Information sourced from an FT article by Energy Editor Christopher Adams published 15 February 2015 under the headline:
“BP’s battles leave it vulnerable to major move”
Extract
If ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson really wanted to, he could snap up BP in a single bite. Of all the UK major’s rivals, Exxon, the world’s biggest energy company, has the firepower to swallow BP whole. Could it happen? Some industry insiders think yes.
The article sets out the reasons already highlighted by many other industry experts and observers.
- The financial fall out from Deepwater Horizon disaster
- BP’s “languishing” share price
- The collapse in the price of oil
It points out that as a result of the combined factors, BP’s continuing membership of the “the Big Five” is doubtul and sets out the benefits of a takeover by ExxonMobil, including the potential for Exxon to manipulate U.S. courts to bring down costs arising from Deepwater Horizon and from taking over BP’s stake in the Rosneft/Putin Arctic drilling project.
…a major deal over the next year that will bring together two of the super majors, or see one of their smaller rivals swallowed up, is highly likely – and almost a certainty if historical precedent is anything to go by. Certainly, if the oil rout of the late 90s is anything to go by, a major deal among the industries big “sisters” is just around the corner.
Potentially, a prolonged period of low oil prices might finally see BP and Shell, like two drunken sailors, holding each other up through the merger that has so long been on the horizon.
Shell and the forerunner of BP bribed a famous politician to facilitate a merger 
Royal Dutch Shell’s rumoured takeover bid for BP is not as outlandish as first appears, according to Edmund Shing, global equity portfolio manager at BCS Asset Management.
Article by 
FROM AN ARTICLE BY FIONA MAHARG-BRAVO PUBLISHED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES FRIDAY 2 JAN 2015
Extracts from an article by David Taylor published by The Motley Fool on New Years Eve 2014 under the headline: 
…if prices remain in the region of $60 per barrel, then the current scenario would be retained for a longer period of time, exposing it to takeover bids. Also, if Royal Dutch does indeed takeover BP, it could work out well for both companies.
By John Donovan
BP is responding to the fall in oil prices by slashing middle management and freezing projects that were based on an assumption that oil prices would remain at around $100 a barrel. Shell is likely to do the same.
From a Regular Contributor
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
