Crude-oil futures fell on signs that a widening economic slowdown may freeze growth in petroleum demand next year.
The Wall Street Journal
Crude Oil Falls 5.8% on Demand Concerns
Shell Wagers That Delays Will Pay Off
Practically speaking, therefore, it is easier for Shell to ease off in Canada during a period of uncertainty than in many other countries.
Green Ink: Peak Oil and Hunting Elephants
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 30, 2008, 8:00 am
Posted by Keith Johnson
Crude oil futures rose above $70 on the back of interest rate cuts in the U.S. and China as well as a weaker dollar, Bloomberg reports. Shell posted a 22% gain in third-quarter profit and said itsCFO will take the top job next year, both in the WSJ (sub reqd.). But tough economic conditions also forced Shell to delay expansion of its Canadian tar sands project, Bloomberg reports. Peak oil will come sooner than expected and is a bigger threat to the U.K. than terrorism, an industry group concludes, in The Guardian. Big Oil is certainly having trouble tapping big new fields. Chevron has spent seven years and $3 billion on a Brazilian field that will supply three days worth of global oil consumption, the WSJ reports (sub reqd.). But thats about all Western majors can get these days: If youre only going after elephants, youll never hunt, says a top Chevron executive. As gasoline prices fall, are American drivers returning to their old habits? Gasoline demand is still down from a year agobut not as much in recent weeks, reports the NYT. Volatile energy prices are a headache forsavvy companies burned by hedging, so what are poor consumers supposed to do this winter? in the WaPo. Sen. Barack Obamas half-hour informercial reiterated that energy would be a top priority in his administration, in the WaPo. Make that energy independence, with a special emphasis on reducing demand, Grist notes. The credit crunch and big losses could force T. Boone Pickens to delay construction of the worlds biggest wind farm, in Earth2Tech. Chinas GreenGen project is now the worlds biggest clean coal demonstration facility, notes Scientific American, but the project faces a looming coal shortage in China and concerns about cost. Eastern Europe is jumping on the nuclear power bandwagon, both as a way to cut emissions and also to diversify energy supplies away from Russian natural gas, in the IHT. The U.K.s Royal Society is seriously looking at geo-engineering solutions to battle climate change, The Guardian reports. Finally, check your cowsmethane emissions are on the rise suddenly, and scientists dont know why, in Reuters. |
Higher Oil Prices Lift Shell’s Net
Shell Class B shares closed at £16.70 ($27.70) Wednesday, a drop of almost a quarter from their peak in mid-May as concerns about the global economy have driven down the oil price.
Africa’s Potential to Sate World’s Oil Demand Dims
For big state-owned and private oil companies, Africa has played an outsized role. It is responsible for adding nearly a quarter of the globe's total increase in reserves over the past decade. That has been a boon for companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Exxon MobilCorp. and Total SA, all of which have struggled to replace reserves on their books
How Washington Can Help Alaska Drill: Three years in, Shell is still waiting to recover a single barrel of oil
Two years ago, environmentalists teamed up with Alaska Natives who depend on subsistence whaling for their livelihoods and culture. They sued in federal district court in Alaska in July 2007 to stop Shell's exploratory drilling, claiming that it could disturb the whales and interfere with traditional bowhead-whale hunts.
Oil’s Plunge Is Biggest In Dollars Since 1991
Crude-oil futures plummeted more than $10 a barrel Monday after the House voted down a plan to rescue financial markets, magnifying doubts about demand growth.