Archive for June, 2009



Iraq: BP Wins the Prize

A consortium led by oil giant BP and China’s CNPC has today won the contract for the vast Rumaila oil field - the largest oil field in Iraq and one of the biggest in the world.
The acquisition will be seen as a huge boost to BP, which has been seeking to get control of the [...]

When Peter Voser (on the right of the photo) takes the helm of the oil giant Shell on Wednesday, he might just start beginning to wonder what a complete mess he has inherited from his predecessor, van der Veer (he’s on the left).
This mess is graphically illustrated in a 32 page devastating critique of van [...]

Cometh the hour, the old phrase goes, cometh the man. Barack Obama is staking much of his high credibility by calling for the House to pass the landmark US Climate bill, that may come before the House this afternoon.
Or it may not, depending on the political drama. While Democratic support has been growing, some media [...]

When Peter Voser takes control at Shell next week from his predecessor Jeroen van der Veer, he will have a bursting in-tray that includes one persistent problem for Shell: Nigeria.
Here the oil giant faces a myriad of problems including continuing community unrest, militant attacks and what to do about gas flaring.

UPDATE 6/24: The Wall St. Journal has an interesting article on this.
Way back in November 2002, as the build up to the war in Iraq gathered pace, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared on the Arabic Service of Monte Carlo radio, in an address targeted at the Iraqi people. “The idea that this is [...]