AMSTERDAM, June 16 (Reuters) – More study is needed on the
environmental impact of unconventional gas projects to ensure
their success in Europe, the head of the European Commission’s
unit for coal and oil said on Wednesday.

Unconventional resources such as shale gas, viewed as a game
changer in the U.S. natural gas market, could also be vastly
available for exploitation in Europe, though European
environmental concerns are more acute.

AMSTERDAM, May 28 (Reuters) – Suncor Energy Inc <SU.TO>,
Canada’s biggest oil and gas company, expects to raise close to
$500 million from the sale of its Dutch subsidiary, to be
decided by the end of June, a source close to the company said.

Since completing the acquisition of rival oil producer
Petro-Canada in August, the company has been selling off surplus
assets, raising C$1.5 billion to date, with further sales
expected to bring in as much as C$2.5 billion more.
[ID:nN03213638]

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The U.N panel of climate scientists said on Friday that mistakes in a 2007 report should not eclipse its progress and detract from a valid body of work on the risks of global warming.

Addressing a committee reviewing its work, the panel’s chairman said the mistakes were down to human failure, adding its limited budget was partially responsible for the errors.

AMSTERDAM, May 12 (Reuters) – Dutch-listed niche metals
maker Advanced Metallurgical Group <AMG.AS> beat forecasts with
a 39 percent rise in first-quarter core profit on recovering
demand for speciality metals, which it said should continue.

AMG, which supplies sectors including aerospace, energy,
infrastructure and chemicals, said earnings before interest,
tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to $22 million,
above a forecast for $15 million in a Reuters poll.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The head of a Dutch commission asked by the Catholic Church to look into allegations of sexual abuse said on Friday a year-long investigation was needed and appealed for offenders to come forward.

Wim Deetman, tasked to probe reports of sexual abuse by priests, said an independent inquiry should assess the scale and nature of the alleged abuse over the last 65 years, examine who was accountable and establish measures to prevent it recurring.

AMSTERDAM, April 27 (Reuters) – Dutch oil and chemicals
storage firm Vopak’s <VOPA.AS> operating profit rose more than
expected in the first quarter, helped by a pick-up in chemicals
sector, and it lifted its minimum forecast for profit growth in
2010.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), excluding
exceptional items, rose to 110 million euros ($147 million) in
the first quarter, compared with a 102 million euros average
forecast in a Reuters survey of five analysts, and up from 86
million euros in the same period in 2009.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Swiss-German biofuels producer Biopetrol, in which commodities trader Glencore holds a majority stake, is aiming to run its biodiesel plants at close to full capacity in 2011, its chief executive said in an interview.

After starting up one production line at its huge new Rotterdam plant in January, the firm expects to start the second line in mid-2010 and bring the plant up to full capacity by the fourth quarter, chief executive Klaus Henschel said on Tuesday.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Nestle, the world’s biggest food group, said it had stopped buying palm oil from Indonesia’s Sinar Mas due to concerns about rainforest destruction, following a similar move by consumer goods firm Unilever.

Nestle’s announcement came after Greenpeace released a report on Wednesday which looked into how the company was sourcing palm oil.