The Oil Daily articles from April 2005

The Oil Daily archives from April 2005

Bank sees 'super spike' in prices to $105/bbl.
April 1, 2005... Oil markets may now be entering a "super spike period" and prices could soar as high as $105 per barrel, according to a report put out by investment bank Goldman Sachs late Wednesday. The bank sees a "super spike range" of $50-$105/bbl, and...

Shell bares all in US securities filing.(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos)
April 1, 2005... Royal Dutch/Shell released its annual 20-F filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Thursday, revealing a reserve replacement ratio for 2004 of just 19%, efforts to settle class-action suits over its reserves debacle and...

Chevron, Repsol partner up in New Venezuela upgrading scheme.(ChevronTexaco Corp.)
April 1, 2005... ChevronTexaco announced Wednesday it will join Spanish Repsol YPF to develop a new heavy crude upgrading project in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt, which the US major had presented to the Venezuelan government last year for consideration. ...

Goldman Sachs report spooks Nymex, boosts crude futures.
April 1, 2005... A report by investment bank Goldman Sachs forecasting a "super spike" in oil prices that could push them as high as $105 per barrel spooked the crude oil market on Thursday and drove up the May crude contract by more than $1.50 per barrel. ...

Daily oil & gas price review.
April 1, 2005... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Thursday, March 31, 2005 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) +1.32 49.19 ...

ChevronTexaco Q1 profit guidance disappoints Wall Street in key areas.
April 1, 2005... ChevronTexaco missed out on Thursday's oil stock rally. While rivals Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and others were up 1%-2%--thanks to a big jump in crude prices--Chevron shares were flat due to a pre-earnings announcement that failed to impress...

Attacked from all fronts, Russian major Yukos faces final defeat.
April 1, 2005... As Yukos' last lifelines disappear, attention is turning to how exactly the dying company will finally be brought down. One possibility is through bankruptcy and liquidation. According to Alexander Temerko, outgoing deputy chairman of...

Petro-Canada says Gazprom LNG talks are moving forward.
April 1, 2005... Petro-Canada said on Thursday that its talks with Russian gas giant Gazprom on exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to North America are proceeding smoothly and could lead to firmer arrangements between the two companies in a matter of months....

Yemen assembly blocks upstream block renewal by hunt oil.
April 1, 2005... Yemen's parliament has moved to block a new agreement extending Hunt Oil's license for Block 18, local sources said Thursday. The license expires in November and accounts for a significant portion of production for both Yemen and the US...

Canadian firm mulls Syria deal.(Top Briefs)(Stratic Energy)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Stratic Energy, a Calgary-based company, said Thursday that it had initialed a production-sharing contract for Syria's Block 17, in partnership with Kuwait's Kufpec. Stratic said it submitted a bid for the 3,154 square mile block in late...

Gas in storage falls 51 Bcf.(EIA Gas Storage Report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Stocks of working natural gas in US storage facilities fell 51 Bcf for the week ended Mar. 25, leaving storage levels at 1,239 Bcf, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Stocks are 222 Bcf higher than last year at this...

US lowers January demand.(Top Briefs)(United States)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Downward revisions to January data show that US oil demand growth was just 0.6% compared to January of 2004, considerably lower than the 1.9% growth initially thought. Meanwhile, US petroleum stocks were much higher in January than the market...

GlobalSantaFe rig arrives.(Exploration & Production)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... GlobalSantaFe has taken delivery of the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig, GSF Development Driller I, from builders in Singapore. The rig is the fourth and last of the company's four-year build program and is expected to arrive...

Stock market scorecard.(NEWS ALERT)(Illustration)
April 1, 2005... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day Majors 31-Mar Chg. % Chg. Marathon 46.92 +1.11 +2.42 Occidental 71.17 +1.67 +2.40 ConocoPhillips 107.84 +2.41 ...

Marathon strikes off Angola.(International)(Marathon Oil Co.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Marathon Oil and its Block 31 partners have made another deepwater discovery offshore Angola. Houston-based Marathon announced Thursday that the Ceres-1 discovery tested at a rate of 5,644 b/d of oil. The well was drilled to a total depth...

Kashagan sale completed.(International)(Kazmunaigaz, Centrica PLC)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Kazakh government said Thursday that its national oil and gas company, KazMunaiGaz, on Wednesday finished the purchase of 50% of BG's share in the North Caspian Project (OD Mar.31,p7). Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry said in a written...

CB&I to expand UK LNG plant.(International)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Woodlands, Texas-based CB&I has been awarded a turnkey contract valued at $470 million to $500 million for the expansion of an LNG import terminal at the Isle of Grain, Kent, in the UK. The terminal will be owned and operated by Grain...

Petrobras sets output record.(Latin America)(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Brazil's state-controlled energy company Petrobras said Thursday that it set a new daily record production on Wednesday of 1.65 million bbls, exceeding the company's previous daily output record of 1.64 million on Mar. 14, 2003. According...

Pemex refining more Maya.(Latin America)(Petroleos Mexicanos)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Mexican state oil company Pemex's effort to upgrade its domestic refining facilities helped lift the company's processing of its heavy Maya crude by 17% in 2004 to 423,000 b/d. Maya, which has an API gravity of 21[degrees], accounted for...

XTO, Conoco swap assets.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(XTO Energy)(ConocoPhillips)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... XTO Energy said it has traded properties with production of around 1,800 boe/d with ConocoPhillips. The properties are located mainly in Texas and New Mexico. For XTO, the trade added working interests to its operated properties in the...

Motiva sells Florida terminal.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(Marathon Ashland Petroleum L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Motiva Enterprises said Thursday that it will sell its 388,000 bbl North Petroleum Distribution Terminal in Port Everglades, Florida, to Marathon Ashland Petroleum (MAP) for an undisclosed sum. The terminal is one of three Motiva owns in the...

Delaware rejects BP LNG plan.(Offshore)(liquefied natural gas terminal, BP Petroleum Development Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A Delaware board on Wednesday voted to deny BP's appeal of an earlier decision by the state's Department of Natural Resources not to permit a pier associated with a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal (LNG), the Philadelphia Inquirer...

Tesoro renews Brunei deal.(Refining)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... US refiner Tesoro has renewed a deal to buy Seria light crude oil from Brunei Shell for an undisclosed amount, company officials said. The one-year contract, which was signed on Wednesday and runs to Dec. 31 this year, marks the fourth year...

IEA urges nations to conserve more oil.(International Energy Agency)
April 4, 2005... Energy consuming nations should step up efforts to conserve energy as lower demand--especially of transportation fuels--can make a substantial difference in cooling record-high oil prices, said an official of the International Energy Agency...

House panel to introduce new energy bill.
April 4, 2005... Will third time be the charm? Against the backdrop of record high oil prices that some predict could top $100 per barrel, a House of Representatives panel is set to jump-start action this week on an energy bill that adds news provisions to...

Oil equities give back some gains in March, Unocal only gainer.
April 4, 2005... Oil shares typically move in the same direction as oil prices. On Thursday, for example, surging oil prices sent many oil equities up as much as 3%. Thursday's share prices jump, however, wasn't enough to reverse declines experienced earlier in...

Crude hits record; Goldman report, refinery trouble lifts prices.
April 4, 2005... Goldman Sachs' prediction of a "super spike" in oil prices continued to lift crude prices on Friday, while a refinery outage in Venezuela also served to prop up prices. On Friday, the May contract on New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex)...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Illustration)
April 4, 2005... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Monday, April 1, 2005 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) +2.24 51.43 ...

Oversupply in US spot market widens spreads for most crude grades.
April 4, 2005... While fear and panic buying are boosting oil prices on the futures exchanges, the US physical market is more than adequately supplied. The oversupply has widened spreads between grades and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI). The New...

US rig count falls by two.(Baker Hughes Drilling Report)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the US fell by two to 1,329 last week, oil services firm Baker Hughes said Thursday. During the same week last year, there were 1,160 rigs in operation. The number of rigs searching for oil in...

El Paso considers new investments in LNG infrastructure.
April 4, 2005... El Paso is considering several opportunities to expand its presence in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector through investments in several proposed LNG projects, a senior El Paso executive said last week. The company is talking with the...

US natural gas markets poised for continued price surge.
April 4, 2005... Ask market players what to expect this week and the consensus is clear: most lean toward gas prices continuing to advance--big time. Not only have gas futures prices rallied for two consecutive weeks following a prompt-month settlement for...

Quiet month for production, but wild ride for politics in Alaska.
April 4, 2005... Alaska may have had a relatively mundane month on the production front in March, but the political background was anything but, as environmental and business issues stirred up controversy between the state and its producers. Production...

XTO buys East Texas properties from plains.
April 4, 2005... XTO Energy has agreed to buy producing properties in its core East Texas/North Louisiana operating area from Plains Exploration & Production for $350 million. Plains said it will use most of the proceeds from the deal to buy its way out of some...

Amuay refinery goes down.(Top Briefs)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The processing units of Venezuela's largest export refinery, the 485,000 b/d Amuay, remained down Friday following a power failure that virtually paralyzed its operations, said state owned company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV). Electricity...

Connacher gets Peru blocks.(Connacher Oil)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The Peruvian government has approved Canadian independent Connacher Oil and Gas' license applications for Block 106 in the Maranon Basin and Block 107 in the Ucayali Basin. Calgary-based Connacher is represented in Peru by Petrolifera...

Canadian gas storage.(NEWS ALERT)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Enerdata reported that the amount of natural gas in Canadian storage facilities fell 6.1 Bcf to 124.2 Bcf for the week ended Mar. 25. Storage caverns are 25.7% full, down from 27% the previous week, but up from 25.1% a year ago. Canadian...

Colombia to award marginal deals.(Latin America)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Ecopetrol, Colombia's state oil company, will award contracts soon to develop 10 undeveloped or inactive marginal oil fields located in the upper and lower Magdalena Valley basin and the Catatumbo basin. A spokeswoman with the state company...

Chevron sells Peru stations.(Latin America)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... ChevronTexaco said Friday that it has agreed to sell its Texaco-brand service stations in Peru to Peruana de Combustibles for an undisclosed sum. The deal is the latest in a series of sales designed to make Chevron more competitive by...

Shell mulls Brazil gas project.(Latin America)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Royal Dutch/Shell is holding conversations with Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras and Spanish Repsol YPF for joint development of Brazil's giant Mexilhao natural gas field in the Santos Basin, a company official said. Petrobras had announced...

Stock market scorecard.(NEWS ALERT)(Illustration)
April 4, 2005... Stock Market Scorecard --% Chg.-- Integrated Close 1-Day Majors 1-Apr Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Occidental 73.64...

Canada delays drilling decision.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Canada's federal government is postponing its decision about lifting its 33-year moratorium on drilling for oil and gas off the coast of British Columbia, acknowledging that the complexity of the issue--particularly with regards to...

Exxon appeals pollution ruling.(Exxon Mobil Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... A Louisiana appeals court Friday reduced a punitive damages award in a pollution lawsuit again US major Exxon Mobil to $112 million from the original judgment of $1 billion, but left compensatory damages unchanged at $56 million. However,...

Net longs hit one-year high.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Crude oil speculators on the New York Mercantile Exchange boosted their net long positions to a one-year high in the week ended Mar. 22, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC). Noncommercial crude speculators...

Alaska agency proposes gas pipe.(Alaska Gasline Port Authority )(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The Alaska Gasline Port Authority is the latest organization to file a project application under the state's Stranded Gas Act to get North Slope natural gas to market in the continental US. According to a news release from Alaska Gov. Frank...

Cheniere launches open season.(Cheniere Energy Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Cheniere on Friday launched a two-month open season for transportation capacity on its proposed Creole Trail natural gas pipeline. The pipeline is expected to start operation in late 2008, and will link two of Cheniere's planned liquefied...

BP blast costs seen lower.(BP America Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Last week's explosion at BP's Texas City refinery is expected to cost the company less than initially expected, with analysts and industry sources now putting total damages at under $400 million (OD Mar.30,p1). Immediately after the blast,...

Valero to shut Texas refinery.(Valero Energy Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Independent refiner Valero Energy will start shutting it 98,000 b/d refinery in Three Rivers, Texas, on Apr. 10 for a turnaround, the company said in a filing to Texas regulators. Valero filed required 10-day advance notifications for...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
April 4, 2005... An Oil Daily story published on Mar. 28 about a fire at BP's Texas City refinery mischaracterized the nature of records used by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) with regards to the company's safety record. The OSHA data...

Chevron buys Unocal in $18.4 billion deal.(acquisitions)
April 5, 2005... Sometimes the rumor mill gets it right. ChevronTexaco announced on Monday it has reached an agreement to acquire Unocal in a deal worth $18.4 billion, creating a California-based oil giant with worldwide production of about 3 million barrels of...

Low outlays result in capacity constraints.
April 5, 2005... What appears to be a sudden dearth in excess capacity in both the upstream and downstream sectors of the global petroleum industry actually has been building for more than a decade, says Andrew Gould, chairman and chief executive of...

Chevron bolsters Asia Position in big way with Unocal purchase.
April 5, 2005... With its proposed acquisition of Unocal, ChevronTexaco will become a much bigger player in Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand where Unocal has long been the dominant natural gas producer (see page 1). The Asia-Pacific region accounts for...

Nymex crude takes a breather, sheds 26 cents on profit-taking.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... After hitting yet another front-month record of $58.28 per barrel in thin overnight trading, May crude oil futures in New York shed 26 cents on Monday to close at $57.01/bbl on profit-taking, as the red hot market took a breather. ...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Illustration)
April 5, 2005... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Monday, April 4, 2005 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) -0.87 50.56 ...

Energy bill's boutique fuel provision worries industry groups.
April 5, 2005... A proposal by a House of Representatives panel to reduce the number of gasoline specifications --referred to as boutique fuels and often blamed for supply problems--is raising alarm among leading oil industry trade groups that say it could add...

Heating degree days.(Illustration)
April 5, 2005... Heating Degree Days For the week of April 2, 2005 --Week Dev-- From Week From Year Cum State/City (PADD) Total Norm...

Syntroleum shares jump 30% on start of Catoosa GTL output.(gas to liquids)
April 5, 2005... Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Syntroleum was the top share winner among energy stocks last week with a 30% gain, according to data from energy consultant John S. Herold. Sytroleum stock jumped as the company's Catoosa plant began production of...

Oil & gas share gainers and decliners.(Illustration)
April 5, 2005... Oil & Gas Share Gainers and Decliners Week Ended Apr.4, 2005 Top 15 Gainers Close Close Company Ticker Apr. 1 Mar. 24 % Chg Syntroleum SYNM ...

Aging US refining system faces questions after BP accident.
April 5, 2005... A Mar. 23 explosion that caused 15 deaths at BP's 470,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Texas City has put a new focus on aging US refineries and their safety records at a time when they are expected to run flat out to meet consumer demand for...

Devon updates asset sales.(Corporate News)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Devon Energy, the largest US independent oil and gas producer, on Monday said it reached agreements to sell substantially all the US oil and gas properties that it had previously put on the block (OD Nov.5,p1). The company said it expects...

RFA urges against waiver.(Environment)(Renewable Fuels Association)
April 5, 2005... The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), representing ethanol producers, on Friday urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reject California's request for a waiver from the federal oxygenate mandate. The mandate requires refiners...

Hess plugs costly gulf well.(Exploration & Production)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Amerada Hess announced that its Wembley #1 well, located on Mississippi Canyon Block 722, reached about 29,000 feet and failed to encounter commercial quantities of hydrocarbons. The well has been plugged and abandoned. Hess, operator of...

Q1 output higher for BP.(Exploration & Production)(British Petroleum America Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... BP, the world's second largest oil company by market value, raised production slightly in the first quarter compared to the same period last year and is on course to hit its full year output targets. BP said in a trading statement on Monday...

Stock market scorecard.(NEWS ALERT)(Illustration)
April 5, 2005... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day Majors 4-Apr Chg. % Chg. Statoil 17.63 +0.14 +0.80 Murphy Oil 101.87 +0.42 +0.41 ConocoPhillips 110.57 +0.29 ...

PetroKazakhstan execs charged.(International)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Canadian oil company PetroKazakhstan said on Monday two of its officials had been charged with violating anti-monopoly laws in the central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, home to all its operations. The Calgary, Alberta-based company, which has...

Russian output stagnates.(International)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Russian oil output was flat in March versus February, extending a spell of stagnation to six months, which has followed five years of impressive growth, Energy Ministry figures showed on Monday. Released as oil prices struck a new record...

Brazil to detail blocks for bid.(Latin America)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Brazil's government plans to announce by mid-April the blocks it will tender as part of its seventh hydrocarbon exploration bidding round, which is set to take place in October, according to the National Petroleum Agency regulatory agency...

Colombia may open acreage.(Latin America)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Colombia's energy regulator, the National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH), could call for bids from international oil companies by the end of June to perform initial studies--including the shooting of 2D seismic--for unexplored onshore and offshore...

Petrohawk acquires mission.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Petrohawk Energy on Monday said it agreed to buy Mission Resources for around $350 million in cash and stock, gaining properties in the Permian Basin and US Gulf of Mexico. The deal includes about 60% Petrohawk common stock and 40% cash,...

Oil daily calendar.(Calendar)
April 5, 2005... April 5-7--Electric Power 2005, sponsored by Trade Fair Group, Lakeside Center/McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. Information: 832 242 1969 12--2005 EIA Midterm Energy Outlook & Modeling, sponsored by US Department of Energy/Energy...

NiSource gets new pipe exec.(appointment)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... NiSource Pipeline Group, which owns Columbia Gas Transmission, Columbia Gulf Transmission, Crossroads Pipeline Co. and Granite State Gas Transmission, said Monday that Christopher Helms has become the group's new president for pipeline...

XTO president retiring.(Personnel)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... US oil and gas producer XTO Energy on Monday said Steffen Palko, its vice chairman and president, will retire, effective Apr. 30. Keith Hutton, currently executive vice president of operations, will become president, the company said in a...

US independents get more unconventional.
April 6, 2005... The oil and gas industry has been described in a number of ways, but unconventional has seldom been among the terms applied. Yet, a good number of the exploration and production companies presenting at this week's Howard Weil Energy...

Greenspan: stockbuilds could cool prices.(Alan Greenspan)(Federal Reserve Board)
April 6, 2005... Oil and gas markets have been in "a degree of strain" over the past year that has not been seen in a generation, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday in a prepared text to the National Petrochemicals and Refiners...

UK, Norway treaty paves way for new oil and gas projects.
April 6, 2005... After nearly five years of negotiations, the governments of the UK and Norway have adopted a treaty on cross-border cooperation that enables to two sides to push ahead with several new oil and gas projects. "The new agreement will allow...

Nymex crude, products fall on expectations of rising stocks.(New York Mercantile Exchange)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Crude and product futures fell on Tuesday as traders took profits on expectations that US petroleum inventory data due out today would show huge builds for last week. Some technical selling was also driven by large traders trying to square...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Illustration)
April 6, 2005... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Tuesday, April 5, 2005 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) -0.93 49.63 ...

EOG bets future on 'weird' gas plays in North America.
April 6, 2005... The North American natural gas business is getting really "weird," says Mark Papa, chairman and chief executive of Houston-based EOG Resources. By weird, Papa said at this week's Howard Weil Energy Conference, he means unconventional resources...

US budget office defends lofty ANWR leasing estimates to critics.
April 6, 2005... Responding to skepticism, particularly from Democrats, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is justifying its estimate of $5 billion in revenue from oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), saying it is based on the...

Global oil supply in March far outpaces worldwide demand.
April 6, 2005... World oil market balances in the first quarter seem to have very little to do with where oil prices have gone, as estimated March supply exceeded demand by 400,000 barrels per day, according to preliminary data from Oil Daily sister publication...

Partners align Gorgon stakes.(Greater Gorgon Area)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... ChevronTexaco announced Tuesday that a framework agreement has been reached between its Australian affiliate and joint venture participants to align their equity interests in the giant gas resources of the Greater Gorgon Area, offshore Western...

Conoco sees higher '05 output.(Corporate News)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... ConocoPhillips on Tuesday said it expects 2005 oil and gas production to be about 3% higher than last year, when the company took unscheduled downtime in Alaska. The company also forecast daily production in the first quarter close to...

Officials decry MTBE waiver.(Environment)(methyl tertiary butyl ether)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... State and local government officials on Tuesday urged members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to oppose a proposal that protects oil companies from defective product lawsuits for using the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl...

Aramco to build new refinery.(International)(Saudi Arabian Oil Co.)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Saudi Aramco plans to build a multi-billion dollar export-oriented refinery with a 400,000 b/d capacity in the Red Sea city of Yanbu, a senior company official said on Tuesday. Investment for the plant will run to $4 billion-$ 5 billion,...