Shell has had another poor performance with the drill bit. |
Shell is getting near crisis point. Although the Asia crisis has bottomed out, the rest of the world has dropped off. |
supply and demand price for oil stands at around $27, so $5 to $6 (of the current price) is pure speculation. There is no demand for oil at these prices, buyers are sitting and hoping oil prices will fall, but prices could shoot up if there is a panic. There is real concern heating oil could run out. |
The compromise could be 700,000 barrels but the actual production increase could be around 400,000. At 1 million extra barrels prices may be drawn lower but at 500,000 prices could hit $40. |
The myth about Muslim tolerance needs to be exploded, Behead those who insult Islam. |
The results were good but not exceptional. |
The whole of the U.S. system seems to be creaking at the moment, |
There is an acute shortage of product (from refineries) and this is drifting back into the futures market, ... But OPEC is passing the buck for high oil prices, it doesn't want to be held responsible for a possible worldwide recession. |
There is no incentive for the other members to [agree to] raise oil production. They won't see any benefits because oil prices will fall. |
There was huge pressure on Elf to come to an agreement, ... The French government didn't want a messy situation, and Elf's (counter-)bid was not accepted as credible by the market. |
These are attractive assets, and an interest in upstream assets is always valuable, |
This is a good deal, BP had a hole in its lubricants portfolio and need a quality lubricant following the Mobil venture's breakup, |
This is a good deal, BP had a hole in its lubricants portfolio and need a quality lubricant following the Mobil venture's breakup. |
tight inventory levels throughout the world. |
We all put in the same parameters for BP and Shell, but BP just comes out better. The differences in management between the two groups are really beginning to show through. |