Get used to oil nationalism, says Shell

[Robbien]

By Carola Hoyos, Financial Times


Rising oil prices and the consequent shift of power in favour of resource-rich countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Saudi Arabia, have left demand for the traditional services of international oil companies waning. Petro-states with increasingly sophisticated national oil companies no longer need foreign help to extract oil and gas.

This has brought the renegotiation of contracts, exclusion of foreign companies from projects and a host of demands on international groups that range from funding local schools to involvement in electricity or refining sectors.

Bolivia is the latest country to change the rules, taking full control of its gas fields from companies including Petrobras of Brazil, Repsol of Spain and the UK's BG.

Chief executives from some of the world's biggest energy groups have revealed in a series of interviews with the FT their different approaches to tackling the massive shift that has left their companies struggling to redefine themselves.

Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's second-largest listed energy group, says international oil companies have to "take it how it is, take a deep breath, sometimes cut a fresh deal, and keep on moving".

http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Comment_and_Analysis/10040850.html

[lovuian]

1. The day of US owning a major vital source in another

country and expect the country to sit back and be taken advantage of is over...

So what are we gonna do attack every country... Now way the American way is over... and thanks to Bush ... its worse...

[marmar]

4. Sad but true...

The "American" Century is coming to a crashing, burning, screaming end....With Nero Bush at the helm.

[cornermouse]

2. I think its called any excuse they can invent.

[natrat]

3. yea it could have been ok, now they are out to screw us

and you cant blame them

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. "now they are out to screw us" - Zactly - and ur Gubment asked for it

.
.
.

All the nukes the USA has can't save them now

we will beat them with $$$ and oil

Just like Japan and China has been doing for decades with higher quality automobiles, and cheaper high-tech stuff . .

remember the movie "Die-Hard" anyone?

Where the Japanese executive said to John, the cop (Bruce Willis)

"Well, you got us with them bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki - but we got YOU with transistor radios"

There's a lot of truth in that methinks

[donsu]

7. yes, people, families don't forget who murdered one of theirs

decades can go by and if an opportunity arises for legal revenge......

[ConcernedCanuk]

9. Iraqis have lost THOUSANDS of relatives at the hands of the USA invasion

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.
.

TENS of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands counting up the dead, wounded, and maimed

Which the USA dismisses as "collateral damage"

Well it ain't "collateral damage" to the mother that has seen her kid blown to bits, or the child that sees their parent(s) / family shot by some "stressed out" soldiers

Insurgents my ass - there are FAMILIES out there revenging the slaughter of their loved ones by the USA's occupation/invasion and genocide of their homeland.

The USA don't belong there.

THEY DO!!

Go Home USA

you have problems at home that your Mega Billions of Dollars of this insane war could better benefit your OWN citizens.

But that's just my simple Canuk Opinion

Whadda I know . . . ?

[cliss]

6. The more oil goes up in price,

the more powerful they become. Look at Chavez, Ahmadinejad, Morales, and now Bolivia. Look at how bold and brazen they have become. Even though Bush is holding their heads under the water.

It's no coincidence that they're being bold just as oil prices have gone up to new levels. Guess who's holding all the cards? And I mean all of them.

The balance of power is changing. It's moving away from oil USING countries to oil EXPORTING countries. You watch. When oil goes to $100.00/barrel, we will see Bush sitting on his knees, on prime time TV.

He will be begging and groveling.....the oil countries.

[leesa]

8. Already doing it...what ya think Cheney was doing in the Caspian countries

[jseankil]

10. Thank you Shell! This is actually great news.

Shell has laid out the strongest argument on why the U.S. needs to be at the forefront of developing and implementing new energy alternatives to oil.

$75 billion a year under the guise of national security should be put towards creating and implementing an alternative energy source. Shell in their own words has just laid out why this must be done. Creating and implementing an alterative energy source that is safe must be made a national security issue and be funded as one!