April, 2008:

India has a seemingly insatiable appetite for cars, as shown in this traffic jam in a suburb of New Delhi,  and the oil needed to run them, contributing to growing worldwide demand for petroleum.

By JAD MOUAWAD
Published: April 28, 2008

As oil prices soared to record levels in recent years, basic economics suggested that consumption would fall and supply would rise as producers opened the taps to pump more.

But as prices flirt with $120 a barrel, many energy specialists are becoming worried that neither seems to be happening. Higher prices have done little to attract new production or to suppress global demand, and the resulting mismatch has sent oil prices spiraling upward. read more

RadioNetherlands.nl: Bolivia puts Shell under pressure

BY EDWIN KOOPMAN*
29-04-2008

The Shell oil company is under great pressure from the Bolivian government to reduce its presence in the country, or even to withdraw completely. President Evo Morales issued an ultimatum at the end of March, giving the company till 30 April to agree to sell off its activities to the Bolivian state.

The date is not a coincidence, as 1 May marks the second anniversary of the nationalisation of oil and gas concerns by the president soon after he came to office. Morales arranged for the oil platforms to be occupied by the military, which hung up banners with the text ‘Property of Bolivia’. read more

Bloomberg: Shell Examines Carbon Capture Project at Its Canadian Refinery

By Eduard Gismatullin and Fred Pals

April 29 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, said it’s examining a carbon capture project at its Scotford refinery and upgrader in the Canadian province of Alberta.

The company is studying a plan nicknamed “Quest,” which would capture carbon at the 155,000-barrel-a-day upgrader and “transport it to a mature field for sequestration,” Chief Financial Officer Peter Voser said today on call with reporters. “We are looking into that and we are working on that.” read more

Reuters: Record oil prices boost Shell and BP

Tue Apr 29, 2008 9:57am BST
By Tom Bergin and Alex Lawler

LONDON (Reuters) – Record oil prices of over $100 a barrel helped Shell and BP shatter first-quarter profit forecasts on Tuesday.

Royal Dutch Shell announced a 12 percent rise in current cost of supply (CCS) net income to $7.85 billion (3.96 billion pounds) while BP was up 48 percent to $6.59 billion.

A Reuters poll of 11 analysts gave an average forecast of $6.84 billion for Shell’s first quarter CCS earnings, excluding non-operating items. The highest forecast was $6.99 billion. read more

Financial Times: Fighting graft

Published: April 29 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 29 2008 03:00

Bribery and corruption are not just morally indefensible but bad for your business. That is the message Transparency International, the anti-graft campaigner, is determined business will internalise and, perforce, implement. But is it true?

TI’s report, launched yesterday, on the information disclosure practices of 42 leading oil companies, at first glance gives a mixed answer. Its research shows that only Royal Dutch Shell of the majors is in the premier league for revenue and payments transparency, whereas BP, Chevron and Total are in the middle, and ExxonMobil is playing in the bottom division, alongside China’s CNOOC and Russia’s Lu-koil. Yet these apparent differences do not seem to have had any effect on their profits or share prices. read more

Financial Times: Shell and BP beat expectations

By Ed Crooks
Published: April 29 2008 07:47 | Last updated: April 29 2008 08:02

Royal Dutch Shell and BP, Europe’s two biggest oil companies, have delivered better than expected results on the back of the soaring price of oil. While BP’s profit growth since last year was much faster than Shell’s, both companies comfortably exceeded analysts’ expectations.

BP’s faster profit growth came as it continued along the recovery track after the difficulties that contributed to the departure of Lord Browne, its former chief executive, last year. read more

Financial Times: Scottish strike and Nigerian attack boost oil

By Chris Flood
Published: April 29 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 29 2008 03:00

Oil traded at record levels near $120 a barrel yesterday amid supply concerns following the start of a strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland and more trouble in Nigeria.

Nymex June West Texas Intermediate hit a record $119.93 a barrel before easing back to settle 23 cents higher at $118.75. ICE June Brent added 40 cents to close at $116.74 a barrel. read more

Financial Times: Opec chief warns oil could hit $200 a barrel

By Carola Hoyos in London
Published: April 29 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 29 2008 03:00

Opec’s president yesterday warned oil prices could hit $200 a barrel and there would be little the cartel could do to help.

The comments made by Chakib Khelil, Algeria’s energy minister, came as oil prices hit a historic peak close to $120 a barrel, putting further pressure on global economies.

His remarks suggest Algeria wants Opec to continue to resist calls by US and European leaders for the cartel to pump more oil to help ease prices. But Mr Khelil blamed record oil prices on the weak dollar and global political insecurity. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Oil Nears $120 on Nigeria Unrest

By GUY CHAZAN and NEIL KING JR.
April 29, 2008; Page C12

An escalation in attacks by militants in the Niger Delta and a strike by Exxon Mobil Corp. workers are playing havoc with oil production in Nigeria at a time when worries about tightening global supply have sent the price of benchmark crude close to a record $120 a barrel.

Separately, a major North Sea oil pipeline that was forced to shut because of a strike at a refinery in Scotland isn’t expected to be fully operational until the end of the week, further fueling uncertainty. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: High Oil Prices Boost Shell Profit, Offsetting, Lower Refining Margins

By BENOIT FAUCON
April 29, 2008 1:58 a.m.

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell Tuesday said its first-quarter net profit rose 25%, as rocketing oil prices more than offset lower refining margins.

Shell said net income was $9.08 billion, or $1.46 a share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with $7.28 billion, or $1.15 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

The profit figure shows how major oil companies are still able to capture the benefits of record oil prices, which have been boosted by continuing unrest in Nigeria and tensions between Iran and the West. read more

Bloomberg: Shell Profit Rises on Record Crude Prices, Higher Gas (Update1)

By Fred Pals

April 29 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest oil company, said first-quarter profit climbed 25 percent, boosted by record crude prices and higher natural gas.

Net income advanced to $9.08 billion from $7.28 billion a year earlier, The Hague-based company said today in a PR Newswire statement. Excluding inventory changes and one-time items, earnings beat analysts’ estimates. read more

BBC News: Rising oil price benefits Shell

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 06:40 UK

Oil firm Royal Dutch Shell says it made first quarter profits of $7.8bn (£3.9bn), up from $6.9bn a year ago.
It comes three months after the Anglo Dutch oil firm reported annual profits of $27.56bn (£13.9bn), a record for a UK-listed company.

The firm has benefitted from the rising price of oil, which is closing in on $120 a barrel, up from $91 in January.

Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said he would continue to grow the firm after a “good operating performance”. read more

Reuters: Shell Q1 profits beat forecast on record oil

Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:37am BST

LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) beat forecasts on Tuesday with a 12 percent rise in its first quarter current cost of supply net income, helped by record oil prices.

Excluding non-operating items, which amounted to a net charge of $77 million, the CCS result, which strips out the impact of changes in the value of fuel inventories, was $7.85 billion.

A Reuters poll of 11 analysts gave an average forecast of $6.84 billion for Shell’s first quarter CCS earnings, excluding non-ops. read more

Reuters: UPDATE 1-Shell, TransCanada to appeal New York LNG decision

Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:43pm BST

(Adds background, comment from Connecticut attorney general)

NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) – Energy companies Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and TransCanada (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) plan to ask the U.S. Commerce department to overturn New York state’s rejection of their plan to build a liquefied natural gas platform in Long Island Sound.

John Hritcko, regional project director for the Broadwater LNG project, has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to forward the details of the case to the Secretary of Commerce in preparation for an appeal. read more