April 9th, 2008:

Associated Press: Gas, Oil Prices Hit New Records

Gas and Oil Prices Hit New Records After Government Reports Supplies Fell Last Week

Wednesday April 9, 3:36 pm ET
By John Wilen, AP Business Writer 

NEW YORK (AP) — The upward trend in energy prices showed no sign of abating Wednesday as gasoline set yet another record at the pump and crude oil topped $112 a barrel for the first time in the futures market.

The national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas rose 1.2 cents to a record $3.343 a gallon, according to a survey of gas stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. With the peak summer driving season still to come and gas following crude higher, the fuel may well reach the retail price of $4 a gallon that the Energy Department has been forecasting. read more

Seeking Alpha: BP Could Lose $20 Billion to Gazprom

by: Stephanie Grimmett: Bio & more articles
posted on: April 09, 2008

Gazprom is moving to take control of BP’s Russian oil fields.

Gazprom, Russia’s government-owned energy company, already had plans to buy a stake in British Petroleum’s Kovykta gas field. And now, with rumors circulating that BP (BP) is being bullied out of its Russian enterprise, Gazprom (OGZPY.PK) could be planning to buy a majority stake in TNK-BP, the joint venture between BP and four Russian billionaires. read more

snl.com: Uncertainty surrounds growth rate for LNG imports in 2009 and beyond

April 07, 2008 5:22 PM ET
By Mark HandKathleen

EXTRACT

Eisbrenner, executive vice president of LNG at Royal Dutch Shell plc, said there are currently 17 LNG importing countries, a number that is expected to grow to 29 by 2012. The number of LNG exporting countries is expected to increase from 15 today to only 18 in 2012. LNG demand has the potential to outpace supplies in the coming decade, she said.

In the United States, Eisbrenner said FERC’s recent approval of the Broadwater Energy LNG import terminal is a “significant step” in the project’s development. The Broadwater project is a joint venture between subsidiaries of TransCanada Corp. and Shell Oil Co. read more

moneymorning.com: BP Caving to Kremlin Pressure Over Joint Venture

By Jason Simpkins
Associate Editor

BP PLC (BP) has found itself under pressure from the Kremlin to cede control of its joint venture in Russia, TNK-BP Holding OAO, to a state-owned oil monopoly such as Rosneft NK OAO or Gazprom OAO – the latest attempt by the Russian government to expand its energy monopoly and drive out international oil majors.

Last month, 78 Federal Security Service (FSB) officers raided the Moscow offices of BP and TNK-BP. The raid resulted in the arrest of one TNK-BP employee and his brother, who will both face charges of industrial espionage. Soon after the raid, the Natural Resources ministry said it would check TNK-BP’s largest oil field for environmental violations and the Interior Ministry accused the company of breaking visa rules. read more

Upstreamonline.com: MMS launches Bristol Bay drilling review

The US’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) said it is launching an environmental review of possible offshore oil and gas drilling in the salmon-rich area of Bristol Bay, where energy exploration was temporarily banned following the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989.

After the Bush administration lifted the ban under the department’s current five-year outer continental shelf leasing plan, which took effect last July, the government proposed a North Aleutian Basin lease sale in 2011. read more

Oil tap: Chevron asks Mexico for permission to tap Gulf

Upstreamonline.com: Chevron outlines plans Mexico oil tap

By Upstream staff

Chevron has submitted proposals to tap deep-water oil and natural gas reserves in Mexico to the government in Mexico City as the country weighs up its options to stem declining output.

Chevron wants to make Mexico “a big part of our portfolio,” said Ali Moshiri, who oversees the company’s exploration and production portfolio in Africa and Latin America. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Where Oil Experts Come From

By SPENCER SWARTZ
April 9, 2008; Page B5A

LONDON — A large, steady supply of petroleum graduates from resource-rich and developing nations is helping to ease an industrywide 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

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ConocoPhillips, BP Plan Pipeline for Alaska Gas

By RUSSELL GOLD
April 9, 2008; Page B1

ConocoPhillips and BP PLC are joining forces to pursue construction of a long-awaited natural-gas pipeline that would bring the rich energy deposits of northern Alaska to the lower 48 states, the companies said Tuesday.

The two oil giants said they will spend $600 million over the next three years on a design for a project that industry experts say could cost more than $30 billion, potentially making it the largest private construction project ever in North America. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Energy Agency Sees Oil Averaging $101 This Year

Economy May Damp
Demand for Fuel,
Curb Gasoline Price
By NEIL KING JR.
April 9, 2008

Federal energy officials expect oil to average $101 a barrel this year, a sharp upward revision from its earlier forecast that suggests prices will remain above $100 for some time.

But the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects American drivers, truckers and airlines to use less fuel this year as the economy softens. That could take some pressure off prices for gasoline and other fuels, and could keep the price of gasoline under a U.S. average of $4 a gallon. read more

Financial Times: Beyond buy-outs

Published: April 9 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 9 2008 03:00

For those wondering where private equity’s cash piles go next, watch TPG. The firm’s latest mooted deals are anything but the mega-buy-outs that dominated last year.

The multi-billion dollar investment to recapitalise Washington Mutual exemplifies three trends. First, private equity will invest more cash in minority investments in public companies. That puts large amounts of money to work in a single deal. It does not require access to the moribund high-yield debt markets. If the terms are right – say, using convertible preferred shares – there is some downside protection. read more

Financial Times: Canada oil sands rules get UK backing

By Jean Eaglesham, Chief Political Correspondent
Published: April 9 2008 02:53 | Last updated: April 9 2008 02:53

Tough environmental regulations that will increase significantly the costs faced by two British companies, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, in exploiting Canada’s huge oil sands reserves were on Wednesday backed by Malcolm Wicks, the energy minister.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Wicks also sought to justify the government’s lobbying in Brussels to allow carbon capture and storage projects to count towards the UK’s target for renewable energy. read more

The Guardian: Watchdogs with bite: the biggest fines

Tuesday April 8 2008

April 2008: Ofwat fines Severn Trent £35.8m for deliberately providing false information and offering customers a poor service.

December 2007: The Office of Fair Trading imposed a £116m fine on a number of supermarket groups and dairy companies, including Asda, Sainsbury and Dairy Crest. Sainsbury’s fine was £40m but that was reduced to £26m because of the company’s co-operation with investigators.

September 2007: Southern Water was hit with a £20.3m penalty for misreporting and poor service over several years. The Serious Fraud Office dropped an investigation into Southern Water in April after finding insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges. read more

Daily Telegraph: Here’s an odd one.

Edited by Simon Goodley

Last Updated: 12:50am BST 09/04/2008

Here’s an odd one. A barmaid in a Hoxton boozer tells me she was offered £40 to turn up at the Shell AGM and applaud. It’s a strange tale to invent, but can it be true? “We’ll get back to you,” promises Shell. Please, mind you do.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/04/09/ccdiary109.xml

ktuu.com: Shell intends to become major player in Alaska’s oil industry

Associated Press – April 8, 2008 6:54 PM ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – As two longtime players in Alaska’s oil industry announced landmark plans for a gas pipeline out of the North Slope fields, the president of Shell Oil seemed a bit sheepish about calling a teleconference to discuss his first-ever visit to the region.

John Hoffmeister acknowledged that it was hard to compete against the big news from BP PLC and ConocoPhillips. read more