October 12th, 2007:

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA ) – The Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday said it would return to Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region where attacks targeted at its staff in early 2006 led it to withdraw close to 330 workers in the swampy region, the world’s eighth largest source of crude oil.

“We hope in the next 12 months, the situation would have improved and we would be able to re-enter. The process would be gradual,” Rob Routes, Shell’s Executive Director, Oil Products and Chemicals, told a news conference in Nairobi. read more

Woodside’s Pluto development will be Australia’s largest resource project. (Woodside)

Woodside Petroleum is 34% owned by Royal Dutch Shell Plc

ABC.net (Australia): Turnbull gives Pluto the green light

Posted Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:40pm AEST

The Federal Government has paved the way for petroleum giant Woodside to begin the development of Australia’s largest resource project on Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula, the $12 billion Pluto LNG operation.

Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the project can proceed providing a number of strict environmental conditions are put in place. read more

12.10.2007

Contracts totaling more than $10 billion have been awarded to Russian companies under the Sakhalin II Project. This outstanding event clearly demonstrates the company’s adherence to the principle of high levels of involvement of Sakhalin, Far Eastern and Russian companies in the Project implementation.

Starting in 1996, the Russian Federation companies’ activities have totaled to 191 million man-hours, which is 80% of the total number spent on the Project, and 9.7 million tons of Russian materials, that equals 91% of the total volume of materials. At peak this year the project has employed some 20,000 Russians. read more

Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:42am BST

Shares in BG Group rise 0.7 percent, bucking the trend in a falling UK stock market, as traders cite talk that Royal Dutch Shell and Gazprom may bid for the British gas producer.

The rise follows a report in the Financial Times that Shell or Petrobras may be eyeing the firm.

Shell was not immediately available for comment. BG Group declined to comment.

Reuters Messaging rm://[email protected]

rm://[email protected]

Friday, October 12, 2007

Campaigners against the Shell refinery being built in Co Mayo are holding protests today in Erris and Dublin.

Local activists from Co Mayo have asked people from across the country to travel to Erris to highlight their ongoing opposition to the scheme.

Dublin supporters, meanwhile, plan to target the offices of the Department of Natural Resources.

Regular protests against the Shell pipeline and refinery have been taking place for more than a year, with critics saying the facility poses an unacceptable safety threat. read more

By Nariman Gizitdinov and Christian Schmollinger

Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) — Kazakhstan cut its crude oil output forecast as a minister warned that Eni SpA may further delay the development of the country’s Kashagan field, the biggest oil discovery in more than three decades.

Kazakhstan lowered its planned production level for 2015 by 7.1 percent to 2.6 million barrels a day, President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at a conference in the capital, Astana, today. Separately, Energy Minister Sauat Mynbayev said Eni may be forced to delay the Caspian Sea Kashagan field for a third time from its current 2010 target date. read more

By Nicholas Larkin

Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) — U.K. natural-gas prices for today fell as forecasts showed demand for the fuel will fall short of supplies and as Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it will start its North Sea Goldeneye field this afternoon.

Gas for same-day delivery dropped 10 percent to 37.25 pence a therm as of 10:55 a.m. London time, according to prices on Bloomberg from the broker Spectron Group Plc. That’s equivalent to $7.60 a million British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btus. read more

By Barry Silverstein
October 1, 2007 issue

That was when gasoline brands meant something. Esso (later Exxon) promised to “put a tiger in your tank.” Texaco’s logo was so well known that it became the name of a US television show, “Texaco Star Theater.” Mobil’s flying red horse, the “Pegasus” symbol, was universally recognized.

Today, however, most consumers around the world pump their own gasoline. They probably think more about octane ratings than the gasoline brands they put in their automobiles. People now travel far and wide, typically choosing gasoline products that are the least expensive, and stations that are the most convenient. read more

Sakhalin Environment Watch (SEW)

October 12, 2007
 
Ian Craig, chief executive of Sakhalin Energy Investment, commented this week on a new report into the Sakhalin II project, stating, “The key for me in this report is that it notes the high level of compliance with the requirements in the area of health, safety, environment and social that was achieved.” The report was produced by AEA Technology, an international consulting firm, for potential lenders to the project: the UK’s ECGD, JBIC and the US Ex-Im Bank. read more

Nearly 1,000 workers have signed a petition to energy giant Shell complaining about unfair treatment of catering and drilling staff.

It will be handed to bosses at Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands tomorrow.

Transport and General union boss John Taylor said the company’s decision not to extend the improved rotas to these employees had serious safety implications.

He claimed construction contract workers were given the better terms because it had been difficult to recruit them.

And he argued all Shell’s contract workers were entitled to the same rota arrangement – a two-week-on, two-off, then two-on four-off system. read more

By Ed Crooks in London
Published: October 12 2007 03:00 | Last updated: October 12 2007 03:00

Tony Hayward, the new chief executive of BP, made a decisive break with the era of his predecessor, Lord Browne, yesterday when he set out his plans for a sweeping reorganisation of the company.

Speaking to the Financial Times in his first interview since taking over in May, Mr Hayward called for profound changes in BP’s structure, culture and behaviour.

Without either praising or criticising Lord Browne by name, he signalled a very different style of leadership and corporate focus. “What we are doing represents a fundamental shift in how BP works,” he said. read more

By Rebecca Bream and Fiona Harvey
Published: October 12 2007 03:00 | Last updated: October 12 2007 03:00

Several energy groups led by Centrica are preparing to challenge a government plan for subsidising low-emission power generation, accusing ministers of poor consultation and potentially wasting taxpayers’ money.

John Hutton, the business and enterprise secretary, announced on Tuesday that the government would subsidise only one “carbon capture and storage” power plant, to be chosen through a competition among energy suppliers. read more

By Neil Hume and Robert Orr
Published: October 12 2007 03:00 | Last updated: October 12 2007 03:00

BG Group was one of the biggest risers as the FTSE 100 came within eight points of closing at a seven-year high.

Shares in the oil and gas exploration group rose 4.7 per cent to a record high of 883p as takeover rumours swirled.

A Brazilian newspaper reported this week that Petrobras, Brazil’s state oil company, and Royal Dutch Shell , up 2.5 per cent to £20.25, were in talks to join forces to buy BG. read more

By Jonathan Guthrie, Enterprise Editor
Published: October 12 2007 04:24 | Last updated: October 12 2007 04:24

Jaded office workers tend to regard summer interns as a seasonal scourge as irritating as wasps at picnics. But Iain Whiteside, 21, has proved the detractors wrong by completing a project expected to generate revenues of £4.3m a year for his employer, Martin Energy, and its customer Tesco.

While many work experience recruits are fobbed off with filing jobs by older colleagues desperate to get on with some real work, Mr Whiteside was charged with finding solutions to some thorny problems that Martin Energy was having with a green energy project for the supermarket chain. read more

By Dino Mahtani
Published: October 12 2007 06:00 | Last updated: October 12 2007 06:00

The sustainability of the global energy industry is increasingly under scrutiny in an age where apocalyptic fears about global warming and peak oil production are creeping into the public’s imagination.

Apart from the damaging effect on the environment caused by the release of carbon dioxide during the extraction and end use of oil and gas, there are a whole raft of other issues towards which shareholders have become more sensitive. read more

Management Layers,
Jobs to Be Eliminated;
‘Step-by-Step’ Recovery
By GUY CHAZAN
October 12, 2007; Page A10

LONDON — BP PLC’s new chief executive said the British energy company is set for a “step-by-step” recovery after years of underperformance, as he launched a broad restructuring that he said will include big job losses in some parts of the business.

In an interview, Tony Hayward said BP’s revenue, which has lagged behind that of its competitors, should surge toward the end of the year as large-scale production projects come onstream and the company’s two big U.S. refineries return to full capacity. read more