While the foundations were being dug, a steel-and-timber-framed shell of the house was built off-site.

WSJ: Striking Gold in the Backyard

These are crustaceans that survive by dragging around a cast-off mollusc shell for protection and shelter.

ECONOMIST: Nomads at last

Two dot balls followed before Bilal Shafayat was caught at short fine-leg, Kevin O'Brien walked in front of a straight one and Jake Ball, on his one-day debut, looked shell-shocked as Smith trimmed his off bail.

BBC: Devastating Smith destroys Notts

In a meeting with investors in November, Shell CEO Peter Voser ticked off how the firm is investing today to capitalize on long-term global demand.

FORBES: Shell's 5% Dividend Yield (Part 2): Will Huge Capital Spending Pay Off?

Meanwhile, Shell is looking for ways to make its money-losing U.S. natgas business pay off.

FORBES: Shell Oil Axes Exec For Alaska Drilling Fiasco. Will More Heads Roll?

For foreign majors like Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BP PLC, their former heartlands in the Gulf sands are now largely off-limits.

WSJ: Big Oil Companies Are Shifting Their Focus Back to the West

They point to the Sakhalin-2 project off Russia's Far East coast, where Gazprom gained majority control from Royal Dutch Shell last year, after Russian authorities refused to give Shell environmental clearance for the scheme.

BBC: NEWS | Business | Gazprom talk lifts Centrica stock