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October 23rd, 2006:

Daily Telegraph: UK ‘squandered’ North Sea revenues

Shell BP

(The think tank nef calls for a windfall tax on the profits of oil companies such as Shell and BP)

By Tom Stevenson Last Updated: 1:25am BST 23/10/2006

A leading think tank has called for a windfall tax on oil companies’ profits, warning that Britain has squandered billions of pounds of North Sea revenues.

The New Economics Foundation (nef) said the UK should follow the example of Norway, which had used its “accidental inheritance” to set up a Petroleum Fund worth $210bn at the end of 2005, equivalent to $45,000 for every person living in Norway. Nef’s call comes as both BP and Royal Dutch Shell prepare to unveil third quarter results this week.
 
Andrew Simms, policy director at Nef said: “Britain has squandered its windfall of natural resources from North Sea oil and gas. Instead of prudently investing the unearned income from nature to build a safe, clean and green energy supply for the nation, we face unnecessary shortages.” read more

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

Kommersant: Weekly Calendar

Wednesday, October 25

Minister of Natural Resources Yury Trutnov will hold a meeting in South Sakhalin at which the results of the audit of the Sakhalin 2 project are expected to be announced.

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

The Guardian: Vodafone tops corporate social responsibility survey

Mark Tran
Monday October 23, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

Vodafone may be under the cosh from shareholders but it emerged today as a world-beater when it comes to corporate social responsibility.

The mobile phone giant led by the embattled Arun Sarin has been ranked as the world’s most accountable business in a survey by AccountAbility, a London thinktank on organisational and corporate accountability, and csrnetwork, a British corporate responsibility network.

“Trust is a pre-condition for doing business,” said Mr Sarin. “And it is directly linked to being accountable for your actions as a company.” read more

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

The Guardian: ‘Fund clean energy with oil tax’

Terry Macalister
Monday October 23, 2006

Oil companies should be subjected to a windfall tax to fund a transition to a sustainable energy system, according to a leading charity and thinktank report published today.

The UK must follow the lead of Norway and create an oil legacy fund to ensure the benefits of hydrocarbons are shared by future generations, the WWF and New Economics Foundation (NEF) argue. The call for a new tax comes days before BP and Shell unveil third-quarter profits expected to reach a combined $11bn (£5.8bn). read more

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

The Guardian: Biggest wind power project is blown off course as residents fight back

Scheme that would provide 25% of London’s power is bogged down in planning

Terry Macalister
Monday October 23, 2006

Martin Bellis dries himself off with his towel and gives a wry smile when asked if he is not just another Nimby objector looking after his own patch of beach against the potential encroachment of a wind farm near Faversham, Kent. “No, I’m really not. I am a supporter of clean energy and really care for the environment,” he said. “I just happen to think wind is a bit of a white elephant because it’s so inefficient and I cannot understand why anyone would choose one of the best bird sanctuaries in Europe as a site.” read more

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

Asahi Shimbun: Russia’s Sakhalin island

Asahi Shimbun headline: Japan will most likely lose out to China in the competition to secure a regular supply of natural gas from a major development project off Russia’s Sakhalin island.

Published: Oct 23, 2006

According to sources, U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil Corp. has recently agreed to begin full-scale negotiations with China to sell gas from the Sakhalin I project

Coming on top of the stalled Sakhalin II project and a large cut in Japan’s rights to an Iranian oil field, the move is yet another setback in Japan’s efforts to secure a stable supply of energy read more

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

AFX Europe (Focus): Campaigners call for windfall tax on North Sea oil firms – report

Published: Oct 23, 2006

LONDON (AFX) – The New Economics Foundation think tank and the World Wildlife Fund are calling for a windfall tax on North Sea Oil companies, claiming that BP PLC and Shell have caused 27 bln stg of environmental damage over the last year, reports the Independent.

[email protected] gh/slm COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved.

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

Financial Times: UK companies diary: Oil majors set to suffer

Published: October 23 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 23 2006 03:00

TUESDAY

*BP reports third-quarter figures ahead of rival Royal Dutch Shell later this week, with underlying earningsfor both likely to be down from the second quarter. The price of oil fell sharplyduring the three-month period and refining margins were squeezed, puttingpressure on both the upstream and downstream sides of BP and Shell, which reports on Thursday.

However, the figures for BP are generally expected to be worse than those for Shell. BP’s third-quarter earnings will be lower than in the same period of last year, according to Fadel Gheit, of Oppenheimer in New York, while Shell’s could be higher. read more

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

CNW: Shell Canada Limited receives proposal from Royal Dutch Shell plc

CALGARY, Oct. 23 /CNW/ – Shell Canada Limited confirmed that it has received a proposal from Royal Dutch Shell plc to make an offer for all of the common shares of Shell Canada not already owned by Royal Dutch Shell for consideration consisting of CDN$40 cash per common share, subject to a number of terms and conditions. A formal offer has not yet been made to shareholders.

Royal Dutch Shell has reserved the right not to proceed with making a formal offer if it is unable to obtain a favorable recommendation from the Shell Canada Board of Directors. read more

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

Reuters: Russia finds Sakhalin-2 costs too high

Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:47 AM BST

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell , Mitsui and Mitsubishi have overestimated the costs of the developing the giant Sakhalin-2 project, a Russian state-owned oil firm has found, the Vedomosti daily reported on Monday.

Russian officials were incensed by Shell’s decision last year to double Sakhalin-2’s costs to over $20 billion (10.6 billion pounds), since under the production sharing agreement (PSA) that governs it, Shell can recoup its costs before the Kremlin sees any profit. read more

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

The Denver Post: Shell is going to the wall for oil

The company is spending $30 million to make a huge underground “freeze wall” to safeguard oil-shale reserves in the region.

By Steve Raabe
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com
Article Last Updated:10/22/2006 04:56:15 PM MDT
 
Piceance Creek – In an arid, sage-dotted valley here, Shell Exploration & Production Co. has begun work on what could be the final technological challenge to large-scale production of oil from shale.

Shell already has figured out how to melt kerogen – the oil-like substance – from underground shale deposits with electric heaters to produce oil from one of the world’s largest potential petroleum sources. read more

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

MarketWatch: Shell’s Sakhalin costs could reach $28 billion

Last Update: 6:55 PM ET Oct 22, 2006

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Costs for Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s (RDSA) liquefied natural gas project Sakhalin-2 could spiral to $28 billion, the Observer reports Sunday.

The predicted construction budget for Sakhalin-2 has risen to $20 billion from $15 billion in 2003, the report says, citing a leaked report by the Russian government.

The report by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources could limit the revenue Russia will receive from Shell under the production-sharing agreement signed a decade ago. read more

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

The Scotsman: Oil giants’ three-year profits boom over

THE WEEK AHEAD IN THE MARKETS
MARTIN FLANAGAN
 ([email protected])

OIL giants BP and Shell are expected to report a fall in underlying third-quarter earnings this week, ending a three-year boom of record earnings on the back of surging oil prices.

Analysts believe higher oil prices in the quarter will have failed to offset soaring oil field costs, higher taxes, a fall in refining profit margins and lower production.

BP is the first of the pair to report, tomorrow, with the City consensus being for a profit of $4.7 billion (£2.5bn) – down 12 per cent on the same quarter last year. However, because the group was hit with a $700 million charge for damage by Hurricane Rita in the third quarter of last year, the headline result is likely to be up year on year. read more

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