The Oil Daily articles from March 2006

The Oil Daily archives from March 2006

High court backs majors in price-fixing case.(Texaco Inc., Motiva Software Corp cases and Prices)
March 1, 2006... The US Supreme Court, in an 8-0 decision, ruled on Tuesday in favor of Royal Dutch Shell and Texaco in a case that challenged the companies' ability to set uniform gasoline prices without violating federal antitrust laws in their now defunct US...

Rockies express gas line gets shipper support.(Sempra Energy alliances and patnership with Kinder Morgan Inc.)
March 1, 2006... Rocky Mountain natural gas will have a much easier way to get to the gas-hungry Northeastern US by the end of the decade. Kinder Morgan and partner Sempra Energy announced Tuesday that they have received shipper commitments for all of the...

GAO calls for safer technologies to improve refinery security.
March 1, 2006... A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report is recommending that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) consider safer technologies to beef up security at refineries and other chemical plants seen as vulnerable to terrorist attacks. ...

Nymex crude finds support ahead of inventory data.(New York Mercantile Exchange management)(Gasoline prices and rates)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Trading in crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) was quiet for most of Tuesday, as players awaited today's petroleum inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to provide market direction. Crude rallied...

Daily oil & gas price review: Prices for Tuesday, February 28, 2006.(Statistical table)
March 1, 2006... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Tuesday, February 28,2006 Crude Oil [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Spot 5-Day Cash/Spot Change Price Avg....

Colorado drilling drives production growth at Williams.(The Williams Companies Inc. sales and earning)
March 1, 2006... Accelerated drilling activity in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado is translating into higher volumes of natural gas production for Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Williams Cos. During the fourth quarter of 2005, Williams' exploration and...

Transneft eyes big loan for eastern pipe.(Transneft in order to construct pipeline approaches bank)
March 1, 2006... Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft has asked creditors for a massive unsecured loan to finance its planned East Siberian pipeline, even as environmental activists step up attacks on the line's proposed route. Transneft has approached...

Record deal for drillship.(Top Briefs)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Offshore driller Transocean has signed its biggest contract yet, announcing late Monday that BP will pay $520,000/day for one of its deepwater drillships. As rig demand grows worldwide, exploration companies have been snapping up rigs in...

Chesapeake to join S&P 500.(Corporate News)(Standard & Poor's Corp. patnership with Chesapeake Energy Corp.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Standard & Poor's said it will incorporate fast-growing oil and gas producer Chesapeake Energy into its flagship 500 stock index after the close of trading on Mar. 2. Chesapeake will replace auto parts supplier Dana, which has seen its...

Berry hikes '06 capex.(Corporate News)(Berry Petroleum Co.'s capital expenditure)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Berry Petrolem on Tuesday said it is increasing its 2006 capital budget by $18 million to $208 million to accelerate the development of a natural gas resource. In a news release, the California-based company also said it completed the...

Giant profits up despite fire.(Earnings)(Giant Industries Arizona Inc. sales and earning)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Giant Industries reported significantly higher profits for the fourth quarter and full year 2005 due to robust refining margins. The Arizona-based independent refiner said 2005 net earnings totaled $103.9 million ($7.62 per share), compared...

Rig rates boost Todco net.(Earnings)(Todco Ltd. sales and earning )(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Higher dayrates and improved utilization of its offshore rigs boosted fourth-quarter net income for offshore rig contractor Todco. In an earnings announcement Tuesday, the company said net income for the last three months of 2005 reached...

Prices boost Penn West Q4.(Earnings)(Energy West Inc. sales and earning )(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Higher oil and natural gas prices and reduced "future income tax provisions" boosted Canadian energy trust Penn West's net income despite a slight decrease in overall oil and gas output. The trust reported fourth-quarter net income of...

Stock market scorecard.(NEWS ALERT)(Petroleum industry securities)(Statistical table)
March 1, 2006... Stock Market Scorecard Close 1-Day Integrated Majors 2/28 Chg. % Chg. Petro-Canada 45.76 +0.47 +0.01 Eni 57.27 +0.05 +0.09 Repsol YPF ...

Leak cuts Chevron output.(International)(Chevron Corp. accident)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Chevron has cut 13,000 b/d of output in Nigeria due to a pipeline leak, a company spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday. "We have shut-in 13,000 b/d on the Makaraba pipeline and suspended production at a Makaraba flow station," the spokesman...

Shell, Gazprom talk Sakhalin.(International)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Royal Dutch Shell and Russia's Gazprom have created a working group, which has met twice in the past month, to examine Gazprom's planned entry to the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 project, Russia's Prime-Tass news agency reported Tuesday. Shell...

Conoco closes refinery deal.(International)(ConocoPhillips Mergers and acquisition Louis Dreyfus Energy Corp.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... ConocoPhillips said Tuesday that it has completed the purchase of the Wilhelmshaven refinery in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, from Louis Dreyfus Energy Holdings (OD Nov.29,p5). The purchase includes the 275,000 b/d refinery, a marine terminal,...

Rosneft seeks standby loan.(International)
March 1, 2006... Russia's state oil firm Rosneft is seeking a $5.5 billion Japanese standby loan amid fears of a delay in its planned initial public offering (IPO), which it hopes will raise a world record $20 billion, bankers said on Tuesday, according to...

Cape town refinery shuts.(International)(Caltex Corp. and Chevron Corp. facility closure)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Chevron has again been forced to shut temporarily its 112,000 b/d Caltex oil refinery in Cape Town, South Africa, because of power failures, the firm said Tuesday. "At approximately 2:15 this morning (00:15 GMT), the Chevron refinery......

EnCana closes Ecuador sale.(Latin America)(EnCana Corp. mergers and acquisition)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... EnCana said Tuesday it has completed the sale of its Ecuadorian oil and pipeline interests to Andes Petroleum, a Chinese joint venture, for roughly $1.42 billion (OD Sep.14,p1). The sale is part of an effort by EnCana to focus on its North...

Pemex January output slips.(Latin America)(Pemex sales and earning)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Crude oil production at Mexican state oil monopoly Pemex fell in January from December, but output of its Maya heavy oil edged up. In January, Pemex said it produced 3.37 million b/d, down from 3.39 million b/d in December. In January 2005...

BP director steps down.(Personnel)(Michael Wilson stepped down from Amoco Corp.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... International oil giant BP said Tuesday that non-executive director Michael Wilson has stepped down from his position after receiving an appointment from the Canadian government as Canada's next ambassador to the US. According to a BP news...

Firm buys shell stations.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(Alimentation Couche-tard Inc. Mergers & Acquisitions with Shell Oil Products Co)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Canadian service station operator Alimentation Couche-Tard said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 40 convenience stores in the US Midwest from Shell Oil Products US. The Laval, Quebec-based convenience store operator did not disclose the...

EPA forces refiners to cut benzene content.(Environmental Protection Agency)
March 2, 2006... In a significant move to cut toxic air emissions, the Bush administration is directing US refiners to further reduce benzene levels in gasoline beginning 2011. Cutting the level of harmful benzene, a known carcinogen, in gasoline is part...

High taxes, product imports hurt Pemex.
March 2, 2006... Mexican state oil company Pemex registered before tax earnings of $51.17 billion in 2005, up 13% from 2004 when the company posted pre-tax earnings of $45.37 billion. But underscoring the challenge Pemex faces as a cash cow for the Mexican...

February drop in oil prices hits shares of major oils hard.
March 2, 2006... February was not a kind month to oil investors. While the broader S&P 500 Index moved higher throughout the month, only to give up most of the month-long gains on the last day of February, the IPF Index ended February sharply lower. The IPF...

Nymex crude futures up slightly; EIA data mostly neutral.(New York Mercantile Exchange)
March 2, 2006... Fresh petroleum data report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) failed to shake up the market on Wednesday. Prices were up in early trading but failed to break out of a relatively tight range of $61.46 to $62.35 per barrel. Given...

Daily oil & gas price review: prices for Wednesday, March 1, 2006.(Statistical table)
March 2, 2006... Crude Oil [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) +1.32 54.18 52.51 59.19 LLS (St. James) +0.52 62.98 ...

EIA weekly statistics: for week ended Feb. 24, 2006.(Statistical table)
March 2, 2006... US Crude Oil: Stocks (1) (millions of bbl) Current Previous Week Week Chg. PADD 1 14.4 14.2 1.4% PADD 2 68.5 67.9 0.9% Cushing, OK ...

Camisea operators deny allegations that pipeline was built in shoddy manner.(Transportadora de Gas del Peru)
March 2, 2006... Transportadora del Gas del Peru (TGP), the company operating the Camisea pipelines in Peru, criticized the findings of a report by US environmental consultancy E-Tech International saying the pipeline was shoddily built using corroded piping....

Talisman earnings, output, reserves soar in strong 2005.(Talisman Energy Inc.)
March 2, 2006... All the year-end indicators pointed upward for Calgary-based Talisman Energy, with 2005 earnings, production and reserves all significantly higher than at the end of 2004, the company said Wednesday. Net income for 2005 more than doubled...

Transocean to build new deep drillship.
March 2, 2006... Transocean is about to begin construction of a high-end deepwater drillship, a move that signals that the global offshore drilling boom isn't likely to end anytime soon. The new drillship, to be named the Discoverer Clear Leader, will be...

Italy's Eni sets pace among majors with surge in production.
March 2, 2006... Italy's Eni reported its 2005 results Wednesday, the last of the leading international majors to do so--but that appears to be the only sense in which it is bringing up the rear. The company is setting the pace in production growth, with oil...

El Paso vows to post profit in '06 after five years of losses.
March 2, 2006... After five years of heavy losses, El Paso Chief Executive Doug Foshee is pledging that the company will get back in the black and produce earnings of more than $600 million in 2006. "Our days of consistently reporting losses are done,"...

Nigeria rebels release worker.(Ailing US )(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Ailing US oil worker Macon Hawkins, one of nine foreigners kidnapped by Nigerian militants, was released on Wednesday on his 69th birthday. Hawkins, who is from Kosciusko, Texas, and suffers from diabetes, had been held in Nigeria's...

Error costs US royalty cash.(Top Briefs)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Energy companies will be able to avoid paying billions of dollars in federal royalties normally owed on oil and natural gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico because of language left out of the leasing contracts, a top US government official told...

Berry to split stock.(Berry Petroleum Co.)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Berry Petroleum on Wednesday said its board approved a two-for-one split of its Class A and Class B common stock. Subject to shareholder approval, the stock split will be distributed in the form of stock dividend on Jun. 2 to shareholders...

Cal Dive Q4 'best ever'.(Earnings)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Despite sustaining damage to some of its US Gulf production assets, independent exploration, production and offshore services firm Cal Dive said Wednesday that the fourth quarter was the company's "best ever quarter" with net income rising...

Rowan wins rig contract.(Rowan Drilling)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Drilling contractor Rowan said Wednesday it has been awarded a two-year drilling contract by an unnamed integrated oil company to drill one or more ultra-deep wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Rowan has committed the Bob Palmer jack-up rig to...

Stock market scorecard.(Statistical table)
March 2, 2006... Stock Market Scorecard Close 1-Day Integrated Majors 3/1 Chg. % Chg. Petro-Canada 47.67 +1.91 +4.17% Marathon 72.49 +1.89 +2.68 Amerada Hess 141.91 +3.60...

No deal on Cepu yet.(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Indonesia has failed to reach a decision on a dispute between state oil firm Pertamina and US giant Exxon Mobil on the operation of the Cepu oilfield at the end of talks on Wednesday, a senior official said. Jakarta's inability to broker a...

Chevron aims for Shtokman.(Chevron Corp.)(OAO Gazprom)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Chevron is hoping to win as much as a quarter of Russia's huge Shtokman gas project when Gazprom picks partners in April, the US oil major's head in Russia said on Wednesday. Chevron is one of five firms shortlisted by Gazprom for the...

Norway well dry for Exxon.(Exxon Mobil Corp.)
March 2, 2006... Exxon Mobil has drilled a dry wildcat near the Sleipner field in the Norwegian part of the North Sea, Norwegian energy officials said on Wednesday. "The well was dry and it will now be permanently plugged and abandoned," the Norwegian...

Occidental advances in Oman.(Occidental Petroleum Corp.)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Occidental Petroleum is moving ahead quickly with work at Oman's Mukhaizna oil field, mobilizing four rigs that are expected to drill at least 50 wells this year, an industry source told Oil DailyWednesday. The Mukhaizna field--which Oxy...

South pars tender issued.(South Pars Gas Co.)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... State National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) has issued a prequalification tender for development of four phases of the South Pars gas field, according to local news reports. According to the tender, Phases 19, 20, 21 and 22 will be developed to...

Houston sells gulf assets.(Houston Exploration Co.)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Houston Exploration said it has agreed to sell the Texas portion of its Gulf of Mexico assets for $220 million in cash to an undisclosed private company. The deal is expected to close on Mar. 31, 2006, and has an effective date of Jan. 1, 2006....

Alon, Sunoco close pipe deal.(Alon USA)(Sunoco Logistics Partners)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Alon USA Energy said Wednesday that it has completed the sale of of Amdel and White Oil pipelines to pipeline Sunoco Logistics Partners. The $68 million deal was announced in mid-February (OD Feb.15,p7). The 27,000 b/d Amdel pipeline is...

Emissions trading reviewed.(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Cambridge Energy Research Associates (Cera) released a report Wednesday on critical issues regarding the design of US greenhouse gas emissions trading. Several state efforts from California to New York aim to establish some type of...

Husky ups ethanol output.(Husky Energy Inc.)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Husky Energy wants to become the largest feed wheat buyer in Canada as it looks toward increasing its ethanol production, a spokesman said on Tuesday. The Alberta-based energy company will need 700,000 tons of feed wheat to produce up to...

Western gas names new VPs.(Western Gas Resources)(Brief article)
March 2, 2006... Western Gas Resources said Wednesday that the company's board of directors has named three new vice presidents. Mark R. Petry has been named vice president in charge of land. Petry joined Western Gas in 1991 and has held various positions...

Alaska lease sale draws strong interest.(Alaska's Department of Natural Resources Oil and Gas Division)
March 3, 2006... Alaska's Department of Natural Resources Oil and Gas Division announced the results of a very successful combined onshore and offshore lease sale this week that attracted high bids of over $31 million, with slightly more spent onshore than in...

Chevron boosts Canadian oil sands position.
March 3, 2006... Chevron has expanded its presence in the resource-rich Athabasca region of northern Alberta, announcing Thursday it acquired five heavy oil leases in recent lease sales. The California-based oil major--already a player in the Canadian oil...

Import schemes portend higher gas prices in Latin America.
March 3, 2006... Chile's President Ricardo Lagos announced Thursday the discovery of important natural gas reserves that could greatly reduce his country's dependence on imports from neighboring Argentina. Lagos also said imports of liquefied natural gas...

Black Hills closes pipe sale.(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Houston-based Black Hills Corp. said Thursday that it has completed the $41 million sale of its 200 mile-long Millennium Pipeline and its 190 mile-long Kilgore Pipeline, as well as several "other ancillary assets," to pipeline and terminal...

Crude and products rally on technicals and geopolitical concerns.(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Crude futures rallied Thursday in what appeared to be technically driven trading, however the move also coincided with the resurgence this week of geopolitical concerns among market participants. Gasoline was the best performer in the energy...

Daily oil & gas price review: prices for Thursday, March 2, 2006.(Chart)
March 3, 2006... Crude Oil [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot 5-Day Month- Price Avg. Ago WTS (Midland) 1.63 55.81 53.52 57.69 LLS (St....

Congress to explore many ways to end offshore drilling ban.
March 3, 2006... A vocal drilling proponent in the US House of Representatives on Thursday vowed to fight against inclusion of an offshore drilling ban provision in key funding legislation this year. The pledge from Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) signals the...

Falcon Gas storage makes out nicely with Texas oil field.(Falcon Gas Storage Co.)(Texas Utilities Fuel Co)
March 3, 2006... Houston-based Falcon Gas Storage started out to develop a natural gas storage facility in the Worsham-Steed field in North Texas in 2000 when it acquired it from the former Texas Utilities Fuel Co., then owned by electricity producer TXU and...

Nigeria's brass LNG enlists Suez as buyer in third export deal.
March 3, 2006... Suez LNG, trading arm of French utility giant Suez, has become the third company to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Nigeria's Brass LNG project for LNG purchases. Suez will buy 2 million tons per year of LNG (97.5 billion...

Japan backs Iran despite nuclear spat.
March 3, 2006... Japan said it would continue to back the $2 billion project led by oil company Inpex to develop Iran's giant Azadegan field, despite rising international concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions. During a Tokyo visit this week by Iran's...

GlobalSantaFe adds to fleet.(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... GlobalSantaFe has become the second offshore driller this week to unveil plans to build an ultra-deepwater drilling rig. Houston-based GlobalSantaFe announced Thursday that a new semisubmersible--to be called the GSF Development Driller...

PDV's Ramirez pops off.(Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.)(Rafael Ramirez)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said his government has put the final touches on joint-venture agreements to be used for all associations with private oil companies in the future and should become a reality by Apr. 1. The joint-venture...

Nigeria output remains cut.(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Nigerian militants have released six of the nine foreign oil workers kidnapped on Feb. 18 but continue to hold one Briton and two US citizens, according to newswire reports. An ailing US oil worker was released Wednesday, followed later by...

Gas in storage falls 171 Bcf.(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Stocks of working natural gas in US storage facilities fell 171 Bcf for the week ended Feb. 24, leaving storage levels at 1,972 Bcf, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Gas stocks are 344 Bcf higher than last year at...

Stock market scorecard.(NEWS ALERT)(Statistical table)
March 3, 2006... Stock Market Scorecard Close 1-Day Integrated Majors 3/2 Chg. % Chg. Petro-Canada 49.11 +1.44 +3.02% Statoil 26.59 +0.54 +2.07 Amerada Hess 144.54 +2.63 ...

Compton reserves rise.(Compton Petroleum Corp.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Calgary-based independent producer Compton Petroleum said Thursday that it increased its proved and probable reserves by 43% in 2005--replacing 390% of its 2005 production and extending the life of its reserves between nine and 12 years. ...

KeySpan faces downgrade.(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Fitch Ratings on Thursday said it may cut its ratings on KeySpan, saying it has confirmed that the company is in discussions with parties regarding potential strategic combinations. The change "reflects Fitch's preliminary determination...

China looks into Kuwait plant.(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... China has been scouting out sites in the southern Guangdong province for a planned joint-venture refinery with Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC). Officials from the economic-planning National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) visited several...

Senate mulls hybrid incentives.(tax law promots alternative fuels)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... The Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the panel's ranking Democrat proposed on Wednesday new tax incentives for businesses that buy vehicles that run on alternative fuels. The proposal would cover electric cars, lean...

Dominion sells gas utilities.(Dominion Peoples)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... Dominion announced Thursday it had agreed to sell two of its natural gas distribution utilities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to Equitable Resources for $970 million. Under the agreement, Equitable will purchase Pennsylvania-based...

Coal-to-liquids plan advances.(Medicine Bow Fuel & Power)(Brief article)
March 3, 2006... DKRW subsidiary Medicine Bow Fuel & Power announced late Wednesday that it had signed an agreement to use General Electric's (GE) proprietary coal gasification technology for the Medicine Bow coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant in Wyoming. The...

Supply disruptions save Opec from action.(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
March 6, 2006... There have been significant shifts in the oil market since Opec ministers last met five weeks ago, but the producer group is unlikely to change course at its Vienna meeting on Mar. 8. While Opec is wary of rising crude stock levels that...

Bodman: economy not hurt by high oil prices.(United States Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman )
March 6, 2006... US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Friday there are no signs the global economy is suffering because of high oil prices, even as he urged producing nations to keep the market well supplied and encouraged greater domestic use of alternative...

Daukoru: Opec will discuss geopolitics, market fundamentals.(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
March 6, 2006... Producer group Opec will not make a final decision on a production cut until its meeting on Mar. 8, but "will definitely take into account" oil prices trading persistently over the $60 per barrel level, Opec President Edmund Daukoru of Nigeria...

Ecuador loses Oxy appeal.(Occidental Petroleum Corp.)(Brief article)
March 6, 2006... Ecuador has lost an appeal in a British court over a $75 million tax dispute with Occidental Petroleum, the company said on Friday. Ecuador had appealed a 2004 ruling by an international tribunal that said Oxy was wrongly excluded from a...

Crude market on edge ahead of Opec, IAEA meetings.(International Atomic Energy Agency)(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
March 6, 2006... The crude market is nervous and nobody knows where it's heading next. Crude futures prices have followed familiar cycles recently, and last week the market consolidated gains. This week, however, crude prices could go either way, depending on...

Daily oil & gas price review: prices for Friday, March 3, 2006.(Statistical table)
March 6, 2006... Crude Oil [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot 5-Day Month- Price Avg. Ago WTS (Midland) +0.10 55.91 54.14 56.66 LLS (St. James) ...

Nigerian shut-ins fail to stimulate oversupplied us cash crude market.
March 6, 2006... Brent crude on ICE Futures is now trading above US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI), but the "closed" trans-Atlantic arbitrage has not had a drastic impact on robust US crude imports. In the past month, Brent futures have narrowed the...

US rig count falls by 12.(Baker Hughes Drilling Report)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
March 6, 2006... The number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the US fell by 12 to 1,531 last week, oil services firm Baker Hughes said Friday. During the same week last year, there were 1,290 rigs at work. The number of rigs searching for oil in the US...

Ecuador's Congress to vote on legislation to hike oil royalties.
March 6, 2006... Ecuador's President Alfredo Palacio has sent Congress a bill that if approved would increase royalties on private oil companies operating in Ecuador, in an effort to take advantage of ongoing high crude oil prices. Under the proposed...

Holly sells Montana Refinery.(Holly Corp.)(Connacher Oil and Gas)(Brief article)
March 6, 2006... Independent refiner Holly Corp. on Thursday said it agreed to sell Montana Refining to a unit of Connacher Oil & Gas of Calgary, Alberta. The purchase price for the assets including inventories was $55 million and consists of cash and 1...

Venezuela urges Orinoco operators to increase heavy output.(Chevron Corp.)(ConocoPhillips)(Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.)(Repsol YPF.)
March 6, 2006... Venezuela's Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez urged private operators developing four extra heavy crude projects in the Orinoco region to boost output and pay higher royalties in kind. Four joint Orinoco projects between private...

Shell sees rationalization in oil sands, wants offshore opening.(Shell Canada Ltd.)
March 6, 2006... Shell Canada's top executive has cast doubt on the ability of all projects in Canada's oil sands to proceed as planned, even as his own company pushes ahead with ambitious expansions. "It's hard to imagine that all of the projects announced...

In paradigm shift, Canadian crude gushes into Oklahoma.(Enbridge Inc.)
March 6, 2006... With a symbolic turn of a valve, executives of Canadian pipeline Enbridge marked the start of the initial flow of Canadian crude into its giant terminal at Cushing, Oklahoma, last week. The event represented a paradigm shift in North...