April 11th, 2008:

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi speaks during the 9th Oil Summit in Paris, Thursday, April 10, 2008. Michel Euler / AP 

Time Magazine: OPEC: Gas Prices Will Stay High

Friday, Apr. 11, 2008 By VIVIENNE WALT/PARIS

As gas prices heads for a possible $4 a gallon in the U.S. this summer, it’s tempting to blame Big Oil — as many in Congress did last week —for its bloated profits greased by generous tax breaks. But the players in the oil-producing world see things a little differently. OPEC officials, oil executives and oil-rich governments met Thursday in Paris at the International Oil Summit, to share their thoughts on the global energy crunch. Total chief executive Christophe de Margerie and Royal Dutch Shell’s exploration chief Malcolm Brinded told officials from oil-rich countries that they needed more access to easily accessible oil deposits, rather than the hugely expensive deep-sea drilling or ultra-deep underground reserves on which they are increasingly relying to expand production. Expanded drilling for less accessible oil has seen production costs double in about four years, according to a report by Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Added Brinded, “Costs are still rising and exploration is at record levels.” read more

Reuters: UPDATE 1-Nigeria Shell facility invaded, 5,000 bpd shut in

Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:19pm
(Adds quote, details)

LAGOS, April 11 (Reuters) – Protesting youths in Nigeria’s Niger Delta have invaded and occupied an oil flowstation operated by a Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) joint venture, a company spokeswoman said on Friday.

She said the occupation late on Thursday had shut down 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production, of which Shell’s share was 30 percent. read more

The Moscow Times: TNK-BP Woes Might Be Inside Job

Friday, April 11, 2008. Issue 3881. Page 1.
By Miriam Elder
Staff Writer

The Russian billionaires who own half of TNK-BP are locked in a fierce struggle over the fate of the embattled oil firm, prompting the flurry of negative activity that hit the company last month, sources said Thursday.

Mikhail Fridman, the head of Alfa Group and the country’s fourth-richest man, is urging fellow shareholder Viktor Vekselberg, head of Renova, to sell their combined share in TNK-BP at a lower valuation, sources close to the company said. read more

Huddersfield Daily Examiner: Shell’s student workers

Apr 11 2008
by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

HUDDERSFIELD firms have been urged to offer a helping hand to enterprising students.

Oil giant Shell UK has launched its annual Shell Step programme to provide hundreds of high-flying undergraduates placements in small and medium-sized companies during their summer breaks.

The students work on projects such as product development and marketing strategies tailored to the host companies’ needs. read more

CNNMoney.com: Shell to enter Austria’s natural gas market

April 11, 2008: 06:29 AM EST

VIENNA, Apr. 11, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) — Shell Energy Europe BV, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (NYSE:RDS A) , said it has received a trading licence from Austria’s regulatory authorities and plans to start marketing natural gas to industrial and commercial clients in the country later this year.

In a press release, Shell Energy Europe said it has also decided to locate its Central and Eastern European headquarters in Vienna. read more

Amsterdam Court of Appeals sets date for hearing with respect to Shell securities class settlement of reserve-related claims with European and other non US investors

11/04/2008
 
Shell *, Stichting Shell Reserves Compensation Foundation (the Foundation), VEB (the Dutch Shareholders Association), APG, All Pensions Group (on behalf of pension fund ABP) and PGGM (on behalf of Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn) have announced that the Amsterdam Court of Appeals (the Court) has scheduled a hearing on 20 November 2008 with respect to their request for a binding declaration of their settlement agreement concerning reserve-related claims. This settlement agreement provides relief in the amount of US$352.6 million to qualifying non-U.S.-shareholders who bought Shell shares on any stock exchange outside the United States between April 8, 1999 and March 18, 2004 (the European settlement). 
 
The European settlement was originally reached and announced in April 2007. The parties opted to wait to file an amended petition until a U.S. court ruled on Shell’s position that the Court did not have jurisdiction to consider the claims of non-U.S. shareholders in the pending U.S. class action based upon the same reserves issues. read more