Shell figures on forming a joint venture with Tatneft, Russian oil and gas company, to explore and develop heavy oil fields in the republic of Tatarstan, said the head of Shell office in Russia.

A “Live Chat” Guest on our website who currently uses the pseudonym of “MUSAINT”, has asked about the progress of the lawsuits involving the Malaysian Dr John Huong, who is being sued for defamation by EIGHT Royal Dutch Shell companies.

The defendants in the case — representing about 70 percent of the country’s oil refiners — agreed to make a cash payment of $423 million to water providers in a total of 17 states nationwide. Settling defendants in the case include BP Amoco, Atlantic Richfield, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, Shell, Marathon, Valero, CITGO, Sunoco, Hess, Flint Hills, El Paso Corp., Merchant Energy and Tesoro.

Among the companies that face litigation are IBM, BP, Credit Suisse, Daimler, Deutsche Bank, Exxonmobil , Ford Motor, General Motors and Shell. Lawyers in South Africa said yesterday that the decision to extend the Alien Tort Claims Act to include corporations accused of “aiding and abetting in the commission of a crime against humanity” was a major triumph.

He quotes Royal Dutch Shell’s CEO Jeroen van der Veen, who in 2007 earned 9.4 million euros. He says people should realise that Shell is one of the world’s five largest companies: “Either you have a headquarters and accept as part of the bargain that large numbers of people earn high salaries, or you don’t. I’ve noticed there is very little understanding for the needs of a large company. I find this disturbing.”

WASHINGTON -Chevron Corp. spent nearly $3 million to lobby on offshore oil and gas development and other energy-related issues in the first quarter of the year.

WASHINGTON - America spent $2.6 million to lobby on oil and gas production and exploration, as well as foreign trade agreements and other issues in the first quarter of the year.

For months, Moscow has been abuzz with speculation about what could lie behind TNK-BP’s string of troubles. The most popular interpretation—at least until recently—was that the Kremlin was putting pressure on TNK-BP to force the company’s Russian shareholders to sell their 50% stake to the government.

Federal regulators would have greater oversight of energy markets as part of the massive farm bill passed by the Senate Thursday. Traders cited the move to close the so-called Enron Loophole — one of several measures Congress is considering to damp speculative trading in oil — as a factor behind turbulent trading in the oil markets Thursday.

Exxon Mobil Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson says he finds it “astonishing” that President Bush is asking Saudi Arabia to pump more oil rather than working harder to clear the way for more oil production at home.