NEFTE Compass articles from December 2003

NEFTE Compass archives from December 2003

Union Gap: Russia Botches Its Chance To Create World Leader.
December 3, 2003... Russia is in danger of losing its chance to compete with the world's biggest oil players, following the shocking suspension of the mega-merger between Yukos and Sibneft. YukosSibneft was to have been the world's largest company in terms of...

Logjam: Russian Export Growth Sent Into Reverse By Shipping Problems.
December 3, 2003... Russia is reversing its long-running trend of crude export growth this month, as it sets out a slim reduction of 4,000 barrels per day in the seaport loading programs for December. Nasty weather and shipping congestion in the Turkish straits,...

Upgrade: Slavneft Stumps Up The Cash For Refinery Revamp.
December 3, 2003... In a bid to improve the quality of its oil products, Slavneft is pressing ahead with modernization of its 280,000 b/d Yaroslavl refinery in Central Russia. The oil major has provided over 5.3 billion rubles ($183 million) to upgrade the...

No Fear: Shell Contracts Yukos Affiliate To Drill On Salym.(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos., Siberian Service Co.)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... In a sign that world oil majors are not afraid to be associated with out-of-favor Yukos, Royal Dutch/Shell has chosen Yukos-affiliated Siberian Service Co. to drill at the West Salym field. Salym Petroleum Development (SPD), Shell's joint...

Submission: Rosneft Submits Prirazlomnoye PSA Draft.(production sharing agreement)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... State-owned Rosneft has submitted to the government a draft of the production sharing agreement (PSA) to develop the Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Barents Sea. Prirazlomnoye, which harbors 600 million bbl of recoverable crude reserves, is...

Job Gone: TsDU Tek Cut Down To Size.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... In another sign that the status of Central Dispatch Unit TsDU Tek is being further cut back, its general director Nikolai Bukhantsov has left to join the Energy Ministry as head of the department on cooperation with CIS countries, insiders say....

New Frontier: Russia Urged To Step Up Exploration.
December 3, 2003... Russia needs to triple its spending on geological exploration from current levels in order to maintain its reserves base, Rinat Murzin, head of Russia's Natural Resources Ministry's department of fuel and energy resources, said at a conference...

Slow Flow: Infrastructure Constraints Hamper Products Exports.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Export infrastructure constraints and stronger internal demand kept a lid on the export of oil products from the former Soviet Union in November. Export shipments of gas oil slipped by 3% in November to 71,000 metric tons/day from the...

Speed Feed: Yukos Expands Export Reach In Ukraine.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Seeking new export outlets, Russia's Yukos is building a $30 million oil product terminal at the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Feodosia, which will be able to handle 5 million metric tons (100,000 b/d) of fuel oil/yr. Alexander Sapronov,...

Tender Spot: TNK-BP Awards Ukrainian Gas Oil Tender.(Addax)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Trading house Addax has come up trumps in a tender to buy 90,000 metric tons of gas oil from Russia-UK joint venture TNK-BP's Lisichansk refinery. Consignments of 30,000 tons each will load out of the Black Sea port of Odessa in the...

Peace Pipe: Gazprom And Turkey Resolve Gas Dispute.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Gazprom says its international marketing arm, Gazexport, and Turkey's state pipeline operator Botas have resolved a dispute over the price and volume of gas sold to Turkey via the Blue Stream pipeline under the Black Sea. The two sides...

Going Abroad: Tatneft Wins Syrian Exploration Deal.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Tatneft has won a tender to carry out exploration and further develop Block 27 in Syria, as it seeks to expand its resource base outside the limited scope of its home region in the Russian autonomous region of Tatarstan. According to a...

Russian Crude Loading Programs For December 2003.
December 3, 2003... Primorsk Crude Loading Program For December 2003

Kazakhstan: Nelson To Partner CNPC In North Buzachi Field.(China National Petroleum Corp)
December 3, 2003... Nelson Resources, the Calgary-based independent that is controlled by a group of well-connected Kazakhs, has signed a $90 million agreement with China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) to acquire half the state-owned giant's 100% interest in the...

Azerbaijan: Moscow Seeks To Raise Export Tariff.
December 3, 2003... Russia wants to renegotiate the price that Azerbaijan has to pay to export its oil from Novorossiysk, and has presented the Azeri side with a new draft oil transit agreement. A 1996 intergovernmental accord stipulates that Azerbaijan would...

Kazakhstan: New Year To Kick Off New Export Tax.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... President Nursultan Nazarbaev has signed a law that introduces an oil export tax that oil executives fear could deter foreign investors. The tax, which will come into effect from the beginning of 2004, will not apply to existing contracts...

Azerbaijan: Chinese Get Green Light For Onshore Field.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... An agreement with China's Sheng Li Oilfield for the re habil itat ione and exp lo rat ion and de ve lop ment of the onshore Pirsagat field has been ratified by the Azeri parliament. Sheng Li, which is a subsidiary of Sinopec, has 50% of the...

Romania: Regal Wins Second Exploration Block.(Regal Petroleum )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... UK independent Regal Petroleum has been awarded an exploration, development, and production license for the EV-2 Barlad Block after an international competitive bidding process. "Regal now has the largest and most prospective oil and gas...

Hungary: Mol Stake Goes On The Block.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Private and institutional investors are being offered a 13.6% stake in Hungary's largest revenue earner, oil and gas company Mol, in a public offer that runs until Dec. 10. The government has set a ceiling price of $31.88/share in the first...

Incoming: TNK International Posts Strong Results.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... TNK International has released strong first-half 2003 results, boosted by assets gained as a result of the establishment of the TNK-BP joint venture, as well as from higher crude prices. First-half profits under US GAAP standards amounted...

Gut Check: Surgutneftegas Fails To Come Clean On Spending.(Surgutneftegaz Industrial Association)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Surgutneftegas has alarmed analysts by failing to elaborate on what it described in its latest balance sheet as spending of $601 million on "other long-term financial investments." Analysts said that the money could either have been...

Equities And Currencies.
December 3, 2003... Share Prices Closing On December 2, 2003

Crude Oil: Futures Pulled And Pushed By Opec And Weather.
December 3, 2003... Crude oil futures were pushed and pulled by uncertainty about the approaching Opec meeting and volatile products futures responding to a cold snap in parts of the US. This pushed Brent futures to a $29.20 high, a gain of $1.45 on its...

Products: Russian Gas Oil Priced Out Of Northwest Europe.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Russian gas oil is getting squeezed out of Northwest Europe by more favorably priced local material. Volatile futures and low demand are pressuring fuel oil prices. The Baltic Sea ports exported 436,000 metric tons of gas oil, of which...

Bombshell: Moscow Gets Tough Over Caspian Pipeline.
December 9, 2003... Six years after then prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin signed Moscow up as a founding member of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Russia is stepping up its efforts to wrest control of the pipeline from other shareholders, led by ChevronTexaco,...

Landslide: Oil Firms Fear The Worst After Pro-Kremlin Poll Victory.
December 9, 2003... Business interests in Russia took a bashing in last weekend's parliamentary elections, and few in Moscow disagree that the energy sector is set to come under tighter state control and that oil companies will face a higher tax burden. The...

D.I.V.O.R.C.E.: Yukos And Sibneft Drift Apart To Uncertain Futures.
December 9, 2003... Yukos faces a bleak future as its mega-merger with Sibneft comes unstuck. And the prospects for the sale of Sibneft to another buyer don't look much rosier. According to reports from London, where the two sides have been negotiating this...

Members Only: Gazprom Invited To Join Kovykta.
December 9, 2003... The shareholders of Rusia Petroleum, which holds the license to the giant Kovykta gas condensate field, have drafted their first concrete proposal for Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom to join the project. The TNK-BP-controlled...

Legal Eagle: Berezovsky To Sue Kremlin Over Lost Assets.(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... Self-exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has decided to sue the Kremlin for allegedly misappropriating his assets in the oil, mining, and media industries. Berezovsky said he has directed his lawyers to file lawsuits in the UK High...

Viking Ship: Rosneft Leases Norwegian Tanker.(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... Rosneft has leased a very large crude carrier (VLCC) from Norway to use as a floating storage vessel in its northern crude export scheme. The Russian state-owned oil major has leased the 320,000-ton dwt tanker, the Bergessen Pioneer, to be...

Drill Bits: Rosneft Starts Drilling At Vankorskoye.(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... State-owned Rosneft is making its first steps in tapping East Siberia's oil and gas reserves by spudding two exploration wells at the Vankorskoye deposit this winter. The company plans to drill a total of three exploration wells. The...

Full Service: Schlumberger Buys PetroAlliance.(PetroAlliance Services)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... US oil field services giant Schlumberger is digging deeper into the Russian market by signing an agreement to buy a local rival, PetroAlliance Services. Schlumberger will initially acquire 26% of the company, with a further 25% to be...

Booster Shot: Russia Keeps Ramping Crude Exports.(Transneft and Surgutneftegaz Industrial Association cases)
December 9, 2003... Russia kept ramping up crude exports in November, as it brought online the next phase expansion of the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) and boosted shipments skirting the Transneft system. Crude exports via the Transneft national pipeline...

TNK-BP To Bless Five-Year Strategy For Growth.
December 9, 2003... TNK-BP is set this week to approve a five-year strategic plan of growth in Russia, as well as a 2004 business program. According to the company, its board of directors is to choose from among several drafts based on different oil price...

Neighborly Love: Surgutneftegas Expands in East Siberia.(Surgutneftegaz Industrial Association)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... In a move to bolster its position as the frontrunner to grab the 800 million bbl Talakanskoye oil deposit in the East Siberian republic of Sakha/Yakutia, Surgutneftegas has received licenses for the three adjacent fields. The Russian oil...

Double Skinned: Russian Fuel Oil Trade Triggers Single Hull Ban.
December 9, 2003... The environmentally risky transit of Russian oil in single-hulled tankers from the Baltics has helped speed the adoption of tougher international shipping standards. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has agreed to a global ban on...

Turkmenistan: Russians Invite Iran To Develop Caspian Shelf.(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... A Russian consortium is hoping to attract Iran to an exploration project in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, to head off a potential dispute over territorial rights. The Zarit joint venture plans on Dec. 12 to sign a...

Kazakhstan: New York Bank Becomes Kazakh Oil Company.(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... InterUnion Financial Corp., a New York-based investment bank, has acquired all the shares of BMB Holding, which indirectly holds a 70% interest in three fields in western Kazakhstan. The fields -- Aksaz, Dolinnoe, and Emir -- are around 45...

Kazakhstan: Lukoil Is First Russian Firm On Investment Council.(Foreign Investments Council)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... Lukoil has become the first Russian company to get a seat on Kazakhstan's Foreign Investments Council, after the company's president, Vagit Alekperov, was granted membership by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev. Chaired by Nazarbaev,...

Iranian Bid: Iran Moves To Third Phase Of Neka Program.
December 9, 2003... Iran is collecting prequalification bids from contractors interested in tendering for the third and final phase of its program to become a major transit hub for oil produced in the Caspian: Phase 3 is a $500 million project to upgrade the...

Hungary: Budapest Delays Mol Sale.(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... The Hungarian government has frozen plans for a public offering of 13.6% of oil and gas group Mol, after advisors decided the country would not get fair value for the shares under current market conditions. Mol has followed suit, and also...

Romania: ENI Drops Out Of Privatization Bid.(Petrom R.A.)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... Italy's ENI has dropped out of the privatization for Romania's Petrom -- a surprise move and blow to the privatization process since the company was one of the strongest contenders remaining. ENI did not say why it decided to pull out, but...

Ukraine: Kuchma Fired Deputy PM Over Pipeline Dispute.
December 9, 2003... Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma last week fired Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Gayduk, who oversaw oil and gas, immediately after Gayduk stated that Ukraine would not agree to reverse the flow of the idle Odessa-Brody oil pipeline and had...

Facelift: TNK-BP To Upgrade Ryazan Refinery.(Ryazan Oil Refinery Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... In a bid to improve the quality of its oil products, TNK-BP is pressing ahead with the modernization of its 340,000 b/d Ryazan refinery in Central Russia. Shareholders in TNK-BP affiliate Ryazan Crude Processing Co., which holds the...

Whole Hog: Gutseriev Pursues Vertical Integration.
December 9, 2003... Slavneft's ex-president Mikhail Gutseriev is pursuing ambitious plans to turn his Russneft into a full-blown vertically integrated oil company. Gutseriev's Russneft is mulling the acquisition of big stakes in four independent oil producers...

Equities And Currencies.
December 9, 2003... Share Prices Closing On December 9, 2003

Crude Oil: Futures Blowing In The Wind.
December 9, 2003... Crude oil futures had another unsettled week with January Brent trading a $1.60 range largely in response to two US weather vanes -- natural gas and heating oil futures. The advent of a cold snap in the US Northeast and the prospect of...

Products: Prices Come Under Pressure In Demand Doldrums.(oil )(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... An environment of weak demand is pressuring the markets for oil products in Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean. Russian gas oil in the Med has been bid as high as $20/ton over the screen in the last 10 days, but values are now...

Marriage Moot: Yukos And Sibneft Agree To Part On Equal Terms.
December 17, 2003... Yukos and Sibneft have announced the main terms for calling off their mega-merger, but concerns are already starting to surface about the impact it could have on Russia's future oil production. According to both companies, the terms of...

Mooted Calm: Russians Ambivalent On Iraq.
December 17, 2003... Russian oil companies appear to have become almost indifferent to what's going on in Iraq as they focus on more exciting developments at home. This week's capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein elicited only a lukewarm response, as did...

Five Year Plan: TNK-BP Appproves Five Year Plan.(strategy)
December 17, 2003... TNK-BP's board of directors approved last week a five-year strategy aimed at increasing the company's market value via a strong crude production rate and higher oil sales, according to CEO Robert Dudley. The company, however, refuses to...

Groupies: Working Group To Advise On Export Duties.(petroleum exports)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... A working group is being set up under the auspices of the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade to make recommendations on oil products exports duties, industry sources say. Moscow has officially reclaimed its right to control exports...

Fluor Child: Lukoil Inks Vysotsk Deal With Fluor.(terminal construction)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... Russian oil giant Lukoil has signed a $330 million deal with US engineering firm Fluor to build its crude and products loading terminal at Vysotsk. The deal will allow Lukoil to move forward with completing the Baltic Sea outlet, which it...

Tender Moments: Sakhalin-2 Announces Tender For LNG Tanker.(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos.)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... The Royal Dutch/Shell-led Sakhalin Energy has issued a tender for construction of its first LNG tanker. The vessel is to be delivered in the third quarter of 2007, when the Sakhalin-2 project is to begin exports from the liquefaction plant it...

Booster: Russia Cranks Up Crude Exports To CIS.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... Russia cranked up crude shipments to CIS refineries this year, as it filled to capacity its crude export pipelines to more profitable destinations. Exports to CIS refineries climbed by over 14% to 747,000 b/d in the first 11 months of the...

Voter's Choice: Bashkortostan And Sakhalin Elect New Governors.
December 17, 2003... It looks like the President of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov will be allowed to stay on for a third term, after allegedly making concessions to the Kremlin on the autonomous republic's energy sector. In a sign of Kremlin support, the...

Azerbaijan: UK Credit Agency Backs BTC Pipeline.(Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan)
December 17, 2003... The UK government's export credit agency, the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD), says it has agreed to provide cover for a $150 million line of credit to finance UK contractors involved in the construction of the 1 million b/d...

Turkmenistan: PSA Signing With Russian Venture Is Delayed.(production sharing agreement)
December 17, 2003... The Russian Zarit consortium's signing of a production sharing agreement for acreage in Turkmenistan's Caspian shelf has been delayed. The holdup is officially being blamed on technical problems, but insiders say it is because of a territorial...

Ukraine: Chevron Texaco Could Store Kazakh Crude In Odessa-Brody.(Ukrtransnafta)(Kazakhstan)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... Chevron Texaco is in talks with UkraineAEs state pipeline monopoly Ukrtransnafta about storing crude from Kazakhstan in the idle Odessa-Brody pipeline, giving the company an alternative to shipments through the congested Turkish Straits in the...

Czech Republic: Lukoil Sells Czech Outlets.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... Lukoil has closed its representative office in the Czech Republic following the sale of three gasoline filling stations there to Royal Dutch/Shell. The Russian oil company has now reduced its retail presence in the country to zero, while...

Tattle Tale: Tatneft Is Finalist In Tupras Tender.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... Tatneft has emerged as one of two finalists in the privatization of a 66% stake in Turkish refiner Tupras, although many doubt the Tatar producer could afford to win the asset. The rival bid was placed by Turkish consortium Anadolu Ortak...

Double Decker: Gazprom To Introduce Seasonal Pricing.(Gazprom Russian Joint Stock Co.)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom could implement a two-tier price system for domestic gas sales from 2005, by raising prices in the winter in line with increased heating demand. The deputy chairman of Russia's Federal Energy Commission...

Equities And Currencies.
December 17, 2003... Share Prices Closing On December 16, 2003

Crude Oil: Bad Weather Compounds Turkey Delays.
December 17, 2003... News of Saddam Hussein's capture wiped a dollar off crude oil futures last Sunday with the New York contract touching $31.74/bbl in electronic out-of-hours trade on Dec. 14. Prices went back above $33 on Monday once traders realized Saddam's...

Products: Trading Boom Boosts Freight Costs.(petroleum)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... A flurry of trading activity in the run-up to the holiday season has driven up tanker rates, making it increasingly difficult for traders to exploit arbitrage opportunities. Prompt fuel oil prices tanked, but traders see a $10-$15/ton contango...

Strongarm: Kremlin Comes Out On Top In Struggle With Oil Companies.
December 30, 2003... Russia's oil companies are having to learn to play second fiddle to the state. The major changes of the last few months -- including attacks on oligarchs, and the election triumph of nationalist parties -- have seen the Kremlin begin to take a...

Shipwreck: Storms Set To Dampen Russian Export Hopes.
December 30, 2003... Russia is aiming for an ambitious export boost as it enters the New Year, though its plans are almost certain to be thwarted by stormy weather and infrastructure constraints. Winter storms and worsening congestion in the Turkish straits...

Penalty: Yukos Clobbered By New Tax Demand.(YUKOS Oil Co)
December 30, 2003... Russia's Tax Ministry has officially accused Yukos of owing 98 billion rubles ($3.3 billion) in back fees and penalties for evading tax payments in the year 2000. Analysts have said that the move could be the start of the government trying...

Shell Suit: Shell Regains Salym Share.(Brief Article)
December 30, 2003... Royal Dutch/Shell has regained its share in the West Siberian Upper Salym field, which has been under development for more than a year by local Evikhon. Evikhon, owned by UK-registered Sibir Energy and Shell's subsidiary Shell Salym...

Booster: Gazprom Sees Profits Shooting Up By 71%.
December 30, 2003... Russian gas giant Gazprom expects a 71% rise in its 2003 net profit in ruble terms, driven by a lighter tax burden, stronger domestic prices and boosted sales to former Soviet republics. The state monopoly predicts a 2003 net profit of...

All-star Revue: Iraq To Review Lukoil's West Qurna Contract.
December 30, 2003... Moscow could agree to write off most of Baghdad's $8 billion debt in exchange for allowing Russian oil companies to develop Iraqi oil fields, said Russian President Vladimir Putin as he received a visiting delegation from Iraq's Governing...

Decision Time: TNK-BP Plans New Export Terminal.(Brief Article)
December 30, 2003... TNK-BP is to decide soon whether to go ahead with plans to build a 360,000 b/d export terminal on the Baltic Sea, not far from Primorsk. The company submitted a proposal for the project to the government of the Leningrad region in October....

Taxman: Putin Pledges To Raise Taxes On Oil Companies.
December 30, 2003... Foreign investors eyeing Russia's abundant hydrocarbons resources will have found little to cheer about as President Vladimir Putin kicked off his reelection campaign on Dec. 18 by confirming that the oil sector would have to shoulder a heavier...

Way In: Gazprom Could Follow Rosneft Into Sakhalin.(Brief Article)
December 30, 2003... Gazprom could break into oil and gas projects offshore Sakhalin island by teaming up with Rosneft, after the two state-controlled companies recently joined a consortium to develop the remote region of Eastern Siberia (see p1). "Rosneft has...

Endgame: Surgutneftegas Closes In On East Siberian Field.(Brief Article)
December 30, 2003... The saga over the giant Talakanskoye field in Eastern Siberia looks to be drawing to a close. According to a recent ruling by a Sakha/Yakutyia court, the field, which harbors 800 million bbl of oil reserves and 22.7 Bcm of gas, may go to...

Russian Crude Loading Programs For January 2004.
December 30, 2003... Novorossiysk Crude Loading Program For January 2004

Kazakhstan: Lukoil Anxious To Beat New Year Deadline.
December 30, 2003... State oil company Kazmunaigas and the Kazakh Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources signed on Dec. 29 a production sharing agreement (PSA) for the offshore Dostyk area, opening the way for Russia's Lukoil to join the project, and narrowly...

Caspian Opec: Iran Backs Down On Caspian Cooperation.(Brief Article)
December 30, 2003... Nursultan Nazarbaev, the president of Kazakhstan, has called on Caspian producers to set up an organization that could stand up to the might of Opec, but the response has so far been lukewarm. Iran will not discuss any projects in the...

German Bite: Alfa Buys Into German Refiner.(Brief Article)
December 30, 2003... Russia's Alfa Group, branching out into more stable European markets, has signed an agreement to buy the stake in the Ruhr Oel German refinery joint venture held by Venezuelan state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV). No financial terms...

Slovakia: Yukos, OMV Ink Oil Pipeline Deal.(Brief Article)
December 30, 2003... Austria's OMV and Russia's Yukos are moving ahead with plans for a new 60 km oil pipeline linking Bratislava in the Slovak Republic with OMV's 209,000 b/d Schwechat refinery in Austria (NC Aug.14,p1). OMV confirmed that it has signed an...

Teamwork: South Koreans Target Tatar Refining Complex.
December 30, 2003... Tatneft is teaming up with South Korea's LG International to build a crude oil refinery on the premises of the Nizhnekamskneftekhim petrochemical plant in Tatarstan. The total cost of the project is estimated at $2.5 billion, including a $1.3...

Equities And Currencies.
December 30, 2003... Share Prices Closing On December 29, 2003

Crude Oil: Primorsk Puts NWE Under Pressure.(Northwest Europe)
December 30, 2003... London is still playing catch-up with New York after local trade in Brent crude futures was suspended before US data showing a large distillate stock draw were released on Christmas Eve. On Dec. 30, front month Brent traded up to $29.76, up 70o...

Products: Tankers Form Fuel Oil Queues Outside Rotterdam.(Brief Article)
December 30, 2003... Reluctance by the majors to take delivery of Russian fuel oil before the New Year has lead to a build up in prompt cargoes and moved the high-sulfur market into a steep contango with cargoes arriving in early January commanding as much as an...