Shell Oil (LSE:RDSA) Reaches Gulf Deal With Noble

Shell Oil (LSA:RDSA) has reached a deal with Noble Corp. that gives them $4 billion of new contracts. Noble is also purchasing Frontier Drilling, a privately held company for $2.16 billion in cash.

Shell will be paying reduced fees for the leasing of Noble's rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. They have also given Shell the full right to cancel any contracts between the two rigs currently in the Gulf. Due to President Obama's six month moratorium on deepwater drilling.

The agreements are contingent upon Noble closing the deal with Frontier. Upon doing so, Shell will have the go ahead for the two ultra deepwater projects according to the terms of the contract. Anadarko pulled out of their contract with Noble in the beginning of June from drilling contracts due to the moratorium.

John Breed, a Noble spokesman said the purpose of the Shell purchase is to hopefully ease concerns and prevent oil companies from fully abandoning agreements in the Gulf. " We're working with our customers to find a resolution that would allow them to keep rigs under contract," said Breed.

Shell (LSE:RDSA) Drilling Suspended

Shell Oil (LSE:RDSA) is being told no by the government to drill for oil in the Artic. They were planning to drill five exploratory wells off of the coast of Alaska. The Justice Department defended this action just days ago but it was shut down by The Interior Department.

Shell is pointing out that they would have been drilling in much shallower water than the depth that Deepwater Horizon was drilling. They would only be drilling 150 feet verses the 5,000 feet BP is drilling at. The officials at Shell feel this move is totally political because of the disaster in the Gulf. Obama employed the Geological Survey which is supposed to determine the companies ability to respond, as well as determining the potential impact if they were to were to face the challenges of an oil spill like is currently being experienced.

Leaders of the Center For Biological Diversity are saying that they do not have the technology in the Artic if there were a massive oil spill. Which would be catastrophic for the entire ice environment, among several species including the polar bear.

The Mineral Management Services (MMS) say that there is approximately $27 billion barrels of oil in just the U.S. portion of the Artic. Obama feels the domestic exploration of oil would make the country less dependant on foreign oil as we pursue the transition to a cleaner oil.

Oil Spill Disasters: Shell (LSE:RDSA), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Exxon (NYSE:XOM), BP (NYSE:BP)

Because of the current publicity of BP's (NYSE:BP) massive oil spill, it's easy to forget that other companies have also been in the spot light for major oil spill disasters, including Shell (LSE:RDSA), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) .

In 2009, the lion's share was sabotaged at their Odidi field in Nigeria. Bombs were aimed on the Trans Excravos pipeline. Because of this attack, Shell's oil spill reached around the world with a loss of 110,000 barrels. In January 2010, Shell said it shut down three pumping stations due to another sabotage that was aimed at the Niger Delta area in Nigeria. This was one of their key pipelines and is said to have spilled into local creeks.

Also in 2009, Chevron experienced an oil leak. Their leak spilled close to 9,300 barrels on water and land. As well as in April of this year, there was a loss of 500 barrels by a pipe leak operated by Chevron. These 500 barrels were deposited directly into Louisiana's Delta National Wildlife Refugee.

Exxon Mobil also plays a role in oil spill disasters of 2009. They spilled close to 18,000 barrels of hydrocarbons in water and land. In May 2010, Exxon declared forced majeure on its oil shipments from Qua lboe, Nigeria. This is resulting in up to 150,000 bpd after a key pipeline leak was found.

Obama Bans Drilling Of Offshore Oil Wells, Huge Blow To Shell (LSE:RDSA)

An aide of President Obama, under anonymity said, Obama is going to announce that he will not let Shell Oil Company (LSE:RDSA) continue exploratory drilling off the coast of Alaska. At least until the commission, in charge of "how to prevent this from ever happening again," is able to do a full review. This is just one of the topics Obama will cover at his press conference this afternoon.

The President is also going to announce that intends to extend an existing memorandum for six months on any new drilling. He will also cancel lease sales planned for August off the Coast of Virginia as well as off the Coast of Alaska. The sale in Virginia was highly supported by state officials, until environmental groups as well as the large military population did not share the same opinion.

These announcements from the president are expected to be meet with some resistance. Like from the energy industry officials who feel like the effects of the Deepwater Horizon incident should not prompt a nationwide ban on offshore oil and gas drilling.

Shell officials have stated that they should not have the same restrictions because their plans were to drill in shallower water unlike BP.

Shell Oil (LSE:RDSA) Suggests The Government Remodel It's Controversial Super Profit Tax

Shell Oil (LSE:RDSA) is urging government officials to remodel it's controversial profit super tax. They are wanting to make it comparable to the taxing of the petroleum industry.

Currently, the profit super tax takes effect once a company reaches a return of capital at 5.75 percent. This return amount is set by the federal government. Ann Pickard, a senior executive at Shell, states that she believes that a company should have to reach a return capital of 11 percent before the super profits tax kicks in.

The proposal from the Queensland Government states that they are in agreement with Ms. Pickard's statement, these comments stemmed from the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference.

At this conference Jac Nasser, the new BHP Billiton chairman amplified his efforts of the big miner's campaign against the plan. The proposal "unfairly changes the rules of the game," said Mr. Nasser in his first letter to the 600,000 BHP shareholders.

BHP feels the new tax should only be applied to new investments. A government consultation panel will meet on Thursday about the new tax, BHP will attend Friday.

Governor Palin Disappointed by Shell Decision to Cancel Drilling Activities in the OCS

December 18, 2008, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin today expressed her disappointment in Shell Oil Company’s decision to cancel drilling activities in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of Alaska’s Beaufort Sea for 2009.

The decision comes on the heels of a ruling by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on November 20. “Alaska’s economic past and future are tied directly to the development of our abundant natural resources," the governor said. “The loss of this exploration activity will cost our state’s families hundreds of jobs next year.”

The governor also announced today that the state of Alaska intends to support Shell’s petition to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for a rehearing in front of the full court.

Oil Drops on Bailout Uncertainty

Oil settled about $1 lower on Friday as the unknown concerning the bailout package continues to paralyze investors across the board.

Crude in the U.S. settled at $106.89 a barrel, while Brent crude in London slipped by $1.06 to $103.54.

With demand for oil slackening because of consumers tightening their wallets, oil would probably be much lower if the hurricanes hadn't disrupted production in the Gulf of Mexico. That has helped support the commodity in otherwise difficult circumstances.

Shell Oil said it will take about two more weeks to get all its offshore fields in production again. Shell is the largest oil producer in the Gulf.

About 25 percent of U.S. crude production is in the Gulf of Mexico.

Shell Says Nigerian Pipeline Attack will have Minimal Impact on Oil Production

Shell said the recent attack on an oil supply pipeline in southern Nigeria won't have too much impact on oil production, after it found a leak on a pipeline connected to teh Bonny exports terminal - the largest in Nigeria.

"We discovered there was a major leak on the Greater Port Harcourt swamp pipeline. The leak appears to have been caused by explosives. We have isolated the line preparatory to repairs," Shell spokesman in Lagos Tony Okonedo told AFP. "Small quantities of oil have been shut in to allow for necessary repairs."

Shell is the largest oil exporter in Nigeria, accounting for approximately half the 2.1 million barrels a day output.

The company's pipelines have been under attack frequently over the last couple years, with a terrorist group named Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claiming responsibility.

Shell said oil production has been cut back slightly as a result of the attack, as repairs are being made.

Oil surged to a new record high of $117 a barrel on Friday.