nothing good coming out of the US at the moment,” said John Hall, managing director of energy consultant, John Hall Associates. read more

By Tom Leonard in New York
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 28/02/2008

An Eskimo village that is melting into the sea off Alaska has launched a legal challenge against BP, Shell and more than 20 other oil and power companies, alleging that their contribution to global warming is threatening to destroy the tiny community.

The 391 inhabitants of Kivalina, a traditional Inupiat Eskimo village built on an eight-mile barrier reef between the Chukchi Sea and Kivalina river, say sea ice that has always protected them is eroding because of higher temperatures and that the energy companies should pay to move them to safer ground. read more

February 28, 2008

Steve Coomber says jobs in energy supply and trading are likely to increase WITH oil prices breaking the $100 a barrel level for the first time, new oil and gas discoveries in the Arctic region, and global companies such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell making record results, a career in the booming energy industry appears an attractive choice for MBA graduates.

Rulzion Rattray, MBA and commercial director,of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPLMP) at the University of Dundee, says: “The level of interest in the sector is increasing, particularly from people changing careers to an energy related field.” read more