May 21st, 2007:

Published: May 21, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO: Royal Dutch Shell, the biggest European oil company, may shelve a joint venture plan to create the largest U.S. refinery because of President George W. Bush’s efforts to reduce gasoline use, a Shell executive said Monday.

“If you’re an investor getting ready to put several billion dollars into expanded capacity, would you do that when the president himself says we want less gasoline?” John Hofmeister, Shell’s top U.S. executive, said at a conference in Santa Clara, California. read more

Headline: Amsterdam shares close higher, led by Heineken on upgrades UPDATE

Published: May 21, 2007

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) – Shares in Amsterdam closed higher, led by Heineken after a raft of recommendation upgrades, dealers said.

DSM rose 2.33 pct to 35.95 eur after UBS upgraded its rating on German market peer Bayer. Royal Dutch Shell rose 1.79 pct to 27.90 eur amid higher oil futures and continued speculation of a tie-up with BP, while TomTom rose 1.75 pct to 31.41 eur.

EXTRACT FROM AFX MARKET REPORT read more

KATHARINE HOURELD
Published: May 21, 2007

Attackers vandalized an oil installation run by a French oil company in Nigeria’s restive southern region, the company said Monday. No injuries, kidnappings or production cuts were reported.

Total SA spokeswoman Patricia Marie said an unknown number of intruders climbed onto an oil rig outside the oil city of Port Harcourt Sunday night.

The attackers caused “a couple of barrel’s worth” of oil to spill, but production wasn’t affected, she said. read more

Published: May 21, 2007

RNS Number: 9782W Shell International Finance B.V 21 May 2007 Shell International Finance B.V. 21 May 2007 Publication of Final Terms

The following Final Terms are available for viewing: Final Terms dated 21 May 2007 (the “Final Terms”) relating to the issue by Shell International Finance B.V. of Euro1,500,000,000 4.625 per cent. Guaranteed Notes due 22 May 2017 (the “Notes”) pursuant to the U.S.$10,000,000,000 Debt Securities Programme (the “Programme”) read more

Headline: FTSE closed down at 6636.8

17.24 Mon May 21 2007

The FTSE 100 Index has closed 4.1 points down at 6636.8.

Gas producer BG Group benefited from takeover speculation with ExxonMobil said to be interested in the firm. Shares were up 11.5p to 791.5p.

Oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell also rose on the back of merger and acquisition rumour, with talk of a possible tie-up between the two continuing to buoy their share prices. Shell was up 27p at 1903p and BP rose 8p to 590p.

For full Market Report article go to… read more

Terry Macalister
Monday May 21, 2007

The latest clean power proposal was launched as BP was issued with another warning about the potential fate of a more traditional gas scheme in Siberia.

A Russian environmental watchdog said TNK-BP could lose its rights to develop the giant Kovykta gas field before June.

“The inspection will take a couple of days and we will check only one thing – whether they comply with production obligations. The results of the inspection seem obvious to me,” deputy head of the environmental agency Oleg Mitvol told Reuters. read more

Mon May 21, 2007 12:58 PM BST

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) has resumed normal production levels at its 400,000-barrel per day Bonny Light oilfields in Nigeria, it said on Monday.

Shell began restoring production last week after it was forced to cut output by 170,000 bpd due to a protest by local villagers.

A company spokesman said a force majeure remained in place for Bonny Light shipments.

The declaration allows companies to suspend contractual obligations, such as deliveries of oil and gas, following unforseen events, without incurring penalties. read more

Mon May 21, 2007 11:49 AM BST

MOSCOW, May 21 (Reuters) – BP’s (BP.L: Quote, Profile , Research) Russian vehicle TNK-BP may lose its rights to develop the giant East Siberian Kovykta gas field before June, Russia’s environmental agency said on Monday two days before its starts a final inspection.

“The inspection will take a couple of days and we will check only one thing – whether they comply with production obligations. The results of the inspection seem obvious to me,” Deputy Head of the agency Oleg Mitvol told Reuters. read more

21 May 2007 09:41 GMT  | last updated: 21 May 2007 09:51 GMT

By Upstream staff

Unidentified gunmen attacked a Total-operated oil facility in Nigeria this morning using high explosives, sources from private security companies have claimed.

It was unclear whether there were any casualties or damage to the facility in the attack, a Reuters report said.

No one from Total was immediately available for comment.

“There was an attack on an onshore flow-station. They used high explosives,” one of the sources told Reuters, asking not to be named.
  read more

Cost of Fuel Continues to Climb, but BP and Others Focus on Service, Product
By Jean Halliday

Published: May 21, 2007

DETROIT (AdAge.com) — Gasoline prices are soaring, but you’d barely know it from major oil-company ads.

Americans have already spent more than $40 billion on gasoline this year, equal to what was spent in all of 2002, according to Peter Beutel, president of energy-risk management firm Cameron Beutel, who believes the country is headed for a recession spurred by energy costs. “These prices are absurdly high,” he said. The oil companies are “sucking billions of dollars out of consumers’ pockets.” read more

By KRISTEN HAYS
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
May 21, 2007, 12:37AM

More than a decade ago, Chevron Corp. exploration geologist Mike Bingham named a Gulf of Mexico oil prospect after Jack Hamburg, his mentor during his time at Tenneco Oil Co. in the 1980s.

Little did he know, a deepwater well test completed in 2006 would reveal that the Jack oil field five miles below the water’s surface could be the biggest find in North America since Alaska’s North Slope in 1968.

“We were naming prospects after mentors, and I thought of him,” Bingham said. “My part was really tiny.” read more

EXTRACT: But in a sign that not even potentially lucrative energy deal are immune from pressure, two European groups — Royal Dutch Shell and France’s Total — have indicated that international tension could influence new investment plans.

May 21, 2007

By Fredrik Dahl

TEHRAN (Reuters) – International sanctions and U.S. commercial pressure over Iran’s disputed nuclear programme are pushing up costs for European companies doing business in the Islamic state and deterring fresh investment. read more

Bill Condie,
21 May 2007

Oil and gas major BP could be stripped of its rights to two trillion cubic metres of gas in eastern Siberia – 25 years’ worth of Russian exports – following an audit of the vast field this week.

The country’s most senior environmental regulator begins an audit of TNK-BP, a joint venture between the British oil giant and private Russian investors on Wednesday. The investigation is to focus on whether TNK-BP is meeting contractual output targets at its Kovykta field. read more

Lorna Siggins, Western Correspondent, Irish Times
Published: May 21, 2007

Shell E&P Ireland has initiated a third-level scholarship scheme in four schools in the Erris area of Co Mayo.

The programme is designed to enlist community support for the controversial Corrib gas project, and the company says it is in response to one of the recommendations made last year by Government mediator Peter Cassells.

Ten scholarships worth 4,000 a year will be awarded each year between now and 2009, the company says. They will be granted on a “competitive basis” to students with ambitions to study engineering, science, business or finance. read more

Published: May 21, 2007

RESIDENTS of the midlands have threatened “all-out war” on the capital if officials attempt to take any of their water.

They have warned that any move to pump billions of gallons of water from the State’s largest lake to feed Dublin’s struggling water supply will face a “hard-fought protest”, dwarfing scenes witnessed at the Shell site in Rossport, Co Mayo.

The issue has become so hot that a new group has formed – called the Shannon Protection Alliance (SPA) – to fight any attempt by Dublin City Council to extract up to 127bn litres of water a year from Lough Ree on the Shannon. read more

By Ed Crooks
Published: May 21 2007 03:00 | Last updated: May 21 2007 03:00

The scene of the exploitation of the developed’s world’s biggest oil resource is like some dystopian fantasy. Vast pits are carved out of the forest, where machines toil day and night taking hundred-tonne bites out of the earth. Mist rises from sluggish lakes of polluted water and great columns of steam rise into the air.

The process of turning Canada into an energy superpower is an awe-inspiring, but disturbing, sight. read more