March 4th, 2008:

Vanguard (Lagos)
4 March 2008
George Onah

IN its quest to boost local content in development projects in Nigeria, Shell Petroleum Development Company has said that its $20 billion investments in Niger Delta will embrace Nigerians in the most critical sector of the economy.

Most of the projects which are located in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states, among others, would provide direct employment to over 16,000 skilled and unskilled as well as semi-skilled youths, while several thousands would be indirectly employed.
 
Disclosing the development in Port Harcourt, last weekend, at a press parley, General Manager, Local Content Development of Shell Dr. Eddie Wikina said some of the projects “making statements in the LCD arrangement are ‘front end engineering design’ (FEED). read more

March 04, 2008: 03:00 PM EST

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, or NNPC, is discussing the possible impact on reserves booking of a planned joint ventures status change, a spokesman for the company said this week.

The talks highlight the reserves risks the change carries for foreign companies, particularly for Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), which faced a reserves problem in 2004.

The Nigerian government is considering opening investment in the joint ventures with foreign companies to investors on the stock exchange. read more

The cost of diesel has risen as the weaker dollar propels oil prices.
(David Duprey/The Associated Press)

By Jad Mouawad
Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Capping a relentless rise in recent years, oil prices hit an all-time high during the day on Monday, then pulled back to close below the record.

The day’s highest trading price, $103.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, broke the record set in April 1980 during the second oil shock. That price, $39.50 a barrel, equals $103.76 today, when adjusted for inflation. read more

By JANE WARDELL AP Business Writer
Article Last Updated: 03/04/2008 06:14:31 AM PST

LONDON—BP PLC increased the funds it has set aside to settle claims arising from the 2005 fatal explosion at its Texas City refinery by about a third to $2.13 billion, the energy company said Tuesday.

The company also disclosed that Chief Executive Tony Hayward received a larger bonus in 2007 than the award granted to his predecessor in 2006. But it said he missed out on a long-term share package worth around 2.4 million pounds ($4.8 million) due to the company’s poor past performance. read more

Tue Mar 4, 2008 10:26am
(Adds Shell CEO para 4)

VIENNA, March 4 (Reuters) – The first train at Qatar’s gas-to-liquids plant will start in 2010, Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said on Tuesday.

The Pearl GTL plant to make super-clean fuels is Shell’s largest foreign investment and will be the world’s largest such plant. Spiralling costs have taken the price to $18 billion from an original budget of $5 billion.

Attiyah said he had met with Shell Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer on Monday. read more

Tue Mar 4, 2008 6:52am EST

LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) expects to gradually increase UK gas imports through its terminal at Bacton towards normal levels after a fire closed it last Thursday, although flow rates may dip at times, a spokesman for the company said on Tuesday.

The terminal was reopened on Monday afternoon after last week’s fire in a waste treatment unit and flow rates reached around 23 million cubic metres a day early on Tuesday before plunging to little more than 5 mcm/day. read more

By Billy Youngson
Filed from Aberdeen 3/4/2008 10:17:02 AM GMT

RUSSIA:  Sakhalin Energy shelved its bid to grab hundreds of millions of dollars of public financing for the world’s largest integrated oil and gas development. Delays in getting approval have led the Gazprom- and Shell-led venture to withdraw applications with the U.S. Export Import (Ex-Im) Bank and the UK Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD).
 
The U.S. and British lenders have been studying whether the US$22 billion project meets their funding criteria, with environmental groups such as World Wildlife Fund (WWF) highly critical.  Sakhalin II, located off Russia’s eastern coast, has been plagued by environmental problems, including threats to the endangered Western Gray Whales, damage to wild salmon spawning grounds, and negative impacts to indigenous and fishing cultures.
 
Ivan Chernyakhovsky, a spokesman for Sakhalin Energy, said it was important for finance to be in place before the end of construction, with major work targeted for completion before the end of the year.  The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and commercial banks are expected to finalise project funding in the first half of this year. Sakhalin Energy, the shareholders of which include Japan’s Mitsui and Mitsubishi, plan to raise at least US$5 billion to fund the development. read more

March 04, 2008: 06:27 AM EST

BONN, Mar. 4, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) — Deutsche Telekom AG’s (NYSE:DT) T-Systems filed for regulatory approval of its plan to provide a substantial part of Royal Dutch Shell’s IT infrastructure services, according to the German Federal Cartel Office’s website.

Shell previously said it wants to outsource part of its IT operations and is in negotiations with T-Systems, EDS (NYSE:EDS) and AT&T Inc (NYSE:SBT) (NYSE:T) in this regard. read more

Reports say that the loaded 44800 dwt Shell-chartered products tanker which grounded off the Bahamas would remain in its position for at least another week …

ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 4, 2008

NEW YORK – The surging price of oil reached another milestone Monday, jumping to an inflation-adjusted record high of $103.95.

The weaker dollar that has propelled oil and other commodities prices higher sent light, sweet crude for April delivery past $103.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That’s the level many analysts consider to be the true record high for oil, after its $38 barrel price from 1980 is translated into 2008 dollars.

Futures later retreated from that high to settle up 61 cents, at $102.45, after Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it would resume oil shipments from Nigeria that had been disrupted by rebel attacks. read more

Tue Mar 4, 2008 11:21am GMTBy Tom Bergin

LONDON (Reuters) – BP’s chief executive missed out on a possible 2.5 million pound bonus last year, as part of a long-term incentive scheme paid in shares, because of the oil major’s industry-lagging performance.

A BP spokesman said that under the scheme, Tony Hayward, who was appointed CEO last May, could have been awarded up to 436,636 shares but that as BP came last in a variety of measures against its main competitors, including Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, Hayward received none. read more

An intriguing posting on Live Chat on Monday 3 March 2008

Guest 3513: “It’s interesting that Shell has picked 17th March for a major announcement – it will be St. Patrick’s day and Europe will be shutting down for Easter. Shell seem to have a habit of announcing bad news just before a holiday…The Daily Telegraph article (“Shell likely to miss Canada tar sands”) probably says it all”

Comment by another guest

Guest 1094: I hardly believe that “Europe will be shutting down for Easter” from Monday 17th March !!! Considering most countries work up to and including Friday, I think this is another example of making something out of nothing when discussng Shell. read more

BunkerWorld.com: Shell tanker stuck

04 Mar 2008, 09:33 GMT

Salvors to remove bunker fuel and cargo from 44,800 dwt products tanker before attempting re-float.

http://www.bunkerworld.com/news/2008/03/70901

Tuesday, 4 March 2008, 09:10 GMT 
 
Gas flow has resumed at a Shell UK terminal after an explosion and a major blaze in a waste water treatment unit, but at a third of the pre-fire level.

An inquiry is continuing into the incident last Thursday at Bacton gas terminal in North Norfolk.

An evacuation of the site was carried out and all 46 personnel were unhurt.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is looking into the cause of the fire at the Shell UK terminal, which usually supplies 10% of Britain’s gas. read more

Chad Crowe 

By NANSEN G. SALERI
March 4, 2008; Page A17

Many energy analysts view the ongoing waltz of crude prices with the mystical $100 mark — notwithstanding the dollar’s anemia — as another sign of the beginning of the end for the oil era. “[A]t the furthest out, it will be a crisis in 2008 to 2012,” declares Matthew Simmons, the most vocal voice among the “neo-peak-oil” club. Tempering this pessimism only slightly is the viewpoint gaining ground among many industry leaders, who argue that daily production by 2030 of 100 million barrels will be difficult. read more

March 4, 2008

Press Advisory

For more information:

Doug Norlen, Pacific Environment +1 202 465 1650,

[email protected] < mailto:[email protected]>

David Gordon, Pacific Environment +1 510-541-5334,

[email protected] < mailto:[email protected]>

Dmitry Lisitsyn, Sakhalin Environment Watch, +7 4242 74 75 18,

[email protected] < mailto:[email protected]>

James Leaton, WWF-UK, +44 (0)1483 412513, +44 (0)7766 153974,

[email protected] < mailto:[email protected]> read more

By Javier Blas and Ed Crooks in Vienna
Published: March 4 2008 01:04 | Last updated: March 4 2008 01:04

Oil hit a record $103.95 a barrel on Monday, as the dollar plunged and expectations hardened that Opec ministers will leave production levels unchanged when they meet in Vienna on Wednesday.

On some measures, oil closed higher in inflation-adjusted terms than its previous peak in April 1980, at the height of the second great oil shock. Then, oil prices surged to a level which equates to $103.76 a barrel in 2008 dollars. read more

By Alexandra Harney, Financial Times
Published: Mar 04, 2008

It is a polluted October morning in Shanghai, and the roads are clogged with the traffic that ensnares every large Chinese city. But Ferrari’s guest room at the Shanghai International Circuit is a world apart.

European women in crisp white blouses and slim blue skirts serve Paris-perfect chocolate croissants while an espresso machine hums in the distance. Red shirts, the uniform of the Ferrari team, dot the room.

The Italian carmaker shares the room with Shell, the provider of the secret sauce behind its championship team. read more

Tuesday March 4 2008: This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday March 04 2008 on p31 of the Leaders & reply section.

James Lovelock is right to suggest we have already crossed the tipping point into irreversible climate change (Enjoy life while you can, March 1). The time lag between cause and effect means that the momentum in the climate system will inevitably propel us over the critical CO2 threshold of 450 parts per million in the atmosphere. He is right to be sceptical about offsetting schemes and the potential of wind power, but he is wrong to put his faith in nuclear energy. Like all fossil fuels, uranium reserves are limited and some put exhaustion of stocks at 2030. Nuclear will never be sufficient to power the UK economy after oil begins to run out in about 2040 and gas a decade or so later. Even peak coal is put at 2025. read more

Last Updated: 12:39am GMT 04/03/2008

Fears of a commodity crash are growing as speculation continues to outstrip demand. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard reports

India faces a mountain of surplus sugar. Over 20m tonnes sit in warehouses, begging for buyers.
  
Brazil has ramped up cane production in a burst of expansion. It is now exporting record amounts of sugar, even after diverting half its harvest into ethanol for cars.

By any definition, there is a global glut. Yet this has not stopped sugar futures jumping 40pc since December, reaching $14.18 (£7.15) a pound on the March 2008 contract. read more

By Alena Mae S. Flores
Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., the country’s second-largest oil refiner and a member of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, is expecting “favorable” results from a study that will determine the viability of expanding its oil refinery in the Philippines.

“Officials from [the] parent company will be in the country this month to announce the results of the study,” a source said.

Shell earlier formed a team to review options on its Tabangao facility in Batangas, which is capable of refining 110,000 barrels of oil per day. read more

Mon Mar 3, 2008 2:42pm EST

NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are fielding offers for seven producing natural gas fields in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, according to an energy acquisition tracking service.

NAM — a 50-50 joint venture between Shell and Exxon — is selling the fields as well as the associated infrastructure, according to IndigoPool, a Houston-based acquisition and divestiture Web site owned by oilfield services company Schlumberger Ltd (SLB.N: Quote, Profile, Research). read more

03/03/2008, 10:33 am
By Robert Themer
[email protected]
815-937-3369

“It started out when two women came into my office with health issues and a contaminated well,” Kankakee attorney Joseph Yurgine said of the class-action lawsuit brought against Shell Oil Co. in the aftermath of the 1988 pipeline spill in Limestone Township.

Last week in a Kankakee County courtroom, Judge Gordon Lustfeldt approved a $46 million settlement in principal. Final details are yet to be worked out, Yurgine said. read more

Tuesday, March 4, 2008. Issue 3854. Page 6.
Bloomberg

Gazprom’s Sakhalin-2 oil and gas venture with Royal Dutch Shell withdrew an application for funding from U.S. and British government-sponsored lenders because of delays in getting financing approval.

The U.S. Export Import Bank and Britain’s Export Credit Guarantee Department, or ECGD, have “significant uncertainties on the timeline for their final decision-making,” Ivan Chernyakhovsky, a spokesman for operator Sakhalin Energy, said Monday by telephone. “It’s important to secure the project financing in good time before the completion of construction.” Gazprom and Shell aim to complete “major works” at the $22 billion project by the end of the year, Chernyakhovsky said. read more