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April 24th, 2010:

Short-termism at Royal Dutch Shell

UPDATED MONDAY 26 APRIL 2010

“In an obsessively cost conscious environment such as the one that rules in Shell at the moment all labour-intensive sectors are at risk –irrespective of their intrinsic value or their competence – or even the likely long-term demand for their products and services.”

Posting on Shell Blog by Wilt Staph on Apr 24th, 2010 at 12:14 pm

A couple of decades ago Shell had five refineries in the United Kingdom – when the sale of Stanlow is completed soon they will have none. Is this because refining is a sunset industry with no growth potential and no chance of earning returns? Not if you take note of reliable global demand forecasts it isn’t. The “US Joint Forces Command” – the top of the American armed forces pyramid – has recently said that globally a “severe energy crunch is inevitable without massive expansion of production and refining capacity”. Most other forecasters agree that the planet will need substantially more not less refining capability in the years ahead. So why has Shell retreated so dramatically from refining and what are the implications for the “new Shell” which will emerge from the radical reviews underway under Peter Voser? read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Fears ease over BP oil well disaster

FINANCIAL TIMES
By Ed Crooks and Sheila McNulty
Published: April 23 2010 20:06 | Last updated: April 24 2010 02:48

The BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico that suffered a catastrophic accident on Tuesday night appeared to have stopped leaking on Friday, easing fears that it could cause serious environmental damage.

The incident nevertheless ranks as one of the US offshore industry’s worst disasters. On Friday night the search was called off for the 11 workers missing from the Deepwater Horizon rig that had been working on the well.
read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BP’s reputation at risk after oil rig explosion

Daily Telegraph

Tony Hayward is at the centre of his first major crisis as chief executive of BP, after a drilling rig the company hired exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.

By Garry White
Published: 6:19PM BST 23 Apr 2010

The rig, called Deepwater Horizon, was owned and operated by Transocean. Eleven of the Swiss-based company’s staff are still missing.

BP has sent a flotilla of 32 ships to help to clean up the resulting oil slick. The US Coast Guard says about 200 barrels of oil were spilled and there was no oil escaping from the well the rig had tapped.

“We are determined to do everything in our power to contain this oil spill and resolve the situation as rapidly, safely and effectively as possible,” Mr Hayward said. “We have assembled and are now deploying world-class facilities, resources and expertise, and can call on more if needed.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

EARNINGS FORECAST TABLE: Royal Dutch Shell 1Q 2010

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

APRIL 23, 2010

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)–The following is a summary of analysts’ forecasts for Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s (RDSB) first-quarter results, based on a poll of 12 analysts by Dow Jones Newswires (in million USD, target price in pence, production in kboe/d, according to IFRS). Earnings figures are scheduled to be released April 28.

=== CCS Earnings Production Target 1st Quarter adjusted(a) (kboe/d) Price Rating AVERAGE 3,976 3,401 2,128 Prev. Year 3,010 3,395 n.a. +/- in % +32 +0.2 n.a. MEDIAN 3,956 3,413 2,100 Maximum 4,210 3,480 2,350 Minimum 3,716 3,228 2,000 Amount 12 12 9 Barclays 4,182 3,480 2,350 Equalweight Benchmark Cap. 3,809 3,228 -- Sell Citigroup 3,957 3,396 2,200 Buy DnB NOR 3,941 3,375 -- Buy Exane BNP Par. 4,156 3,446 2,150 Outperform ING 3,954 3,419 2,020 Hold Keijser Capital 4,210 3,477 2,100 Hold Morgan Stanley 4,015 3,428 2,000 Underweight Oddo 3,716 3,406 2,050 Add Oppenheimer 3,947 3,274 -- Perform Societe Generale 3,800 3,399 2,230 Buy UniCredit 4,030 3,480 2,050 Hold === read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Said to Join Exelon in Backing Senate Climate Measure

BusinessWeek Logo

By Kim Chipman and Jim Efstathiou Jr.

April 24 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips are among oil companies intending to back climate-change legislation in the U.S. Senate, according to people familiar with their plans.

Exelon Corp., the biggest U.S. utility owner by market value, also supports the measure, and Chief Executive Officer John Rowe will be on hand when the bill is presented at a news conference on April 26, said Howard Riefs, a spokesman for the Chicago-based company. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Oil firms benefit from crude prices

24 April 2010

Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell are set to benefit from improving crude prices when the rivals present their first-quarter figures.

Consensus forecasts put underlying profits from BP on Tuesday at around 4.8 billion dollars (£3.1 billion) – almost double its earnings for the first quarter of 2009.

Similarly Anglo-Dutch rival Shell is likely to make gains on last year’s 3.3 billion dollars (£2.2 billion) in first quarter figures on Wednesday.

In its recent strategy update, BP said it would begin production on 42 major projects worldwide over the next five years as existing fields decline, and boost profits by taking more costs out of the business. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.