Kazakhstan and a consortium of Western oil companies developing the Kashagan oilfield signed the final agreement on the future of the project on Friday after more than a year of tense negotiations.
Posts from ‘October, 2008’
Details of the final Kashagan agreement
Shell and Exxon join the profits bonanza
Despite the better than expected figures, Royal Dutch Shell shares fell more than 3%, in part because of lower than expected production.
Shell’s $10.6bn profits fuel windfall tax calls
Royal Dutch Shell's third-quarter profits ballooned by 71 per cent to $10.9bn (£6.7bn), the company said yesterday, reigniting outrage that energy companies are cashing in while inflated oil prices punish consumers.
Whatever happens, the world still needs what Shell provides
Along with the rest of the market, Shells share price has nosedived recently. Nevertheless, investors scouting for value in beaten-up blue chips could do worse than take a second look at this FTSE stalwart.
Shell Wagers That Delays Will Pay Off
Practically speaking, therefore, it is easier for Shell to ease off in Canada during a period of uncertainty than in many other countries.
Exxon, Shell Earnings Jump
Even as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported another round of enormous profits Thursday, Shell said it will postpone the expansion of a big energy project, in a sign that plunging crude prices and high costs are raising concerns among executives of the world's largest oil companies.
UPDATE 3-Shell to delay oil sands expansion project
The move is the latest in a line of project deferrals among companies active in squeezing crude from Alberta's bitumen-soaked soil in a trend that is dimming Canada's energy production outlook.
Higher costs force Shell to delay investments
A final decision on investing in the second phase of Athabasca in Alberta was due next year, but Shell chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said yesterday that approval had been delayed indefinitely. "We wait for costs to cool down before any new investment decisions," he said.
Royal Dutch Shell
Now, under Jeroen van der Veer, the stickler for asset efficiency installed in 2004, Royal Dutch Shell has become a metronomic earnings machine, beating consensus forecasts for nine straight quarters.
Shell to hold back on oil sands project
Royal Dutch Shell has delayed a planned investment in Canada's oil sands, in the latest sign of companies adjusting their plans to reflect the global economic downturn and the fall in the price of oil.
Shell delays Athabasca expansion decision
Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote) said on Thursday that it would delay its investment decision on a second expansion of its Athabasca oil sands project, the latest deferral sparked by falling energy prices and a global financial crisis.
Exxon Posts $14.83 Billion Profit
Exxon Mobil Corp. reported a 58% increase in third-quarter net income, smashing its own record for quarterly profits, amid a $1.62 billion gain and high oil prices.
Green Ink: Peak Oil and Hunting Elephants
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 30, 2008, 8:00 am
Posted by Keith Johnson
Peak oil will come sooner than expected and is a bigger threat to the U.K. than terrorism, an industry group concludes, in The Guardian. Big Oil is certainly having trouble tapping big new fields. Chevron has spent seven years and $3 billion on a Brazilian field that will supply three days worth of global oil consumption, the WSJ reports (sub reqd.). But thats about all Western majors can get these days: If youre only going after elephants, youll never hunt, says a top Chevron executive. As gasoline prices fall, are American drivers returning to their old habits? Gasoline demand is still down from a year agobut not as much in recent weeks, reports the NYT. Volatile energy prices are a headache forsavvy companies burned by hedging, so what are poor consumers supposed to do this winter? in the WaPo. Sen. Barack Obamas half-hour informercial reiterated that energy would be a top priority in his administration, in the WaPo. Make that energy independence, with a special emphasis on reducing demand, Grist notes. The credit crunch and big losses could force T. Boone Pickens to delay construction of the worlds biggest wind farm, in Earth2Tech. Chinas GreenGen project is now the worlds biggest clean coal demonstration facility, notes Scientific American, but the project faces a looming coal shortage in China and concerns about cost. Eastern Europe is jumping on the nuclear power bandwagon, both as a way to cut emissions and also to diversify energy supplies away from Russian natural gas, in the IHT. The U.K.s Royal Society is seriously looking at geo-engineering solutions to battle climate change, The Guardian reports. Finally, check your cowsmethane emissions are on the rise suddenly, and scientists dont know why, in Reuters. |
Shell results highlight challenges facing Voser
Royal Dutch Shell, which on Wednesday named Peter Voser, its finance director, to be its next chief executive, on Thursday showed some of the challenges that will face him as it reported third-quarter earnings that were less buoyant than those from rival BP earlier this week.
Shell Profit Rises 22%, Delays Oil Sands Decision (Update1)
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's biggest oil company, reported a 22 percent increase in third- quarter profit and said it will delay an investment decision on its Athabasca oil-sands project in Alberta because of costs.
Higher Oil Prices Lift Shell’s Net
Shell Class B shares closed at £16.70 ($27.70) Wednesday, a drop of almost a quarter from their peak in mid-May as concerns about the global economy have driven down the oil price.
Shell Names Voser Its CEO
LONDON -- Royal Dutch Shell PLC named Chief Financial Officer Peter Voser as its new boss, rewarding a man who helped restore the Anglo-Dutch company's battered reputation with investors after an accounting scandal in 2004.
Shell Q3 profits surge to $10.9 bln
LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Thursday third-quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net profit jumped 71 percent to $10.9 billion, boosted by high oil prices and asset sales.
Global oil crunch
Even Royal Dutch Shell, commissioned to write a balancing view for the group's report, is forecasting a plateau of supply as production moves to more difficult sources such as ultra-deeplayers and tar sands.
Shell names successor to Van der Veer
The oil group, which will announce its third-quarter results today, said the appointment had been made after a "comprehensive assessment and review of internal and external candidates".
UK will face peak oil crisis within five years, report warns
Skrebowski predicts that global oil production will peak in the period 2011-2013 and then decline steadily, with non-conventional sources such as tar sands failing to fill the gap in time to avoid a serious energy crunch.
Shell chiefs early challenges
Malcolm Brinded, the head of exploration and production, is skilled at dealing with governments, but was tarnished by Shells repeated writedowns of its reserves in the aftermath of the misreporting scandal that emerged in 2004.
Voser surprise choice as Shell chief
Encouragement from inside and outside the company persuaded Mr Voser to abandon the idea of returning to Switzerland, which he had considered, and to put himself forward to replace Mr van der Veer.
Business big shot: Peter Voser
Peter Voser's appointment as chief executive of Shell suggests an effort has been made to draw a line under the murkiest episode in the company's recent history.
Finance officer Peter Voser takes command at Royal Dutch Shell
The Anglo-Dutch group said that the appointment of Mr Voser came after a review of both internal and external candidates. He saw off two other Shell candidates: Linda Cook, the American head of Shell's Gas and Power business, and Malcolm Brinded, the British head of exploration and production.
ANALYSIS: A break with tradition at Royal Dutch Shell
Like its peers, Shell has been spending with gay abandon but at $60 per barrel much of the industry's new frontier has fallen below the water line. A new round of cost-cutting must be in the offing and who better to impose financial discipline in a downturn?
Shell appoints Peter Voser as next chief executive
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Royal Dutch Shell shares jumped 12pc after it revealed that chief financial officer Peter Voser will take over as the company’s chief executive next July.
By Jamie DunkleyLast Updated: 6:51PM GMT 29 Oct 2008

Mr Voser, 50, will succeed Jeroen van der Veer, who is to retire after almost five years at the company, which posted a second-quarter net profit of $11.6bn (£7.1bn) in July, boosted by record crude oil prices.
Shell chairman Jorma Ollila said he was “delighted” with the company’s choice, adding that he expected Mr Voser to build on the “strong position” established by 61-year-old Mr van der Veer.
Mr Van der Veer, who became chief executive in October 2004, stayed at Shell beyond the normal retirement age in the Netherlands to restore confidence in the company after a reserves scandal in January 2004. The company admitted that it had overstated its reserves, leading to lawsuits from investors and fines by regulators.
Shell Picks New CEO For Difficult Times
Voser was already one of the potential candidates back in 2007, when van der Veer announced his retirement, but there had been some hope that the head of North America, Linda Cook, would be announced as the company's first female CEO.
Statement by Shell Media: Peter Voser to be next Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc
The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc today announced that Peter Voser will succeed Jeroen van der Veer as Chief Executive, effective 1 July 2009. Voser (50) is Chief Financial Officer and a Director of the Board since October 2004.
Shell Says Peter Voser to Take Over as CEO in 2009 (Update1)
By Fred Pals and Eduard Gismatullin
Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, said Chief Financial Officer Peter Voser will take over as chief executive officer from July next year.
“I am delighted to announce Peter Voser as the next Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell,” Shell Chairman Jorma Ollila said today in a statement distributed by PR Newswire. Voser, 50, will succeed Jeroen van der Veer who is due to retire.
Van der Veer, 61, stayed on beyond the normal retirement age in the Netherlands after restoring investor confidence at The Hague-based company following a reserves scandal in 2004. Shell, which posted record earnings in the second quarter on surging oil prices, is struggling to revive output growth after production fell in each of the past five years.
Statement by Shell: Afam VI Gas Power Plant starts in Nigeria
The Okoloma Gas Plant started supply of gas on 11 October, and commissioning of the second turbine of the Afam VI Power Plant is planned for early November.
Rules of engagement
Transformational engagement is a difficult concept to see in practice and perhaps even to grasp. The example Bowen uses is the relationship between Royal Dutch/Shell plc and Living Earth Foundation, an environmental education and advocacy group based in the United Kingdom. Living Earth works on a unique portfolio of projects that have set new standards in education, environment, and community development
Oil’s Slide Threatens Future Supply
LONDON -- The slump in oil prices has spread relief among consumers and fuel-reliant industries, but also is squeezing the companies who could invest in new sources of oil -- spurring concerns that prices will prompt them to shelve investments.
Nexen chief to leave as rivals circle
Along with Total, Royal Dutch Shell, which is heavily invested in Canada's oil sands, is also weighing its interest in Nexen, according to banking insiders and oil executives
BP to cut more jobs in addition to 5,000 already announced
BP plans to make more job cuts than the 5,000 it has already announced, the oil groups chief executive said on Tuesday.
BP at centre of a huge row yesterday
In response to the barrage of criticism, BP said that over the past three years it had paid more than £5bn in tax in the UK and, if fuel, excise duty and VAT were added, the total rose to almost £21bn.
BP’s Texas City refinery to run at full tilt soon
BP was the second of the worlds largest publicly traded oil majors to unveil quarterly results. Last week ConocoPhillips announced a 41 percent increase in earnings. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell are scheduled to release results Thursday, followed by Chevron on Friday.
BP smashes forecasts as profits soar 148%
The figures are likely to spark fresh protests from motorists and businesses that have been hit hard by higher petrol prices.
Fair weather for oil industry mergers as project costs soar
Oil and gas chief executives, a conservative lot, have shied away from using high energy prices to justify big deals. The collapse of the markets could spur them into action.
Oil Earnings Likely to Slip as Prices Fall
The major integrated oil companies report third-quarter earnings this week, with BP on Tuesday,Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell Thursday and Chevron Friday. Together, they are expected to report more than $35 billion in net income for the period...
Reviled firms lead responsibility list
Some of Europe's most commonly criticised companies, including British American Tobacco and Royal Dutch Shell, have been named as leaders in the field of corporate responsibility reporting.
Oil Giant BP’s £6.4bn In Profits
BREAKING NEWS
7:15am UK, Tuesday October 28, 2008
Oil giant BP has reported third-quarter profits of £6.4bn – 148% above the same period last year.
Swapping sides would mark a historic step
With 40 years of experience in the oil business, Paul Skinner, Rio Tintoschairman, is an obvious candidate to step into the chairmans shoes at BP. However, his appointment would mark a historic step a career Royal Dutch Shell executive being appointed as the head of its greatest domestic competitor.
BP favours Rio Tinto’s Skinner as chairman
Paul Skinner, the chairman of Rio Tinto, has been chosen as the favoured candidate to take over the chairmanship of BP when Peter Sutherland steps down next year.
BP edges closer to new chairman
Skinner, a former executive at Shell, has been chairman of Rio since 2003 and is expected to step down next year regardless of the BP job and the outcome of the BHP bid. He was unavailable for comment last night. BP, which reports third-quarter results this week, declined to comment
Credit Suisse warn Shells results on Thursday could be weak, hit by unrest in Nigeria
Meanwhile, Credit Suisse gave a warning that Shells results on Thursday could be weak, hit by unrest in Nigeria, and downgraded it to underperform.
Bond mania at Shell
Now, James Bond film and model car fans can get their hands on the limited edition James Bond 007 collectible model cars from Shell Malaysia.
Chevron replaces BP as third-biggest oil major
LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Chevron Corp has replaced Britain's BP Plc as the third-largest non-government controlled oil company in the world, as problems in Russia and sterling weakness weigh on BP.
London stockmarket plunges again on fears of deep worldwide recession
The London stockmarket plunged by more than 5% again this morning as the turmoil in the world's financial markets continued.
Nouriel Roubini: I fear the worst is yet to come
When this man predicted a global financial crisis more than a year ago, people laughed. Not any more...