The Oil Daily articles from December 2004

The Oil Daily archives from December 2004

Premcor Makes Bet on Wide Sour Discounts.(contract with EnCana Corp.)
December 1, 2004... With sweet crude production down and sour crude output up worldwide, independent refiner Premcor is betting that its deal with Canadian producer EnCana will prove to be a well- timed, profitable venture. The two companies announced late...

Weatherford Wins Iraq Job, Eyes Security.(Weatherford US Inc.'s contracts)
December 1, 2004... US drilling and well services company Weatherford has won a tender to drill 60 wells in the Rumaila oil field in southern Iraq -- but execution of the contract is hanging in the balance as the company considers the security situation and the...

Saudi Oil Sector Still Vulnerable to Attacks Despite Security Progress.(terrorism)
December 1, 2004... Although Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has improved security at its oil facilities, threats to the country's energy infrastructure still loom, according to a study by a prominent Washington, DC-based think tank. Terrorist...

Mild Weather Drives Heating Oil, Crude Lower on Nymex.(New York Mercantile Exchange)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Heating oil led crude futures lower Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) amid mild weather in major consuming areas and forecasts for further builds in distillate inventories. "The focus is on heating oil and the weather is...

Fund Aims to Distribute Camisea Royalties Around Peru.(Fund for Socioeconomic and Environmental Development)
December 1, 2004... Proceeds from Peru's massive Camisea natural gas project could start flowing into the coffers of some of the country's poorest provinces as early as next year, if a first-of-its-kind fund distributes royalty money to the provinces crossed by...

Africa Urges Domestic Gas Investment.(Africa Oil & Gas Forum)
December 1, 2004... Foreign investors should help develop domestic gas markets in Africa rather than focusing solely on export projects, speakers told the Africa Oil & Gas Forum in Houston on Tuesday. Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Royal Dutch/Shell's business director...

Sweets and Sours Firm on Strong Distillate Demand in US.
December 1, 2004... The US physical crude markets tightened Tuesday as refiners continue to keep up with ongoing robust distillate demand. Both sweets and sours gained ground on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) as January became the prompt-month...

Unconventional Gas Plays Drive E&P Spending Hike for Williams.(exploration and production, Williams Natural Gas Co.)
December 1, 2004... Williams announced plans Tuesday to raise its exploration and production budget for 2005 to $575 million, an increase of as much as 26% over expected 2004 expenditures. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based natural gas producer also announced that in...

New Hydrogen Technology Could Help Heavy Oil Refiners.
December 1, 2004... In what is seen as a significant milestone in nudging the US away from oil and into a clean hydrogen economy, researchers are reporting major advances in efficiently producing hydrogen from water. The new development could also greatly benefit...

China Aviation Oil in Crisis After Massive Trading Loss.
December 1, 2004... China Aviation Oil (Singapore), the country's dominant jet fuel importer, dramatically plunged into crisis Tuesday, announcing that it was seeking court protection from creditors after suffering a massive $550 million in speculative trading...

Daily Oil & Gas Price Review.(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Light Sweet Futures -- Prompt Month ($/barrel) 1st 5-Day 2nd 3rd Chg Month Avg. ...

Stock Market Scorecard.(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... Stock Market Scorecard Close 1-Day. % Chg. 11/30 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Integrated Majors Amerada Hess 88.85 +1.15 ...

Gazprom Eyes Yukos Unit.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Russia's state monopoly Gazprom confirmed Tuesday that it was interested in buying Yuganskneftegaz, the main unit of oil major Yukos that is being auctioned off by the government. "The management board of Gazprom has decided that [oil unit]...

Heating Oil Fuels DOE Meeting.(Department of Energy)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Reports of a meeting between Deputy Energy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow and oil industry trade groups on Tuesday suggest the Bush administration may be worried about heating oil supplies this winter. The meeting at the Department of Energy...

PetroHawk Sets $60M Budget.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Independent oil and gas producer PetroHawk Energy said Tuesday it plans to spend roughly $60 million on exploration and development during 2005, with $46 million of that directed at properties acquired during its recent $425 million purchase of...

Firms to Build New Turbine.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Calpine announced Tuesday it has signed a letter of intent with GE Energy to jointly build GE's next generation, combined-cycle gas turbine, the H System, in the US. GE went commercial with the H System in Baglan Bay in South Wales in...

Delaware River Traffic Moves.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Commercial shipping traffic remains slower than usual along the section of the Delaware River where an oil spill created an environmental hazard and suspended all vessel movement over the weekend, officials told Dow Jones News (OD Nov.30,p8)....

Canadian Superior Set to Drill.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Canadian Superior has awarded a drilling contract to GlobalSantaFe for its next Mariner well offshore Nova Scotia and for its first Intrepid well offshore Trinidad and Tobago. According to a Canadian Superior news release, the company has...

Vintage Reports Gulf Gas Well.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Tulsa-based Vintage Petroleum announced the start of production from a gas well in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, a day after participating in an oil discovery in Yemen in partnership with Canada's TransGlobe (OD Nov.30,p7). Production...

Iraq Extends Study Deadline.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Iraq has extended by one week the deadlines for the submission by short-listed companies of new proposals to carry out reservoir studies at the Rumaila and Kirkuk oil fields, an Iraqi oil ministry official said on Tuesday (OD Nov.24,p1). ...

Nybot Nixes Nymex Rumors.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The New York Board of Trade (Nybot), one of the world's top agricultural commodity exchanges, said Tuesday it was not in formal talks to merge with its landlord and one-time rival, the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex). "There have been...

NPC Sees Problems With New Diesel Standard.(National Petroleum Council)
December 2, 2004... The National Petroleum Council (NPC), a group which advises the secretary of energy, said in a report Wednesday that supplies of gasoline and heating oil are adequate in the near-term, but problems could arise with ultra low sulfur diesel...

Crude Plunges 7% on Bearish Stock Data.
December 2, 2004... The crude futures market on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) was routed on Wednesday, with oil prices posting their largest daily dollar-decline in more than three years. January crude lost $3.64 per barrel Wednesday after the US...

Industry Won't Cave on MTBE Liability in Energy Bill.(methyl tertiary-butyl ether)
December 2, 2004... A leading oil industry trade group has no plans to give ground on the controversial issue of legal protection from certain methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) lawsuits when Congress debates an energy bill next year, even though the provision led...

Expert Sees Bright Side of Kremlin's Oil and Gas Power Grab.(David Victor)
December 2, 2004... Increased participation by the Kremlin in Russia's oil sector -- vis-a-vis the takeover of Yukos' main producing unit by state-controlled Gazprom -- may not necessarily be a bad thing for western investors, according to David Victor, director...

Oxy Considers Big Investment to Accompany Libya Return.(Occidental Petroleum Corp.)
December 2, 2004... As it negotiates its return to Libya, Occidental is proposing to invest some $2 billion in developing oil fields it had to abandon in the mid-1980s, a Libyan official said this week. Oxy had a 36.75% stake in a joint venture with state...

Saudi Budget Revenue Soars, Buoyed by Oil Export Earnings.(Saudi Arabia)
December 2, 2004... Saudi Arabia can expect to end 2004 with a healthy government surplus on the back of continued high oil prices and elevated levels of production, according to the latest economic reports published by leading banks in the kingdom. Saudi...

Crude Prices Continue to Boost Oil Shares, Europeans Post Biggest Gains.
December 2, 2004... Compared with other months this year, crude price swings in November were modest. In fact, the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) futures contract ended the month at $49.13 per barrel -- not far from the $51.76/bbl price at the start of...

Chesapeake Expands Barnett Shale Position in $277 Million Deal.(Chesapeake Energy Corp.)
December 2, 2004... Chesapeake Energy has expanded its position in the prolific Barnett Shale gas play in North Texas, agreeing to pay $277 million in cash to acquire the 18,000 acre North Block property in Johnson County from privately owned Hallwood Energy. ...

EIA Weekly Statistics.(Energy Information Administration )(Illustration)
December 2, 2004... Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the Week Ending November 26, 2004 Crude Oil: StocksCrude Oil: Production and Imports (millions of bbl)(Average, thousands of bbl) Domestic Current Week Previous Week Chg....

Daily Oil & Gas Price Review.(Illustration)
December 2, 2004... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Wednesday, December 1, 2004 Light Sweet Futures -- Prompt Month ($/barrel) 1st 5-Day 2nd 3rd Chg Month Avg....

Stock Market Scorecard.(Illustration)
December 2, 2004... Stock Market Scorecard Close 1-Day. % Chg. 12/01 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Integrated Majors Shell T & T 50.68 +0.06 ...

ANS Recovery Continues.(Alaskan North Slope )(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Alaskan North Slope (ANS) production recouped another 19,000 b/d in November when compared with October as a result of reduced maintenance, fewer outages and colder temperatures that make re-injecting gas and liquids more efficient. ANS...

McMoRan Makes Gulf Find.(McMoran Exploration Co.'s petroleum discovery)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... McMoRan said on Wednesday that it has made "a potentially significant discovery" at its Hurricane Upthrown prospect on the South Marsh Island Block 217 in the US Gulf. According to a company news release, log-while-drilling tools have...

Meridian Makes Gas Find.(Meridian Resource Corp.'s natural gas discovery )(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Meridian Resource announced Wednesday that it has made a significant natural gas discovery at its Biloxi Marshlands No. 28-1 well on its Hornets Nest Prospect in the Biloxi Marshland project area. According to a Meridian news release, the...

Bank Sees Higher Reserves.(Smith Barney Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Smith Barney said on Wednesday it expects numerous positive reserve revisions from oil and gas exploration and production companies at the end of the year on much higher commodity prices. "Our analysis suggests that year-end reserve...

Terra Nova Gets Green Light.(Petro-Canada Inc.'s production management)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Petro-Canada on Wednesday received the go-ahead to restart production at the offshore Terra Nova oil project, which was shut down on Nov. 21 because of an oil spill in the Atlantic Ocean (OD Nov.24,p5). Despite the green light from the...

Euro Banks Arrange Iran Loan.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Iran is close to awarding a mandate to two major European banks to arrange a loan of over $2 billion to finance Phases 15 and 16 of the giant South Pars gas project, according to regional banking sources. The loan, which has been approved...

GIS to Advise Nigeria.(Goldwyn International Strategies)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... The Nigerian government has picked US-based Goldwyn International Strategies (GIS) to assist with improving transparency in the West African nation's oil and gas industry. GIS will serve as advisor to a National Stakeholders Working Group...

Petrobras to Fast-Track Refinery.(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Petrobras may begin building a new refinery before the original start year of 2007 because Brazil's robust economic growth is increasing demand for fuel, the company's supplies director said on Wednesday. That would make the refinery ready...

Vintage Closes Canada Deal.(Vintage Petroleum Inc.'s sale of assets to Midnight Oil and Gas Co.)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Vintage Petroleum said Wednesday that the $275 million deal to sell its Canadian assets to Midnight Oil and Gas has closed, with the proceeds from the previously announced sale to be used to reduce Vintage's outstanding debt of $631 million (OD...

Weatherford Cuts Universal Stake.(Weatherford International Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Oilfield services company Weatherford International said Wednesday it had sold 4 million shares of Universal Compression Holdings at a net price of $35.45 per share, for total net proceeds of $141.8 million. Following the sale, Weatherford...

Pioneer Drilling Adds More Rigs.(acquisitions)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... San Antonio-based Pioneer Drilling has added five more rigs to its land-based fleet with Wednesday's acquisition of Allen Drilling for $7.2 million. The company also recently acquired Kenmare, North Dakota- based Wolverine Drilling and its...

US Firms Make Petroplus Offer.(Carlyle Group L.P. and Riverstone Holdings Inc. to launch share offer for Petroplus International N.V.)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... The Carlyle Group and fellow US private equity firm Riverstone Holdings finally plan to launch a share offer for Petroplus later this month, following the announcement on Wednesday of an offer to the Dutch refiner's bondholders. Through...

Imperial May Scrap Upgrader.(Imperial Oil Company Inc.'s expansion plan)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Rising construction costs could force Imperial Oil to abandon its plans to build a multi-million dollar refinery in northern Alberta to convert the region's oil sands into synthetic crude oil, according to Wednesday's Globe and Mail. ...

Purnomo Steps Down Before Key Opec Meeting.(Purnomo Yusgiantoro)(Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
December 3, 2004... Acting Secretary General of Opec, Purnomo Yusgiantoro of Indonesia, announced Thursday that he would step down at the end of the year, when his term as president is set to expire. Purnomo took over as president of Opec at the beginning of the...

China Aviation Pulls Bearish Market Down.
December 3, 2004... As oil futures plummeted again on Thursday -- shedding nearly $6 per barrel or 12% in two straight days -- industry sources said the collapse of China Aviation Oil (CAO) is one of the driving forces behind the price fall as CAO counterparties...

Analysts Question PDV's Plans to Increase Refining Capacity in Venezuela.
December 3, 2004... Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) plans to build two new domestic refineries and upgrade two of its domestic plants to meet increasing demand for products, according to company officials. Some say the plans could...

Once Beleagured Boots & Coots Reinvents Itself, Looks Toward Growth.
December 3, 2004... Two years ago, Boots & Coots International Well Control, the Houston-based oil and gas firefighting company, was staring at the edge of the abyss. Financial problems that had been building for years threatened to push the company into...

Gas Prices Plunge on Storage Revision.
December 3, 2004... Natural gas futures plunged 8% Thursday after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued a sharp downward revision to the previous week's natural gas storage withdrawal data. The EIA revision, which lowered a surprisingly bullish...

Exxon Study Sees Asian Auto Boom Driving Global Oil Demand.
December 3, 2004... A nearly eight-fold increase in the number of cars and trucks sold in China and other Asian countries is expected to play a large role in shaping world oil demand over the next 25 years, according to a new study released Thursday by US oil...

BP Gives Up on Iran's Upstream Sector After Long Negotiations Come to Nothing.
December 3, 2004... After several years of fruitless negotiations on major oil and gas projects, BP has finally given up its quest for upstream riches in Iran -- a country that played a pivotal role in the UK company's evolution from a small independent at the...

EIA Gas Storage.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Gas in Storage Falls by Five Stocks of working natural gas in US storage facilities fell 5 Bcf for the week ended Nov. 26, leaving storage levels at 3,299 Bcf, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). However, the EIA also...

Daily Oil & Gas Price Review.(Illustration)
December 3, 2004... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Thursday, December 2, 2004 Light Sweet Futures -- Prompt Month ($/barrel) 1st 5-Day 2nd 3rd Chg Month Avg. ...

Stock Market Scorecard.(Illustration)
December 3, 2004... Stock Market Scorecard Close 1-Day % Chg. 12/02 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Integrated Majors Shell T & T 50.27 -0.41 ...

BLM Stops Drilling at Mallard.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Citing concerns over area wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Thursday suspended drilling operations at the Mallard Prospect in Uinta County, Wyoming, for the winter. The order affects an exploratory well being drilled by...

Cinergy's Greenhouse Gas Plans.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Power firm Cinergy released its greenhouse gas report late Wednesday, meeting demands by shareholders concerned over future greenhouse gas policies. Even though Cinergy does not see a formal greenhouse gas policy as imminent, likely...

Oslo Declines Ormen Option.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Norwegian government will not be exercising its pre- emptive right to purchase BP's 10% stake in the Ormen Lange gas field, it announced on Thursday. The news will reassure Danish state utility Dong, which is now free to buy the stake...

PDV Signs Petrofalcon Gas Deal.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... US-based Petrofalcon on Thursday said it has reached a preliminary agreement with the Venezuelan state oil firm PDV to help plug a shortage of natural gas. "The agreement calls for the sale of up to 249 Bcf of gas to be delivered into...

Pemex Keeps Maya Flat.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... After drastically widening the December discount for its Maya heavy crude, state oil company Pemex left the differential for January deliveries unchanged. Maya exports to the US Gulf Coast and the US West Coast stood at $6.50 and $11.55,...

IEA Urges Smarter Policies.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday urged its industrialized member governments to work towards more cost effective climate change and coherent energy policies. The IEA said in its annual review on the 26 OECD nations, which...

Sunoco Refinery Runs at 50%.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Sunoco continues to run its Philadelphia refinery at half its normal rate as it struggles to re-establish crude oil supply in the face of traffic restrictions on the Delaware River, a source familiar with operations at the plant told Dow Jones....

IPAA Names Membership Chief.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) said Thursday that it has appointed Greg Moredock, former director of government and regulatory affairs at Cabot Oil and Gas, as vice president of membership. "Numbers count in...

SulphCo Names Board Member.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Nevada-based SulphCo -- developer of a patented technology to remove sulfur from heavy crude oil using ultrasound -- has appointed former Texaco Chemical President Dick Masica to its board. Massica, who worked at Texaco for nearly 40 years,...

Alaska Changes Rule to Allow More Drilling Days.
December 6, 2004... Alaska is changing a decades-old standard to allow oil and gas companies more days to drill each year, as the number of drilling days has been reduced drastically over the years by a warmer climate. The state issued a Department of Energy...

Gibson Odd Man Out in Halliburton Shake-Up.(John Gibson )
December 6, 2004... Halliburton is parting company with the head of its oilfield services division in an unexpected management shake-up that also includes the appointment of a new chief operating officer as second-in-command to Chairman and Chief Executive Dave...

Order Restored to US Gas Market After El Paso Data 'Typo'.
December 6, 2004... Natural gas end-users can be excused for being furious at how December bid-week trading played out, with baseload price indices for the month heavily influenced, and inflated, by what the industry now knows to be bogus storage data (OD...

Crude Futures Extend Losses for Fourth Straight Session.
December 6, 2004... Crude and products futures extended losses on Friday, but reports that Opec may decide to cut production prompted brief short covering, limiting the losses to less than $1 per barrel ahead of the weekend. US light, sweet crude for January...

Sours Make Up Ground on Sweets During Massive Futures Liquidation.
December 6, 2004... The vast liquidation of long positions in the futures market on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) last week has helped to narrow the sweet-sour spread in the US physical market. The more than $7 per barrel drop in Nymex light, sweet...

Ecuador's President Sacks Camacho, Names New Head of Petroecuador.
December 6, 2004... Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez fired Petroecuador President Luis Camacho, an oil industry veteran who had been at the helm of the state oil company for just seven months, and named Hugo Bonilla, a retired military officer with strong ties...

BHP Becomes Bullish on US Gulf As Oil Output Sags in Australia.
December 6, 2004... Australia's BHP Billiton is increasingly looking to the Gulf of Mexico to offset a prolonged oil production decline back home. Late last week, the company said that by 2010 it may have up to seven oil projects in place in the US Gulf of...

Yukos May Face Problems Even in Bankruptcy.
December 6, 2004... The situation for Russia's Yukos is becoming ever more desperate. Its last cards -- namely declaring bankruptcy and liquidating the company, which would allow its core shareholder Group Menatep to recoup at least some of the damage -- may now...

Strong November Demand Fails to Dent Global Supply Surplus.
December 6, 2004... The severe slowdown in global demand in recent months seems to have come to an abrupt end in November, as year-on-year oil consumption ratcheted up by a blazing 2.5 million barrels per day, or 3.1%. Preliminary data from Oil Daily sister...

Canadian Gas Storage.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Enerdata reported that the amount of natural gas in Canadian storage facilities fell 2.1 Bcf to 468.3 Bcf for the week ended Nov. 26. Storage caverns are 96.9% full, down from 97.4% the previous week but up from 89.1% a year ago. (Bcf) ...

Baker Hughes Rig Count.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... US Rig Count Falls by Six The number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the US fell by six to 1,245 last week, oil services firm Baker Hughes said Friday. During the same week last year, there were 1,111 rigs in operation. The number...

Daily Oil & Gas Price Review.(Illustration)
December 6, 2004... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Friday, December 3, 2004 Light Sweet Futures -- Prompt Month ($/barrel) 1st 5-Day 2nd 3rd Chg Month Avg. ...

Stock Market Scorecard.(Illustration)
December 6, 2004... Stock Market Scorecard Close 1-Day. % Chg. 12/03 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Integrated Majors Amerada Hess 84.35 +1.81 ...

Hess Shuffles E&P Execs.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Amerada Hess is creating an organization to develop new business worldwide and support the company's exploration and production (E&P) business. The reorganization of the E&P group is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. Howard Paver, currently...

Cheniere Prices Offering.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Cheniere Energy on Thursday priced its public offering of 5 million shares at $60/share. Net proceeds will be about $286 million before any over- allotment option is exercised, the Houston-based developer of liquefied natural gas terminals...

Enap Talks to Peru LNG.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Peru LNG is holding discussions with Chile's state-owned oil company Enap to sell liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Camisea project in a deal that would firm Peru's position as a an up-and-coming LNG player. A spokeswoman for the...

Progress Signs Supply Deal.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Progress Energy said Friday it signed a 20-year, $3.3 billion natural gas agreement with several suppliers. Progress, which is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, said its Florida Power unit signed an agreement with Southern Natural Gas,...

Galveston LNG Raises Funds.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Calgary-based Galveston LNG said Friday it has raised US$42 million (C$50 million) in its bid to build a US$420 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in northwestern British Columbia. The company hopes to raise another US$84 million...

Alaska Gas Pipe Imminent.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... The proposed Alaska gas pipeline could be delivering natural gas to the lower-48 states by 2012 or 2014, according to Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski, who made the prediction at a conference late last week in Houston. He also said he envisions...

Speculators Boost Net Longs.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Noncommercial crude oil speculators on the New York Mercantile Exchange built their net long positions last week, just ahead of a roughly 15% slide in prices as winter supply fears unraveled, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said...