April 26th, 2008:

Reuters: BP shutting down major British oil pipeline

Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:41pm EDT
By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) – A pipeline carrying nearly half of Britain’s oil was being shut down late on Saturday ahead of a strike over pensions that has already closed a major refinery and prompted some panic fuel buying.

The Grangemouth refinery in Scotland produces a tenth of Britain’s petrol and diesel but also provides the steam that allows the neighboring Kinneil plant to begin processing the crude oil coming ashore from 70 fields in the North Sea. read more

Sunday Herald: It’s time to relocalise our lives: Joanna Blythman on life without oil

FACED WITH panic at the pumps, Alex Salmond was absolutely right to urge people to behave sensibly and responsibly, by cutting out non-essential trips, and using public transport. But he should have added: “Get used to it”, because we urgently need to realise that this isn’t just a one-off.

While we fret about filling the tank to visit family this weekend, or get to work this coming week, an infinitely more serious, long-term fuel problem is creeping up on us. read more

Scotland on Sunday: City hopes to see bigger profits in the pipeline from BP

Market Watch

Published Date: 27 April 2008
By Nathalie Thomas

OIL giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell will reveal this week that cash has been flowing in as oil prices continue to soar. As a barrel of the black stuff tops $120, it is expected to lift figures at both companies.

City watchers will look for signs of a turnaround at BP after a difficult year in 2007. In particular they want to see evidence of BP chief executive Tony Hayward’s pledge to “close the performance gap” with rivals after annual profits fell by more than a fifth last year. read more

The Nation: Running on Empty

By MARK HERTSGAARD
This article appeared in the May 12, 2008 edition of The Nation.

It used to be that only environmentalists and paranoids warned about running out of oil. Not anymore. As climate change did over the past few years, peak oil seems poised to become the next big idea commanding the attention of governments, businesses and citizens the world over. The arrival of $119-a-barrel crude and $4-a-gallon gasoline this spring are but the most obvious signs that global oil production has or soon will peak. With global demand inexorably rising, a limited supply will bring higher, more volatile prices and eventually shortages that could provoke–to quote the title of the must-see peak oil documentary–the end of suburbia. If the era of cheap, abundant oil is indeed coming to a close, the world’s economy and, paradoxically, the fight against climate change could be in deep trouble. read more

Oil giants to declare profits of £68bn

Richard Wachman
The Observer, Sunday April 27 2008

BP and Shell will together make record profits of more than $68bn this year if the oil price stays at current levels, according to City forecasters.

Brent crude soared to $116 a barrel on Friday as BP shut down a key North Sea pipeline ahead of industrial action and a strike at Exxon in Nigeria disrupted production. Oil companies are profiting at a time when motoring and consumer organisations are complaining about the price of petrol, which has hit £5 a gallon. BP and Shell will this week report record profits for the first quarter thanks to an oil price that has stood at an average of $110 a barrel since the start of the year. read more

The Sunday Times: Grangemouth strike: who’s fuelling who?

Government is urging consumers not to panic but Scotland is facing fuel shortages as the Forties pipeline prepares to close

Tom Gordon and Stuart MacDonald
April 27, 2008

Angus McCall watched last week’s planned strike at the Grangemouth oil refinery unfold with a growing sense of trepidation. The livestock and barley farmer from Golspie, in Sutherland, heard successive politicians offer assurances that the dispute would not cause a fuel shortage in Scotland, but that did not square with what was happening locally. read more

BBC News: Oil firms in Nigeria cut output

“Our candid advice to the oil majors is that they should not waste their time repairing any lines, as we will continue to sabotage them”
Militant statement

Saturday, 26 April 2008 05:15 UK

Industrial action and attacks from militants have forced the two biggest oil companies in Nigeria to cut their production.

Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell are both reducing output, which is helping to keep oil prices near record highs.

Militant groups in the Niger Delta have blown up a section of a Shell pipeline, in the fourth such attack in the last seven days. read more

Sunday Herald: Shell and BP earn £6bn in 12 weeks amid fuel crisis

Householders warned of rising power bills as suppliers pass on price rises

By John Phelps

OIL GIANTS BP and Shell will fuel motorists’ anger over the latest surge in petrol prices this week when they are expected to disclose they have made a total of more than £6 billion in profit in the opening three months of the year.

Most analysts believe Shell will show substantially unchanged current cost earnings of around £3.4bn on Tuesday, despite production problems, while BP is expected to show a profits recovery from less than £2bn to as much as £2.6bn on the same day. read more

Edinburgh News: Shell reserves fear sees Footsie falter

MARKET WATCH
Saturday, 26th April 2008

THE Footsie came off the boil today after hitting four-year highs earlier in the week – and as the morning session drew to a close the index was down 15 points at 5786.

Helping lead the blue chip index into the red was oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, whose influence had more of an impact than a strong showing on Wall Street and Japan’s Nikkei index surging 1.4 per cent to close above 16,700 points for the first time in more than five years.

Despite turning in a record annual profit for a British company, investors booked profits on fears that Shell will struggle to find new reserves to replace what it is already pumping out of the ground and shares tumbled by two per cent. read more

The Calgary Herald: Halliburton implicates Shell in probe

From Herald News Services
Published: Saturday, April 26, 2008

Halliburton Co., the world’s second-largest oilfield contractor, said an investigation into alleged bribes paid in relation to a Nigerian liquefied natural gas facility also may involve a Royal Dutch Shell PLC project.

Halliburton, based in Houston, said in a regulatory filing Friday it was notified of “evidence of payments to Nigerian officials” by “an agent” in connection with the offshore Shell EA project. read more

The gas will be piped to the Mayo coast

BBC News: Breakthrough in Shell gas dispute

Diarmaid Fleming

People in Mayo locked in a long-running dispute with oil giant Shell have moved to break the stalemate.

Shell and its partners, Statoil and Marathon, are developing the offshore Corrib Gas Project.

Locals had demanded that gas from the Corrib field be refined at sea rather than at a huge inland terminal under construction in their community.

They now say they will drop their opposition if the refinery is relocated to a remote unpopulated area. read more

Financial Times: Alarm at Shell retention awards

By Tom Burgis and Kate Burgess
Published: April 26 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 26 2008 03:00

Royal Dutch Shell and several other leading companies stand to feel the wrath of shareholders in coming weeks because of a growing trend towards paying executives handsome bonuses simply for staying in their jobs.

Shell plans to make one-off retention payments to three executive directors worth about €1m (£787,000) each. A similar move by BP prompted a shareholder backlash at its annual meeting last week. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Oil prices up on word US ship fired on boats in Persian Gulf

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 26, 2008
Filed at 3:25 a.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices rose sharply Friday on news that a ship under contract to the U.S. Defense Department fired warning shots at two boats in the Persian Gulf. Retail gas prices as expected rose further into record territory, nearing $3.60 a gallon.

Crude prices rose on initial reports that a U.S. ship had fired on two Iranian boats; the news raised concerns that a conflict between U.S. and Iranian forces could cut oil supplies from the region. A Navy spokeswoman said the origin of the boats was unclear. read more

‘Law broken’ on pricing by tobacco firms and stores

· Collaboration alleged after fair trading inquiry
· Major companies named will respond within month

Simon Bowers
The Guardian, Saturday April 26 2008

Supermarkets and tobacco groups have illegally collaborated on prices of cigarettes and rolling tobacco, according to an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.

The regulator has unearthed what it believes is a complex web of indirect communications between retailers and two tobacco groups on prices in supermarkets, off licences, petrol stations and convenience stores – though it stopped short of using the term price-fixing. read more

How Big Oil got bigger – and befuddled the pundits

Terry Macalister and Kathryn Hopkins
The Guardian, Saturday April 26 2008

The past 10 years have been a rollercoaster for energy markets with the price of oil swinging from $10 (£5) a barrel to nearly $120, triggering demands to explore in areas formerly written off as too expensive or too environmentally sensitive such as Canada’s tar sands and the Arctic.

The ratcheting up in the cost of oil and gas should have driven up inflation and led to a switch to alternative fuel sources. Instead, oil companies have recorded the highest ever profits in corporate history as demand continues to outstrip supply. In the process, the industry has reconsidered its strategy to plan for an era of high prices. read more