Shell is racing to begin a massive drilling campaign in US Arctic waters before they freeze over and postpone activities by a year.

As problems continue to pile up, the oil giant's claim to have turned a corner is still seen as premature

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell yesterday fell more than 2 per cent to the bottom of the FTSE 100 index after Europe's biggest oil major surprised the City with a 13 per cent fall in profit to £5.7bn.

Cnooc has agreed to buy the Canadian oil producer Nexen for $15.1bn (£9.7bn), in a deal that could make the Chinese oil giant the operator of the giant Buzzard field in the North Sea.

Esso and one of its contractors are to be prosecuted over the death of a sailor at one of Europe's largest oil refineries, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said today.

A tanker truck caught fire and exploded in Nigeria today shortly after breaking down, killing at least 95 people who then rushed to the scene to scoop fuel, an official said.

It is difficult to overstate either the pristine beauty or the scientific value of the vast Arctic wilderness. As one of Earth's few remaining untouched ecosystems, it is an environmental paradise of inestimable variety and wonder.

An operation to stop a gas leak on a North Sea oil platform has got under way.

Shell has reported an 11 per cent rise in profits for the first quarter, as the soaring price of oil outweighed the drag of lower US gas prices on its bottom line.

Controversial "fracking" for shale gas should only take place at least 600 metres down from aquifers used for water supplies, scientists said today.

South Sudan said today it had repulsed an attempt by the Sudanese army to retake the disputed oil-producing border area of Heglig, which the southern army seized earlier this week.

France's Total has pulled out of a £70m takeover punt at Aim-listed oil prospector Wessex Exploration. The oil giant was looking to gain a greater share of a huge field off the coast of French Guyana, in which it already has a 25 per cent stake – less than rivals Shell and Tullow.

The threat of a strike by fuel tanker drivers in a dispute over terms and conditions and safety standards came a step closer today when they voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.