The Oil Daily articles from November 2007

The Oil Daily archives from November 2007

Little relief seen from tight fundamentals.
November 1, 2007... Tight fundamentals have pushed up oil prices to current levels, with no relief in sight for the next few years unless the high prices trigger a slide in oil demand, executives told a London conference Wednesday. The world needs more Opec...

Analyst attributes oil's rise to weak dollar.
November 1, 2007... The rapidly shrinking value of the US dollar may be the most important reason that crude oil prices have ratcheted up to levels above $90 per barrel, according to a leading technical analyst based in the US. Speaking at the Oil Price...

Total CEO says South Pars talks with Iran are 'not active'.
November 1, 2007... Total's boss hinted Wednesday that negotiations with Iran on the South Pars LNG project are stalled. Asked if the talks were still ongoing, the French major's chief executive, Christophe de Margerie, quipped, "I don't think they are extremely...

Nymex crude rockets past $94 on large stock draw and rate cut.(New York Mercantile Exchange Inc.)
November 1, 2007... Oil prices shot back up on Wednesday, gaining more than $4 on a huge drop in US crude inventories and a quarter-point interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. After slipping slightly on Tuesday, crude resumed what many analysts believe is...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Statistical table)
November 1, 2007... Daily oil & gas price review Prices for Wednesday, October 31, 2007 US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) +4.88 83.67 82.15 73.88 LLS (St....

EIA weekly statistics.(Energy Information Administration )(Statistical table)
November 1, 2007... US Crude Oil: Stocks (1) (millions of bbl) For Week Ended October 26, 2007 Current Previous Week Week Chg. PADD 1 14.7 14.9 -1.3% PADD 2 60.1 61.2 ...

Penn West Energy Trust buys Canetic resources in friendly $3.8 billion deal.(Canetic Resources Trust)
November 1, 2007... Penn West Energy Trust said on Wednesday it will buy Canetic Resources Trust in a friendly cash-and-stock deal worth C$3.6 billion ($3.8 billion), solidifying its position as Canada's No. 2 energy trust and making it the biggest light oil...

Natural gas set to meet global energy needs for decades.
November 1, 2007... Not everyone is convinced that natural gas is approaching peak output anytime soon. Producers ranging from an Oklahoma independent through Exxon Mobil to Nigeria's former energy minister believe the world has plenty of undiscovered gas--enough...

Exxon comes up dry in initial stab at Angola's ultra-deep.
November 1, 2007... Exxon Mobil has drawn a blank on its first ultra-deepwater exploration attempt offshore Angola, where it has failed to find oil on Block 33. This is one of only four ultra-deep blocks currently under license in the West African nation, where...

Petrobras cuts off natural gas supplies to two key states.(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)
November 1, 2007... The Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo suffered natural gas shortages Tuesday as state-controlled oil and gas company Petrobras--Brazil's only wholesale gas supplier--slashed supplies to state distributors, according to local...

Transocean drillship wins contract at record dayrate of $600,000.
November 1, 2007... The deepwater rig market continues to get stronger for Transocean, with the offshore drilling contractor signing a contract for an ultra-deepwater drillship at a record rate of $600,000 per day. The Houston-based company said that the...

Statoil eyes Deltana project.(StatoilHydro)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Norway's StatoilHydro said Wednesday it has completed a three-well program in Venezuela's offshore Deltana Platform and hopes to develop one of the areas. Statoil won a license to operate Block 4 of the Deltana Platform gas project in...

Noble sees cross-border development of West Africa discoveries.(Noble Energy Inc.)
November 1, 2007... Noble Energy said Wednesday it believes that a cross-border development scheme should be possible for its hydro-carbon discoveries offshore Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon because both governments have demonstrated oil and gas cooperation in the...

Petrobras CEO sees high prices supporting unconventional oil.(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)
November 1, 2007... Soaring demand growth from China and India--not to mention geopolitical concerns--mean there is no end in sight to high oil prices, making unconventional projects viable over the long term, Petro-bras Chief Executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli de...

Exxon eyes Libya's upstream.(Exxon Mobil Corp.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Exxon Mobil said on Wednesday it hoped to establish a "significant" position in Libya after returning to the North African nation following a period of political instability. "We're back and we hope to establish a significant position...

Chevron seeks fuel from algae.(Alternatives)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Chevron said it has entered into an agreement with the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to collaborate on research and development aimed at using algae to make liquid transportation fuels. Chevron and...

Horizon costs hiked again.(Corporate News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Canadian Natural Resources expects the cost for its Horizon oil sands project to be 8% to 14% more than its previous C$6.8 billion (US$7.1 billion) estimate as some work has been pushed out to the winter, the Calgary-based independent producer...

Profits climb for hess.(Earnings)(Hess revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... New York-based Hess said on Wednesday its third-quarter earnings rose 33% as higher commodity prices outweighed sharply lower profits at the company's refining business. Net income increased to $395 million ($1.23/share) from $296 million...

ONGC invests in mature field.(International)
November 1, 2007... India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) plans to spend a further $2.4 billion redeveloping Mumbai High in a bid to reverse declining production from the aging field. The goal is to hike output by about 18% to 300,000 barrels per day by...

Stock market scorecard.(Statistical table)
November 1, 2007... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day % Chg. Majors 10/31 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Petro-Canada 57.63 +2.87 +5.24% +5.57% +35.12% +40.42% Repsol YPF ...

Hearing focuses on loopholes.(Legislation/Regulation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday accused the Bush administration of allowing the oil and gas industry to exploit loopholes in federal environmental and health regulations. Rep. Henry Waxman...

MMS ups offshore royalty rates.(Offshore)(Minerals Management Service)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The federal government plans to increase the royalty rate for Gulf of Mexico production from offshore leases to be auctioned next year. The US Minerals Management Service (MMS) said it was boosting the royalty rate on new offshore leases in...

Fire shuts UK refinery.(Refining)(Petroplus)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The Petroplus refinery at Coryton in the UK was shut down after an explosion and fire Wednesday morning. The company said several processing units were shut down, but did not specify how production would be affected. The refinery's crude...

Marathon OKs Detroit project.(Refining)(Marathon Oil Co.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Marathon Oil's board of directors approved on Wednesday a $1.9 billion expansion and heavy oil upgrade project at the company's refinery in Detroit. The project will increase the refinery's heavy oil processing capacity, including Canadian...

Downstream weakness hits Exxon, Marathon.
November 2, 2007... Oil prices may be marching toward $100 per barrel, but for many oil companies, strong crude prices are not necessarily translating into higher profits. Exxon Mobil is the latest oil company to post a dip in third-quarter profits, reporting...

China hikes fuel prices as shortages bite.
November 2, 2007... China raised fuel prices Thursday for the first time since May 2006 in a bid to ease a worsening supply crisis. Retail prices were increased by around 10%, or 500 yuan ($66) per ton, amid growing fuel shortages that have sparked violent...

Federal judge sides with Kerr-McGee in royalties dispute.
November 2, 2007... A federal judge has sided with Kerr-McGee in a dispute over oil and gas royalties from offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico. The US District Court in Louisiana ruled that the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) could not force...

Crude futures drop as traders book profits after record highs.(Brief article)
November 2, 2007... New York crude futures closed lower on Thursday, falling sharply from the record high of $96.24 per barrel reached earlier in the day in electronic trading. The crude market has been on a bullish tear for most of the year. Many analysts...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Statistical table)
November 2, 2007... US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) -1.22 82.45 82.25 75.58 LLS (St. James) -1.47 93.20 92.50 82.03 ANS (California) -1.50...

Officials debate US policy responses to future oil shock.
November 2, 2007... Most market analysts see the steady runup in oil prices in recent years to above $90 per barrel today as the result of a demand shock. On Thursday a group of former high-ranking government officials debated what the US policy response would be...

CNR ratchets up opposition to Alberta royalty changes.(Canadian Natural Resources)
November 2, 2007... Canadian Natural Resources sought to put a sharper point on its criticism of the proposed Alberta oil and gas royalty increases Thursday, announcing that it will drill 30-50% fewer wells than it had initially planned in the province in 2008 and...

Senate panel approves bill targeting greenhouse gas emissions.
November 2, 2007... A Senate global warming panel on Thursday approved a bill designed to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions to 63% of 2005 levels by mid-century. The Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee voted 4-3 to send the legislation to the...

ConocoPhillips, Petrobras deliver double blow to Venezuela.
November 2, 2007... Venezuela was dealt a double blow by private investors this week as US major ConocoPhillips said it would take the country to arbitration and Brazil's Petrobras rejected an offer by the government to participate in the Mariscal Sucre natural...

Williams posts higher earnings.(Earnings)(Financial report)
November 2, 2007... Williams Companies, a natural gas producer and pipeline company, said on Thursday third-quarter profit climbed, helped by higher natural gas production, higher margins and new pipeline rates. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company said quarterly...

GlobalSantaFe's earnings rise.(Earnings)(GlobalSantaFe Corp. revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 2, 2007... GlobalSantaFe kept up the earnings momentum for offshore drillers, announcing an 83% jump in third-quarter profits. The company's earnings rose to $448.6 million ($1.96/share) from $245.6 million ($1.02/share) in the same period a year ago....

EIA gas storage report.(Energy Information Administration )(Statistical table)(Brief article)
November 2, 2007... Gas in Storage Up 66 Bcf Stocks of working natural gas in US storage facilities increased by 66 Bcf in the week ending Oct. 26, leaving storage levels at 3,509 Bcf, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Gas in storage...

Sunoco earnings fall.(Earnings)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 2, 2007... Independent refiner Sunoco reported a steep drop in earnings due to sharply lower margins in the third quarter of this year. The Philadelphia-based company reported that net income for the quarter fell to $216 million ($1.81/share), down...

India wants more African oil.(International)(Brief article)
November 2, 2007... India plans to raise crude oil imports from Africa to cut dependence on the Middle East. Indian Petroleum Secretary MS Srinivasan said that 16% of India's imports, or 360,000-380,000 b/d, currently come from Africa, mainly Nigeria. In the...

Stock market scorecard.(Statistical table)
November 2, 2007... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day % Chg. Majors 11/1 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Petro-Canada 56.16 +1.40 +2.56% +2.88% +33.87% +36.84% Repsol YPF ...

Nigeria 'Tired' of oil majors.(International)(Brief article)
November 2, 2007... A Nigerian oil official said Thursday that the oil-rich country wants more participation from smaller independents in its exploration and production industry. "We are getting tired of the Shells and Exxons and companies like that. We want...

Anadarko likes African asset.(International)(Brief article)
November 2, 2007... Anadarko said on Thursday it saw "huge" potential for its oil exploration program in Mozambique, one of Africa's new frontiers for drilling. The Houston-based independent won the rights last year to explore in Mozambique's Rovuma Basin....

Mexico to investigate deaths.(Latin America)
November 2, 2007... Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex said it will assemble its first ever independent commission to investigate last week's deadly collision between the Usumacinta drilling rig and an offshore light oil platform. The commission will be...

Rowan to build six new rigs.(Offshore)(Keppel AmFels)(Rowan Drilling)(Brief article)
November 2, 2007... Offshore drilling contractor Rowan has expanded its rig construction program with $1.1 billion in new orders that includes four new jack-up rigs from Keppel AmFels and two additional units that the company will build itself. Rowan said it...

Tesoro earnings fall as margins collapse.(revenue report)(Financial report)
November 2, 2007... Independent refiner Tesoro's earnings plummeted in the third quarter as soaring crude oil prices sent refining margins tumbling, bringing a string of record quarters for the refining industry to a screeching halt. Third-quarter earnings...

Chevron posts loss on US refining business.(Financial report)
November 5, 2007... Chevron warned investors three weeks ago not to expect a huge third quarter from the oil major. And while analysts were braced for lower profits, the steep $1.3 billion drop reported on Friday came as a shock. "Downstream provided an...

Petrobras may step up investment in Bolivia.
November 5, 2007... Brazilian state oil company Petrobras may consider increasing its investment in natural gas production in Bolivia after shortages forced it to cut off some natural gas supplies to local distributors in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo last Tuesday,...

New Talisman CEO says output picture looks solid going forward.(Talisman Energy Inc. revenue report)(Financial report)
November 5, 2007... Talisman Energy said Friday its third quarter production slipped 4% year-over-year, on the heels of similar declines throughout 2007, as it battles project delays and continues to implement an asset rationalization program. Yet Talisman's new...

Crude hits yet another record, continues advance toward $100.
November 5, 2007... Crude futures were awfully resilient last week. Despite two large sell-offs, prices finished the week on a strong note, rallying by more than $2 on Friday to close just below $96 per barrel--another record. A steep decline in US inventories...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Statistical table)
November 5, 2007... Daily oil & gas price review Prices for Friday, November 2, 2007 US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) +3.38 85.83 82.96 75.34 LLS (St....

Physical crude trading remains subdued despite recent frenzy in futures market.
November 5, 2007... Spot crude prices spent most of last week playing catch-up with futures, because, like the previous week, cash crude traders in the international market were not gripped by the same frenzy as traders on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex)....

Baker Hughes drilling report: rig count rises by 35.(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... The number of drilling rigs searching for oil and gas in the US rose by 35 last week to 1,795, Baker Hughes said Friday. During the same week last year, there were 1,739 rigs at work. The number of rigs searching for oil in the US rose by...

Oil shares beat broader market, but downstream questions linger.
November 5, 2007... Shares of leading international oil companies outpaced the broader market in October, drawing strength from the spectacular ascent of crude oil prices that drove past $90 per barrel to record highs. However, the equity market's enthusiasm...

Kazakhstan sets new deadline for Kashagan negotiations.
November 5, 2007... Kazakhstan has set a new end-of-November deadline for the Eni-led group of companies developing the giant offshore Kashagan oil field to reach a settlement with the government on how to proceed with the troubled project. But sources close to...

Bush urged to release SPR oil.(Top Briefs)(Strategic Petroleum Reserve)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... Rep. Edward Markey on Friday called on the Bush administration to release supplies from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Northeast Heating Oil Reserve to provide consumers with some relief from record crude oil and heating oil prices....

Tax break for oil sands firms.(Top Briefs)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... Alberta oil sands operators will get a break on Canadian federal taxes that will offset a portion of the increased take that the province of Alberta is claiming. Finance Canada said last week it would initiate reductions in federal taxes...

Carbon capture demo planned.(Environment)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... NRG Energy and Powerspan are teaming up to create a commercial-scale demonstration project for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture from coal-fueled power generators. The pilot demonstration will be used on NRG's 125-MW plant near Sugar Land,...

Stock market scorecard.(Statistical table)
November 5, 2007... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day % Chg. Majors 11/2 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Norsk Hydro 14.91 +0.71 +5.00% +1.29% +88.15% +42.02% Petro-Canada ...

BP weighs LNG expansion.(International)(lquefied natural gas)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... BP is gearing up for what could be a major expansion of its Indonesian Tangguh LNG project, with a company executive confirming last week that the supermajor is considering a third LNG train at the Papua plant. "Our first priority is to...

Russian oil output rises.(International)
November 5, 2007... Russian crude and condensate production averaged 9.93 million b/d in October, a 2% increase from last year and a marginal 0.6% increase from September, according to government data. Rosneft hiked output by 29% to 2.29 million b/d after...

Venezuela buys rigs from China.(Latin America)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... Two Chinese-made oil rigs are expected to arrive in Venezuela later this month as part of a purchase of 13 rigs aimed at boosting the country's produce capacity and reduce its dependence on drilling contractors, state-owned oil company...

Exxon damages ruling quashed.(Litigation)(Exxon Mobil Corp.)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... The Alabama Supreme Court has overturned a $3.5 billion punitive-damages verdict against Exxon Mobil in a dispute with the state over natural gas royalties Dow Jones reported. In the 8-1 decision, the state's highest court overturned what...

Rosetta appoints new CEO.(Personnel)
November 5, 2007... Rosetta Resources has named Randy Limbacher as its chief executive officer, effective Nov. 1. Limbacher replaces Charles Chambers, the acting chief executive, who returns to his role of executive vice president of corporate development....

Spectra weighs Rockies gas line.(Pipelines)(Spectra Energy)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... Houston-based Spectra Energy said it is considering construction of a natural gas pipeline to connect Rocky Mountain natural gas supplies to markets in the US West. The proposed Bronco Pipeline would stretch about 650 miles and have a...

Speculators shrug off record gas storage.(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... Despite a lackluster weather outlook and relatively weak cash prices, December gas refused to back off by much last week, leaving the industry pointing fingers at the speculation behind the price run. December gas came off 21.9cent Friday...

Exxon restarts Texas FCC.(Refining)
November 5, 2007... Exxon Mobil said it was restarting the gasoline-making fluid catalytic cracking unit at its 394,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Beaumont, Texas, but had no time frame for when the unit would actually be up and running. In a filing with the...

Petrobras eyes Japan refinery.(Refining)(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... More than a year after talk of a deal first surfaced, Brazil's Petrobras finally looks set to acquire a refinery from TonenGeneral Sekiyu, a Japanese subsidiary of Exxon Mobil. According to a report Friday in the Japanese Nikkei newspaper,...

EnCana expands East Texas asset base.(Leor Energy)
November 6, 2007... EnCana said on Monday it will spend US $2.55 billion to expand its asset base in East Texas, an area where the company has already roughly tripled its production since gaining a foothold there through the acquisition of Tom Brown Inc. three...

Niche California refinery gets new owner.(NTR Acquisition Co.)
November 6, 2007... NTR Acquisition Co., a blank check company formed with an eye toward buying downstream assets, has chosen the West Coast refining market as its primary target for investment, agreeing on Monday to buy privately held refiner Kern Oil & Refining...

PetroChina overtakes Exxon to become world's most valuable firm.
November 6, 2007... PetroChina knocked Exxon Mobil off its perch to become the world's biggest listed company by market capitalization on its first day of trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Monday. Making its mainland trading debut, the Chinese state firm...

Nymex crude futures end volatile session below $94 per barrel.(New York Mercantile Exchange Inc.)(Brief article)
November 6, 2007... In an extremely volatile session, crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) tumbled below $94 per barrel in early trading as a result of profit-taking, a stronger dollar, weak equity markets and the release of eight Turkish...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Statistical table)
November 6, 2007... Daily oil & gas price review Prices for Monday, November 5, 2007 US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) -0.79 85.04 83.16 73.60 LLS (St. James)...

Alaska's oil tax bill takes legislative rollercoaster ride.
November 6, 2007... What was done can be undone. That seems to be the motto of the Alaska Legislature as lawmakers debate whether to raise taxes on North Slope oil and gas production. In the first of three legislative committee hearings in the state House and...

Heating degree days.(Statistical table)
November 6, 2007... Heating Degree Days For the week of Nov. 3, 2007 Week Dev Cum Dev From From From Week From Year Cum From Norm Year...

Kuwait's new oil minister resigns just one week after appointment.
November 6, 2007... The Kuwaiti cabinet accepted on Monday the resignation of Oil Minister Bader al-Humaidhi, just one week after he was named to the job, after controversy over the appointment erupted in the legislature. Water and Electricity Minister Mohammed...

Iran's oil chief tells foreign firms to wrap up contract talks.
November 6, 2007... Iran's acting oil minister, Gholamhossein Nozari, has reiterated his warning to foreign oil companies that they risk losing major oil and gas projects to local companies if they do not speed up negotiations, which have been dragging on for...

Entergy to spin off nuke unit.(Electricity)(Brief article)
November 6, 2007... Entergy, the second-largest US nuclear power generator, said on Monday it would spin off five nuclear plants into a new company in a bid to capitalize on the greenhouse-gas-friendly technology. The new company, which would be 50% owned by...

Chesapeake buys Barnett land.(Exploration & Production)(Chesapeake Energy)(Brief article)
November 6, 2007... Chesapeake Energy said it has agreed to acquire about 2,000 net undeveloped leasehold acres in the Barnett Shale natural gas play in Tarrant County, Texas, from Western Production and a partner. Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake also said it...

Oilsands quest releases estimate.(Exploration & Production)(Brief article)
November 6, 2007... Oilsands Quest said an independent estimate of its Axe Lake oil sands property in northwest Saskatchewan has placed the amount of discovered resources of original bitumen in place at 1.117 billion to 1.546 billion bbl, with a mean estimate of...

Stock market scorecard.(Statistical table)
November 6, 2007... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day % Chg. Majors 11/5 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Norsk Hydro 14.77 +0.57 +4.01% +0.34% +86.38% +40.68% BP ...

Fishermen block French depots.(International)(Brief article)
November 6, 2007... French fishermen have blocked the entrances to two oil depots in northwestern France in protest at high diesel prices. The blockade began in the early hours of Monday morning and media reports said that up to 300 fishermen took part. As...

Kuwait to beef up oil security.(International)(Brief article)
November 6, 2007... Kuwait has unveiled plans to step up security at oil installations and double the number of guards in the next three years. Under the EF 1700 Security Project, Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) will spend millions of dollars beefing up protection at...

Iraq says Lukoil deal invalid.(International)(OAO Lukoil)(Brief article)
November 6, 2007... Iraq's Oil Ministry reiterated Monday that a $4 billion, Saddam Hussein-era deal with Russian producer Lukoil had been scrapped and would not be revived (OD Aug.10,p4). The statement is a blow to Lukoil which had hoped to resuscitate the...

Yemeni oil pipeline bombed.(International)(Brief article)
November 6, 2007... An oil pipeline connecting Yemen's second-largest producing block to a Red Sea export terminal was blown up Monday, but exports weren't disrupted, a Yemeni oil ministry official said. "Everything is fine. The damage was not big," he said. ...

Sojitz buys GoM field stake.(Offshore)(Gulf of Mexico)
November 6, 2007... Japanese trading house Sojitz said on Monday it has acquired a 30% stake in the deep-water Phoenix oil field in the Gulf of Mexico from Energy Resource Technology (ERT), wholly-owned subsidiary of Helix Energy Solutions, for 4.6 billion yen...