By RUSSELL GOLD, NEIL KING JR. and ANN DAVIS
January 2, 2008 5:05 p.m.

Economists, Wall Street commodity traders and even seasoned energy executives were caught flatfooted by oil’s dizzying rise. Looking back, several factors came together at the same time to help oil shoot up roughly tenfold in less than a decade and briefly touch $100 today. Those factors are likely to stick around, perhaps pushing prices up further.

Western oil companies, though flush with cash, are finding fewer places to explore and drill for oil. Demand in China and the developing world has surged far more than people anticipated a decade ago and is driving oil markets. read more

EXTRACT: Upstream, a mega-cap merger such as the much mooted BP Plc.-Royal Dutch Shell Plc. deal might well come back onto the agenda.

THE ARTICLE

The end of the year saw corporate buyers, perhaps emboldened by the retreat of buyout shops, returning to the fray

John Foley / breakingviews.com 

The M&A business started 2007 with a bang—and ended it with a crunch. The gumming up of the credit markets has left investment bankers facing a gloomy economic outlook, and the withdrawal from the dealmaking scene of private equity buyers, a major source of fees. But, they needn’t be crying into their cups. read more

January 2, 2008, 4:57 pm
Posted by Dana Cimilluca

Expecting $100 oil to embolden energy titans to embark on a new round of consolidation? Don’t hold your breath.

Unlike, say the technology or telecommunications industries, soaring demand for their offerings doesn’t tend to lead to merger-and-acquisition activity among energy-industry giants. We are talking about so-called integrated exploration, production and refining companies such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and BP. That is because these companies like to follow the old Wall Street mantra when it comes to M&A: buy low and sell high. read more

Tehran, Jan 2, IRNA
Iran-Oil-Nozari

Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said here Wednesday that the Shell oil company should offer to Iranian Oil Ministry the outline of its project for development of Phases 13 and 14 of South Pars gas field by September 2008.

Nozari told IRNA on the sidelines of a Cabinet weekly session that Iran has given a deadline to Shell to this effect.

He said if Shell’s master plan is accepted, the Oil Ministry will decide on continuation of cooperation with it.

Nozari said his ministry had over the past few weeks signed two big contracts for development of Yadavaran oil field and of the Golshan and Ferdown gas fields. read more

By Mark Shenk and Nesa Subrahmaniyan

 Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil rose to $100 a barrel for the first time in New York as record global fuel consumption threatens to outpace production.

Oil’s gain, extending last year’s 57 percent rally, was boosted by forecasts that U.S. stockpiles dropped to a three-year low last week. Unrest in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, also spurred prices.

“This is the culmination of everything that we talked about last year,” said John Kilduff, vice president of risk management at MF Global Ltd. in New York. “Various geopolitical problems have deteriorated overnight, in particular Nigeria and Pakistan. Commodities, and in particular oil, have become safe havens in a dangerous world.” read more

Vidya Ram, 01.02.08, 1:00 PM ET

LONDON – High oil prices are a double edged sword for the world’s leading oil companies, putting pressure on them to slash costs, as Royal Dutch Shell’s plans to outsource jobs reveals.

A spokeswoman for the Anglo-Dutch energy company confirmed they considered outsourcing jobs within their Internet technology department as part of a review launched in 2006 and that a further announcement would be made in the first half of 2008. Press reports have suggested that up to 3,000 jobs could go as a result, which the spokeswoman did not confirm. read more

By Kelly Fiveash
Published Wednesday 2nd January 2008 17:54 GMT

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has told its staff that it plans to make more than 3,000 job cuts.

According to a leaked memo to its staff from Shell’s vice president of IT infrastructure Goh Swee Chen, the firm has been in talks with outsourcing outfits EDS, AT&T and T-systems, and said that contracts were expected to be inked in March.

She told Shell employees: “I acknowledge that there will still be uncertainty as we are working through the finalisation of contracts, open resourcing and transition preparations. I encourage you to keep an open mind and take the time to learn more about the suppliers as employers and as business partners.” read more

January 02, 2008

Oil giant wants to complete staff transfer by July

By Computerworld UK reporter

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is planning to outsource about 3,200 IT jobs this year, it has confirmed.

Under the plan, the staff are expected to be transferred to three outsourcing firms by July, with EDS, T-Systems and AT&T having been selected from an original shortlist of six suppliers to take over running of the firm’s IT infrastructure.

News of the plan emerged after an email written by Goh Swee Chen, vice-president of IT infrastructure, was posted to an anti-Shell website. It has been confirmed by the firm as authentic. read more

RTT NEWS NEW YORK: Global Financial Newswires

1/2/2008 12:55:05 AM Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDS-B, RYDAF.PK) is finalizing details of a shake-up aimed at cost reductions, due to the impact of sky-high oil prices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

High oil prices, once a key contributor to the earnings growth of oil majors, are now hurting their margins, driving industry wide cost inflation.

The planned changes at Royal Dutch Shell include outsourcing about 3,000 information-technology jobs, cutting some finance positions, reshaping expatriate packages and restructuring Nigeria ventures. A Shell spokesman confirmed that the company is reviewing its IT unit’s future, the report said. read more

Convenience Store News: Job Cuts Expected at Shell

Issue Date: CSP Daily News, January 2, 2008

3,200 employees on the line as oil company eyes IT outsourcing

By Steve Holtz 
  
HOUSTON — Shell Oil Co. and its parent company’s previously stated goal of cutting $500 million from its budget could mean as many as 3,200 job cuts beginning next week. Royal Dutch Shell is expected to outsource the bulk of its information technology division in 2008, according to a report in The Financial Times. read more

By David Altaner

Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc intends to cut costs by reducing finance jobs, changing some expatriate packages and reorganizing its Nigerian ventures, the Wall Street Journal reported.

There’s also a plan to transfer 3,000 information technology jobs to outsourcing companies, the newspaper said, citing a Shell newsletter obtained by Royaldutchshellplc.com, a Web site critical of the company. An unidentified spokesman said the London-based oil company may contract out IT systems to three suppliers, the Journal reported. read more

Change Set for U.S. Role in World
January 2, 2008

When Iowa voters walk into their state’s caucuses Thursday night, they will be kicking off a milestone campaign year that promises a new political course for America — a course that could change its role in the world.

For the first time in 80 years, no incumbent president or vice president from either party is seeking the White House, creating an unusually unsettled campaign with no obvious front-runner. Power in Congress is divided so evenly between the two parties that neither has really been in control since the 2006 elections. Now, in the wide-open 2008 general election, voters will declare whom they want to run the executive and legislative branches. read more

By BENOÎT FAUCON
January 2, 2008; Page B8

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell PLC is finalizing details of a shake-up aimed at cutting costs, as the effects of sky-high oil prices pose a challenge to profits at major oil companies.

High oil prices, once a key contributor to the earnings growth at oil majors, are hurting refining margins, or the profit refiners make by processing crude oil into fuels, by driving industrywide cost inflation and encouraging governments to seek better terms for their contracts at the expense of majors. As a result, most oil majors reported profit declines for the third quarter, even though crude oil flirted with $100 a barrel. read more