Positions

Houston-based Shell Oil Co. plans to cut up to 800 information technology (IT) positions in the United States in an effort to save about $850 million annually beginning in 2008. The reductions, part of Shell’s “IT Vision” plan, will be made through attrition, reduced number of contractors, employee reassignments and voluntary severance packages, and are expected to be completed by 2006. Shell also will outsource more work to India and Malaysia. Shell currently has about 9,000 IT staff worldwide, including 2,200 in the U.S. who are mostly based in Houston. In addition to the reductions, Shell also is reducing the number of computer programs and software applications it uses, according to Anne Kniesley, manager of corporate media relations. Currently, Shell has hundreds of IT contracts, but it plans to reduce the number to less than 20. Kniesley said the changes were “about reducing costs and improving quality.”

Houston-based Shell Oil Co. plans to cut up to 800 information technology (IT) positions in the United States in an effort to save about $850 million annually beginning in 2008.

Sempra Energy LNG inked a letter of intent with BPMigas, Indonesia’s executive agency for oil and gas, and BP Indonesia Thursday to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from Indonesia to be delivered to its planned terminal in North Baja California, Mexico. Top government energy officials from Mexico, Indonesia and the U.S. endorsed the agreement which was signed near the end of the two-day LNG Ministerial Summit in Washington, DC, last week.

Kerr-McGee Corp. has added hedge positions for 2004 sales. They include 100,000 MMBtu/d with a floor price of $5/MMBtu and a ceiling price of $6.06/MMBtu for the first quarter; 565,000 MMBtu/d through fixed-price swaps at an average price of $4.75 for the second quarter; and 575,000 MMBtu/d through fixed-price swaps at an average price of $4.75 for the third and fourth quarter. With the additional hedges, Kerr-McGee has hedged approximately 70% of its projected 2004 U.S. oil volumes at an average WTI price of $27.69/bbl and approximately 70% of its 2004 North Sea oil volumes at an average Brent price of $25.99/bbl. Approximately 75% of the projected 2004 U.S. gas sales have been hedged through a combination of fixed-price swaps and costless collars. Details on Kerr-McGee’s oil and gas hedges for the remainder of 2003 and for 2004 are available at www.kerr-mcgee.com/guidance.html.

BP Canada Energy Co. has appointed Brian E. Frank to the position of president and CEO, marking the first time a Canadian has been appointed to those positions within the company. He succeeds Dennis Roemmich, who is retiring. BP said that during his 20 years of energy industry experience, including the past eight years with BP Canada and its predecessor company Amoco Canada, Frank led the formation of Canada’s foremost natural gas and power marketing and trading entity.

Gas futures extended Monday’s gains on Tuesday as market participants covered short positions and also responded to the Northeast heat and Tropical Storm Claudette in the central Caribbean. The National Hurricane Center upgraded what had been a tropical wave directly to a tropical storm on Tuesday. The August futures contract ended the day up 12.2 cents to $5.503, not far from its daily high, but opinions were mixed on the market’s direction for the remainder of the week.

One day after Anadarko Petroleum Corp. President and CEO John Seitz resigned unexpectedly from his positions, analysts were scratching their heads looking for an explanation. The news came as a shock because it coincided with an energetic and optimistic investor webcast earlier in the month, which was met with positive reactions from some notable analysts.

One day after Anadarko Petroleum Corp. President and CEO John Seitz resigned unexpectedly from his positions, analysts were scratching their heads looking for an explanation. The news came as a shock because it coincided with an energetic and optimistic investor webcast late last week and positive reactions from some notable analysts.

Like the snowfall piling up in New England, long positions filled the natural gas pit on Thursday as bulls received yet another double-dose of supportive news in the form of fresh weather and storage (162 Bcf withdrawal) reports. By 11 a.m EST the January contract had blasted through the $5.00 mark. With sellers backing away, the prompt contract was able to continue higher in the afternoon to top out at a new 19-month continuation chart high at $5.15. January finished at $5.089, up 38 cents for the session.