October 24th, 2006:

14:22 | 24/ 10/ 2006 

ST. PETERSBURG, October 24 (RIA Novosti) – Shell does not intend to sell its stake in Sakhalin Energy, the operator of the Sakhalin II oil and gas project in Russia’s Far East, the head of Shell Russia said Tuesday.

The Anglo-Dutch oil major has come under attack from Russian authorities over environmental violations on the country’s largest island.

Christopher Finlayson said there were no changes in the timeframe for implementing the Sakhalin II project, and that the first delivery of liquefied natural gas was expected in the summer of 2008. read more

By Ed Crooks: Published: October 24 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 24 2006 03:00

Royal Dutch Shell has delivered a vote of confidence in the potential of Canada’s oilsands by offering to buy out the 22 per cent of its Shell Canada subsidiary that it does not already own at a price 22 per cent higher than lastFriday’s close.

Shell said the purpose of the C$7.7bn (£3.6bn) offer was to continue simplification of its structure that began with last year’s company unification.

Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive, said the deal was an opportunity to integrate Shell Canada fully with its parent company’s strategy and operations. read more

By Rebecca Bream and Mark Odell: Published: October 24 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 24 2006 03:00

Premier Oil is in takeover talks with an unnamed bidder, following months of speculation about the future of the UK oil group.

Shares in Premier Oil rose 98p, or 8 per cent, to £13.03p, valuing the company at about £1bn.

The stock has risen strongly, from under £10 a share two months ago, on rumours suggesting that oil majors including Royal Dutch Shell and Pemex of Mexico wanted to buy Premier. However, last month Premier chief executive Simon Lockett denied having received an offer from Shell. read more

By Bernard Simon in Toronto and Ed Crooks in London

Published: October 24 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 24 2006 03:00

The potential of Canadian oilsands has been challenged in recent months, but this has not damped Royal Dutch Shell’s enthusiasm.

Yesterday it announced plans to spend £3.6bn taking full control of Shell Canada, which has substantial oilsands operations.

“We think that unlocking Canada’s resources requires the large industrial and financial scale of a company like Royal Dutch Shell,” said Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive. read more

By Ed Crooks: Published: October 24 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 24 2006 03:00

The decommissioning of North Sea installations first emerged as a public issue in 1995, with the row over the disposal of Brent Spar, writes Ed Crooks.

It was a huge oil storage and loading buoy, brought into use in 1976 before the Brent field was connected to pipelines. It went out of service in 1991, and Shell, its owner, spent two years consulting on what should be done with it.

Sinking it deep in the North Sea was judged the cheapest and safest solution, with “minimal environmental impact”, Shell said. This was a view backed by an Aberdeen university study and then approved by the government at the end of 1994. read more

By Ed Crooks
Published: October 24 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 24 2006 03:00

Next month a new oilfield will come on stream in the North Sea to boost the region’s output. Buzzard, operated by Nexen, a Canadian company, is expected to produce 210,000 barrels of oil a day, helping to make next year the first year of rising UK oil and gas output since 1999.

There is no denying that the best days of the North Sea are behind it. In June the UK’s output was at its lowest since 1978.

However, that does not imply a dearth of oil and gas to be extracted. read more

Published: October 24 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 24 2006 03:00

Gently does it. Since its reserves scandal in 2004, the rumour mill has linked Royal Dutch Shell with big, bold deals involving everyone from supermajor BP to minnow Premier Oil.

In contrast, its C$7.7bn offer to buy out the minorities in Shell Canada is unlikely to have either hedge funds or Shell’s own shareholders jumping up and down. For a company still rebuilding credibility, that is no bad thing. Shell is committed to developing oil sands, the heavy source of crude that makes up half of Shell Canada’s production. Given the complexity and costs involved in these projects, it makes sense to streamline operations. read more

Company is exploring new technology for extracting in the Uinta Basin

By Robert Gehrke
Article Last Updated:10/23/2006 11:25:53 PM MDT

WASHINGTON – The president of Shell Oil Co. said Monday the company is hopeful that oil shale, plentiful in Rocky Mountain states, could be one component of America’s future energy security.

“Conventional oil and gas, the easy stuff, as we call it in the industry, is running out,” said company president John Hofmeister. “What will be enough to provide energy security in this country? Well, we can start by developing the oil shale of Colorado.” read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
October 23, 2006 5:27 p.m.

Crude-oil futures tumbled again, settling at less than $59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as doubts grew about OPEC’s ability to keep supplies low enough to support prices of $60 or more. Here is Monday’s roundup of oil and energy news:

* * *
EXXON TO SELL GAS TO CHINA: Exxon Mobil said it has reached a preliminary agreement to sell natural gas from a project on Russia’s Sakhalin Island to China. But the U.S. energy giant still needs to make a deal with OAO Gazprom, the Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, to get the fuel to market. The $12.8 billion Sakhalin-1 project is starting to ship crude oil to Asian markets, but has held back large-scale gas development pending a deal on exports, which initially had been slated to start next year. read more

Nils Pratley
Tuesday October 24, 2006

There is no evidence that talks are taking place. There is no suggestion that executives on either side are agitating for it to happen. Yet the idea that BP and Shell could merge to create the world’s largest company refuses to go away. Oppenheimer & Co, a Wall Street investment house with a reputation for being close to the pulse of the oil industry, has published a detailed analysis of a deal it thinks could be “an intelligent, strategic response to a shifting global landscape”. read more

· Oil group tries to simplify North American business
· Unnamed bidder in talks with Premier Oil

Terry Macalister
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Shell was at the centre of buyout moves and speculation last night after it unveiled plans to spend C$7.7bn (£3.7bn) simplifying its North American business. This was seen by some as a step towards a £230bn mega-merger with BP.

The Anglo-Dutch oil group has also had its name linked with Premier Oil, although most industry experts rule out Shell being the unnamed company in takeover talks with the exploration firm. read more

Owen Bowcott, Ireland correspondent
Tuesday October 24, 2006

A sit-down protest by environmental activists trying to stop Shell building a gas terminal in County Mayo was broken up by police yesterday in the latest clash over the future of Ireland’s Corrib gas field.

Campaigners, supported by many local residents, are demanding that the Anglo-Dutch oil company and its Norwegian partner, Statoil, build an offshore treatment plant instead of one at Bellanaboy, near Erris, in the far west of Ireland. Work on the site restarted earlier this month after an independent mediator failed to resolve the dispute. read more

24 October 2006

From a former Shell insider

Dear Sir

I would just like to make some comments on the recent email regarding Shell’s international mobility policy.  I leave it to your judgement as to whether they are worthy of publication.

(ShellNews.net: leaked internal email from Royal Dutch Shell ‘Expatriate Policy Manager’, Stephanie Boyde)

The email demonstrates that virtually everything is cyclical; these studies have been done previously and they are usually a lagging indicator of a business problem.  This one can probably be summarised as saying – we intend to spend more on people in hardship locations (eg. Nigeria) and less on those in nice locations (eg. Oman) whilst making irritating changes to travel policies. read more

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 23, 2006: Filed at 3:54 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) — The oil industry’s profit party is still raging, just not as wildly as last year.

Five of the world’s largest energy companies are expected to report combined third-quarter earnings this week of more than $30 billion, though profits were weighed down by falling prices for natural gas and gasoline.

The industry derived much of its strength from crude oil prices, which averaged roughly $70 a barrel in the July-September period and hit an all-time peak above $78 amid conflict in the Middle East. A sharp decline in crude-oil futures since then, however, suggests profit growth in the oil patch could slow further in the months ahead, analysts said. read more

By IAN AUSTEN and HEATHER TIMMONS
October 24, 2006

OTTAWA, Oct. 23 — Royal Dutch Shell, seeking to streamline its businesses and increase reliance on unconventional sources of fuel, offered on Monday to buy the public shares of Shell Canada for 7.7 billion Canadian dollars ($6.8 billion).

Shell hopes to buy the 22 percent of Shell Canada that it does not own for 40 Canadian dollars ($35.56) a share, a premium of 29 percent over Shell Canada’s closing price Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The deal is being examined by Shell Canada’s board. Holders of 50 percent of the outstanding public shares would need to approve it. read more