New blow for BP as Russian office raided August 31, 2011 BAILIFFS and armed special forces stormed BP’s Moscow’s offices yesterday, just a day after the Kremlin rubbed salt into the oil giant’s wounds by signing a coveted Arctic exploration deal with US rival ExxonMobil. BP was ordered to let bailiffs search through all documents by a court in Siberia, where Andrei Prokhorov, a minority shareholder [...]
Shell poised to sign $800m deal for Ukrainian shale gas August 31, 2011 ROYAL DUTCH Shell, the world’s largest oil producer, is poised to sign an $800m (£492m) deal to explore and develop shale gas fields in the Ukraine, a presidential official told journalists yesterday. President Viktor Yanukovich’s chief of staff said Shell and Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state-run gas and oil company, intend to sign a deal today [...]
Bailiffs raid Moscow office of BP unit August 31, 2011 Bailiffs raided BP’s Moscow offices on Wednesday, causing new problems for the oil company a day after ExxonMobil signed a deal that ended BP’s hopes of developing Arctic offshore oil fields with Russia. The morning raid, in which about 15 black-clad special force officers entered the central Moscow headquarters of BP Trading and sealed it [...]
BP out in the cold as Exxon inks deal with Rosneft August 30, 2011 EXXONMOBIL has won a highly coveted contract with Russia’s Rosneft to develop offshore oil fields in the Arctic. The $3.2bn (£1.96bn) deal comes as a major blow for British rival BP, who just seven months ago announced “a groundbreaking strategic global alliance” with Russia’s state-owned oil company that was later abandoned after objections from shareholders [...]
£10bn profits top forecasts for Gazprom August 30, 2011 RUSSIAN gas export monopoly Gazprom’s quarterly profits beat analysts’ expectations yesterday as European buyers rushed to secure contracts at prices 21 per cent higher than a year ago. The company posted a 42 per cent increase in first-quarter earnings to 478.5bn roubles (£10.2bn), exceeding market expectations of a 29 per cent gain. The country’s largest [...]
Exxon ties up Arctic deal with Rosneft August 30, 2011 US oil giant Exxon and Russian peer Rosneft are to jointly develop oil and gas reserves in the Russian Arctic, opening up one of the last unconquered drilling frontiers to the global industry No.1. The deal has ended any hope of BP reviving its own pact with Rosneft to develop the same Arctic territory – [...]
Rusal profit drops by 70pc as costs soar August 29, 2011 RUSAL, the world’s third largest aluminium producer, reported a sharper than expected drop in second-quarter profits after rising costs and a weaker US Dollar outweighed price rises and increased production at the company. The Russia-based company, controlled by billionaire Oleg Deripaska (pictured), said its second-quarter net profit fell 70 per cent to $339m (£206.8m) from [...]
Watson takes Sharapova to the brink August 29, 2011 BRITAIN’S Heather Watson narrowly failed to secure the biggest win of her fledgling career after third seed Maria Sharapova came from a set down to secure her place in the second round of the US Open. The Russian was pushed all the way by the 17-year-old in a match that lasted over two-and-a-half hours but [...]
RESOURCES ROUND-UP August 25, 2011 Kenmare eyes 2012 price hike Kenmare Resources expects a dramatic boost to earnings next year when it will be able to capitalise on higher prices for its key products, the Irish mining firm said yesterday. Kenmare, which mines ilmenite and zircon from its Moma mine in Mozambique, has not been able to take full advantage [...]
Russian broker Otkritie in 120pc earnings hike after hiring drive August 24, 2011 RUSSIAN brokerage Otkritie Securities raised its operating profit by 120 per cent in the year to December after more than doubling its total wage bill by hiring new staff, accounts showed yesterday. Otkritie, the City-based subsidiary of Russian investment bank Otkritie Financial Corporation, said operating profit hit £1.4m in 2010, up from £652,000 in 2009, [...]