Those with long memories will recall that in December 2006, Gazprom secured a majority stake in the Sakhalin-2 Russian oil and gas field formerly led by Royal Dutch Shell; at the time, Medvedev was chairman of Gazprom's board of directors. Sakhalin-2 contains estimated reserves of 1.1 billion barrels of oil and 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas; the "friendly" buyout left Royal Dutch Shell with a 27.5-percent stake.
May 29th, 2008:
BP’s rough ride in Russia
Can ExxonMobil Get Back to Business Now?
To achieve its success, ExxonMobil has been forced to do business with a less-than-hospitable Russian government, which has strong-armed Royal Dutch Shell and BP. It must also contend with Venezuelan wild man Hugo Chavez, who last year helped himself to the assets of half a dozen big oil companies. So Exxon's core business clearly involves something more than casually nibbling on bon-bons.
Saudi Aramco at 75
I take special pride in mentioning that Motiva - our joint venture with Shell here in the U.S. - broke ground in December 2007 on a $7 billion project to expand its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. Upon completion in 2010, this investment will provide 325,000 barrels per day of additional gasoline and other petroleum products to U.S. domestic markets. The expansion will increase the refinery's crude throughput capacity to 600,000 barrels per day, making it the largest U.S. refinery. In addition, the project is expected to generate over 4,500 construction jobs and as many as 300 new permanent jobs upon completion.
Corporate Europe must improve compliance
The tough enforcement climate that European companies now face is nothing new in the US. It has been 30 years since its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act made the payment of foreign bribes illegal (compared with less than nine for Europe). To be sure, more than a few global companies headquartered in Europe maintain sophisticated processes to support compliance, often as a result of past regulatory disputes. Akzo-Nobel and Shell are two examples.
Gazprom Russian Energy Report available from Research and Markets Ltd
The new study draws results of Gazprom's work under Putin the president and estimates future development of the main Russian company under Putin the prime minister and Medvedev the president.
Oil back above $US131 on supply risks
A militant attack over the weekend on a Royal Dutch Shell oil facility knocked out about 130,000 barrels in Nigeria's daily oil production, the country's oil minister said earlier
Blame Congress for High Oil Prices
Gasoline prices are through the roof and Americans are angry. Someone must be to blame and the obvious villain is "Big Oil" with its alleged ability to gouge consumers and achieve unconscionable, "windfall" profits. Congress is in a vile mood, and has dragged oil industry executives before its committees for show trials, issuing predictable threats of punishment, e.g. a "windfall profits tax." But if there is a villain in all of this, it is Congress itself.
Oil Exporters Are Unable To Keep Up With Demand
"The sense in the market is that peak oil is here and that things will only get worse,"...
Frank Chapman: Adventurous in his pursuits
Ever since Shell hit reserve troubles five years ago, he has been dogged by speculation that he will return to run the oil group.
Green goals hit by rise in offshore wind cost
Shell recently highlighted problems in the sector when it pulled out of what was designed as the worlds biggest offshore wind farm the London Array in the Thames estuary. The company said it could get more value by investing in onshore wind farms in the US, where the wind market is growing rapidly after a slow start compared with Europe.
Exxon Rejects Proposals Backed by Rockefellers
Exxon Mobil is acting like a dinosaur now, not adopting to a changing environment, a New York shareholder, Stephen Viederman, said.
Exxon Mobil CEO takes aim at environmentalists
Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest oil-and-gas company, came out swinging Wednesday against the environmental movement, arguing the science of climate change is far from settled and that his company views it as its "corporate social responsibility" to continue to supply the world with fossil fuels.
Closed-door Arctic deal denounced as ‘carve-up’
Environmentalists today denounced as a territorial "carve-up" a deal signed by five Arctic nations seeking to resolve competing claims for control of the polar region.
Gordon Brown in a hurry to get nowhere
No matter what the Government says, there is no solution to the problem of dear energy. Nuclear power is expensive and will not be here for at least a decade; renewables are also very expensive - Shell has pulled out of a big scheme in England which made no economic sense; and the Russians have all the gas.