Shell nieuwtjes.

1. [verwijderd] 5 oktober 2006 17:57

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   Royal Dutch Shell Bought Oilpatch Region in Canada
   
   05.10.2006 11:11
   Royal Dutch Shell confirmed buying 900 square kilometres of northern oil province Alberta, Canada, for C$465 million.
   
   The move gives rise to many new questions about the company's plans for the sector, where it already has a significant presence through sister company Shell Canada.
   
   The leases, which were purchased at a provincial land sale last month by an unidentified numbered company, are about 100 kilometres west of the oilsands hub of Fort McMurray, Alta.
   
   To evaluate and potentially develop the new properties, Royal Dutch Shell has created a new, wholly-owned Canadian company called Sure Northern Energy Ltd.
   
   
   
2. [verwijderd] 7 oktober 2006 21:01

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   Syria, Shell sign two agreements to boost cooperation
   
   
   
   MENAFN - 07/10/2006
   
   
   
   
   (MENAFN) Syrian prime minister has discussed with director general of the International Shell Oil Company the cooperation between Shell and the Syrian Petroleum Company in the fields of exploration and developing the petroleum resources, KUNA reported.
   
   Both sides reviewed the importance of the two agreements signed by Shell with the Syrian Petroleum Company aiming at exploration of oil and gas in some areas of the Syrian cities of Deir Ezzor and Palmyra in addition to their role in enhancing prospect of joint cooperation in this field.
   
   Syria and Shell company for oil singed two contracts to develop and produce petroleum in two regions in the west of Deir Ezzour, the northeast, and the Syrian desert, in the central region.
   
   The two contracts inked by minister of petroleum and mineral resources and director general of the Syrian Company for Oil with director general of Shell Company for oil in Syria.
   
   Syria offers according to the first contract shell company the right to explore, develop and produce petroleum in the region to the southwest of Deir Ezzour city in the northeast over a space of 6040 cubic km while Syria gives in the second contract to the same company the right to explore, develop and produce petroleum in the region located to the south of Palmyra region until the Iraqi-Jordanian border over an area of 8087 cubic km.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. [verwijderd] 8 oktober 2006 12:13

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   10/07/2006
   Shell president uses personal touch to explain prices
   Associated Press
   Midland Reporter-Telegram
   
   Associated Press
   
   LITTLE ROCK -- If gasoline prices continue to drop, shareholders of Royal Dutch Shell PLC can take heart.
   
   
   
   Lower prices create more demand, which will drive the price back up and bolster the profits of the big oil companies.
   
   The president of the No. 3 oil company' U.S. division, John Hofmeister, made that point during a stop in Little Rock as part of a 50-city tour. Hofmeister said he has selected personal appearances over an advertising campaign as a way to explain Shell's take on the oil business to consumers.
   
   He acknowledged that higher gas prices, $3 or even $2 per gallon, are a burden to lower income consumers. But he said the higher profits are enabling oil companies to develop greater refining capacity, better invest in future technologies and put money in shareholders' pockets through dividends and appreciation in share price.
   
   In its second quarter results announced in July, Amsterdam, Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell saw its profit jump 40 percent, to $7.32 billion from $5.24 billion, despite production problems in the Gulf of Mexico and Nigeria. That was on overall sales that rose less than 1 percent to $83.1 billion. Profit in the division that refines oil and sells it to consumers increased 13 percent, to $3.02 billion.
   
   "Our job is to sell gasoline," said Hofmeister, who has been Shell Oil Co. president since March 2005. Its U.S. division is based at Houston.
   
   Hofmeister said the industry had watched China industrialize and consequently demand more oil. But, he said, a development that came as a surprise was the disappearance of excess capacity of 8 million to 10 million barrels per day in the Middle East. By 2004, he said that cushion was gone. Worldwide consumption is 85 million barrels per day.
   
   "We're living hand-to-mouth in the supply chain now," Hofmeister said.
   
   At the moment, there is more gasoline in the supply chain because oil companies built stockpiles to prepare for hurricane season. That, plus the end of the summer driving season, has brought prices down.
   
   Crude oil futures dropped as low as $58.68 per barrel this week, a 14-month low, but much higher than the $12 dollar a barrel level seen in the late 1990s, a time he said oil companies couldn't afford to innovate.
   
   Hofmeister noted that Shell's joint operation with Motiva Enterprises LLC is planning an expansion of a refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, a move that would increase production from 275,000 to 600,000 barrels a day. But the ribbon cutting is about seven years away.
   
   Hofmeister is using the tour, in part, to explain to civic groups and other audiences that his company wants federal regulations loosened to allow for more U.S. exploration and development. He also scheduled a visit with students at the Clinton School of Public Service.
   
   "We have to get past what I would call a public policy deficit in this country," he said. "We need the frameworks in which we can build facilities, access energy, work with stakeholders to do all of that in environmentally sensitive ways, and open the outer continental shelf for oil and gas exploration."
   
   "We're pretty upbeat about plenty of available conventional oil and gas (in the) Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Alaska, on the outer continental shelf," he said.
   
   Unconventional sources include oil from shale in Colorado and sands in Alberta, Canada, Hofmeister said.
   
   "What has peaked, I would say, is easy, conventional oil that is readily available. That has peaked," he said. "Unless we use new technology for enhanced oil recovery in some of the old oil fields in California, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, then we would see continued steady decline in those oil fields."
   
   Carbon dioxide captured at power plants can be injected deep into the ground at the old fields as a way to force the oil and stow a greenhouse gas.
   
   "There's still a lot of oil in the oil fields," he said, but there is a "lack of pressure to get the oil out."
   
   Hofmeister said he is also using his tour to listen to the "anger" of consumers and concerns businesses, as well as giving Shell's views.
   
   The company is working to make a profit from wind-generated electricity, which Hofmeister said could become an important source of power during times of high demand. The company is investing in biofuels and solar technology, as well.
   
   In an accounting scandal in 2004-2005, Shell reduced its proven oil reserves, a move that continues to drag on profits. The company reserved $500 million in its second quarter to cover shareholder class action lawsuits.
   
   
   
   
4. matin 8 oktober 2006 12:58

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   Hierbij een woord van dank namens mij en ik denk ook namens heel veel lezers voor alle nieuwtjes
   die je voor ons opspoort. Toppie !!!!
5. [verwijderd] 8 oktober 2006 13:18

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   quote:

   martin1348 schreef:

   Hierbij een woord van dank namens mij en ik denk ook namens heel veel lezers voor alle nieuwtjes
   die je voor ons opspoort. Toppie !!!!
   

   Graag gedaan,en we gaan vrolijk verder.
   Groet. Eric
6. voda 10 oktober 2006 16:18

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   RTRS-Rebellen Nigeria ontvoeren 60 werknemers Shell
   LAGOS (ANP) - Opstandelingen in Nigeria hebben zestig
   werknemers van SPDC, een lokale werkmaatschappij van Shell,
   ontvoerd. Dat maakte de oliemaatschappij dinsdag bekend. Er
   wordt onderhandeld over hun vrijlating.
   
   Volgens het Nederlands-Britse concern gaat het om arbeiders
   bij een pompstation in de Nigerdelta. Zij werden ontvoerd na een
   aanval door gewapende jongeren, aldus Shell. Het is niet
   duidelijk of het om buitenlandse werknemers gaat.
   
   ((ANP Redactie Economie, email economie(at)anp.nl, +31 20
   504 5999))
   
7. voda 10 oktober 2006 16:37

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   Olieproductie 12.000 vaten Shell dochter Nigeria gestopt10 okt 2006, 16:31 uur
   AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--Op een terrein van Shell in Nigeria is de productie van ongeveer 12.000 vaten olie per dag dinsdag gestopt wegens een gijzeling, zegt een woordvoerder van een dochteronderneming van Shell.
   
   Bisi Ojediran zegt dat ongeveer 60 werknemers die op het terrein leven gegijzeld zijn. Het terrein wordt doorgaans omschreven als een combinatie van een logistieke basis en een punt waar oliepijpleidingen samen komen.
   
   Eerder op de dag overvielen de gewapende aanvallers een Nigeriaanse marinebasis en bezetten het nabij gelegen olieterrein, waarbij verschillende mensen werden gegijzeld, zegt een politiefunctionaris.
   
   De politiecommissaris van de zuidelijke staat Bayelsa in Nigeria, Hafiz Ringim, zegt dat er nog geen doden zijn gemeld.
   
   "Een aantal werknemers was rond de tijd van de aanslag al vertrokken," zegt hij. "We hebben met deze mensen gesproken en ze zijn in orde maar niet in staat om te vertrekken."
   
   De commissaris wil niets zeggen over de identiteit van de aanvallers of de motieven. "Onderhandelen is de verantwoordelijkheid van de overheid," aldus Ringim.
   
   Er is al een delegatie onderweg om met de aanvallers te onderhandelen. Er wordt niet gezegd hoeveel soldaten gegijzeld zijn en hoeveel aanvallers het betreft.
   
   - Door Elvan Bayraktaroglu; Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst; +31-20-5890270; elvan.bayraktaroglu@dowjones.com
   
   
8. [verwijderd] 11 oktober 2006 13:40

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   Meeste gegijzelde Nigeriaanse oliewerkers weer vrij11 okt 2006, 13:14 uur
   LAGOS (AP/Dow Jones)--De meeste van de tientallen oliewerkers en militairen die dinsdag werden gegijzeld bij een aanval op een marinebasis en een nabijgelegen olie-installatie van een dochtermaatschappij van Shell in het zuiden van Nigeria zijn weer vrij. Dat heeft de politie woensdag gemeld.
   
   Volgens de politie worden er nog acht oliewerkers gegijzeld en zijn alle militairen vrijgelaten. Er waren ongeveer zestig oliewerkers gegijzeld. De vrijlatingen werden bewerkstelligd door een akkoord dat de regering en de gijzelnemers dinsdagavond sloten. De politie zei niet wat het akkoord inhoudt, maar de gijzelnemers hadden geeist dat de oliemaatschappij gemeenschappen in de omgeving van water en stroom voorziet en de bodemerosie in het gebied aanpakt. Ze eisten volgens de politie ook geld.
   
   Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst; +31-20-5890270
   
   
9. [verwijderd] 13 oktober 2006 14:04

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   RTRS-Rusland dreigt ook Lukoil met intrekking vergunningen
   MOSKOU (ANP) - Het Russische ministerie van Natuurlijke
   Hulpbronnen dreigt de vergunningen in te trekken van olieconcern
   Lukoil voor de ontwikkeling van olievelden in het noorden van
   Rusland . Dat werd vrijdag bekendgemaakt. Het departement
   dreigde eerder al de werkvergunningen van Shell voor het olie-
   en gasproject Sachalin 2 in te trekken.
   
   Volgens een woordvoerder is uit onderzoek gebleken dat
   Lukoil de wet en voorwaarden heeft overtreden bij elf olievelden
   als gevolg van vertragingen bij de exploitatie, ontginning en
   productie. De autoriteiten eisen nu dat de grootste
   olieproducent van Rusland de overtredingen binnen drie tot zes
   maanden corrigeert. Anders worden de vergunningen ingetrokken.
   Ook kunnen acht vergunningen van Lukoil-dochterbedrijven in een
   aangrenzende regio worden ingetrokken, aldus het ministerie.
   
   Het onderzoek naar Lukoil werd uitgevoerd door een commissie
   onder leiding van Oleg Mitvol. Hij leidde ook het onderzoek naar
   Sachalin 2 in het uiterste oosten van het land. Shell leidt daar
   een consortium voor de winning van olie en gas ter waarde van 20
   miljard dollar. Rusland dreigt de werkvergunningen echter in te
   trekken wegens overtredingen van milieuwetten.
   
   Oliebedrijven die werkzaam zijn in het moerassige noorden
   van Rusland en Siberië moeten doorgaans wachten tot het winter
   wordt zodat de grond bevriest voordat ze met hun activiteiten
   kunnen beginnen. Dat kan betekenen dat niet altijd op tijd met
   de exploitatie of productie kan worden begonnen zoals in de
   vergunningen wordt voorgeschreven.
   
   ((ANP Redactie Economie, email economie(at)anp.nl, +31 20
   504 5999))
   
10. [verwijderd] 15 oktober 2006 21:01

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    Monday, October 16, 2006. Issue 3519. Page 5.
    Shell Fixes Sakhalin Violations
    By Dmitry Zhdannikov
    Reuters
    MAKAROV, Sakhalin -- Royal Dutch Shell said it had taken less than one month to sort out most of the environmental violations identified at its Sakhalin oil and gas project, but a federal investigation continues.
    
    "We have addressed the violations very quickly, but we had to divert resources from pipeline construction," Wayne Harris, Shell's health and risk assurance manager at the pipeline, told reporters last week visiting a 30-kilometer section 220 kilometers north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the region's capital.
    
    "We had issues with sub-contractors, and it is generally a very challenging project. But we have addressed 90 percent of the violations ... raised by RPN last month," Harris said, referring to the Natural Resources Ministry's environmental regulator by its acronym.
    
    The pipeline stretch was portrayed on state television as an environmental disaster zone when the regulator -- the Federal Service for the Inspection of Natural Resources Use -- opened its investigation last month. But Shell said the violations were minimal, otherwise it could not have rectified them so quickly.
    
    The regulator has threatened to withdraw permits from the $20 billion project and force Shell to reroute pipelines, which Shell has said may further delay the program.
    
    
    Many analysts have interpreted the environmental complaints as a Kremlin ploy to win for a state-owned firm a portion of the Sakhalin-2 production sharing project, which will ultimately supply gas to U.S. and Japanese customers. Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev will visit Sakhalin from Oct. 24 to 26 to hear what his inspectors have found.
    
    David Greer, deputy chief executive of project operator Sakhalin Energy, said he was looking forward to seeing Trutnev and discussing the project, which he said was on track to make its first shipment of liquefied natural gas next summer.
    
    "I think it could be earlier than September. We're sticking to our deadline of mid-2008," he said.
    
    "There are factors in Russia which go into the category of 'unknown unknown.' There is an element of float in our schedule but our customers should consider the summer of 2008 as the date of delivery of the first cargo and we have come to an agreement with them to work under this schedule."
    
    Greer said if Russia stopped the project, it would do great harm to its reputation and cause much more environmental damage than Sakhalin Energy has been accused of, as well as causing yet more costs.
    
    "If the project was put on ice for a year and contractors magically resumed work from where they had finished, the loss would amount to tens of billions of dollars," he said.
    
    The pipelines, some 850 kilometers long, will cross the entire island and pass under 1,100 rivers to bring offshore oil and gas from north Sakhalin to the island's south, where an oil terminal and the world's largest LNG plant are being built.
    
    As the pipeline gets closer to the south it crosses difficult, hilly terrain. "We have rearranged the storage area, protected river crossings and made sure there would be no mudslides," said Michael Franley, a construction manager.
    
    The pipeline is being built by StarStroi, a venture of Italy's Saipem and Russian firms, which has hired many Russian sub-contractors.
    
    
12. [verwijderd] 16 oktober 2006 11:01

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    Shell-CEO: Milieu problemen Sakhalin-2 opgelost16 okt 2006, 10:32 uur
    MOSKOU (Dow Jones)--De milieuproblemen bij het Russische Sakhalin-2 olie- en gasproject zijn allemaal opgelost. Dat heeft de chief executive van oliemaatschappij Royal Dutch Shell, die het consortium aanvoert dat het olieveld ontwikkelt, maandag gezegd.
    
    "Het project werd geconfronteerd met grote uitdagingen op milieugebied", stelt Jeroen van der Veer. Hij voegde daaraan toe er op te vertrouwen dat die "volledig en transparant zijn aangepakt."
    
    Een woordvoerder van het Ministerie van Natuurlijke Hulpbronnen was het niet eens met de lezing van de Shell topman. "Als ze zeggen dat alle problemen zijn aangepakt, dan is dat absoluut niet waar. Het is gewoon een leugen", aldus Rinat Gizatulin tegenover Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst. "Misschien hebben ze een plan, maar dat hebben wij nog niet gezien."
    
    De Russische toezichthouders van het ministerie hebben gedreigd met de intrekking van een cruciale milieuvergunning voor het Sakhalin-2 project.
    
    Veel analisten denken dat Rusland probeert om de criteria van het contract voor het Sakhalin-2 project in eigen voordeel om te buigen. Daarom zou het ministerie druk uitoefenen op het consortium.
    
    Het Sakhalin-2 project bestaat naast Shell uit de Japanse bedrijven Mitsui & Co en Mitsubishi. Daarnaast zei het Russische gasconcern OAO Gazprom dat het overweegt om een belang te nemen van 25% in het project.
    
    "We verwelkomen de voorgestelde entree van Gazprom in het Sakhalin-2 project," aldus Van der Veer.
    
    Web site: www.shell.com
    
    -Door Greg Walters, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 974 80 55; greg.walters@dowjones.com
    
    
13. [verwijderd] 16 oktober 2006 14:08

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    RTRS-Shell-topman overtuigd van goede afloop Sachalin (2)
    N i e u w bericht, meer informatie
    
    MOSKOU (ANP/RTR) - Shell-topman Jeroen van der Veer is
    overtuigd van een goede afloop van het Sachalin II-project. Dat
    bleek maandag op een bijeenkomst over investeringen in Rusland
    die werd voorgezeten door de Russische premier Mikhail Fradkov.
    
    ,,Hoewel het project significante uitdagingen op het gebied
    van milieu heeft moeten trotseren, zijn we er vast van overtuigd
    dat deze volledig en in alle openheid zijn aangepakt'', zei Van
    der Veer.
    
    Rusland dreigde vorige maand de werkzaamheden aan het enorme
    olie- en gasproject in het oosten van Rusland stil te leggen
    omdat Shell zich niet aan de milieuregels zou houden. De kwestie
    leidde tot diplomatieke spanningen omdat de actie werd gezien
    als een poging van het Kremlin om de greep op de eigen olie- en
    gasreserves te verstevigen.
    
    Van der Veer: ,,Het project is nu voor 80 procent voltooid
    (...). We hebben er alle vertrouwen in dat de nog lopende zaken
    kunnen worden opgelost door een constructieve en eerlijke
    dialoog met de Russische overheid.'' Afnemers in Japan en de
    Verenigde Staten hebben al contracten getekend voor levering van
    vloeibaar gas vanaf 2008.
    
    Shell heeft een belang van 55 procent in Sachalin II, het
    grootste geïntegreerde olie- en gaswinningsproject dat momenteel
    in de wereld wordt uitgevoerd. De andere aandeelhouders zijn de
    Japanse bedrijven Mitsui (25 procent) en Mitsubishi (20
    procent).
    
    ((ANP Redactie Economie, email economie(at)anp.nl, +31 20
    504 5999))
    
14. [verwijderd] 16 oktober 2006 20:08

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    Shell says oil price drop won't cut energy projects
    Mon Oct 16, 2006 5:52 PM BST
    
    WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Shell Oil Co. has no plans to cut back on its investments in energy exploration projects because of the steep drop in crude oil prices, the company's president said on Monday.
    
    The price for U.S. oil traded at the New York Mercantile Exchange has fallen from just over $78 a barrel in mid-July to around $59 on Monday.
    
    John Hofmeister, the president of Shell Oil, which is the U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research), said his company would continue with its planned energy projects, including expensive drilling in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, even if the oil price fell to half the current level.
    
    "Between, $20 and $40 we're robust, and so we wouldn't need to rethink (our investments) now," Hofmeister told reporters on the sidelines of the American Petroleum Institute's annual meeting.
    
    "We're always looking at these (oil prices). And we may make changes in priorities, but at this point we're full steam ahead. We're looking forward to next year," Hofmeister said.
    
    © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. | Learn more about Reuters
    
    
15. [verwijderd] 17 oktober 2006 21:22

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    Wrap: Russian authorities relax pressure on Shell over Sakhalin II
    17/10/2006 22:33 MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Pressure on oil major Royal Dutch Shell over a vast oil and gas project in Russia's Far East, which has come under attack over environmental destruction allegations, seemed to lift Tuesday.
    
    Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said the project's 1994 production sharing agreement would remain unchanged, while a Moscow district court refused to consider a lawsuit by the environmental watchdog to enforce the Natural Resources' Ministry's annulment of a key permit for the project.
    
    Meanwhile, the Angl-Dutch oil company said negotiations with Gazprom on the Russian energy giant's participation in the project, which analysts believe to be the root of the dispute, were going well.
    
    Under a previous deal, Gazprom was to provide a stake in a gas field in exchange for a share in Sakhalin-II. However, Shell announced in 2005 that the cost of the project's development would be more than doubled, a move that complicated the terms of the asset swap.
    
    PSAs in Russia
    
    Three vast hydrocarbon projects have been implemented in Russia under PSA agreements: Sakhalin II led by the Anglo-Dutch giant, another Far Eastern project Sakhalin I run by the U.S.' Exxon Mobil, and the Kharyaga deposit operated by Total.
    
    Devised in the 1990s when oil prices were much lower, PSAs offer investors major tax benefits, which provided a kind of risk bonus for investing in Russia. Under PSAs, Russia will also start receiving its share of profits only after investors have recovered their costs.
    
    Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said a decision to revise the PSA should be mutually agreed.
    
    When asked whether the Sakhalin II could be transferred to the traditional taxation regime, he said: "I cannot propose anything today and cannot consider such proposals as no one has made them."
    
    Environmental controversy
    
    Leading international environmental groups including Greenpeace and the International Fund for Animal Welfare have been vigorously campaigning against Sakhalin II for years. Sakhalin, Russia's largest island, is covered in dense forests and teems with diverse wildlife. Environmentalists say they had received little support from the Russian authorities in their struggle to protect salmon and gray whale populations - until the current dispute.
    
    The Federal Service for the Oversight of Natural Resources, Russia's environmental watchdog, has been conducting the official probe into the project. The agency's deputy head Oleg Mitvol, who is leading investigations, said his expert group has found numerous violation of conditions set out in the project's feasibility study, including the illegal routing of an oil pipeline through the territory of a national preservation area and environmental damage at Aniva Bay.
    
    Mass fish and crab deaths have been reported in the area, and inspectors earlier established that a Sakhalin Energy vessel dumped a mixture of methylene dichloride and lubricating oil into the bay.
    
    The agency's allegations echo the concerns voiced by environmental groups.
    
    Mitvol said billions of dollars will be needed to alleviate the environmental impact in the Aniva Bay caused by the Sakhalin II project.
    
    He criticized Shell-controlled project operator Sakhalin Energy for resorting to political blackmail instead of attempting to correct its mistakes. "What happened was quite a surprise for Sakhalin Energy," he said. "And I have heard of nothing being done except resorting to political pressure from the company's friends inside the country, and no engineering solutions have been found."
    
    On September 18, the Natural Resources Ministry annulled its own 2003 Sakhalin Environmental Expert Review (SEER), which gave the project a positive evaluation, following action from prosecutors. But it has yet not formally implemented its decision.
    
    In a bid to enforce the annulment, the environmental agency on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Natural Resources Ministry.
    
    But a Moscow district court refused to consider the agency's lawsuit.
    
    "The court refused to consider the lawsuit because it believes that the Federal Service for the Oversight of Natural Resources does not have the right to file this lawsuit," said Dmitry Kolosov, a spokesperson for the environmental watchdog, after the court session.
    
    If the court were to uphold the demands of the environmental watchdog, all activity under the Sakhalin II project would have been suspended until a new environmental survey was conducted, and until the project operator dealt with all environmental violations.
    
    The possible suspension of the project following the revocation of the environmental review means plans to develop a crucial LNG plant will be delayed, which will put in jeopardy contracted deliveries to Japan, South Korea and the United States, due to start in 2008.
    
    Royal Dutch Shell and Sakhalin Energy
    
    Shell said Tuesday it will demonstrate to Russian authorities during a minister's visit to the region next week that it has tackled the environmental infringements of which it is accused.
    
    Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev will head a delegation to the Far East island on October 24-26, with heads of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Natural Resources, the Federal Agency for the Management of Mineral Resources, the General Prosecutor's Office and representatives of the Russian president's envoys in the Siberian and Far Eastern Federal districts.
    
    Chris Finlayson, head of Shell Russia, said 90% of the violations of which the company is accused by Russia's environmental watchdog relate to an 800-kilometer (500 miles) oil pipeline, where Shell has already suspended work on several stretches. The company representative said allegations of environmental damage at Aniva Bay, near the village of Prigorodnoe, were mere speculation.
    
    Sakhalin Energy filed an appeal within the Sakhalin prosecutor's office for environmental protection, accusing Russia's environmental watchdog of breaking the law while conducting a probe into the project.
    
    Prosecutors have summoned the acting head of the local environmental agency for questioning.
    
    Dmitry Belanovich "has been ordered to attend the prosecutor's office on October 18, with a full list of people involved in inspecting the observation of environmental protection legislation on Sakhalin," the Natural Resources Ministry said.
    
    Sakhalin Energy said prior to the revocation of the study that accusations about environmental performance were "deeply misleading," and were "based on a procedural argument relating to the internal workings and mandate of component agencies making up the Ministry of Natural Resources."
    
    Shell and Gazprom
    
    Some analysts interpreted the environmental watchdog's activity around the Sakhalin II project to be a form of pressure on Shell to conclude a deal with Gazprom, because the Russian energy giant is looking to gain a 25+1% share in the Sakhalin project in return for a 50% stake in the massive West Siberian Zapolyarnoye-Neocomian project.
    
    Shell announced last July that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Gazprom on the swap, which it said then was "strategically important to both parties."
    
    But later Shell announced that the estimated cost of the project implemented under a production-sharing agreement had doubled. The cost increase has complicated state-controlled Gazprom's bid to swap
16. [verwijderd] 18 oktober 2006 08:09

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    RTRS-STOCKWATCH Shell-advies verhoogd door HSBC
    AMSTERDAM (ANP) - HSBC heeft zijn advies voor Shell verhoogd
    van 'underweight' naar 'neutral'. Branchegenoot Statoil kreeg
    ook een opwaardering.
    
    De olieprijzen zijn de afgelopen tijd waarschijnlijk te
    sterk gedaald, aldus de bank. De Europese oliesector ziet er
    daardoor aantrekkelijk uit voor beleggers.
    
    ((ANP Redactie Economie, email economie(at)anp.nl, +31 20
    504 5999))
    
17. voda 20 oktober 2006 16:15

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    Rusland: stopzetting Sakhalin II-project mogelijk
    Het olieproject Sakhalin II van olieconcern Shell op het Russische eiland Sachalin wordt mogelijk stopgezet als blijkt dat het milieu grote schade lijdt.
    
    Maatregelen
    Dat heeft de Russische minister Trutnew van Milieu gezegd. Op dit moment zijn er nog geen aanwijzingen dat de natuur wordt beschadigd. Volgens de minister neemt Rusland gepaste maatregelen als het milieu wordt verwaarloosd.
    
    Dreigen
    De Russische regering dreigde in september nog de vergunningen voor het Sakhalin II-project in te trekken.
    
    
18. [verwijderd] 20 oktober 2006 18:29

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    UPDATE 3-Russian tax claim opens second front in Shell row
    Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:58 PM BST
    
    By Tom Miles and Tanya Mosolova
    
    MOSCOW, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Russia is investigating tax payments of a venture half-owned by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research), the firm said on Friday, adding to the pressure the oil major is already facing in its flagship Russian project Sakhalin-2.
    
    Shell's Salym Petroleum Development (SPD) joint venture with Sibir Energy (SBE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said it had received a back-tax claim which it was disputing.
    
    "Tax authorities conducted a planned tax check at the SPD branch in Nefteyugansk (west Siberia) in the summer. They discovered some violations for 2002-04. We do not agree with the claims and have filed a suit with the Nefteyugansk arbitration court," said Elena Zakupneva, external affairs manager at SPD.
    
    "We did nothing wrong and hope to win the case," she said.
    
    Zakupneva declined to say how much the demand was for, but a report in Vedomosti newspaper said it was more than $10 million.
    
    The venture operates three fields in the Khanty-Mansiisk region of Western Siberia and started producing commercially last November. It is expected to be producing at least 165,000 barrels per day by the end of the decade.
    
    The back-tax claims -- feared in Russia as the instrument used to destroy the one-time market leader YUKOS (YUKO.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) -- follow months of inspections of the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project off Russia's Pacific coast, which is led by Shell. Continued...
    
    © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. | Learn more about Reuters
    
    
19. [verwijderd] 22 oktober 2006 06:10

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    BP and Shell profits may dip due to higher costs amid record prices
    
    10/21/2006 08:22 PM | Reuters
    
    London: Oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell are expected to report a fall in underlying third quarter profits this week, ending a three year run of record earnings on the back of rising oil prices.
    
    Analysts believe a higher oil prices quarter will fail to have compensated for soaring oil field costs, higher taxes, a fall in refining margins and lower production.
    
    The results will bolster the view that big oil companies' earnings have peaked and that a fall of over 20 per cent in oil prices since early August points to tougher times ahead.
    
    A Reuters poll of 10 analysts gave an average forecast of $4.7 billion for London-based BP's replacement cost profit excluding non-operating items, such as gains from asset sales.
    
    This would represent a 12 per cent fall from the same period in 2005 at the world's second-largest fully publicly quoted oil company by market capitalisation.
    
    However, because BP was hit with a $700 million charge for damage by Hurricane Rita in the third quarter of 2005, the headline result is likely to be up year on year.
    
    A poll of 11 analysts gave an average forecast of $5.7 billion for smaller rival Shell's third quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net income, excluding one-off items, down from $5.8 billion in the same period last year.
    
    The replacement cost and CCS figures are similar measures and exclude changes in the value of inventories. Analysts say these figures, excluding one-offs, best reflect the underlying performance of oil firms.
    
    Other oil companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil are expected to report higher year-on-year profits, but Merrill Lynch said for the first time in 13 quarters, the big oil companies as a group will report a drop in earnings compared with the previous quarter.
    
    This is despite the fact that average oil prices were at a record high of around $70 per barrel during the period.
    
    "We expect a lacklustre quarter from the (large oil companies) due to lower volumes, higher taxes and a greater exposure to the fall in global refining margins," analysts at Morgan Stanley said.
    
    Given none of these negative trends are expected to disappear any time soon, a forecast $10 drop in average oil prices in the fourth quarter suggests the sector's prospects may continue to deteriorate.
    
    Analysts forecast Shell's production of oil and gas to fall to 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (boepd) per day in the third quarter from 3.3 million in the third quarter of 2005, as ethnic strife in Nigeria kept fields shut.
    
    
    
    
20. [verwijderd] 22 oktober 2006 16:55

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    'Kosten Sachalin schieten omhoog voor Shell'
    LONDEN (ANP) - De kosten voor het Sachalin II-project rijzen de pan uit voor Shell. Dat meldde de Britse zondagskrant The Observer op basis van een intern Russisch overheidsdocument waarop de krant de hand heeft gelegd.
    In het rapport staat dat de operationele kosten voor het Sachalin II-project zullen oplopen naar 28 miljard dollar (22,2 miljard euro). Drie jaar geleden werden de totale kosten nog geraamd op 15 miljard dollar. De begroting voor het project van 20 miljard dollar zou inmiddels verhoogd zijn, aldus de krant.
    
    Shell kan de cijfers niet verifiëren, aldus een woordvoerder van het bedrijf tegen The Observer. Het bedrijf wilde verder geen commentaar geven. Shell heeft een belang van 55 procent in Sachalin II, het grootste geïntegreerde olie- en gaswinningsproject dat momenteel in de wereld wordt uitgevoerd.
    
    
21. [verwijderd] 22 oktober 2006 22:17

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    Putin Hopes for Sakhalin-2 Deal With Shell
    Combined Reports
    
    
    President Vladimir Putin, speaking Friday in Finland, said he was optimistic that his government would reach an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell over Sakhalin-2, but said Russia was unwilling to agree to a doubling of its costs.
    
    Shell's original production sharing agreement, signed in the 1990s, allows the company and its partners to recoup all expenses at the liquefied natural gas project before sharing any profits with the state.
    
    Royal Dutch Shell said last year that it would double the costs at the project it leads to nearly $22 billion.
    
    "If they double their costs, we won't be getting anything for another 10 years," a visibly irritated Putin said at a news conference at a European Union summit in Lahti, Finland.
    
    But he voiced optimism for a resolution of the matter.
    
    "We are not creating any problems out of it; we just need to sit down at a negotiating table, and I am sure a solution will be found," Putin said.
    
    Earlier Friday, Deputy Industry and Energy Minister Andrei Dementyev told Federation Council members during hearings on the project that he hoped the government would reach a decision to approve or reject the cost over runs by early December.
    
    "We are holding talks with the investors about introducing amendments to the economic model of the project, but it's unlikely to lead to changes in the terms of the PSA," Dementyev said.
    
    
    The Shell-led project has come under intense pressure from environmental regulators since August. Analysts say the probes are being used to pressure the company to reconsider the terms of the original agreement to develop the fields, which are located off the Pacific island of Sakhalin, and to secure access for state-controlled Gazprom to the project.
    
    Dementyev said the terms of Sakhalin-2 were "the worst of the three existing PSAs." The other two are run by ExxonMobil and Total.
    
    "Of course we disagree," said Shell spokesman Maxim Shoob.
    
    "We feel the PSA is great for the Russian Federation. If you take an oil price of $34 a barrel -- much lower than now -- the Russian Federation would get about $50 billion from Sakhalin-2."
    
    Also speaking at the Federation Council hearing, Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev said that while he had received assurances from the consortium running the project that the oversights were being rectified, he could not rule out that work at the development might be halted.
    
    "The Russian Natural Resources Ministry is responsible for the observance of environmental legislation. If Russian laws are going to be trampled on and if the environment is going to be damaged, then we will take measures to stop the project," he said, Interfax reported.
    
    Trutnev is due to meet with representatives of the consortium on Sakhalin next week, when they will present a plan to resolve the environmental violations.
    
    "It will be proposed that Sakhalin Energy compensate for and resolve the damage," Trutnev said in televised remarks.
    
    He said that the consortium's chief executive officer, Ian Craig, had sent him a letter "in which the company acknowledges, virtually in full ... that it has violated the ecological legislation of Russia."
    
    In a statement, Sakhalin Energy said that it had notified Trutnev of the state of work to rectify "noncompliant environmental practices" identified in an August environmental audit and would respond "quickly and adequately" if further problems were identified in a check that began on Oct. 3.
    
    Speaking in Lahti, Putin also sought to allay foreign investors' concerns by saying Russia wanted to create a stable environment for foreign partners.
    
    The recent decision by Gazprom to bar foreign investors from developing the giant Shtokman gas field under the Barents Sea, he said, did not mean Russia was creating an unfriendly investment climate.
    
    "As far as Shtokman is concerned, it has nothing to do with the change of rules in Russia," he said. "It does not mean that Russia says 'no' to the work of foreign partners."
    
    (AP, Reuters)