December 22nd, 2007:

By Upstream staff

Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell is to outsource a “substantial” part of its information technology operations to cut costs, in a measure that may result in thousands of job losses.

A Shell spokewoman told Reuters today that the company was in negotiations with three companies about outsourcing the functions and that contracts should be signed in March 2008.

One employee told the Shell protest website RoyalDutchShellPlc.com that 3200 jobs could be lost, but the spokeswoman declined to confirm the numbers. read more

Reuters Saturday December 22 2007

GENEVA, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Energy prices will remain high next year, driven by demand from developing countries, but energy companies face massive cost pressures, Royal Dutch Shell chief financial officer Peter Voser was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Voser told Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft he did not expect a global recession next year, but growth would slow down, and the credit crisis would weigh on the economy in the United States and Europe, although less so in Asia. read more

By GUY CHAZAN
December 22, 2007; Page A6A

A Western consortium developing one of the world’s biggest oil fields agreed to pay the government of Kazakhstan as much as $4 billion in compensation for cost overruns and production delays, according to people close to the negotiations.

Another key part of a final settlement of the long-running dispute over the Kashagan oil field, however, is proving more elusive. All of the partners have agreed to give Kazakh state oil and gas company JSC NC KazMunaiGas a larger stake in the Kashagan consortium. But one of them, Exxon Mobil Corp., is unhappy with the price that KMG is offering. read more

By NEIL KING JR.
December 22, 2007

Oil-price prognosticators, bruised after an unusually volatile spell in the oil patch, have reached a rough consensus on next year: Oil will be even costlier, even if the economy cools.

Consumers are likely to pay a lot more at the pump, too. The Energy Department predicts that far higher average oil prices will force gasoline prices to even out at $3.11 next year, up 10% from the average price of $2.81 this year.

World crude prices have long tracked the thirst for oil in the U.S., which consumes about a quarter of the world’s oil output. But recent months have shown how decoupled the oil market is becoming from the economic ups and downs of the world’s largest energy consumer. read more

Current Publication Date: 22/12/2007
Geraldine Carr

On Wednesday last week Shell to Sea protesters gained access to the office of Mr Eamon Ryan, the Minister for Natural Resources, and unfurled a banner on the roof which read “Protect Ireland’s natural resources”, while a large group of supporters gathered outside.

In a statement released by Shell to Sea, the reason for this action was to “bring to public attention the government’s support for every aspect of the Rossport pipeline/refinery scheme, and the giveaway of Irish natural resources to multinational companies like Shell, with no lasting benefit for people in Ireland.” read more

IAN McCONNELL, Business Editor
December 22 2007

Shell and ExxonMobil last night announced they had sold their controlling interests in the Dunlin cluster in the North Sea, 195 kilometres north-east of Lerwick in Shetland, to UK oil and gas independent Fairfield Energy and Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan.

Fairfield Energy announced back in June that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Shell UK and US giant ExxonMobil’s Esso Exploration and Production UK subsidiary to acquire this pair’s combined 56.8% interest in the Dunlin and Dunlin Southwest fields, joint 97.6% stake in the Merlin field, and total 100% interest in the Osprey field. Osprey and Merlin are linked to Dunlin by sub-sea tie-backs. read more

DAVID EBNER

December 22, 2007

Royal Dutch Shell PLC has filed official regulatory applications to Alberta’s energy overseer for several expansions of its oil sands operations, which currently produce about 155,000 barrels of bitumen a day. A $13-billion project to produce an additional 100,000 barrels a day is under way. The new applications – for which general plans were first announced in January, 2007 – request approval for a further 300,000 barrels a day at two different mines. That figure, along with existing approvals, could push the company’s total production potential past 700,000 barrels a day. read more