NEFTE Compass articles from February 2005

NEFTE Compass archives from February 2005

Keeping Tabs: Yukos Monitors.
February 1, 2005... Yukos CEO Steven Theede says the company knows which traders are handling oil from its former production arm Yuganskneftegas and is prepared to take legal action to seek compensation. "Maybe purchasers feel that by moving through these...

Kashing Out: BG Poised For Breakthrough In Kashagan Dispute.(stake in oil and gas field, Kazakhstan)
February 1, 2005... A new deal is emerging to break the two-year deadlock in BG's attempt to sell its stake in Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oil and gas field. One source in the international consortium developing the field in the northern Caspian Sea told...

Chinese Lantern: Russia Cultivates China For Yugansk Role.(Rosneft finance )
February 1, 2005... Russia under President Vladimir Putin seems to be overcoming its traditional China phobia and is turning more to its biggest and fast-growing neighbor. Moscow confirmed this week that China played a central role in helping state oil...

Objection!: Yukos Sets Out Its Case Against Deutsche Bank.(Chapter 11 bankruptcy)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Yukos is claiming it is the "good player" in its case against the Deutsche Bank motion to dismiss the Chapter 11 bankruptcy ruling that the oil company won in a Houston court in December. It says that the theme of Deutsche Bank's case --...

Shooting Up: Gasoline Exports Rocket On Seasonal Demand.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... January seaborne exports of Russian gas oil and fuel oil were relatively flat on the month, despite inclement weather that stopped shipments in Northwest Europe a few weeks ago. Gasoline exports, however, skyrocketed due to a seasonal rise in...

Open Road: TNK-BP, Rosneft Forge New Export Routes.
February 1, 2005... TNK-BP is forging new export routes by rail, spurred on by national pipeline operator Transneft's network constraints as well as the desire to take over export routes abandoned by Yukos, trading sources claim. The Russian-UK venture is to...

Surprise: Russia Reshuffles Loading Programs.
February 1, 2005... Russia has sprung a major surprise on world oil markets with a massive reshuffle of its February seaport loading programs (see p6). Moscow has completely removed Yukos' current and former producers from the crude export port loading...

Ultimatum: Banks Call In Rosneft Over Yugansk Loans.
February 1, 2005... Western banks have hit Rosneft with a demand for immediate payment of $525 million of borrowings that were guaranteed by former Yukos producer Yuganskneftegas, the Russian state oil company confirmed to Nefte Compass this week. The...

Sakhalin Sales: Sakhalin-2 Sets Up South Korean Deal.(liquefied natural gas )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Sakhalin-2 supervisory board is due to approve on Feb. 3 a potential deal to supply up to 2 million metric tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Korea Gas Corp. (Kogas), according to the head of Russia's Federal Energy Agency,...

Election Fever: Total Seeks Kharyaga Relief In Local Poll.(case between TOTAL S.A. and International Arbitration Court)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The process of finding a compromise on the Kharyaga field operated by Total could speed up after a new governor is elected in the Nenets autonomous district of Russia, the head of Russia's Federal Energy Agency, Sergei Oganesyan, said. The...

Revamp: Gazprom Pushes Ahead With Corporate Reshuffle.(restructuring)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Gazprom, the world's biggest gas producer, has confirmed that it plans to push ahead with its restructuring plan this year, which involves the separation of gas production from transportation, processing, storage and marketing, with a view to...

Russian Crude Loading Programs For February 2005.
February 1, 2005... Novorossiysk Crude Loading Program For February 2005

Piggy Bank: Caspian Oil Giants Squirrel Away Cash For Rainy Days.(Transparency International)
February 1, 2005... As they reap the benefits of rising oil production and buoyant international prices, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have tried to break with the extravagances of the past by building up money in oil funds designed to cater for future generations. In...

Bosporus Bypass: TNK-BP To Coordinate Trans-Balkan Pipeline.(Petroleum pipeline construction)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Russian-UK joint venture TNK-BP has been chosen as the Russian coordinator for companies interested in using the proposed Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, which would bypass Turkey's congested Bosporus Strait. The move should help...

Hungary: Mol Takes Precautions After Yukos Downfall.(Petroleum industry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Hungary's Mol is doing all it can to preserve its major Russia investment intact -- despite the fact that its local business partner, Yukos, is all but deceased. To this end, Mol has altered arrangements at its joint venture with Russia's...

Burren Plans To Step Up Field Development.(Petroleum industry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... UK independent Burren Energy said last week that it increased production on its Burun field in Turkmenistan by 37% to 9,300 b/d compared with the previous year. The company intends to run a continuous program of shallow drilling for up to...

Ukraine: Naftogaz Signs Up For UAE Exploration.(Investments)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Naftogaz Middle East, the Abu Dhabi-based affiliate of Ukraine's Naftogaz, is to invest $600 million in exploration and production in Fujairah, one of the UAE's northern emirates, company officials announced recently. The agreement was reached...

Bond Street: Gazprom Considers Bond Issues.(eurobond issues )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Gazprom may place two new eurobond issues this year with a total value of $1.9 billion. The gas giant is reported to be considering two issues worth $900 million and $1 billion in 2005, which could be placed by the summer, Russian press reports...

Crude Oil: Opec And US Inventory Weigh On Prices.(petroleum industry)
February 1, 2005... Brent futures traded a $3.77 range during the seven-day reporting period from a $47.05 high on Jan. 27 to a $43.58 low on Jan. 31. The high was reached prior to a slightly bearish US inventory report; the low was a reaction to Opec's weekend...

Products: Gas Oil Market Grows Tighter.(petroleum industry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The market for Russian gas oil has grown a bit tighter over the past week. A rise in crude futures on Jan. 31 fueled a hike in gas oil futures a day later. On Feb. 2, however, gas oil futures fell on reports of warmer weather in the US. ...

Reach Out: Lukoil Sees Venezuela Fitting Its American Gameplan.(OAO Lukoil, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. contracts, energy talks)
February 7, 2005... Having already established a downstream foothold in the US, Lukoil hopes this week to expand its presence on the American continent by signing a deal for upstream acreage in Venezuela. Russia's largest oil company expects to sign a...

Rooster: Chinese Dig Deeper Into Kazakhstan.
February 7, 2005... China is definitely flavor of the moment in Kazakhstan. As China this week welcomed in the Year of the Rooster, it had double cause for celebration, having picked up a new Kazakh oil field near the route of an oil pipeline that is due to start...

Spinning Out: Rosneft Reveals Money Trail For Yugansk Deal.(Yuganskneftegas)
February 7, 2005... After a month of heated speculation and conflicting comments, Russia's Rosneft has at last divulged where it got the $9.4 billion to buy Yuganskneftegas -- Yukos' former main production unit -- after it was sold off at a controversial auction...

Far Reach: Rosneft Spreads Yugansk Crude Far And Wide.(Yuganskneftegas, Chedty Neft, Srednye-Vasyuganskoye )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... State Rosneft has used some creative marketing to place crude from Yuganskneftegas, by transferring the producer's crude export rights to some not-so-famous outfits. A shipment of 40,300 metric tons (9,500 b/d) of Yugansk crude to the...

Austrian Arm: Sibneft Moves Trade Arm To Vienna.(Sibneft Oil )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Russia's Sibneft has brought its trading arm Sibneft Oil Trade (Siboil) a step closer to home. After previously being registered in the British Virgin Islands, Sibneft's 100%-owned subsidiary is now a citizen of Austria. Sibneft says the...

Taking Off: Probe Launched Into Soaring Jet Fuel Prices.(Federal Antimonopoly Service)
February 7, 2005... The price of jet fuel has taken off in Russia, and the authorities are scrambling for ways to bring it down. As jet fuel prices rose a staggering 75% in 2004, versus just 22% for crude oil, Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is...

Gas Leak: Gazprom Looks Into Expanding Exports.(OAO Gazprom)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Russia's Gazprom is pushing ahead with plans to expand opportunities for its natural gas exports. Gazprom's chief executive, Alexei Miller, met the chairmen of Germany's E.On, Wulf Bernotat, and E.On Ruhrgas, Burckhard Bergman, last week...

Warning Shot: Volgatanker Warns Of Default On Foreign Loan.
February 7, 2005... Another Russian oil company linked to Yukos is in danger of going belly up. Volgatanker, Russia's largest oil shipper, has announced that it may default on a $120 million loan from foreign banks. Last month, the Russian authorities...

CPC Conflab: CPC Moves In Right Direction For Expansion.(Caspian Pipeline Consortium's capacity)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Shareholders of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) are to have another stab at reaching a compromise solution on the pipeline's expansion at a meeting in Kazakhstan scheduled for Mar. 1. In preparation for the meeting, the parties have...

Keeping Off: Offshore Production To Be Held Back.
February 7, 2005... No major offshore production is to be launched in Russia this year, according to the head of Federal Energy Agency, Sergei Oganesyan. The Russian official said that the Exxon Mobil-led Sakhalin-1 project on the Russian Pacific shelf would...

Gas Strategy: Gazprom Puts Iran Into The Picture.
February 7, 2005... The first outlines are appearing of a grand strategy by Russia's Gazprom to push Iran's entry into international markets into pathways that favor cooperation rather than competition between the world's top two gas reserve holders. ...

Foreign Legion: Eni Reaffirms Russia Interest.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Despite the endemic dangers of the Russian oil sector, foreign majors still seem keen to invest. Roberto Poli, chairman of Italy's Eni, said this week that his company was looking to enter a joint partnership in Russia, the Il Sole 24 Ore...

Lithuania: MN Refinery Recovers As Yukos Resumes Supplies.(Mazeikiu Nafta)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... For four days earlier this week, the Yukos affair brought activity at Lithuania's Mazeikiu Nafta (MN) refinery to a standstill. Crude shipments to MN were halted at the end of last week and dried up completely on Feb. 5 due to complications...

Kazakhstan: Lukoil Wins Court Case Over PetroKazakhstan.
February 7, 2005... Lukoil is claiming a victory in its battle with its Canadian joint venture partner PetroKazakhstan. The Russian oil company says that a court in the Kyzl-Orda region dismissed on Feb. 2 an appeal by PetroKazakhstan against an earlier...

Uzbekistan: Gazprom Signs Gas Purchase Accord.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... In an effort to secure more Central Asian gas flows, Russian gas monopoly Gazprom last week signed a natural gas transit and purchase agreement with Uzbekistan. Under the accord Gazprom will buy 5 Bcm of gas from Uzbekistan in 2005....

Poland: PKN Orlen Unveils Cautious Five-Year Strategy.
February 7, 2005... PKN Orlen, Poland's largest oil refiner, has unveiled a five-year development strategy characterized by caution and cost-cutting. The company will lower costs by $261 million this year. Spending will be strictly monitored, so as to grow in...

Czech Republic: Gazprom Buys Into Gas Distributor.(Gas-Invest)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Russia's Gazprom, as part of its bid to expand its gas distribution activities in Europe, has acquired a stake in a Czech gas distributor. ZMB-Zarubezhgaz Management & Beteiligungsgesellschaft, a Gazprom group member, has bought a 37.5%...

Innocents: Yukos Lets Five Banks Off The Hook.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Yukos has dropped legal actions against five banks after satisfying itself that they had no role in financing the forced auction last December of the company's production arm, Yuganskneftegas. "Yukos Oil Co. today filed notice with the US...

Spaced Out: Bashkir Refineries Face Tough Tax Call.(Ufa Oil Refinery, Novo-Ufa Oil Refinery, tax-avoidance cases)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Three oil refineries in the autonomous district of Bashkortostan are riding perilously close to bankruptcy after coming under fire from the Russian tax authorities, analysts say. Ufaneftekhim, Ufa Oil Refinery and Novo-Ufa Oil Refinery will...

Equities And Currencies.
February 7, 2005... Share Prices Closing On February 8, 2005

Crude Oil: Futures Rally On US Inventory Data.
February 7, 2005... Brent futures did a big turnaround and recouped a week's losses on the Feb. 9 release of unexpectedly bullish US stock figures. Opec earlier said the data would be "critical" in the cartel's planning its next move at its extraordinary...

Products: Warm US Weather Cools Demand For Gas Oil.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Prices for Russian gas oil have been static this week in both Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean due to warm weather in the US, which caused a drop in futures to the lowest level in over a month. The situation was exacerbated by a lag in...

Arabian Rights: Russian Firms Eye Opportunities In Iraq And Syria.
February 15, 2005... Opportunities are opening up for Russian oil and gas companies in Iraq and Syria, as the new government being formed in Baghdad starts to lay the groundwork for foreign investment, and US sanctions take their toll on Syrian energy projects. ...

Russian Rules: Moscow Mulls Over New Limits On Foreign Oil Investors.
February 15, 2005... Russia is moving to tighten the rules on foreign ownership of strategic assets, mirroring limits that have been in place for decades in many other oil and gas producing countries. But the final terms of a new law on the issue are far from set....

Support Group: Vainshtok Backs Lukoil's Northern Line.(Semyon Vainshtok, OAO Lukoil, Transneft contracts)
February 15, 2005... National pipeline operator Transneft has thrown its weight behind Lukoil's proposal to build a pipeline to the Barents Sea from the northern Timan-Pechora oil province, rather than from Western Siberia. The pipeline operator also believes...

Dumping Ground: Moscow To Privatize Volgatanker Stake.(crude exports )(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... The Russian government is planning to sell off its entire remaining 20% stake in Volgatanker -- just as the country's biggest river barge operator has warned that it could be sunk by back tax claims. Volgatanker, which had been linked to...

For Sale: Moscow Refinery Could Change Hands.(Moscow Oil and Gas Co.)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... The Moscow refinery, which is in debt to the tune of nearly $500 million, could be up for sale, sources claim. Moscow Oil and Gas Co. (MOGC) has already transferred its 38% stake in the refinery into the nominal shareholding of the Bank of...

Caracas: Venezuela Welcomes Lukoil Advances.(OAO Lukoil, energy cooperation)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has ordered state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) to develop a detailed plan of cooperation with Russian oil major Lukoil, after meeting Lukoil president Vagit Alekperov late last week. It was also...

Big Moves: Lukoil Changes Relationship With Refineries.(OAO Lukoil's management)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... As part of its campaign to increase transparency, Lukoil is planning to change the structure of its commercial relationships with its refineries. Starting this year, the oil major plans to abandon its processing schemes, under which it...

Target: ONGC Still In The Hunt For Yugansk Stake.(Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., Yuganskneftegas)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... India is still hoping to clinch an equity stake in Yuganskneftegas, the former main production unit of Yukos, with negotiations advancing between new owner Rosneft and India's state Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), Indian officials told Nefte...

Bailing Out: Rosneft Abandons Baltic Refinery Plan.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... Rosneft has abandoned its plan to build a refinery near the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, the vice governor of the Leningrad region, Grigory Dvas, was quoted as saying by media reports. According to the official, Rosneft informed the...

LNG Sale: South Korea Comes In For Sakhalin LNG.
February 15, 2005... Russia's Far East LNG venture, Sakhalin-2, has won a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract to supply state Korea Gas Corp. (Kogas), as have two other suppliers: Yemen LNG and Malaysia LNG. The three contracts will cover up...

Expansion: Lukoil Beefs Up Its Overseas Portfolio.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... Russia's Lukoil is building up its overseas portfolio, as it advances toward a goal of sourcing 20% of its total hydrocarbon production from international projects by 2014. Foreign investment arm Lukoil Overseas said that it had increased...

Enclave: Lukoil Steps Up Baltic Offshore Exploration.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... Lukoil is expanding its upstream program in the Baltic Sea, having acquired licenses for three offshore blocks. The Russian oil giant has announced that it received the 20-year rights to explore and develop the Chekhovskoy, Semyonovskoye...

Finnish Article: Lukoil Moves Into Finnish Market.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... Russia's largest oil company Lukoil has announced plans to expand its retail presence in neighboring Finland through the acquisition of two affiliated fuel companies. Lukoil said that it intends to buy up shares in Finland's Teboil and...

Kazakhstan: Chinese Swoop For Second Kyzl-Orda Field.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) has made its second foray into the Kzyl-Orda region by acquiring part of the Kuatamlonmunai (KAM) joint venture, which currently produces around 8,000 b/d of high-quality crude from the Bektas-Konys field...

Kazakhstan: BG Looks For Kashagan Payback.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... BG expects receipts of $1.8 billion from the sale of its 16.67% stake in the Kashagan oil field and North Caspian license, which it has been trying to offload since March 2003. The UK-based group's chief financial officer Ashley Almanza...

Azerbaijan: Exxon Set To Drop Two Exploration Blocks.(Exxon Mobil Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... Exxon Mobil is close to abandoning its two exploration blocks in the Caspian Sea off Azerbaijan after failing to find commercial reserves of hydrocarbons, industry sources say. In another blow to the republic, Russia's Lukoil has finally...

Azerbaijan: BP Wins Socar March Tender.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... BP has won the latest tender held by Socar to lift the Azeri state oil company's first March cargo of Urals crude loading out of Novorossiysk. The 586,000 bbl (80,000 ton) cargo will load out of the Russian Black Sea port on Mar. 11-12,...

Swap Shop: Iran Tries To Keep Caspian Crude Swaps Alive.
February 15, 2005... Shipments of Russian, Kazakh and Turkmen crude to northern Iran, which are pumped to the Tehran and Tabriz refineries and then "swapped" for Iranian barrels at Kharg Island, are still running at sharply reduced levels as poor margins persist...

Loan Some: Transneft To Borrow $200 Million For BPS Expansion.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... Russian pipeline operator Transneft plans to borrow $200 million in a syndicated loan from international banks to finance the expansion of the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) and partly to refinance its debt, the company reported last week. ...

In The Money: TNK-BP Doles Out Biggest Russian Dividends.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... TNK-BP appears to have dished out an unprecedented $3.52 billion in dividends in 2004, up from $1.12 billion a year earlier. The amount would be the largest dividend handout in Russian history, followed by Yukos and Sibneft in 2003, which...

Equities and Currencies.
February 15, 2005... Share Prices Closing On February 15, 2005

Crude Oil: Urals Slightly Firmer In Thin Trade.(prices, exports)
February 15, 2005... Brent futures traded a $3.38 range during the seven-day reporting period from a $43.17 low on Feb. 10 to a $46.55 high on Feb. 16. The high was, however, a bit of a fluke that lasted less than an hour. Prices jumped more than a dollar when the...

Products: Gas Oil Piggybacks Crude.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2005... Russian gas oil differentials have increased this week on the back of rising futures. The upward trend followed a rise in crude futures earlier in the week. While the market in the Mediterranean remains tight due to cold weather to the East,...

Summit: Putin And Bush May Seek New Focus For Energy Ties.
February 22, 2005... Russia's energy partnership with the US, which has failed spectacularly to meet expectations, was on the agenda of this week's summit in Bratislava between President George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin. Relations have been rocky of...

Looking Up: TNK-BP To Sidestep New Russian Regulations.
February 22, 2005... The recent outcry that Russia is cutting itself off further from the international oil and gas community is less dramatic than it sounds, industry sources say. Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev's statement that certain assets...

New Year Hangover: Crude Production Hit By Yukos Debacle.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... Russia continued to boost crude production in January, chalking up a 4.7% rise on the year to 9.26 million b/d (39.165 million metric tons). Despite the yearly upward trend, however, production declined in January on a monthly basis for the...

Nerves: Koch Boycotts Ex-Yukos Producer's Crude.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... The legal hazards surrounding Yuganskneftegas crude sales look to have taken their first casualty, as one major US refiner has announced it will refuse to buy it. US Koch says that it will no longer purchase oil from ex-Yukos producer...

Welcome Move: Russia To Trim Fuel Oil Duties.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... Russia is to cut export taxes on fuel oil from $45.40 to $36.70 per metric ton starting in mid-March. Duties on light and middle-distillate products are set to rise from $57 to $68.20/ton. The move is welcome news to Russia's fuel oil...

Dilemma: TNK-BP License For Kovykta Under Review.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... The future of the development license for the colossal Kovykta gas field in Eastern Siberia is in doubt. Rusia Petroleum, which is 63% owned by TNK-BP, is the holder of the license, which expires next year (NC Sep.16,p6). Russian Natural...

Indian Spice: India's ONGC Eyes Massive Russia Investments.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... India is offering to invest up to a staggering $25 billion into developing Russia's oil and gas reserves, says its Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar. Aiyar visited Moscow this week to hold negotiations on investment by...

Vital Outlet: Rosoil To Boost Shipments Via White Sea Port.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... Rosoil, a little known Russian company based in Yaroslavl, is planning to pour $35.8 million into a rail terminal used to carry oil to the White Sea port of Vitino. Rosoil and rail monopoly Russian Railways will build the terminal...

Beijing Bound: Sakhalin-1 Gas Will Go To China.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... The likelihood is growing that gas from the Exxon Mobil-led Sakhalin-1 project in Russia's Far East will end up in China, not Japan as had been previously planned. Exxon confirms to Nefte Compass that the company has conducted a...

Nine Iron: Gazprom Reports Increased Profits.
February 22, 2005... Gazprom, the world's biggest natural gas producer, has reported net profits of 137.9 billion rubles ($4.9 billion) for the first nine months of 2004, in unaudited consolidated accounts prepared according to international accounting standards....

Okhotsk OK: Rosneft And KNOC Finalize Sakhalin Deal.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... Rosneft has come to final terms with Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) on the development of the West-Kamchatsky area in the Sea of Okhotsk off the island of Sakhalin. The Russian and South Korean state-owned companies have closed an interim...

Startup: RosUkrEnergo Starts Trading Gas.
February 22, 2005... Switzerland-registered joint venture RosUkrEnergo, set up last year by 50-50 owners Russia's Gazprom and Austria's Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB), began trading gas for the first time last month, Wolfgang Putschek, director at RZB's Raiffeisen...

Russian Crude Oil And Condensate Production/Exports, January 2005.
February 22, 2005... Russian Crude Oil And Condensate Production/Exports, January 2005

Kazakhstan: Japan Bank Links Up With Kazmunaigas.(cooperation agreement with Bank for International Cooperation of Japan)(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed a cooperation agreement with Kazmunaigas that could open the door for loans to the state oil company and other Kazakh firms. JBIC, the Japanese government's overseas financing...

Small Is Beautiful: In The Caspian, It's Niche Work If You Can Get It.(management of Caspian Holdings)
February 22, 2005... In the Caspian, it's the 1 million barrel per day oil fields operated by BP, ChevronTexaco and Eni that grab the headlines. But at the other end of the scale, a growing number of small players are making money out of prospects that the big boys...

Kazakhstan: Shymkent Refinery Holds Steady In January.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... Crude processing at the Shymkent refinery rose in January despite an argument between the plant's owner PetroKazakhstan and Russia's Lukoil over supplies to the refinery. Both companies and another local operator, Kazgermunai, are supposed...

Kazakhstan: BG Nears End Of Two-Year Wait On Kashagan Sale.(negotiation between Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan and BG Group PLC)(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... After a two-year wait, BG could finalize the sale of its stake in the giant Kashagan field by the end of March. The next round of talks on the government buying half of BG's stake is to take place in London on Feb. 24, Kazakh Minister of...

Lithuania: Mazeikiu Nafta Reports Record Profits, Upgrading.(Brief Article)
February 22, 2005... Lithuania's Mazeikiu Nafta (MN), which is controlled and operated by besieged Russian major Yukos, reported record earnings in 2004, and is upgrading its facilities to meet tougher EU gasoline specifications. MN reported net profits of...

Kazakhstan: India Eyes Offshore Oil And Gas Riches.
February 22, 2005... India plans to renew its energy relations with Kazakhstan after a lull of several years, with plans to negotiate stakes in the Kurmangazy, Darkhan and Yedgenia Blocks, as part of its aggressive push for overseas oil and gas assets. Indian...