Company: ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Qatar is continuing its overseas buying spree, snapping up a stake in Royal Dutch Shell and reportedly also eyeing a chunk of Italian oil major Eni.

Royal Dutch Shell reported an 11 percent rise in fourth quarter profits on Thursday, beating analysts' forecasts, as higher oil prices and stronger refining margins outweighed the impact of lower U.S. gas prices.

After a sheen was spotted near Shell's Mars and Ursa oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, the company sent a spill response vessel to the area, and now reports no sign of leaks from its platforms. 

Natural gas prices could fall dramatically because supply is so strong in the market that demand cannot keep up, according to Torsten Dennin, managing director at Natural Resources.

The president of Shell Oil can't predict whether gasoline in the U.S. will rise to an average $5 a gallon, but he told CNBC the gas price is directly tied to the price of oil and "we’re going to have to see stability around the world to start to have an impact." That means the U.S. should be producing more of its own oil and gas.

"There's nothing inevitable about it," one economist says about the widespread predictions about $5 gas. "To a large extent it depends on what happens in the Middle East."

"Exporting crude to British and French companies has been stopped ... we will sell our oil to new customers," according to the ministry of petroleum's website.

Canada will focus on exporting oil and other goods to China and other booming Asian economies even if Washington overturns its decision to block a pipeline that would have sent more Canadian crude to the United States.     

Royal Dutch Shell said it was targeting aggressive growth in the coming years, with the startup of big new projects and higher investments in exploration set to drive a 50 percent rise in cashflow and a 25 percent rise in oil and gas production.

The United Steelworkers union told U.S. refinery workers to prepare to offer safe and orderly refinery shutdowns prior to a strike that could begin as early as 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, sources familiar with the union's preparations said on Sunday.

Shell is to close the FTSE 100’s last remaining final salary pension scheme to new hires in Britain, ending an era in which private sector workers could be confident of a guaranteed income throughout their retirements, the FT reports.

BP's $20 billion oil spill fund has halted payments to eligible victims until a U.S. federal court clarifies an order issued in December, according to a notice posted on the fund's website.

Increased speculation that the euro zone will break up is worrying for the business environment and this is why half-hearted measures must be avoided by EU leaders, the CEOs of two Dutch companies told CNBC on Wednesday.

Stocks closed mixed but finished off their worst levels Tuesday after a report that EU officials may be creating two separate rescue funds to help contain the region's ongoing sovereign debt crisis.

Royal Dutch Shell has found shale gas in China, a development that could cap imports in a market natural gas producers are hoping will drive demand.