If sustained, the lower price level will have further repercussions. Big producers such as Russia and Venezuela will struggle to exert political influence through energy policy. Resource nationalism, where oil-rich governments impose tougher terms on independent companies and notably in the case of Shell in Russia force them to cede control of assets, may soon be a spent force.
Venezuela
From boom to glut
This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website,
johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com,
are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Time is ripe for greater public control of the oil industry in Europe
But, as we have seen, the pursuit of personal reward by top executives, driven by a pursuit of profit above everything else, can lead to disaster as it has in the banking sector and as it did for Enron and very nearly for Shell as well at the time of its reserves crisis a few years ago.
OPEC Plans Supply Cut as Crude Oil Heads Toward $50 (Update1)
The prospect of OPEC cuts, slowing economic growth and falling prices drove theDow Jones Europe Stoxx Oil & Gas Index down 25 percent in the past five weeks. Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil, the world's biggest oil company, fell 37 percent this year, while The Hague-based Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the second-biggest, lost 33 percent.
Environment: Tar sands – the new toxic investment
Shell and BP have been warned by investors that their involvement in unconventional energy production such as Canada's oil sands could turn out to be the industry's equivalent of the sub-prime lending that poisoned the banking sector and triggered the current financial crisis.
BP’s troubles in Russia show Big Oil’s clout fading
Gone are the days when BP manhandled reserves out of foreign countries, as it did in Iran the early years of the last century. Once the lion of British enterprise, Russia has brushed it aside like a kitten.
The Russia-Venezuela Alliance: Using Energy for Geopolitical Advantage
When Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez touches down in Moscow on July 22 to meet with the duumvirate of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev, he will be ready for more than the usual diplomatic photo-op. This odd trio will be well-positioned to plan substantial international mischief.
Canadians ponder cost of rush for dirty oil
Shell, Chevron, Exxon, Total, Occidental, Imperial and most other oil majors have so far invested nearly $100bn Canadian dollars (£50bn) in the 1,160 square mile (3,000 square kilometre) "bitumen belt", which is being called the "new Kuwait".
Price acts as catalyst for switch
That leaves the companies sitting on huge piles of cash. Even with a generous buy-back policy and consistent dividend payment plan, ExxonMobil, the biggest of the bunch, holds more than $40bn
Deals with Iraq are set to bring oil giants back
Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP ? the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company ? along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq's Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq's largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.
Oil price edges closer to $140 a barrel
Richard Savage, head of energy research for Mirabaud, the Swiss bank, said: This increase won't help bring prices down. If anything, it has made people slightly nervous because the rise is so small that it makes you wonder how close to capacity the Saudis now are. There is a sense of: Is this all they can really do?'
Oil explorers find new fields to conquer
Companies are also dipping into unconventional hydrocarbon deposits the sticky mountains of tar sands in Alberta, Canada and on the banks of Venezuelas Orinoco river, the tight sands gas reserves of western Australia, and the methane trapped in long-disused European coal mines.
Is Oil the Next ‘Bubble’ to Pop?
But don't count on a price plunge just yet. While oil has eased off its record of just over $133 nearly two weeks ago, to $124.31 currently, there are still strong reasons to believe that the benchmark U.S. crude could hover at about $120 a barrel well past summer.
Has Oil Production Reached a ‘De Facto’ Peak?
Im not sure what to call the peak we have now reached. Maybe it should be called Peak Practical Production. Or De Facto Peak Oil. Or just, Th..Th..Thats All, Folks.
Shell warns Nigeria of threat to confidence
Shell voiced its concerns shortly after agreeing, in a separate move, to lend the government $3.1bn (2bn, £1.6bn) to help kick-start stalled projects in their Niger Delta joint venture - the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Is Invading Venezuela a Good Way Out of an Oil Crisis?
.....The obvious place to invade is Venezuela. Since the 1.8 trillion barrels of Venezuelan oil deposits consist largely of the Orinoco tar sands, a Venezuelan oil-related invasion would impose an additional requirement: to keep the environmentalists away, in order that reserves could be exploited with maximum efficiency.........
Oil price rise makes fools of us all: “apologies to Sir Mark Moody-Stuart for reminding him of this little gem…”.
The key players are no longer the oil majors such as Shell. Resource-rich countries such as Russia, Venezuela and Iran are sufficiently confident to do without their help (or, at least, they demand a bigger slice of the spoils). The balance of power has shifted.
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