April, 2008:

nelsonmail.co.nz: 5 dead as gunmen storm police station in Nigeria

Reuters | Monday, 28 April 2008

Unidentified gunmen have killed five policemen and seized several weapons in a raid on a police station in the oil-rich southern Nigerian state of Rivers.

The attack took place early on Sunday on Bonny Island, the site of one of Nigeria’s largest oil and gas export terminals, spokeswoman Ireju Barasua said.

It was not immediately clear who had carried out the assault on the Bonny Divisional Police Station. Rivers state has witnessed a surge in attacks in recent weeks by a rebel group seeking greater autonomy for the oil-producing region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). read more

Gulf-Times: New Qatargas projects ‘well on track’ – Shell

Published: Sunday, 27 April, 2008, 07:55 AM Doha Time
Business Reporter

DOHA: The offshore works relating to Qatargas 3 and 4 projects are “right on track”, Shell has said.
Qatargas 3 and Qatargas 4 comprise two mega trains of 7.8mn tonnes per year (tpy) annual capacity each.

Qatar Petroleum and Shell are shareholders in Qatargas 4 while QP, ConocoPhillips and Mitsui are shareholders in Qatargas 3.

To leverage the benefits and economies of scale by working together and share technological know-how and expertise, the development of the majority of the facilities for the two ventures has been brought under the management of a single Joint Asset Development Team (JADT), says a report in the latest issue of “Shell in the Middle East read more

Appeal by rossportsolidaritycamp regarding Royal Dutch Shell Plc AGM on 20 May 2008

Just to remind you that the Shell AGM is on Tuesday 20th May in London & Holland. If anyone has Shell shares, please email back if you are going, or would let someone else use them.

If you don’t have shares but are free on the 20th, come along to join the protest against Shell. Venue to be confirmed, email if interested.

Are any people from Mayo or anyone in Ireland coming over? If not, maybe they would be happy for others in London to use their shares? read more

Reuters: BP shutting down major British oil pipeline

Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:41pm EDT
By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) – A pipeline carrying nearly half of Britain’s oil was being shut down late on Saturday ahead of a strike over pensions that has already closed a major refinery and prompted some panic fuel buying.

The Grangemouth refinery in Scotland produces a tenth of Britain’s petrol and diesel but also provides the steam that allows the neighboring Kinneil plant to begin processing the crude oil coming ashore from 70 fields in the North Sea. read more

Sunday Herald: It’s time to relocalise our lives: Joanna Blythman on life without oil

FACED WITH panic at the pumps, Alex Salmond was absolutely right to urge people to behave sensibly and responsibly, by cutting out non-essential trips, and using public transport. But he should have added: “Get used to it”, because we urgently need to realise that this isn’t just a one-off.

While we fret about filling the tank to visit family this weekend, or get to work this coming week, an infinitely more serious, long-term fuel problem is creeping up on us. read more

Scotland on Sunday: City hopes to see bigger profits in the pipeline from BP

Market Watch

Published Date: 27 April 2008
By Nathalie Thomas

OIL giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell will reveal this week that cash has been flowing in as oil prices continue to soar. As a barrel of the black stuff tops $120, it is expected to lift figures at both companies.

City watchers will look for signs of a turnaround at BP after a difficult year in 2007. In particular they want to see evidence of BP chief executive Tony Hayward’s pledge to “close the performance gap” with rivals after annual profits fell by more than a fifth last year. read more

The Nation: Running on Empty

By MARK HERTSGAARD
This article appeared in the May 12, 2008 edition of The Nation.

It used to be that only environmentalists and paranoids warned about running out of oil. Not anymore. As climate change did over the past few years, peak oil seems poised to become the next big idea commanding the attention of governments, businesses and citizens the world over. The arrival of $119-a-barrel crude and $4-a-gallon gasoline this spring are but the most obvious signs that global oil production has or soon will peak. With global demand inexorably rising, a limited supply will bring higher, more volatile prices and eventually shortages that could provoke–to quote the title of the must-see peak oil documentary–the end of suburbia. If the era of cheap, abundant oil is indeed coming to a close, the world’s economy and, paradoxically, the fight against climate change could be in deep trouble. read more

Oil giants to declare profits of £68bn

Richard Wachman
The Observer, Sunday April 27 2008

BP and Shell will together make record profits of more than $68bn this year if the oil price stays at current levels, according to City forecasters.

Brent crude soared to $116 a barrel on Friday as BP shut down a key North Sea pipeline ahead of industrial action and a strike at Exxon in Nigeria disrupted production. Oil companies are profiting at a time when motoring and consumer organisations are complaining about the price of petrol, which has hit £5 a gallon. BP and Shell will this week report record profits for the first quarter thanks to an oil price that has stood at an average of $110 a barrel since the start of the year. read more

The Sunday Times: Grangemouth strike: who’s fuelling who?

Government is urging consumers not to panic but Scotland is facing fuel shortages as the Forties pipeline prepares to close

Tom Gordon and Stuart MacDonald
April 27, 2008

Angus McCall watched last week’s planned strike at the Grangemouth oil refinery unfold with a growing sense of trepidation. The livestock and barley farmer from Golspie, in Sutherland, heard successive politicians offer assurances that the dispute would not cause a fuel shortage in Scotland, but that did not square with what was happening locally. read more

BBC News: Oil firms in Nigeria cut output

“Our candid advice to the oil majors is that they should not waste their time repairing any lines, as we will continue to sabotage them”
Militant statement

Saturday, 26 April 2008 05:15 UK

Industrial action and attacks from militants have forced the two biggest oil companies in Nigeria to cut their production.

Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell are both reducing output, which is helping to keep oil prices near record highs.

Militant groups in the Niger Delta have blown up a section of a Shell pipeline, in the fourth such attack in the last seven days. read more

Sunday Herald: Shell and BP earn £6bn in 12 weeks amid fuel crisis

Householders warned of rising power bills as suppliers pass on price rises

By John Phelps

OIL GIANTS BP and Shell will fuel motorists’ anger over the latest surge in petrol prices this week when they are expected to disclose they have made a total of more than £6 billion in profit in the opening three months of the year.

Most analysts believe Shell will show substantially unchanged current cost earnings of around £3.4bn on Tuesday, despite production problems, while BP is expected to show a profits recovery from less than £2bn to as much as £2.6bn on the same day. read more

Edinburgh News: Shell reserves fear sees Footsie falter

MARKET WATCH
Saturday, 26th April 2008

THE Footsie came off the boil today after hitting four-year highs earlier in the week – and as the morning session drew to a close the index was down 15 points at 5786.

Helping lead the blue chip index into the red was oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, whose influence had more of an impact than a strong showing on Wall Street and Japan’s Nikkei index surging 1.4 per cent to close above 16,700 points for the first time in more than five years.

Despite turning in a record annual profit for a British company, investors booked profits on fears that Shell will struggle to find new reserves to replace what it is already pumping out of the ground and shares tumbled by two per cent. read more

The Calgary Herald: Halliburton implicates Shell in probe

From Herald News Services
Published: Saturday, April 26, 2008

Halliburton Co., the world’s second-largest oilfield contractor, said an investigation into alleged bribes paid in relation to a Nigerian liquefied natural gas facility also may involve a Royal Dutch Shell PLC project.

Halliburton, based in Houston, said in a regulatory filing Friday it was notified of “evidence of payments to Nigerian officials” by “an agent” in connection with the offshore Shell EA project. read more

The gas will be piped to the Mayo coast

BBC News: Breakthrough in Shell gas dispute

Diarmaid Fleming

People in Mayo locked in a long-running dispute with oil giant Shell have moved to break the stalemate.

Shell and its partners, Statoil and Marathon, are developing the offshore Corrib Gas Project.

Locals had demanded that gas from the Corrib field be refined at sea rather than at a huge inland terminal under construction in their community.

They now say they will drop their opposition if the refinery is relocated to a remote unpopulated area. read more

Financial Times: Alarm at Shell retention awards

By Tom Burgis and Kate Burgess
Published: April 26 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 26 2008 03:00

Royal Dutch Shell and several other leading companies stand to feel the wrath of shareholders in coming weeks because of a growing trend towards paying executives handsome bonuses simply for staying in their jobs.

Shell plans to make one-off retention payments to three executive directors worth about €1m (£787,000) each. A similar move by BP prompted a shareholder backlash at its annual meeting last week. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Oil prices up on word US ship fired on boats in Persian Gulf

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 26, 2008
Filed at 3:25 a.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices rose sharply Friday on news that a ship under contract to the U.S. Defense Department fired warning shots at two boats in the Persian Gulf. Retail gas prices as expected rose further into record territory, nearing $3.60 a gallon.

Crude prices rose on initial reports that a U.S. ship had fired on two Iranian boats; the news raised concerns that a conflict between U.S. and Iranian forces could cut oil supplies from the region. A Navy spokeswoman said the origin of the boats was unclear. read more

‘Law broken’ on pricing by tobacco firms and stores

· Collaboration alleged after fair trading inquiry
· Major companies named will respond within month

Simon Bowers
The Guardian, Saturday April 26 2008

Supermarkets and tobacco groups have illegally collaborated on prices of cigarettes and rolling tobacco, according to an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.

The regulator has unearthed what it believes is a complex web of indirect communications between retailers and two tobacco groups on prices in supermarkets, off licences, petrol stations and convenience stores – though it stopped short of using the term price-fixing. read more

How Big Oil got bigger – and befuddled the pundits

Terry Macalister and Kathryn Hopkins
The Guardian, Saturday April 26 2008

The past 10 years have been a rollercoaster for energy markets with the price of oil swinging from $10 (£5) a barrel to nearly $120, triggering demands to explore in areas formerly written off as too expensive or too environmentally sensitive such as Canada’s tar sands and the Arctic.

The ratcheting up in the cost of oil and gas should have driven up inflation and led to a switch to alternative fuel sources. Instead, oil companies have recorded the highest ever profits in corporate history as demand continues to outstrip supply. In the process, the industry has reconsidered its strategy to plan for an era of high prices. read more

The Times: Big stores and tobacco firms ‘colluded on cigarette prices’

April 26, 2008
Rajeev Syal

Eleven big retailers and two tobacco companies are facing a government-backed inquiry into allegations that they colluded over the price of cigarettes.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, as well as Imperial Tobacco and Gallaher, were among those accused of increasing profits illegally by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) yesterday. Cigarette brands at the centre of the investigation include Embassy, John Player Special, Lambert & Butler, Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut. read more

Bloomberg: Nigeria Says Strike, Attacks Cut Oil Output in Half (Update2)

By Julie Ziegler and Dulue Mbachu

April 25 (Bloomberg) — Nigeria is losing about 50 percent of its current oil production because of a strike at Exxon Mobil Corp.’s operations in the country and militant attacks on a Royal Dutch Shell Plc pipeline, the country’s oil minister said.

Petroleum Minister of State H. Odein Ajumogobia said in an interview in Abuja that he held a meeting with union leaders today in an effort to end an oil workers union strike against Exxon Mobil’s Nigeria unit. He said he expects to hear back from the union this evening. read more

A man walk past a banner for oil giant Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria’s main city of Lagos January 12, 2006.: REUTERS/George Esiri
Reuters: Strike, rebel attacks hit Nigerian oil output

Fri Apr 25, 2008 11:31am EDT
Tume Ahemba

LAGOS (Reuters) – A strike by workers and attacks by rebels have forced Nigeria’s two biggest oil firms, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, to shut in some production, keeping world oil prices near all-time highs on Friday.

Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Nigeria’s leading producer, started closing down its output because of a strike by workers over a labor dispute, with one union official saying 200,000 barrels per day of crude were already shut in. read more

The BP company logo hangs outside a gas station in London, on March 4, 2008. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News

Bloomberg: BP’s Forties Oil Pipeline to Shut on Refinery Closure (Update4)

By Alexander Kwiatkowski

April 25 (Bloomberg) — BP Plc said it will start shutting the Forties Pipeline System tomorrow, cutting about 40 percent of the U.K.’s oil production, because of the closure of Ineos Group Holdings Plc’s Grangemouth refinery in Scotland.

“Preparations have begun for the shutdown of the Forties Pipeline System this weekend,” BP spokeswoman Joanne McDonald said in a telephone interview today. “There won’t be any throughput through Forties from Saturday night.” read more

Reuters: Strike forces Exxon Nigeria to start shutting output

Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:28pm BST

LAGOS, April 25 (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) started closing down its oil output from Nigeria on Friday because of a strike by workers, with one union official saying 200,000 barrels per day of crude were already shut in.

“The entire company is on strike today. All output (from Exxon’s Nigerian oilfields) is affected,” an Exxon official, who asked not to be named, said. read more

Bloomberg: U.K. Tobacco Firms, Retailers Fixed Prices, OFT Says (Update3)

By Loveday Morris and Amy Wilson

April 25 (Bloomberg) — Tesco Plc, Imperial Tobacco Group Plc and eleven other companies were accused of fixing cigarette prices between 2000 and 2003 by the U.K.’s antitrust regulator, opening the first formal probe of tobacco sales.

The Office of Fair Trading said today it’s investigating whether 11 retailers and two manufacturers linked the price of tobacco brands made by competing companies. The regulator in London is also examining whether Imperial, Japan Tobacco Inc.’s Gallaher unit and five retailers shared information on prices. read more

Bloomberg: Nigerian Militants Claim Attack on Shell Oil Pipeline (Update2)

By Dulue Mbachu

April 25 (Bloomberg) — Armed militants fighting in Nigeria’s southern oil region said they sabotaged a pipeline belonging to Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta’s fighters blasted the oil pipeline at Kula in Rivers state at about 10:18 p.m. local time, according to an e-mailed statement from the group, known as MEND, received today in Lagos, the commercial capital. Precious Okolobo, Shell’s spokesman in Nigeria, has no information on the group’s claim and is trying to confirm the incident, he said in an interview today. read more

Bloomberg: Oil Rises on BP Plan to Shut U.K. Pipeline, Nigeria Disruptions

By Grant Smith

April 25 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil prices rose as BP Plc prepared to shut down a North Sea pipeline that carries about 40 percent of the U.K.’s oil production and violence and strikes crimped output in Nigeria.

BP said it would shut the Forties Pipeline System from tomorrow evening because of a two-day strike at a refinery in Scotland. In Nigeria, Exxon Mobil Corp.’s unit began shutting production as workers went on strike, while armed militants sabotaged a pipeline belonging to Royal Dutch Shell Plc. read more

Reuters: Nigeria rebels say attack Shell oil pipeline

Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:01am BS

LAGOS, April 25 (Reuters) – Nigerian rebels said on Friday they had sabotaged an oil pipeline in the Niger Delta belonging to Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) late on Thursday, the latest in a series of attacks in the region.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had used explosives to attack the pipeline at Kula river in Rivers state.

There was no immediate independent confirmation of the attack. Shell had no immediate comment. read more

Forbes: Armed Nigerian group confirms attack on Shell pipeline, warns of more sabotage

04.25.08, 6:33 AM ET

LAGOS (Thomson Financial) – The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main armed group in the south of Nigeria, confirmed on Friday it was responsible for the sabotage of a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline on Thursday, some four days after its initial attack on the oil major.

In a message to Agence France-Presse, MEND said it successfully attacked a pipeline run by Shell Petroleum Development (nasdaq: PETD – news – people ) Company on the Kula River in Rivers state on Thursday. read more

Times Online: OFT launches probe into cigarette price-fixing

April 25, 2008
Angela Jameson

Smokers may have been overcharged for cigarettes after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) accused two major tobacco companies and 11 retailers of alleged unlawful co-ordination of prices.

The OFT has issued a statement of objections detailing the charges against Gallaher, which makes Silk Cut and Benson & Hedges brands, and Imperial Tobacco, whose brands include Lambert & Butler and Embassy.

The retailers who have been issued with a statement of objections include all four major supermarket groups: Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrisons, as well as the Co-operative Group, off-licence group First Quench, Shell, Somerfield and convenience store groups T& S Stores and TM Retail. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Lawmakers Push Bush to Curb Oil Reserve

By IAN TALLEY and COREY BOLES
April 25, 2008

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers cranked up pressure Thursday on the Bush administration to stop filling the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve amid growing election-year anxiety on Capitol Hill about high gasoline prices.

Department of Energy officials have repeatedly said they would continue to fill the emergency reserve under the royalty-in-kind program, which accepts oil from companies in lieu of cash, at a rate of 76,000 barrels a day. They also said they would still consider soliciting bids for a further addition to replace oil sold during the 2005 hurricane season. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: EDS Posts 62% Profit Drop, But Its New Bookings Surge

By JIM CARLTON
April 25, 2008

Electronic Data Systems Corp. said first-quarter earnings fell 62%, yet bookings jumped for the technology-services giant amid a rush of business in a down economy.

EDS appeared to benefit from a tendency of companies seeking greater efficiency in tough economic times by outsourcing some or all of their technology operations. The Plano, Texas, company said it had signed $5.6 billion in contracts in the quarter — up 66% from the same time last year — including a dozen deals of more than $100 million each. Two of the wins were billion-dollar orders from energy giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Singapore’s government. read more

Financial Times: Big oil boosts buy-backs in absence of new investments

By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: April 25 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 25 2008 03:00

Rising nationalism, insufficient talent and scarce supplies are limiting investment opportunities for the world’s major oil companies, leading them to increase share buybacks, said Jim Mulva, chief executive of ConocoPhillips.

Conoco, the US’s third largest oil company, budgets $15bn a year on capital spending. “We, technically, could be spending more,” Mr Mulva said in an interview. “But we have a number of issues or concerns.” read more

Financial Times: Letters: Struggling’ oil industry claims it will be destroyed by EU climate measures

Published: April 25 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 25 2008 03:00
From Mr Jos Dings.

Sir, European Union officials must be getting used to the familiar refrain they hear every time an industry sector is asked to cut carbon emissions. But when the latest industry to claim it will be “destroyed” by a flagship European climate policy also happens to be one of the richest and most influential, its arguments warrant a closer look. read more

Financial Times: BP plans to invest $560m in biofuels

By Jonathan Wheatley in São Paulo and Ed Crooks in London
Published: April 24 2008 19:09 | Last updated: April 24 2008 19:09

BP announced plans to invest $560m in biofuels on Thursday and argued that its proposals to develop ethanol production from sugar cane in Brazil would not affect food supplies.

The oil group plans to spend $60m buying a 50 per cent stake in a Brazilian joint venture and invest a further $500m in two ethanol refineries. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES: New Contracts Lift Results at Electronic Data

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 25, 2008

DALLAS (AP) — The information technology services company Electronic Data Systems Corporation posted better-than-expected first-quarter profit and sales Thursday, driven by its best quarter for new contracts since 2002.

Results beat analysts’ expectations that were lowered after the company issued a warning in February, and its stock rose $1.53, or 8 percent, to $19.96 a share.

Electronic Data, which is based in Plano, Tex., said it earned $62 million, or 12 cents a share, down from $164 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier. The 2007 period included a one-time gain of $100 million related to a contract termination fee from Verizon Communications. read more

breitbart.com: Oil prices to double by 2012: Canadian study    

Apr 24 03:05 PM US/Eastern

The price of oil is likely to hit 150 dollars (Canadian, US) a barrel by 2010 and soar to 225 dollars a barrel by 2012 as supply becomes increasingly tight, a Canadian bank said Thursday.

The CIBC report says the International Energy Agency’s current oil production estimates overstate supply by about nine percent, since it wrongly counts natural gas liquids — which are not viable for transportation fuel — in its numbers. read more

St. Clair Record IL: Shell and Premcor settle Hartford vapor claims for $16 million

4/24/2008 9:45 AM
By Steve Korris

For $16 million, Shell Oil and Premcor Refining Group have arranged to settle all claims that their refinery operations polluted the village of Hartford.

Shell and Premcor reached agreement April 3 with two teams of attorneys who had previously battled for the right to represent local residents.

Mark Goldenberg of Edwardsville leads one team and Teresa Woody of Kansas City, Mo. leads the other. read more

Reuters: UPDATE 1-Power cut at UK refinery will shut Forties – BP

Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:52am EDT

LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) – Britain’s Forties oil pipeline will have to close if a power plant at the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland stops running because of a strike, a spokesman for pipeline operator BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday.

If the combined heat and power plant at Grangemouth, run by refinery operator Ineos, stops supplying BP’s Kinneil facility, it will not be able to send crude to the nearby Hound Point export site and the 700,000 barrel a day pipeline would have to close, he said. read more

Bloomberg: TNK-BP Advances Most in Two Years on Report of Gazprom Offer

By Greg Walters

April 24 (Bloomberg) — TNK-BP, BP Plc’s Russian venture, climbed the most in almost two years in Moscow trading after Vedomosti newspaper reported that OAO Gazprom may pay $20 billion for control of the company.

TNK-BP’s ordinary shares advanced 10.3 percent to $1.93 on the RTS at 11:08 a.m., heading for the biggest gain since June 2006 and the second-biggest since trading started in 2005. The advance values the Moscow-based TNK-BP at $30.6 billion. read more