November 12th, 2006:

EXTRACT: Shell, Europe’s second-largest oil company, might bid when PetroChina’s Tarim areas were offered, said Lim Haw Kuang, executive chairman of the company’s China operations.

THE ARTICLE

Beijing wouldn’t let the world’s biggest sandy desert stand in the way of its energy ambitions
 
Monday November 13, 2006

CHINA will complete a highway across the world’s biggest sandy desert, near the ancient Silk Road, six months before schedule to tap oilfields in the west of the country and reduce reliance on imports. read more

Royal Dutch Shell is facing the prospect of multi-billion lawsuits from the Russian government seeking compensation for supposed environmental damage, it emerged yesterday, writes Andrew Johnson.

Oleg Mitvol, the deputy head of Russia’s environmental agency Rosprirodnadzor, said it was considering action after describing Shell’s plans to rectify damage at Sakhalin-2 as “not serious”. He said “We had expected to see technical solutions and they are dealing with small local problems.” The government could scrap the project.
 
The Russians have claimed Sakhalin-2, based on a Pacific island, has caused environmental damage that could cost $50 billion (£26 billion) to put right. They said the project had led to a bay being polluted and too many trees had been cut down. read more

11/11/2006 10:30:11 AM EST
BBC MONITORING INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Text of report by Russian RBK TV on 11 November

[Presenter] The construction of oil pipelines on Sakhalin is being carried out without the required package of documents, the head of one of contracting companies has said at the congress of the Russian Union of Oil and Gas Industrialists, which is being held in Moscow.

Investors promised that drawings, schemes and financial estimates for the Sakhalin-2 project would be made available after the launch of the project. However, they have failed to keep their promise. Now, builders do not rule out that the implementation of the project will be suspended. The cause is simple: the Sakhalin-2 project is sustaining losses. The funds allocated for the construction have long since been used up. Contracting companies continue working at their own expense and have to redistribute funds meant for other facilities. However, even this is not of much help. Soon a staff problem is expected to arise. Workers’ wages have already been decreased due to a lack of funds. read more

Nov. 12, 2006, 12:11AM
By LOREN STEFFY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

PHILADELPHIA — John Hofmeister didn’t come here looking for sympathy. At a time of record oil industry profits, he came hoping to sow seeds of understanding.

I tagged along last week with the Shell Oil Co. president when he stopped here as part of a 50-city tour to discuss America’s energy needs.

Hofmeister spent the day meeting with civic leaders and talking to high school students, and he capped it off with a town hall meeting aimed at starting a dialogue about energy issues. read more

DOUGLAS FRIEDLI
12 November 2006
 
OIL tycoon Larry Kinch has signed a deal worth an estimated $120m (£63m) to extract oil and gas from an offshoot of the Brent field for Shell and ExxonMobil.

The production deal is the biggest yet for Kinch’s company, Energy Development Partners, which hopes to sign a bigger contract before Christmas.

EDP will invest around $30m (£16m) in the Barnacle project to access up to two million barrels of oil, worth $120m at today’s prices.

Kinch revealed in September that he was in negotiations with Shell over Barnacle. Drilling is expected to take place next month and production should start early in 2007. Profits will be divided between EDP and the well’s owners, the oil giants Shell and ExxonMobil. read more

By STEPHEN BELL
November 11, 2006; Page A4

PERTH, Australia — Chevron Corp. unveiled one of Australia’s biggest natural-gas discoveries, with analysts expecting the oil company to link the Clio field to the A$11 billion (US$8.4 billion) Gorgon project that is targeting Asian and North American customers.

While offshore Western Australia is already rich with massive gas discoveries, Chevron said the Clio field ranks as “one of the top wells in Australia in terms of total net pay.” The drill sent down to explore the field passed through gas-bearing sands equivalent to the height of a 60-story building. read more

MOSCOW (AFX) – The Russian government said it has received its first two compensation payments, totalling 8 mln roubles (over 230,000 eur), for environmental damage caused by work on the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas field, Interfax reported.

The field was being developed by the Sakhalin Energy consortium, comprising Royal Dutch Shell PLC with a 55 pct stake, Mitsui & Co Ltd with 25 pct and Mitsubishi Corp with 20 pct.

In September, the Natural Resources Ministry revoked the environmental permits needed for the consortium to develop Sakhalin-2. [email protected] afp/jsa read more

EXTRACT: Four major Canadian oil and gas companies _ Imperial Oil, ConocoPhillips Co., Shell Canada and Exxon Mobil Corp. _ are partners in the project, along with the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, set up to represents First Nations’ interests.

THE ARTICLE

Canada’s Federal Court ruled that the Canadian government failed to consult with an aboriginal group in connection with a US$6-billion (A4.66-billion) natural gas pipeline in northern Canada, possibly delaying the project.

Judge Michael Phalen ruled Friday that a panel studying the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline project cannot review any aspect of the project affecting the Dene Tha’ First Nation lands and that the government must consult with the aboriginal group. read more

By Sylvia Pfeifer Last Updated: 9:02am GMT 12/11/2006

Royal Dutch Shell, the oil group, has signed a groundbreaking partnership with a company based in Abu Dhabi to help industrialised nations cut the emission of harmful greenhouse gases. The deal, with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Adfec), is part of the Middle Eastern oil state’s ambition to position itself at the forefront of the development of clean energy technologies.

It is due to launch a $250m investment fund in London this week that will take stakes in companies focused on developing such technologies. read more

November 12, 2006
Colin Coyle
 
FOLLOWING last Friday’s Battle of Bellanaboy, during which anti-Shell protesters were baton-charged by gardai, Enda Kenny has come down firmly on the side of law and order.

The Fine Gael leader, who is also a TD for Mayo, yesterday made his most telling comments to date on the ongoing protests by some of his constituents at the Shell terminal. 
 
Speaking at a trade union conference in Dundalk, Kenny said he had heard “shocking reports” about the activities of some of the protesters campaigning against the construction of a Shell terminal at the Corrib site. read more

November 12, 2006
Dominic O’Connell
 
A GREEN FUELS company that plans to build Britain’s first bioethanol plant is to raise up to £90m by floating in London.

Ensus, which is expected to announce details of the float within a week, plans to build a plant on Teesside capable of producing 400m litres of bioethanol a year. Shell Trading, an arm of oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell, has signed a 10-year deal to buy all the plant’s production. 
 
Ensus is understood to have raised £150m in debt. It will look to raise another £80m-£90m by listing its shares on AIM, the lightly-regulated London stock market. read more

EXTRACT: With the international mood on climate change shifting, and Britain keen to push the issue, after the government’s hard-hitting Stern review, the oil giants, including BP and Shell, will be nervously watching events on Capitol Hill.

THE ARTICLE

The party’s frugal and protectionist stance has helped it win votes as America teeters on the brink of a recession, says Heather Stewart

Sunday November 12, 2006

Iraq may have stolen the headlines when President Bush was given a ‘thumping’ in last week’s US elections, but the economy wasn’t far behind, as the Democrats capitalised on flagging wages and fears of cut-price foreign competition to accuse Bush of squeezing working families. read more

11 years after the Ogoni leader’s brutal hanging, violence is erupting in the Niger delta region

Ike Okonta
Saturday November 11, 2006

In November 1990 Ken Saro-Wiwa sent his column to the editor of Nigeria’s Sunday Times as usual. It was not published. The article highlighted his campaign for environmental protection and a fair share of oil revenue for his Ogoni people and other ethnic groups of the Niger delta. Saro-Wiwa was told that the military government had taken exception to his warning that the delta would erupt in violence if western oil companies and the state failed to meet local people’s reasonable demands. He headlined the article: “The coming war in the Niger delta”. read more

12 November 2006  By Nicola Cooke

The Irish Navy will have to remove a blockade of fishing vessels off the Mayo coast if Shell proceeds with plans to locate an effluent pipe in Broadhaven Bay, fishermen in Erris have warned.

Protesters against Shell’s gas terminal at Bellanaboy in north Mayo, against whom gardai led a baton charge last Friday, said the actions of the gardai have strengthened their resolve even further. About 150 gardai were present at Friday’s protest. Around 300 protesters had gathered for a day of protest against the Corrib Gas project. When they blocked a public road to the Shell construction site a baton charge was ordered. Several protesters were injured, with two requiring medical treatment. And a small number of gardai also received minor injuries during the charge. There were two arrests. read more