ABU DHABI, March 31 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi has renewed its onshore gas concession with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), Total (TOTF.PA) and Partex, United Arab Emirates state news agency WAM reported on Tuesday.

Posted on March 31st, 2009

BY

Flora Poi

The leaked news, yet to be confirmed but buzzing around the City, that the two regal corporations Royal Bank of Scotland and Royal Dutch Shell are to merge has caught analysts and legislators off their guard. The idea that a failing bank and a struggling oil company should pool there resources seems extraordinary – but no stranger than the bizarre train of circumstances that has led to this apparent accord. The further leaked insider information that the two beknighted ex-CEOs of Shell and RBS, Sir Philip Watts and Sir Fred Goodwin, are to be jointly tasked with the creation of the new global giant has rocked the city to its foundations “It’s as if Lehman Brothers went bust” one insider said over a large glass of Château Margaux 1986. read more

The plaintiffs in the case accused Shell Oil of inducing the corporations into contracts with bogus historical expense and profit figures. The two companies sought $28 million in damages.

First Australian Resources has signed an agreement with Shell Exploration Company to conduct an exploration program in respect of Sangomar Offshore, Rufisque Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore blocks off the coast of Senegal.

"The technology continues to advance. We're making good progress," said James Thurman, the manager of regulatory policy for Shell Unconventional Resources. "There's still a lot that needs to happen. ... But nothing is insurmountable."

PERTH, March 31 (Reuters) - Australian oil firm Nexus Energy Ltd (NXS.AX), which is urgently seeking cash to fund its proposed projects, has sold the rest of its stake in an exploration permit off western Australia to Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) for $19 million.

Shell’s company secretary will present his thoughts on the current variety of worldwide systems of corporate governance at Ethical Corporation’s Corporate Governance Summit.

“There are some fantastic opportunities out there,” Mr Savage said. “We are going to see a whole raft of mergers in the months ahead.” He suggested that the most vulnerable companies were those with good access to reserves but little or no current production and insufficient finance to develop projects because of the credit crunch.

CLICK HERE TO READ PDF FILE (TEXT CAN BE COPIED) OF PAGES 6 AND 7 CURRENT ISSUE OF SPA NEWS 

(ALLOW TIME TO LOAD)

INCLUDES CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SHELL UK CHAIRMAN, JAMES SMITH, AND BOB CRAIG, REPRESENTING SHELL UK PENSIONERS

I mentioned a short while ago in an article featured on this website and elsewhere that the remuneration ratio between a mid level executive like me in Shell when I was last employed by the oil giant seven or so years ago was 10:1. The top man in Shell was paid ten times what I as a middle ranking employee was paid. I never had a problem with this. Today that ratio has risen to an astonishing 50:1 – the greedy Executive Board of Royal Dutch Shell pay themselves rewards that bare no comparison with what their predecessors of less than ten years ago were paid. Obscene? Of course. And a root cause of Shell’s current dysfunctionality and troubles as well – the evidence would suggest so. read more

MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) - Russia sent its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan on Sunday from a Pacific island project that will allow the Kremlin to extend its reach in world energy markets from Europe into Asia and North America

Power failure: Despite a series of adverts proclaiming an interest in clean power, Shell has announced it doesn't plan to make any further investments in wind or solar energy

The location of the refinery and petrochemical-manufacturing complex will be in a coastal area of China, said Lim Haw-Kuang, the executive chairman of Shell Companies in China, without disclosing a specific place.

Does this story mean that you can’t believe a thing that Shell tells us in its communications? Sadly I think that it does and that it will be a long time, if ever, before you can believe a word that they say again.

New crude oil production is the key to maintenance of competitive ability in the dog-eat-dog world of the international oil and gas super giant companies. To fall behind is to invite a takeover.

Selection of news headline links to articles about the Royal Dutch Shell Sex and Drugs Scandal in the USA. Also related reports prepared for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Selection of links to news articles about Shell Pension Fund Problems which are undermining confidence in the proper administration of the funds.

Selections of links to news articles about Royal Dutch Shell GREENWASH activity involving deliberate deception, treating the public as mugs.

THE ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RESERVES FRAUD UNFOLDS: SEE OUR SELECTION OF LINKS TO NEWS ARTICLES WITH HEADLINES SUCH AS "INVESTORS HOWL FOR SHELL"S BLOOD", "SHELL'S REPUTATION LEFT IN TATTERS" & "MEMOS EXPOSE SHELL'S YEARS OF LYING"

The lawsuit centers on claims by Sentis Group Inc., and owner Alan Barazi, regarding a contract with Shell Oil Co. to operate 29 mini-mart gas stations in Kansas City. Barazi disputed Shell's expense and profit figures and sought $28 million in damages for alleged fraud and breach of contract under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act. Sentis Group Inc. v. Shell Oil Co., No. 07-2308 (8th Cir.)

The energy company has sold out on its renewable investments, claiming they are ‘not economic’

• 
• • Fred Pearce
  • guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 March 2009 10.29 GMT
  

  Shell has pulled back from its renewable investments, claiming they are ‘not economic’ Photograph: James Boardman/Public Domain

  Shell, I have to report, is the new Exxon. The company that back in December was filling this and other newspapers with double-page adverts promoting its conversion to a “new energy future” of wind farms, hydrogen fuels, fuel made from marine algae and much else, has pulled the plug. read more

Mr. Ollila demonstrates his pragmatism defending Shell’s recent decision to stop investing in wind and solar energy and focus generally on biofuels as its approach to climate change measures.

A report by the Congressional Research Service last year said the top five major integrated companies -- Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC, Chevron and ConocoPhillips-- generated more than $100 billion in profits on nearly $1.5 trillion of revenue in 2007.

David Norman, director of campaigns at WWF UK, whose complaint against an advertisement by Royal Dutch Shell last year was upheld by the ASA, gave the change in rules a cautious welcome.

Britain must revert to greater state control of energy markets to hit ambitious targets on renewable energy and climate change, according to the former head of BP.

One by one, the energy giants that hoisted green flags and trumpeted their conversion to renewables are ducking and diving and hiding behind the curtains. Iberdrola, a big investor in wind farms in Spain and the owner of ScottishPower, is slashing its spending on renewables by 40 per cent. Shell said recently it would no longer invest in wind turbines, preferring to focus its efforts on new biofuel technology, while BP has opted out of the UK renewables market, deeming it to be a poor bet.

Shell and BP have shelved or pulled out of renewable energy projects, including a £3 billion project for 341 turbines in the Thames Estuary, and questions have been raised over the future of npower’s £2.2 billion Gwint y Mor farm off the Welsh coast.

SANTOS shares jumped 80c, or 5 per cent, to $16.93 yesterday on revived speculation of a bid from an international oil giant.

"I think it's possible that they could be acquired, but I think the likelihood with their scale becomes less so, because then it becomes a major transaction, even for a supermajor," he said, naming ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP as possibilities.

At risk for Exxon Mobil and Chevron is money that could be used for acquisitions.

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court, for example, ruled last November that before the Royal Dutch Shell company can move forward with exploratory drilling in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska -- for which it had already paid the U.S. government billions of dollars in leases -- the U.S. Interior Department needs to further study the environmental impacts of drilling on the sea's bowhead whale population and nearby indigenous communities.

But the biggest case was always the Al Yamamah probe, which became even more explosive after it emerged that the SFO was investigating allegations that the company had paid more than £1bn to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador to Washington. Prince Bandar has also always denied wrongdoing. The scrapping of the Saudi case on national security grounds proved a pyrrhic victory for BAE, however, as it triggered a wave of criticism of the company and was followed by the launching of other investigations around the world.

LONDON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) have angered environmental groups by quietly cutting back their investment in renewable energy, but experts said the move reflects a business reality that is hard to contest.

The entities are among 25 groups that have logged oppositions against the application filed by Shell Frontier Oil and Gas in water court in Steamboat Springs in late December 2008.

Rumours have recently been circulating in Australia that either BG or Shell might make a bid for Santos, another company with interests in Queensland’s coal bed methane with a market capitalisation of about A$10bn.

BP edged down 4p to 471¾p and Shell fell 30p to £15.33 amid talk that both were eyeing a $7 billion (£4.8 billion) bid for Santos, Australia’s third-largest energy company.

Buckingham Palace

23rd March, 2009

The Duke of York, Grand Master, Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, this afternoon received Air Commodore R. Peacock-Edwards upon relinquishing his appointment as Master and Rear Admiral Colin Cooke-Priest upon assuming the appointment.

His Royal Highness, Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, received Mr. Jeroen Van de Veer (outgoing Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc) and Mr. Peter Voser (incoming Chief Executive).

TIMES ARTICLE

LOS ANGELES, Mar. 24 -- Salym Petroleum Development (SPD), a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Sibir Energy, has signed a contract extension with Halliburton for exploration and production services in the Khanty-Mansi autonomous district of western Siberia.

March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, may produce liquefied natural gas from an area in Egypt using a floating vessel, a government official said.

Motiva Port Arthur's General Manager Todd Monette is transferring, effective April 1, from his current position into a corporate assignment within Shell's Downstream Global Manufacturing group...

HONG KONG/PERTH, March 24 (Reuters) - Global energy giants BP and Shell are eyeing possible bids for Australia's No.3 oil and gas firm Santos, which one analyst valued at around $7 billion...

Jorma Ollila, chairman of Nokia and Royal Dutch Shell, said: "Let's not cut human capital so it hurts us when we get out of this in two or three years. What I see and what I hear is a clear conscientiousness on this issue. But there is a danger that this recession could distract people from the reality."

Suncor Energy of Canada is to buy rival Petro-Canada for C$19.6bn (£11bn) in an agreed all-share deal that will create North America's fifth biggest oil and gas producer and accelerate consolidation in the Alberta oil sands.

The bid for Pure initially pitted BG against its larger rival, Royal Dutch Shell, which already has a joint venture with Arrow developing coal bed methane in Australia and elsewhere. However, Shell undermined Arrow's chances of winning Pure when it said last month that, in the absence of a higher offer, it would sell its own 11 per cent stake to BG.

Rival bidder Arrow Energy, which is Royal Dutch Shell's Australian joint-venture partner, holds about 20% of Pure and hasn't said whether it will sell its stake into BG's bid.

Rival bidder Arrow Energy, which is Royal Dutch Shell's Australian joint venture partner, holds about 20pc of Pure and hasn't said whether it will sell its stake into BG's bid.

A Shell Oil official confirmed Friday that the “in-situ” oil shale production the company is researching at its Mahogany facility near Rangely currently consumes about three barrels of water for every barrel of oil produced.

The merger and acquisition market in the oil and gas industry has been like a ballroom at the start of the evening. Everyone knows there will be a lot of pairing-up going on, but everyone is nervous about making the first move.

Recent speculation has focused on giant companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which have large cash reserves and have been struggling to find new places to drill.

The bid for Pure initially pitted BG against its larger rival Royal Dutch Shell, which is a joint venture partner of Arrow in developing coal bed methane in Australia and around the world. However, Shell undermined Arrow’s chances of winning Pure when it said last month that it would sell its 11 per cent stake to BG, in the absence of a higher offer.