The Oil Daily articles from October 2006

The Oil Daily archives from October 2006

Anadarko's Bear Head LNG sale collapses.
October 2, 2006... Anadarko Petroleum's efforts to sell its Bear Head LNG project in Nova Scotia to a European investment group have fallen through as the prospective buyer did not close by the stipulated date, the company said last week in a filing with the...

Lost oil revenues costing Iraq dearly.
October 2, 2006... After more than three years of war, Iraq's oil sector--the country's primary source of revenue--is still plagued by attacks, criminal activity and aging infrastructure. Those problems have cost Iraq about $16 billion in potential export...

No deal: offshore drilling talks break down in Congress.
October 2, 2006... Senate and House of Representatives leaders on Friday formally acknowledged the breakdown in talks to finalize an offshore drilling bill, put the issue on life support, and headed home to campaign for the Nov. 7 midterm elections. Before...

Confusion over Opec's intentions befuddles oil market.
October 2, 2006... There were a lot of twists and turns last week in the oil markets, and most of it stemmed from speculation of an Opec output cut. Crude futures traded last week in the low $60s as the market found strong technical support and Opec hinted of...

Daily oil & gas price review: prices for Friday, September 29, 2006.(Statistical table)
October 2, 2006... Crude Oil [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) +0.52 58.35 57.30 65.82 LLS (St. James) +0.42 63.45 ...

Reports of output cuts from Nigeria, Venezuela boost US spot crude prices.(arbitrage windows remain open for both sweet and sour grades)
October 2, 2006... Confusion about whether Opec plans to cut production made it harder to say exactly where oil prices were headed, but there were signs at the end of last week that sweet-sour differentials were getting tighter as some refiners turned to the spot...

US rig count falls by 10.(Baker Hughes Drilling Report)(number of rigs searching for oil and gas)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... The number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the US fell by 10 to 1,744 last week, Baker Hughes said Friday. During the same week last year, there were 1,483 rigs at work. The number of rigs searching for oil in the US fell by four to...

Canadian firms step up hedges despite bad memories from '04.(oil production report)
October 2, 2006... After being burned badly in 2004, Canadian oil producers continue to hedge a big chunk of their output. This time around, however, producers are locking in prices that make it unlikely that they will suffer big losses should commodity prices...

Cash crashes as gas market seeks November contract bottom.
October 2, 2006... Just when traders thought natural gas futures were poised to grind even lower, market bulls pulled a surprise turnaround, sending November prices muscling higher again. Despite light demand and brimming storage, traders are now wondering if...

Suncor finishes maintenance.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Calgary, Alberta-based Suncor Energy reported Friday the successful completion of maintenance on a coker fractionator at the company's oil sands facility. During the maintenance period, which began Sep. 14 and ended Sep. 24, oil sands...

Methane leak shuts Lisburne.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... A natural gas leak in a upstream facility Thursday forced BP to shut down oil production in the Lisburne field on Alaska's North Slope. The shutdown is a setback to BP's efforts to ramp up production after pipeline corrosion in neighboring...

United delays coker project.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... United Refining Company announced Friday that it was delaying the implementation of its previously announced plan for construction of a coker and related infrastructure due to "the recent turmoil and uncertainty in the petroleum markets,"...

Canadian gas storage.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... The amount of natural gas in Canadian storage facilities rose 5.5 Bcf to 439 Bcf for the week ending Sep.22. Storage caverns were 91.9% full, up from 90.7% the previous week and 90.5% a year ago, according to Enerdata. (Bcf) ...

Abraxas closes Texas sale.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Abraxas Petroleum announced Friday that it closed a $12 million sale of non-core assets located in South Texas. The sale became effective Aug. 1. The San Antonio-based company also said it might postpone some drilling until rig rates come down...

Stock market scorecard.(Statistical table)
October 2, 2006... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day Majors 9/29 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day Marathon 76.90 +0.90 +1.18% +4.53% ConocoPhillips 59.53 +0.60 +1.02 +1.87 Repsol YPF...

Bush pledges ethanol support.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... US President George W. Bush said he would speed up his alternative energy push during the remainder of his term, with new spending focused on easing bottlenecks that are slowing the spread of ethanol in the market, The Wall Street Journal...

Stone restarts Amberjack.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Stone Energy on Thursday said it has restarted production at the Mississippi Canyon 109 Amberjack Platform following repairs and rerouting of the oil pipeline damaged during Hurricane Katrina. Limited oil production from the Amberjack...

Energy facilities survive quake.(Latin America)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... An earthquake hit Venezuela and Trinidad on Friday, knocking out power across much of the Caribbean island and causing structural damage to some buildings, while sending thousands of people in Venezuela into the streets. In Venezuela, the...

Ecuador picks Block 15 auditors.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... State-owned Petroecuador selected two local companies to audit and inventory the assets on the oil fields in Ecuador formerly operated by Occidental Petroleum. The firms are Levin SA and Avaluac CA. Levin will carry out an inventory of the...

Petrobras sells more debt.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras plans to sell $500 million of 10-year bonds, sources close to the deal said on Friday. Petrobras used the bank loan to replace an existing $500 million credit obtained at the end of 2005. The...

Call for ethanol pipe study.(Legislation/Regulation)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Two senior senators on Friday introduced legislation that would direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to study the feasibility of transporting ethanol by pipeline from the Midwest to the East and West coasts, where demand is growing. Given...

BLM wins Otero Mesa case.(Bureau of Land Management)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Environmentalists, citizens and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson were dealt a serious blow on Wednesday when US District Court Judge Bruce Black found no fault with the Bureau of Land Management's drilling plan for the disputed Otero Mesa in...

Speculators cut net longs.(Oil & Gas Markets)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Speculators on the New York Mercantile Exchange cut net longs on most energy contracts in the week ended Sep. 26, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. The shift came as petroleum inventories rose and oil prices held...

BLM names New Alaska boss.(Personnel)(appointment of Thomas Lonnie as state director of United States. Bureau of Land Management)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Thomas Lonnie has been selected to be state director of the Bureau of Land Management's Alaska office, the agency said Friday. Lonnie replaces Henri Bisson, who was named the agency's deputy director for operations earlier this month (OD...

Opec cuts send message to oil market.(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
October 3, 2006... The announcements by some Opec members last week that 170,000 barrels per day of crude oil would be taken off the market were likely moves by the producer group to toy with prices and send a signal to the market that it wants a floor oil price...

Marketers push for greater OTC oversight.(over-the-counter)
October 3, 2006... The $6 billion collapse of a hedge fund managed by Amaranth Advisors is providing fresh impetus for legislation to police over-the-counter (OTC) electronic trading of oil, gas and other petroleum products. While some say Amaranth simply...

Goodrich, Cabot raise Capex despite weak gas prices.
October 3, 2006... Despite the steep drop in natural gas prices this year, it is still possible to find companies that are stepping up capital spending and drilling activity rather than cutting back. Chesapeake Energy said last week it was shutting in 100...

Crude futures plunge despite Nigeria, Venezuela output cuts.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Crude futures fell nearly $2 during light trading on Monday amid heavy selling by hedge funds concerned about rising US fuel inventories and sluggish demand due to a slowing economy. Traders said these concerns outweighed tepid efforts by...

Daily oil & gas price review: prices for Monday, October 2, 2006.(Statistical table)
October 3, 2006... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Monday, October 2, 2006 Crude Oil [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price WTS (Midland) -2.10 ...

Russian environmental inspector details Sakhalin concerns.
October 3, 2006... The Russian environmental inspector at the center of threats to the Royal Dutch Shell-led Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project says he does not want to stop the $20 billion project--which is now 80% complete--for the sake of it, but will do all he...

Cooling degree days: for the week of Sep. 30, 2006.(Temperature statistics)(Statistical table)
October 3, 2006... Cooling Degree Days For the week of Sep. 30, 2006 - Week Dev - From Week From ...

Major oil shares continue free fall in ugly September.(rankings of Oil & Gas Companies)
October 3, 2006... Oil equities moved lower for the second month in a row in September, with several companies giving back much of the ground gained earlier in 2006. After sliding 3.2% in August, the IPF Index dipped another 3.3% in September, knocking the...

Investor-friendly candidates to square off in Brazil's runoff.
October 3, 2006... Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva finished first in the presidential vote held Sunday but failed to gather enough votes to avoid a runoff election set for Oct. 29 against second-place finisher Geraldo Alckim, former governor of Sao...

Officials call for greater use of gasification technology in US.
October 3, 2006... Growing world demand for energy is shining a spotlight on alternative forms of energy production, including an old technology to turn coal into gas. The process of turning coal into clean energy was the focus of the Gasification...

Shell close to deal with MMS on royalty payments.(Minerals Management Service)
October 3, 2006... Royal Dutch Shell President John Hofmeister said Monday that his company was close to signing an agreement with the federal government over controversial 1998-99 oil and gas exploration leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Minerals Management...

Fire shuts Yorktown unit.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... US independent refiner Giant Industries said on Sunday a fire occurred at its refinery in Yorktown, Virginia, on Saturday morning. The company said the affected unit had been shut down and the rest of the refinery was operating at normal...

Shell to test E85 in Chicago.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Royal Dutch Shell is launching a test this month of the high-ethanol blend fuel known as E85 in the Chicago market. John Hofmeister, president of Shell's US operations, said Monday that his company wanted to gauge consumer interest in E85...

EPL cuts output forecast.(Exploration & Production)
October 3, 2006... Energy Partners Ltd., the target of a hostile takeover bid by Woodside Petroleum, on Monday cut its third-quarter oil production forecast due to equipment delays and other issues. The company said mechanical problems were delaying the...

Petro-Canada starts De Ruyter.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Petro-Canada has started pumping oil at its De Ruyter field in the Dutch North Sea, a development that will eventually add 10,000 b/d to the company's output, it said on Monday. The company, Canada's fifth-largest oil producer and refiner...

Libya lines up bidders.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Libya's National Oil Corp. (NOC) announced that 47 companies, including two consortia, have been selected to participate in the country's third Epsa-3 bidding round for 41 blocks in 14 exploration areas. NOC said it received 70...

Stock market scorecard.(Statistical table)
October 3, 2006... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day Majors 10/2 Chg. % Chg. Repsol YPF 30.02 +0.19 +0.64% BG 61.12 +0.15 ...

Harvest gets tax deadline.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Venezuela's tax authority expects a subsidiary of US oil company Harvest Natural Resources to pay a back-tax claim of more than $50 million by the end of the month, the nation's tax chief said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. Harvest...

Ecuador candidate names staff.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Ecuador's presidential frontrunner, Rafael Correa, on Monday said he would name leftists to head the key energy and economy ministries if elected on Oct. 15. Correa told reporters that the energy minister job would be filled by close...

Refinery security bill passes.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Congress over the weekend cleared the fiscal 2007 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding legislation that includes rules to beef up security in refineries and other chemical facilities. Before passage, Senate and House leaders...

Floor price bill introduced.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... A Senate panel chairman on Friday introduced legislation that would set a $45/bbl floor price for oil to create long-term assurances that alternative fuels could remain economically competitive if oil prices fell below that level. The aim...

CFTC fines AEP supervisor.(Commodity Futures Trading Commission)(American Electric Power Company)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... A former supervisor at American Electric Power Company's (AEP) natural gas trading desk agreed to pay a $350,000 fine to settle government charges he falsely reported information on the company's gas transactions and tried to manipulate gas...

Duke, Fortis close deal.(Dutch-Belgian)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Duke Energy said on Monday it completed the sale of its commercial marketing and trading businesses to Dutch-Belgian financial services group Fortis for $475 million. The closing price was higher than the $415 million price tag the...

Progress closes Winchester sale.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Raleigh, North Carolina-based Progress Energy announced Monday the completion of the sale of Winchester Energy and its associated natural gas businesses to a wholly owned subsidiary of Dallas-based Exco Resources for approximately $1.16 billion...

Fund hires asset managers.(contracts between Amaranth Advisors L.L.C and Fortress Investment Group)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Hedge fund Amaranth Advisors said on Sunday it retained Fortress Investment Group, a New York-based $24 billion alternative asset manager, as a sub-advisor to the Amaranth funds. Fortress will assist Greenwich, Connecticut-based Amaranth in...

BP restarts Lisburne field.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Oil major BP restarted the Lisburne satellite oil field in Alaska over the weekend after correcting a gas leak that forced the company to shut the field down last week, a BP spokesman said (OD Oct.2,p6). "The focus of the investigation...

Petro-Canada details integrated oil sands plan.
October 4, 2006... Petro-Canada outlined its plans for developing a big chunk of its estimated 10 billion barrels of oil sands resources at a presentation to analysts and reporters in Calgary on Tuesday. The plans call for the start-up of bitumen mining in...

New SPR policy in line with GAO report.(Strategic Petroleum Reserve)
October 4, 2006... The Bush administration's policy regarding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has changed over the past three years from only releasing emergency stockpiles in the case of a severe supply disruption to halting purchases for the SPR to cool...

Bolivia eases negotiating stance, may push back key deadline.
October 4, 2006... Bolivia may push back a Nov. 1 deadline set earlier for negotiating new contracts with private oil companies, as part of the country's nationalization of its hydrocarbons industry. At the same time, the government is hurrying to finalize an...

Crude falls to seven-month low on Opec, stock concerns.(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Crude futures fell to a seven-month low on Tuesday amid forecasts for a big build in US distillate supplies and the inability of Opec producers to agree on a plan to cut output quotas in order to stop further losses. On the New York...

Daily oil & gas price review: prices for Tuesday, October 3, 2006.(Statistical table)
October 4, 2006... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Tuesday, October 3, 2006 Crude Oil [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price WTS (Midland) -2.10 ...

EPA's science advisor blasts agency's new soot standards.(Environmental Protection Agency)
October 4, 2006... A scientific advisory panel rebuked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for setting new fine particles or soot pollution standards that fail to provide an 'adequate margin of safety" to protect public health. The Clean Air Scientific...

Wells Fargo buys wind energy.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Financial services company Wells Fargo & Co. said on Tuesday that it will buy renewable energy certificates to support generating 550 million kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable wind energy a year for three years. The company said the move...

Alaska North slope output claws its way back despite setbacks.(production management)
October 4, 2006... The partial return of Prudhoe Bay field production and correction of problems at four other fields pushed Alaskan crude oil production back over 800,000 barrels per day in early October for the first time since mid-July. But Alaskan crude...

Oil sands producers turn to gasification to cut gas dependency.
October 4, 2006... Energy players in Western Canada are turning to the technology of gasification to reduce the need for natural gas in tapping Alberta's massive heavy oil reserves. OPTI Canada and Nexen have launched an oil sands project at Long Lake that...

Restoration of Prudhoe Bay production sends Panamax tanker rates plummeting.
October 4, 2006... Rates for Panamax tankers in the Caribbean plummeted during the month of September as Prudhoe Bay oil production in Alaska ramped up and West Coast refiners saw less need for alternative supplies. In less than a week, Worldscale rates for...

Conoco warns of lackluster results.
October 4, 2006... ConocoPhillips warned shareholders Tuesday that third-quarter results would suffer from a combination of lower production, shrinking refining margins and an assortment of special charges related to changes in tax regimes and acquisition costs....

September demand growth up versus hurricane struck '05.(production management)
October 4, 2006... Preliminary data show that world oil demand perked up in September, mainly because US consumption jumped from a low September base last year when oil demand was feeling the pain from hurricane-related refinery outages and peak prices. ...

Questar shuts in gas output.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... In response to low natural gas prices, Salt Lake City-based Questar Exploration & Production announced Tuesday it was shutting in production on a portion of its unhedged production in the Rocky Mountains. A company spokesman said on Sunday...

Valero expects record quarter.(Earnings)
October 4, 2006... Valero Energy said on Tuesday it expects to report record per-share earnings in the third quarter of $2.25 to $2.35. "Despite the recent weakness in gasoline margins, distillate margins and sour crude discounts remain very good," Valero...

Montana plans coal-to-liquids.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and a consortium of energy and technology companies on Monday announced the state will be home to one of the nation's first coal-to-liquids energy plants. The $1 billion Bull Mountain Coal-to-Liquids Plant is...

Harvest pays portion of tax.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... A subsidiary of US oil company Harvest Natural Resources has paid the Venezuelan government $34.6 million in back taxes following an audit of company operations, a top Venezuelan tax official told Reuters on Monday. The official, who asked...

Stock market scorecard.(Statistical table)
October 4, 2006... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day Majors 10/3 Chg. % Chg. Shell-A 64.66 -1.05 -1.60% Eni 58.40 -0.97 ...

Oxy drops one Ecuador claim.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Ecuadorean President Alfredo Palacio on Tuesday said Occidental Petroleum dropped an arbitration claim against the state-run oil company Petroecuador, but maintained another claim against the government. The president said Occidental's move...

Bush signs Iran sanctions bill.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Continuing US efforts to punish Iran, President Bush signed into law a bill that prohibits non US oil and gas companies from investing in oil-rich Iran until 2011. The bill includes provisions that require the president to slap sanctions...

Unit makes two acquisitions.(Unit merges with Bright Energy and Berkshire Energy)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... In two separate deals with a combined value of $88.7 million, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Unit's subsidiaries have bought two privately held independent oil and natural gas companies--Bright Energy and Berkshire Energy. Unit President and Chief...

Talisman expands in North Sea.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Talisman Energy is expanding its UK North Sea holdings by acquiring two oil fields from Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil for an undisclosed price. The acquisition includes an 86% interest in the Fulmar field and a 100% stake in the Auk...

ICE reports record month.(Oil & Gas Markets)(IntercontinentalExchange)(IntercontinentalExchange)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Electronic energy marketplace IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) on Tuesday reported record activity during the month of September. Average daily volume (ADV) for ICE Futures, its London-based regulated futures subsidiary, totaled 447,795...

Mideast dependence studied.(Oil & Gas Markets)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Researchers at the World Business Academy announced Tuesday a new study, The Prometheus Plan, which shows that the US could eliminate the equivalent of all Middle East oil imports by saving 5 million b/d of oil by 2015 using currently available...

FERC clears CenterPoint line.(Pipelines)(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission has received a certificate from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build and operate a $425 million, 172-mile natural gas pipeline from Carthage, Texas to the company's Perryville Hub in...

Saudi Arabia seeks 'reasonable' oil price.
October 5, 2006... Instead of taking aggressive action to halt the current slide in oil prices, the world's largest oil producer says it wants prices to reach "a reasonable level," one that is mutually beneficial to both producers and consumers. Speaking at...

Delta militants launch more deadly attacks.
October 5, 2006... At least two civilian guards were killed and seven foreign oil workers kidnapped in an assault on an oil industry compound in Nigeria's Delta region Tuesday--marking another deadly attack in the region after a period of relative calm. The...

Shareholders file second lawsuit against BP in Alaska court.
October 5, 2006... A lawsuit filed Monday in Alaska Superior Court claims BP executives and its board of directors failed to carry out routine maintenance on pipelines at the Prudhoe Bay oilfield, resulting in leaks that damaged the company's reputation and...

US refining margins inch up.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... US refining margins rose for the second straight week, moving up 68 cents to average $4.80/bbl last week, according to analysts at A.G. Edwards. Despite the recent modest uptick, margins are still about $17 below their yearly high in April....

Crude futures ignore bearish data, rally on Nigeria unrest.(prodution management)
October 5, 2006... Crude oil futures rebounded from a seven-month low on Wednesday and finished sharply higher after a conflict between Nigerian troops and militant groups raised fears about the prospects of supply disruptions in Africa's largest oil producer....

Daily oil & gas price review: prices for Wednesday, October 4, 2006.(Statistical table)
October 5, 2006... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Wednesday, October 4, 2006 Crude Oil [GRAPHIC OMITTED] US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price WTS (Midland) +1.39 55.54...

BP output hit by Alaska shutdown.(financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... BP Output Hit by Alaska Shutdown BP's oil and gas production fell sharply in the third quarter--down by more than 5% on the previous three months and 0.6% on a year earlier--partly due to downtime in Alaska, the UK supermajor said in a trading...

EIA weekly statistics: for week ended September 29, 2006.(Energy Information Administration )(Statistical table)
October 5, 2006... EIA Weekly Statistics For Week Ended September 29, 2006 US Crude Oil: Stocks (1) (millions of bbl) Current Previous Week Week Chg. PADD 1 14.9 14.8 ...

New York hedge fund denies Vega woes hurt its trading ops.(Anglian Commodities Fund Ltd, Vega Asset Management)
October 5, 2006... Anglian Commodities Fund Ltd., a hedge fund based in New York, on Wednesday denied rumors that it was affected by trading losses at Vega Asset Management. Anglian portfolio manager Julian Barrowcliffe said its relationship with Vega was so...

Chevron teams with DOE on renewable fuels.(Department of Energy)
October 5, 2006... Chevron continues to spread around its energy research dollars, announcing Wednesday it is working with the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop renewable transportation fuels. Chevron's biofuels research deal with the DOE follows...