BIG OIL

Putin promises Shell a smooth ride

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday Russia should provide a favorable investment climate for Royal Dutch/Shell as the oil giant confronts hurdles in its oil project in western Siberia.
Shell became one of the biggest foreign investors in Russia when it got the green light this year for a $10 billion project on the remote eastern island of Sakhalin, where it will build the world's largest liquefied natural gas plant by 2006.