BP, Shell, Morgan Stanley seek end of oil price-fixing lawsuit
Extracts from a Reuters article by Jonathan Stempel published Tuesday 29 July 2014
(Reuters) – BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Morgan Stanley and other companies urged a U.S. judge to dismiss nationwide litigation claiming they conspired for 12 years to fix prices of Brent crude oil, a benchmark for the cost of gasoline and heating oil.
In papers filed on Monday night in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the defendants said there was no evidence they colluded to manipulate spot prices or intended to do so, in violation of U.S. commodity and antitrust laws.
They also said that because the alleged manipulation took place outside the United States and was governed by foreign law, U.S. courts had no authority to handle the case to begin with.
(Reuters) – BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Morgan Stanley and other companies urged a U.S. judge to dismiss nationwide litigation claiming they conspired for 12 years to fix prices of Brent crude oil, a benchmark for the cost of gasoline and heating oil.
In papers filed on Monday night in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the defendants said there was no evidence they colluded to manipulate spot prices or intended to do so, in violation of U.S. commodity and antitrust laws.
They also said that because the alleged manipulation took place outside the United States and was governed by foreign law, U.S. courts had no authority to handle the case to begin with.
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FLNG Prelude: A New Dawn in the Age of Maritime & Energy
Extracts from a highly informative MarineLink.com article by Patricia Keefe about the pioneering Shell FLNG Prelude project
Aptly named Prelude, at 488 meters long, 74 meters wide, and clocking in at 600,000 tonnes when fully ballasted, the FLNG facility, which is under construction at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea, will be the largest object ever floated on the ocean. Bruce Steenson, Shell’s general manager of integrated gas programs and innovation, has been widely quoted as confirming that Shell is working on an even larger design. “That next one will be off the rails,” he told Reuters. Prelude will be sitting out in the middle of nowhere in cyclone alley central. Shell has no intentions of untethering the facility every time a bad wind blows and towing it to shore. Instead, a number of factors are supposed to ensure that Prelude sits tight in savage seas.
RELATED ARTICLE: Prelude By the Numbers
Aptly named Prelude, at 488 meters long, 74 meters wide, and clocking in at 600,000 tonnes when fully ballasted, the FLNG facility, which is under construction at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea, will be the largest object ever floated on the ocean. Bruce Steenson, Shell’s general manager of integrated gas programs and innovation, has been widely quoted as confirming that Shell is working on an even larger design. “That next one will be off the rails,” he told Reuters. Prelude will be sitting out in the middle of nowhere in cyclone alley central. Shell has no intentions of untethering the facility every time a bad wind blows and towing it to shore. Instead, a number of factors are supposed to ensure that Prelude sits tight in savage seas.
RELATED ARTICLE: Prelude By the Numbers
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BP: Russian sanctions could hurt us
Extract from a Guardian Business Blog article by Graeme Wearden published 29 July 2014
Oil giant BP has warned the City this morning that it could suffer if fresh sanctions are imposed on Russia.
In its latest results, BP cautioned that it would suffer an “”adverse impact” if Western powers hit Moscow with fresh economic restrictions — in response to the crisis in Ukraine.
Oil giant BP has warned the City this morning that it could suffer if fresh sanctions are imposed on Russia.
In its latest results, BP cautioned that it would suffer an “”adverse impact” if Western powers hit Moscow with fresh economic restrictions — in response to the crisis in Ukraine.
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Project Delays Will Cost These Oil Majors Billions
Extracts from a Motley Fool article by Rupert Hargreavespublished 28 July 2014
In total, Kashagan is now expect to cost a total of $136 billion, more than 140% above initial estimates. Production has been consistently delayed; the most recent delay, which occurred at the end of last year, concerns the project’s pipelines. At present, the project is being overseen by Italy’s Eni, although ExxonMobil is shortly set to take over. Shell, Eni, and Total all have a 16.8% stake in the project, and Morgan Stanley’s analysts believe that as a result of the delays, these three companies will have their 2016 net income estimates reduced by $500 million each. That is a large figure, even for these oil giants.
Oil prospectors shifting focus back to wealthy, more predictable countries
Extracts from a Seeking Alpha article published 28 July 2014
Companies including Shell, Chevron and Exxon are diverting more and more funds to the world’s richest economies, as they grow tired of the risks of working in violent and corrupt places for the reward of finding oil and gas reserves that can be profitably exploited… The companies are pulling out of more conflict-torn and difficult regions: Shell since 2010 has sold $1.8B of its Nigerian assets and last year began talks to sell four oil production blocks and a pipeline there.
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