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March 27th, 2008:

Financial Times: Gazprom chief casts doubt on Kiev gas deal

By Lionel Barber, Catherine Belton and Neil Buckley in Moscow
Published: March 27 2008 23:03 | Last updated: March 27 2008 23:03

The intermediary at the heart of the strategically sensitive gas trade between Russia and Ukraine will remain in place for now, according to the man in charge of exports at Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled energy group.

In remarks that cast doubt on a recent deal between Moscow and Kiev over a dispute that threatened gas supplies to Europe, Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom’s deputy chief executive, said the group had long-term contracts under international law with Rosukrenergo, the Swiss-based trader, and therefore could not immediately cut it out of the trade. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Financial Times: Entente cordiale for City bigwigs

By Emiliya Mychasuk and Emiko Terazono

Published: March 27 2008 23:06 | Last updated: March 27 2008 23:06

function floatContent(){var paraNum = "3" paraNum = paraNum - 1;var tb = document.getElementById('floating-con');var nl = document.getElementById('floating-target');if(tb.getElementsByTagName("div").length> 0){if (nl.getElementsByTagName("p").length>= paraNum){nl.insertBefore(tb,nl.getElementsByTagName("p")[paraNum]);}else {if (nl.getElementsByTagName("p").length == 3){nl.insertBefore(tb,nl.getElementsByTagName("p")[2]);}else {nl.insertBefore(tb,nl.getElementsByTagName("p")[0]);}}}} The Lord Mayor’s banquet for Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni on Thursday night brought together a wide range of executives from Britain and France to toast the presidential couple with Ruinart champagne and sip Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac 2001.

It went with a main course of British beef served with globe artichoke souffle and Dauphinoise potatoes.

Among the French executives on the guest list were EMI’s Jean-François Cecillon, Chanel managing director Olivier Nicolay, KKR’s Jacques Garaïalde, Jean-François Decaux, the co-chief executive of JC Decaux and Pascal Boris of BNP Paribas, reinforcing his party-loving reputation.

The legion of bankers in the room included Morgan Stanley’s Franck Petitgas and his soon-to-retire colleague Michael Zaoui. Also invited was Barclays chairman Marcus Agius, as well as the rainmakers who are ubiquitous at such events, Bob Wigley of Merrill Lynch and John Studzinski of Blackstone. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Financial Times: Big already

Published: March 27 2008 20:11 | Last updated: March 27 2008 20:11

CNOOC, the Chinese offshore oil and gas producer, indicated on Thursday that it wanted to turn into a super-major like ExxonMobil or BP or Royal Dutch Shell to improve shareholder returns in the long run.

Fu Chengyu, chairman and chief executive, said the company’s price-to-earnings ratio would not be higher than its larger and more diversified rivals’ because investors thought a pure upstream company, such as CNOOC, would not be able to shoulder risks better than the big guys. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Bloomberg: Shell Gabon Workers Want Management Change Before Ending Strike

By Clare Spencer

March 27 (Bloomberg) — Employees of Shell Gabon who began a strike last week that halted oil production won’t return to work until there are changes to the company’s management, a labor union official said.

Officials from the National Organization of Oil Workers held talks with Shell Gabon Managing Director Hans Bakker overnight to discuss changes to the working hours and holidays, Arnauld Engandji, national secretary of the labor union, said in an interview today from the capital, Libreville. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Seeking Alpha: Corn Ethanol Can Never Replace Meaningful Quantities of Motor Fuel

posted on: March 27, 2008
Scott Benson: Bio & more articles

Corn ethanol will never replace any meaningful quantities of gasoline nor diesel.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Bloomberg: Shell Gabon Says Strike Continues After Talks With Union Fail

By Clare Spencer

March 27 (Bloomberg) — Talks aimed at ending a strike by Shell Gabon workers demanding better working hours and changes to management have failed, said Roger Ralanga, the company’s spokesman.

“The strike is continuing,” Ralanga said in a telephone interview today in the capital, Libreville.

Hans Bakker, the managing director of Shell Gabon, held talks with representatives of the National Organization of Oil Workers until the early hours of this morning in a bid to resolve the dispute, Ralanga said earlier. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Guardian: BP faces Kremlin tax investigation·Russian joint venture may face £21m evasion charges

·Move follows spying arrest and row over staff visas

Terry Macalister
Wednesday March 26 2008

BP is facing a criminal investigation into the tax affairs of its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP. It has been forced to recall nearly 150 staff to the parent group amid mounting speculation that the Kremlin is using the strong-arm tactics it used against Shell to press the venture into handing over part-control to the state.

The Russian interior ministry said last night it was looking into a possible tax evasion worth 1bn roubles (£21m) at Sidanco, a business that was merged into TNK-BP in 2005. TNK is owned 50/50 by the British group and three local oligarchs. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

STATEMENT BY ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC: Conserving biodiversity is a business opportunity, say IUCN and Shell

27 Mar 2008 

The business case for conserving nature is strong and getting stronger, according to a new report published today by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and Shell International Limited. 

The report calls for policy reforms to increase the commercial rewards for conserving biodiversity, increased penalties for biodiversity loss and better information on the biodiversity performance of business. A key challenge facing all biodiversity businesses is the lack of accepted indicators to measure positive and negative contributions to biodiversity conservation. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reuters: Shell and Virent work on green petrol alternative

Thu Mar 27, 2008 8:21am GMT 
By Tom Bergin

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil company Royal Dutch Shell and U.S. bioscience firm Virent Energy Systems are to research a petrol alternative from non-food crops that would reduce CO2 emissions without driving up food prices.

Shell said in a statement that unlike ethanol, currently the main biofuel alternative to gasoline, the fuel it and Virent aim to develop will be able to run in existing vehicles without the need to modify their engines.

Today’s gasoline engines can usually only run on a small amounts of ethanol blended with gasoline — typically 5 percent. Much higher percentages can be used with modification. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: International Ambulance Chasers

REVIEW & OUTLOOK 
March 27, 2008; Page A14

March has been a rough month for the tort bar, and not only because two of its standard-bearers — Dickie Scruggs and Mel Weiss — have both copped to felonies. A judge in California has put a damper on the efforts of plaintiffs lawyers to drum up lawsuits abroad and have them tried in the U.S.

In a case we first wrote about last summer, a state court in Los Angeles found itself adjudicating a lawsuit brought by farm workers who alleged that exposure to the pesticide DBPC in the 1970s had left them sterile. What made the case noteworthy is that the plaintiffs are all foreign nationals with no links to the U.S. civil justice system. Prior to the trial, they’d never set foot on American soil. The claims brought on their behalf concerned conduct that took place in Nicaragua more than 30 years ago. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell, Virent Unite on Sugar Biofuels

March 27, 2008; Page B4

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is developing sugar biofuels suitable for standard car engines with fuel-technology company Virent Energy Systems Inc., in a move to bring new energy sources closer to mass consumption.

Shell said it started a five-year joint research-and-development effort with the Madison, Wis., company to convert plant sugars directly into gasoline and gasoline-blend components, rather than ethanol.

The development of biofuels has been hindered by the need for special fuel-distribution infrastructure and vehicle engines. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Reuters: Feds probe Shell Oil’s dealings with freight firm

Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:59pm EDT 

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) – U.S. Justice Department is looking into Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) U.S. unit concerning possible violations of U.S. corruption laws in its use of Swiss freight-forwarding firm Panalpina (PWTN.S: Quote, Profile, Research).

The U.S. Justice Department in July contacted Shell Oil concerning its use of Panalpina, Royal Dutch Shell said in its annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 17. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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