July 21st, 2006:

By Upstream staff

Shell-led Salym Petroleum Development (SPD) is set to almost triple its social spending in West Siberia to more than $7 million by 2008, writes Vladimir Afanasiev.

The joint venture has spent about $2.5 million between 2003, when it began pushing ahead with its Salym oilfields project, and 2005.

SPD external affairs manager Elena Zakupneva says the company’s efforts have focused on the village of Salym, which is home to about 5500 people about 30 kilometres from the oil production sites. read more

Fri Jul 21, 2006

(Adds fresh quote, details and background)

By Unni Krishnan

NEW DELHI, July 21 (Reuters) – Flagship Indian energy firm Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) is in talks over exporting its share of natural gas from Russia’s Sakhalin-1 via Royal Dutch Shell’s nearby LNG terminal, an oil ministry official said on Friday.

The move to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Sakhalin-1, a multi-billion dollar project on Russia’s Pacific Coast, runs counter to operator Exxon Mobil Corp.’s long-held plan to sell the gas via a pipeline to nearby Japan. read more

By Upstream staff

India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is keen on liquefying its share of gas from the Sakhalin 1 field in Russia’s far east and shipping it to India.

According to an Indian Oil Ministry official, ONGC is in talks to use Shell’s Sakhalin 2 liquefaction facility and the companies were likely to meet again on 31 July.

“We are keen on getting liquefied natural gas from Sakhalin 1. India needs LNG desperately. Shell has a liquefaction facility for Sakhalin 2 and we can use that,” said the official, who did not wish to be identified. read more

By Upstream staff

The North West Shelf Venture in Australia is conducting a comprehensive cost review on the US$1.5 billion phase five liquefied natural gas expansion project.

Project operator Woodside said the review should be completed in the third quarter of 2006, and was being done because of “increasing cost pressures”.

To date, about 80% of the project’s approved budget has been committed. In the last three months, the piping pre-fabrication and new workshop contracts were awarded, and a letter of intent was issued for the mechanical construction contract. read more

By Upstream staff

Shell plans to use so called “smart wells” on the Vadelyp oilfield, one of the three West Siberia oilfields being developed by Salym Petroleum Development (SPD), the joint venture in which the supermajor holds a 50% stake, writes Vladimir Afanasiev.

According to Shell Technology exploration and production director John Darley, smart wells will allow downhole processing of fluids, such as separation and compression, and flow, pressure and temperature measurement and control. read more

By Upstream staff

Russia’s Salym Petroleum Development (SPD) is pressing ahead with three Salym oilfield projects after 10 years of waiting, targeting 1.1 billion barrels of estimated recoverable reserves.

The company is a joint venture between Shell and Russia’s Evikhon, although the Anglo-Dutch supermajor is the driving force, having seconded senior executives and project management expertise.

It also provided access to new technology in 2003, when Russian authorities threatened to withdraw SPD’s field licences. read more

By Upstream staff

Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell have made a significant gas discovery in their Greater Gorgon development area off Western Australia, writes Russell Searancke.
The Chandon-1 well, in Block WA-268-P, spudded on 21 June.

The well was drilled by the Transocean semi-submersible Jack Bates in water depths of 1200 metres to a total depth of 3100 metres. No further information was revealed.

Jay Johnson, managing director of Chevron Australia, said: “Success in our exploration efforts is always welcome and as Chandon-1 is an exploration well, further work is required to determine the potential of the gas find.” read more

By James MacKenzie

Shell has been slammed for management failures and equipment defects by a Scottish Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of two workers in the utility leg of the Brent Bravo platform in the UK North Sea on 11 September 2003.

Sean McCue, 22, from Kennoway in Fife, and Keith Moncrieff, aged 45, from Invergowrie, Tayside, died when they were overcome by a large release of hydrocarbon gas.

It was found the accident might have been prevented if the company had acted properly in dealing with a temporary repair on a leaking pipe. read more

By Upstream staff  

Letter from Bill Campbell: Former Shell International group auditor

In response to the letter from Bjorn Edlund (Upstream 23 June 2006), the Platform Safety Management Review (PSMR) was actually commissioned because Shell experienced a number of serious incidents and the internal audit process was raising increasing numbers of serious findings.

The PSMR covered all of Shell Expro but the significant concerns lay in the operation of the Brent facilities.

Brent Bravo in particular was being run with residual risks estimated by the team to be in the intolerable region. read more

By Azlan Othman

His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday consented to receive in audience Dr Grahaeme Henderson, Managing Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd.

During the audience ceremony, Dr. Henderson informed His Majesty that on the occasion of the 60th birthday of His Majesty, the Royal Dutch Shell was making a contribution of US$5 million towards the development of a Health Promotion Centre in the country.

The contribution is in recognition of the long-standing relationship between His Majesty’s government and Royal Dutch Shell. read more

MOSCOW, July 21. /FIS/. As announced by representative of Gazprom’s information department, at present the company continues negotiations with project operators.

Note that in 2005 ‘Gazprom’ signed a memorandum of understanding with Britain’s Shell. In accordance with this document ‘Gazprom’ is to acquire 25% plus one share of ‘Sakhalin Energy’ in exchange for 50% of JV ‘Zapolyarnoye-neocom’. ‘However almost immediately after the signing of the MOU ‘Sakhalin Energy’ announced an increase in the project budget, which almost doubled, which led to obvious complications with the talks’ said an expert.
   read more

EXTRACT: During the quarter, Shell extended their pan-European contracts for
Drilling & Measurements and Wireline logging services for a further two years
at attractive commercial rates. The exceptional safety record, good service
quality, and high level of support provided during the past three years led to
these contract extensions.

THE ARTICLE 

NEW YORK, July 21 /CNW/ – Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) today reported
second-quarter 2006 operating revenue of $4.69 billion versus $4.24 billion in
the first quarter of 2006 and $3.43 billion in the second quarter of last
year. read more

Published: Jul 21, 2006

BEIJING, July 21 Asia Pulse – CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Co Ltd, China’s biggest Sino-foreign partnership, plans to expand its current capacity by 10 to 20 per cent within the next four years, to meet surging domestic demand.

The US$4.3 billion joint project, launched in March between Royal Dutch Shell and China’s biggest offshore oil company China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), yesterday disclosed plans to further expand its capacity.

“We are now looking at a 10 per cent to 20 per cent expansion of our existing production facilities within the next four years,” Jean-Louis Bilhou, the joint venture’s manufacturing director, told reporters yesterday at Daya Bay of South China’s Guangdong Province. read more

Published: Jul 21, 2006

An executive briefing on energy for July 21, 2006, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities.

CHINA SEEN TO NEED 40-50 MORE JUMBO OIL TANKERS OVER NEXT 5 YRS

BEIJING – China will need an additional 40 to 50 jumbo oil tankers over the next five years due to the increase in the country’s crude oil imports and exports, an industry insider said on Thursday. read more

EXTRACT: Precedents have been set. In May BP’s rival Shell relaxed its retirement age for executive director Rob Routs, allowing him to stay until he is 62. A similar decision is likely to be made to allow Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s 58-year-old chief executive, to stay on beyond 60.

THE ARTICLE

By Christopher Hope, Industry Editor

(Filed: 21/07/2006)

Investors in BP are being urged to overturn the oil major’s retirement policy for directors in order to allow the chief executive, Lord Browne of Madingley, to stay on at the company. read more