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April 4th, 2008:

BP may have to give up control of Russia venture

The Guardian: BP may have to give up control of Russia venture

Reuters, Friday April 4 2008
By Tom Bergin

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) – Kremlin pressure on BP’s Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, may force the British oil major to cede control of Russia’s third-largest oil producer to state-backed Rosneft or Gazprom before long.

In March, authorities raided the Moscow offices of BP and TNK-BP, which BP owns jointly with a group of Russian billionaires.

Officials accused a TNK-BP employee of industrial espionage and opened an investigation into tax evasion and possible environmental violations at TNK-BP. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Cripps Sears & Partners: Shell tops corporate website list

(Added by John Donovan: This article describes the “website list” in question as being “an independent list” – pure hokum since Shell has for a number of years been a client of the list compiler – Bowen Craggs)

03.04.08

Shell has been ranked as having one of the top ten corporate websites, in an independent list.

The company was joined by other firms like E.ON, BP and Unilever in the top spots, which was in the FT Bowen Craggs Index, reports Computer World.

European firms reigned supreme in the list, with eight out of the top ten positions going to Euro companies. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Gazprom on verge of TNK-BP takeover in repeat of blackmail tactics which forced Shell’s surrender of Sakhalin-2 project

MarketWatch: Gazprom in talks to gain control over TNK-BP, report says

By Moscow Bureau
Last update: 3:09 a.m. EDT April 4, 2008

MOSCOW (MarketWatch) — Russia’s OAO Gazprom is in talks with TNK-BP half owned by U.K. oil major BP PLC to gain a 51% stake in the joint venture, the RBK Daily said Friday, citing two unnamed sources.

On Thursday, Gazprom’s Chief Executive Alexey Miller met with BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward and Viktor Vekselberg, one of the three Russian shareholders, to talks about a pre-announced deal over TNK-BP’s Kovykta gas field, Gazprom stated in a press release.
However, RBK Daily reported that Gazprom seeks to buy a 1% stake in the joint venture from BP, while at the same time buying out TNK-BP’s three Russian shareholders, which would give the state monopoly a controlling part in TNK-BP. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

ExxonMobil move against Venezuela in the British Courts ends in humiliation

Latin America Press: Venezuela defeats ExxonMobil

Noticias Aliadas.  Apr 3, 2008

The British judiciary favored Venezuela on March 18 in a trial that US oil giant ExxonMobil started against state-run Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) after a government decree emitted last year established that all contracts with foreign companies must gradually become mixed, in which the Venezuelan oil company should have a minimum 60 percent of stock.

ExxonMobil refused to reduce its share and in January opened a trial in London, where the court blocked US$12 billion in PDVSA stock and assets in order to prevent Venezuela from transferring them to a jurisdiction out of reach for the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Venezuela, along with Bolivia and Nicaragua, withdrew from ICSID last May. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

2007 bumper year for Chevron CEO David O’Reilly: OVER $45 MILLION in ‘compensation’ and other perks!

Reuters: Chevron CEO made nearly $16 mln in 2007

Tue Apr 1, 2008 5:00pm EDT

NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) – Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Dave O’Reilly received close to $16 million in compensation for 2007, when shares of the second largest U.S. oil company rose 27 percent.

O’Reilly, 61, also pulled in $29.1 million from exercising options and stock awards during the year.

He received a compensation package worth $15.7 million for the year, including a $1.7 million salary, $10.2 million of stock and option awards and $3.6 million of incentive awards. There was an additional $255,251 in other compensation as well. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Denies Platform Repairs to Shut Gas Supply to Philippines

Bloomberg: Shell Denies Platform Repairs to Shut Gas Supply to Philippines

By Francisco Alcuaz Jr.

April 4 (Bloomberg) — Shell Philippines Exploration BV, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, denied newspaper reports that it will shut natural gas supply from an offshore field that supplies three power plants in the country while making repairs.

Newspapers were reporting the worst-case scenario that Shell had presented to the Department of Energy last week after finding a safety system malfunction at the Malampaya gas platform, Shell Spokesman Roberto Kanapi said in a phone interview today. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Chevron plans to hire more than 6,000 employees globally this year

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Oil grads find new opportunities

Western companies could lose advantage
to state energy rivals
By SPENCER SWARTZ
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE
April 4, 2008

London

A LARGE, STEADY supply of petroleum graduates from resource-rich and developing nations is helping to ease an industry-wide labor shortage, while at the same time chipping away at the advantage in skills traditionally enjoyed by U.S. and European firms.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Texas A&M University and other top U.S. and European universities provided most of the world’s petroleum graduates. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Chaos and $37 billion meltdown at crisis hit USB bank where Royal Dutch Shell CFO Peter Voser is a director

Wall Street Journal UBS chart

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The Prizefight for UBS

EXTRACT: “It’s hard to make a case to someone wealthy that you can manage their money well when you’ve just lost $37 billion yourself”

Bank’s Ex-President Pushes for a Breakup; Rematch of 2001 Bout
By CARRICK MOLLENKAMP and KATHARINA BART
April 4, 2008; Page C1

A former president of UBS AG is pushing for a breakup of the banking giant, launching an activist-shareholder campaign, after UBS booked $37.7 billion in write-downs.
 
For British investor Luqman Arnold, the fight will mark a rematch with the bank that forced him out in 2001 after a dispute over governance and how much power he would have. Among Mr. Arnold’s proposals: UBS should legally separate its investment bank from its private-client bank and consider selling the investment bank; sell its asset-management business to raise money; and remove the chairman it named just Tuesday, according to a letter Mr. Arnold sent to UBS Thursday night. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell has invested heavily in GTL and is building the world’s biggest plant in Qatar

Financial Times: Pioneer plant to run below capacity until later this year

By Ed Crooks in London
Published: April 4 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 4 2008 03:00

Qatar’s pioneering plant to convert natural gas to liquid fuels operated by Sasol of South Africa will continue to run at well below full capacity until the second half of this year at the earliest.

The technical problems that have dogged the Oryx project, which opened last year, are further evidence of the challenges in commercialising gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell says exports and output unaffected by fire at major pipeline carrying crude to Bonny export terminal

Financial Times: Gold back above $900 as wild oil swings continue

By Chris Flood
Published: April 4 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 4 2008 03:00

Gold regained the $900 level yesterday while oil, base metals and grains put on a mixed performance.

Gold rose 0.9 per cent to $906.30 a troy ounce, ahead of today’s vital US employment data. Gold was boosted by the cautious tone of Ben Bernanke’s latest comments after the Federal Reserve chairman admitted for the first time that a US recession was a possibility. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Times: Hermitage Capital: Russia’s dangerous heritage

April 4, 2008
David Wighton: Business Commentary

The attempted fraud against Hermitage Capital, the leading foreign portfolio investor in Russia, is another reminder of the risks in doing business in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Hermitage alleges that individuals connected with the Russian Interior Ministry, were involved in a scheme to extort $367 million (£184 million) from three subsidiaries of the Hermitage Fund it manages. The plot failed only because the assets held by the companies had already been moved offshore. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.