NEFTE Compass articles from February 2008

NEFTE Compass archives from February 2008

Russian Production Decline Triggers Alarms.
February 5, 2008... Russian oil production dropped in January for the first time in nearly 10 years. Abroad, the decline puts more strain on global oil supply following last week's refusal by Opec to increase output. At home, it could set alarm bells ringing...

Germans Add Their Weight To Caspian Pipeline.
February 5, 2008... The energy world's worst kept secret was revealed this week when Germany's RWE was named as the sixth member of the Nabucco consortium, which aims to bring Caspian and Mideast gas to Europe via a 5 billion ($7.4 billion) pipeline to be built...

Rosneft, Gazprom Nominations Hint At Future.
February 5, 2008... The future of some of Russia's key officials after Russia's Mar. 2 presidential elections has cleared slightly with the announcement of the government's candidates for the boards of state majors Rosneft and Gazprom. Current Prime Minister...

Gazprom Neft Outlines Strategy.
February 5, 2008... Gazprom Neft will only bring foreign partners into projects requiring massive investment, or if the foreign partners bring the Russian oil firm access to new markets, infrastructure and technology, according to the Gazprom oil unit's head. ...

Norilsk Plans Major Sale Of Power Assets.
February 5, 2008... Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest producer of palladium and nickel, is considering selling power assets worth roughly $7 billion in a move that analysts say is an attempt by the company's management to fend off a hostile takeover bid from...

Moscow Seeks Further Tariff Hike For CPC.
February 5, 2008... Russia wants to further increase tariffs for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) line, explaining that the hike would be necessary to raise the funds for financing expansion design works for the pipeline. Sources say that the initiative...

Gazprom Speeds Into Huge East Siberian Field.
February 5, 2008... Gazprom appears to have already begun reaping the benefits of board Chairman Dmitry Medvedev's expected rise to the Kremlin, as Medvedev reportedly instructed the Industry and Energy Ministry this week to speed up the transfer of a license for...

Gazprom Nixes Belgium Storage.
February 5, 2008... Gazprom and Belgian gas grid operator Fluxys have scrapped plans to build an underground gas storage facility in Belgium, according to Fluxys boss Sophie Dutordoir. "We recently met with our Russian partners and decided together not to extend...

Lukoil Buying Gutseriev's Retail Network.
February 5, 2008... Lukoil is soon to officially announce the purchase of a network of retail gasoline stations in Moscow the surrounding region that had belonged to Mikhail Gutseriev, former head and owner of independent producer Russneft. Offshore...

Rosneft Teams Up With State Bank.
February 5, 2008... Seeking financial support for its grand plans, debt-loaded Rosneft has signed a memorandum of understanding with state Vnesheconombank on joint participation in infrastructure development projects. Vnesheconombank will conduct due diligence...

Stroitransgas Starts New Job In Syria.
February 5, 2008... Russian oil and gas contractor Stroitransgas has pushed forward with its overseas projects with the start of work this week on a second gas processing facility in Syria. The project is being implemented under a contract with Syrian Gas Co....

Kovykta License Threat Ends.
February 5, 2008... The huge Kovykta gas field in East Siberia no longer faces the threat of having its license withdrawn, Russian Natural Resources Ministry officials were quoted as saying last week. The Federal Agency on Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) has excluded...

Nenets Offering Reserves In May.
February 5, 2008... Rosnedra, Russia's subsoil agency, has announced plans for a May tender of four blocks in the northern Nenets region that hold a combined 571 million bbl of Russian-classified C1 reserves, which are similar to proven, probable and possible...

Kazakhs Cause A Stink In The Caspian.(Brief article)
February 5, 2008... Shipments of Kazakh crude oil to Iran, which in recent months have been running at around 50,000 b/d, have been disrupted by the presence of evil-smelling mercaptans in some of the cargoes that are shipped in small vessels from the Caspian port...

Kazmunaigas EP Squeezes More From Uzen Field.
February 5, 2008... Kazakh oil producer Kazmunaigas Exploration Production (KMG EP) increased its proved and probable crude oil reserves by 18.1% to 1.77 billion barrels as of Dec. 31, 2007, compared with a year earlier. According to an assessment by energy...

Kazakhs Capture Georgian Oil Terminal.
February 5, 2008... Kazmunaigas (KMG), the state oil company of Kazakhstan, has bought a 100% interest in the Batumi Oil Terminal and in the 48-year lease on Batumi Sea Port on Georgia's Black Sea coast from Danish entrepreneur Jan Bonde Nielsen's Greenoak...

Kazakhstan Hikes Gas Transport Tariffs.
February 5, 2008... Kazakhstan's state natural gas pipeline operator, Kaztransgas, has hiked the country's tariff for transshipments of natural gas to $1.40/Mcm for every 100 km for 2008 from $1.10/Mcm last year. The increase, which took effect from Jan. 1,...

Turkmenistan Opens Door Wider.(Brief article)
February 5, 2008... For investors eyeing oil and gas opportunities in Turkmenistan, it pays to keep an open mind. In a meeting last week with UK-based Midland Oil and Gas, which was offering its services in tackling so-called "hard-to-recover" reserves,...

Lukoil Overseas Boosts Caspian Production.
February 5, 2008... Lukoil Overseas, which produces mainly in the Caspian, said this week its oil production dropped slightly in 2007 to 5.17 million metric tons (104,000 b/d) from 5.3 million tons (107,000 b/d) in 2006, but gas output jumped by nearly 45% to 2.53...

Moscow Splits Oil Fund, Goes For Growth.(Brief article)
February 5, 2008... Moscow on Feb. 1 split its huge oil-fed Stabilization Fund into two parts, one of which would make the Kremlin a major force in global financial markets. The two facilities are: a Reserve Fund that will continue to uphold the original goal...

Service Company Eyes $150 Million Loan.
February 5, 2008... Russian oil-field services company Integra has mandated ABN Amro and ING Bank to arrange a debut syndicated loan worth $150 million. The funds will be used to finance the company's business expansion and provide working capital, as well as...

Equities and Currencies.
February 5, 2008... Share Prices Closing On February 5, 2008

Prices Track Financial Markets Lower.
February 5, 2008... The front-month March Brent futures contract price has been rattling around in a $5.25 range between a $92.83 high on Jan. 31 and an $87.58 low on Feb. 6. A steady diet of poor US economic data continues to set the tone, with only the odd rally...

Med Gas Oil Holds Firm.
February 5, 2008... Gas oil futures and crude were both spooked by the fall of equities markets, and the ICE gas oil futures February contract fell from $815/ton on Feb. 1 to $779.25 on Feb. 6. It traded around $785.50 at press time. Russian products supply...

Russia Hopes For New Openings In Iraq After Debt Write-Down.
February 13, 2008... Moscow's agreement this week to write off 93% of Iraq's $12.9 billion debt to Russia seems to have been a one-way move, as Baghdad remains coy on Russian companies' prospects of winning prized acreage in the Middle East oil producer. ...

Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan On Collision Course Over Disputed Field.
February 13, 2008... In a potential flashpoint between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Cyprus-registered independent oil company Buried Hill Energy has started work offshore Turkmenistan in an area that is claimed by both Caspian states. Buried Hill confirmed to...

Kremlin Front-Runner Helps Out Gazprom.
February 13, 2008... Gazprom already seems to be reaping the rewards of Chairman Dmitry Medvedev's expected elevation to the Russian presidency, as Medvedev is publicly backing a number of initiatives aimed at ensuring the gas giant's domination of the Russian Far...

Rosneft Possibly Eyeing Indian LNG Terminal.
February 13, 2008... Rosneft may be considering purchasing a stake in an Indian LNG terminal in connection with intergovernmental cooperation talks between Russia and India that took place during a recent visit to New Delhi by Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov....

New Export Route Nears For TNK-BP.
February 13, 2008... TNK-BP is poised to begin crude shipments via the company's new rail loading facility near the West Siberian city of Barabinsk, opening a new potential outlet for Russian crude to China, according to Tony Considine, TNK-BP's executive vice...

Gazprom Drops Baltic LNG Plans.
February 13, 2008... Gazprom has finally dropped plans for a $3.7 billion LNG export facility on the Baltic Sea, dashing the hopes of international companies lined up to partner with the state gas giant, including Canada's Petro-Canada, believed to be a leading...

St. Petersburg Exchange Gains Momentum.(Brief article)
February 13, 2008... TNK-BP, Russia's third-largest oil producer, expects to make full use of the planned oil and oil products exchange in St. Petersburg, adding some momentum to the Kremlin's drive to establish a liquid, transparent market that could some day...

Government Rejects Espo Delays.(Brief article)
February 13, 2008... Following harsh criticism from presidential front-runner Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian government has refused to accept the delays facing the first phase of the East Siberian Pacific Ocean (Espo) pipeline. The Industry and Energy Ministry and...

Czech Oil Firm Plans Refinery In Russia.
February 13, 2008... Private Czech oil firm Moravske Naftove Doly (MND) is continuing to tap new opportunities in the former Soviet Union, this time with a multibillion-dollar project in Russia's Sverdlovsk region. The company announced that it has signed a...

BP Closes Sakhalin Office.
February 13, 2008... BP has warned officials on Sakhalin Island that it is cutting the activities at its representative office in the region and may close it down by the end of April. The UK supermajor's operations on Sakhalin will be limited to its joint...

TNK-BP Expands BP Retail Stations.
February 13, 2008... Seeking to capitalize on Russia's strong economic growth and the correspondingly rapid rise in demand for premium products, TNK-BP this week opened its first retail filling station under the BP mark in St. Petersburg. Combined with the...

TNK-BP Russian Shareholders Deny Sale.
February 13, 2008... The Russian shareholders in TNK-BP have wholeheartedly denied recent reports that they intend to sell their 50% stake in the Russian-UK joint venture. Speculation about the possible sale of Alfa and Access Renova's (AAR) stake to Gazprom...

TNK-BP Moves Forward On East Siberian Field.
February 13, 2008... TNK-BP plans to bring its Verkhnechonskoye oil and gas field in East Siberia into commercial operation by the end of the year, with production of some 60,000 b/d in the medium term, TNK-BP Chief Operating Officer Tim Summers reportedly said....

Gazprom Neft Replaces Reserves.
February 13, 2008... Gazprom Neft announced that it added 1.08 billion bbl (148 million tons) of Russian-classified C1 and C2 reserves -- roughly equivalent to "possible" reserves under SPE standards -- through the drill bit in 2007, as well as another 168 million...

Putin Attacks Barriers To Russian Expansion.(Brief article)
February 13, 2008... Russia faces new barriers to international trade even as international firms seek access to its resources, President Vladimir Putin said late last week in a tough speech outlining economic development plans through to 2020. "God has...

Kashagan Partners Fine-Tune New Terms.
February 13, 2008... The six foreign partners in the giant Kashagan oil development have set a May target date to finalize a deal with the Kazakh government that more than doubles the stake of state oil company Kazmunaigas (KMG), provides the republic with up to $4...

Russia, Ukraine Avoid Crisis With Gas Deal.
February 13, 2008... Russia and Ukraine ended a game of brinkmanship this week by reaching agreement on the payment of Ukraine's debt for gas supply and also apparently removing the shadowy trading intermediaries that have served as a focal point for criticism over...

Statoil Signs Up To Caspian Gas Export Route.
February 13, 2008... StatoilHydro and Swiss utility EGL have signed an agreement setting up a 50-50 joint venture to develop, build and operate the planned 520 km Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), intended to provide a route for Caspian and, later, Mideast gas to...

Lukoil Acquires More Assets in Uzbekistan.
February 13, 2008... Further expanding its presence in Uzbekistan, Lukoil has inked a deal to buy a controlling stake in Soyuzneftegas Vostok, which has a production sharing agreement (PSA) for the Central Ustyurt and Southwest Gissar blocks. The contract area...

Turkmen Leader Calls For Transparency.
February 13, 2008... Turkmenistan, Central Asia's leading natural gas exporter, plans to produce 73 Bcm of gas in 2008 and 216,000 b/d of crude oil, state gas company Turkmengas said, according to reports from Ashkhabad. The targets, which look more realistic...

PKN Orlen Mulls Baltic Expansion.
February 13, 2008... In its drive to expand in the Baltic states, Poland's PKN Orlen is pushing ahead with its plan to get full control over Lithuania's oil sector by acquiring a majority stake in the country's Baltic Sea Klaipeda oil products export terminal. ...

UK To Probe Death Of Georgian Tycoon.(Brief article)
February 13, 2008... UK police have ordered a criminal investigation into the death of Georgian tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili who was found dead in his home outside London on Feb. 13. The 52-year old Patarkatsishvili was a controversial figure, who made a...

Poles Ink Iran Accord On Gas Projects.
February 13, 2008... Polish state-run oil and gas company PGNIG says it has signed a letter of intent in Tehran with Iranian Offshore Oil Co. focusing on cooperation in developing Iranian gas and condensate finds. The announcement followed a Feb. 4-7 visit by a...

Ventspils Improves Transshipment Performance.
February 13, 2008... Latvia's Ventspils Naftas Terminals (VNT) increased crude and oil product transshipments at the Baltic port of Ventspils by 33.3% in January to 1.2 million metric tons compared with the same month in 2007. Gas oil supplies by rail and via...

Lukoil Approves Purchase Of Power Unit.
February 13, 2008... Lukoil's board of directors has approved the acquisition of an 82.3% stake in Russia's TGK-8 power producer through investment firm IFD Capital, which is controlled by top officials at the Russian major. Lukoil will pay for the unit using...

Novatek Announces Share Buyback.
February 13, 2008... The board of directors for independent Russian gas producer Novatek has announced a program to buy back 3% of the company's outstanding ordinary shares on a "long-term" basis. The stake is estimated to be worth $600 million at current market...

West Siberian Reserves Jump.
February 13, 2008... Russian independent West Siberian Resources (WSR) says that a recent audit by reserves specialists DeGolyer & MacNaughton has upped the company's proven oil reserves by 48% to 162.9 million bbl, largely because of further drilling in the...

Equities and Currencies.
February 13, 2008... Share Prices Closing On February 12, 2008

Nigerian, North Sea Disruptions Rattle Markets.
February 13, 2008... The front-month March Brent futures contract price staged a strong recovery, trading up $7.69 from a Feb. 7 intraday low of $86.83 to a Feb. 11 high of $94.52. Supply disruptions in Nigeria and the North Sea and threats by Venezuela to halt...

Europe Gasps For Middle Distillates.
February 13, 2008... The ICE gas oil futures February contract soared before expiry, as concerns about physical gas oil supply took hold and brought the bulls to market. It expired at $839.25/ton Feb. 12, after hitting $850.75/ton on Feb. 11. March as the new front...

Medvedev Faces Challenge As Siloviki Fight Back.
February 26, 2008... There is no question about who will win Russia's Mar. 2 presidential election. The questions now are what, if any, differences will there be between the policies of Dmitry Medvedev as the new president and those of Vladimir Putin, and what will...

Gazprom May Struggle To Expand On Global Stage.
February 26, 2008... As its chairman, Dmitry Medvedev, prepares to take over the Russian presidency from Vladimir Putin, state-owned behemoth Gazprom is flying the flag around the world, pledging billions of dollars in oil and gas investment in the Middle East,...

Crude Exports Set To Rebound In March.
February 26, 2008... Despite a persistent crunch from Russia's oil export duties, seaborne crude oil exports are set to rebound in March from a two-year low in February, according to preliminary port schedules set out by Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft....

Gazprom Leaps Into Russian Coal Business.
February 26, 2008... Gazprom has agreed to merge its power generation assets with Russia's largest coal producer, Siberian Coal Energy (Suek), in a move that analysts say could free up volumes of gas used for domestic power generation for more profitable exports to...

Azeri Crude Shipments To Novorossiysk Resume.
February 26, 2008... After a brief stoppage in July, shipments of Azeri light crude via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline to the Black Sea port have resumed, indicating that a compromise has been reached between Russia's national pipeline operator, Transneft, and...

Lukoil Targets Italian Plant, Croatian Retail Market.
February 26, 2008... In a further bid to expand its downstream presence outside of Russia, Lukoil is looking to purchase a refinery in Italy and has already acquired a set of filling stations in Croatia, sources claim (NC Jan.17,p5). Lukoil's press service...

TNK-BP Plans Bigger Shipments To China.
February 26, 2008... TNK-BP plans to increase crude shipments to China via Kazakhstan's Atasu-Alashankou pipeline, which the Russian-UK joint venture sees as "an advantage route," according to TNK-BP's head of downstream operations, Tony Considine. TNK-BP's...

Russia-Ukraine Stand-Off Continues.
February 26, 2008... After a two-week lull, Russia and Ukraine lurched back to crisis this week when Gazprom warned that it could cut gas supplies to Ukraine by 25% on Mar. 3 if Kiev fails to sign an agreement reached between the countries earlier in February....

KMG Gets Gas Field To Meet Domestic Needs.
February 26, 2008... In a drive to become more self-reliant in gas, Kazakh state Kazmunaigas (KMG) has been handed the Urikhtau gas field in the west of the country. The field is earmarked to supply a 1,500 km gas pipeline that is planned to be built from the...

Kazakhs To Abandon PSAs As Form Of Contract.(Brief article)
February 26, 2008... Kazakhstan is to abandon production sharing agreements (PSA) -- a type of contract generally favored by oil companies -- in a move to exert greater control over its resources. "For new contracts, we ought to exclude production sharing...

Koreans Expand In Uzbekistan.
February 26, 2008... South Korean companies are beefing up their presence in Uzbekistan. A consortium led by Korea Gas (Kogas) signed a deal with state Uzbekneftegas to jointly develop the Surgil gas block in western Uzbekistan near the Aral Sea and build a...

Germans Propose CNG Option For Turkmenistan.
February 26, 2008... German power company RWE, the newest member of the Nabucco gas pipeline consortium, has proposed using compressed natural gas (CNG) transported by ship as a means of getting Turkmen and Kazakh natural gas to Europe across the Caspian Sea...

Russia Firms Up South Stream, US Backs Nabucco.
February 26, 2008... Russia's Gazprom has slotted another piece into place on the route of its proposed South Stream gas pipeline to Europe, picking up Hungary as a new partner. But Hungary's Mol, a member of the consortium developing the Nabucco gas pipeline,...

Bids Called For New Caspian Oil Pipeline.
February 26, 2008... A company planning to build an oil pipeline from Azerbaijan via Georgia and Ukraine to Poland has invited bids for a contract to prepare a feasibility study for the project. Warsaw-based Sarmatia said, "The Euro-Asian Oil Transportation...

Global Credit Crunch Hits Rosneft Debt Refinancing.
February 26, 2008... Rosneft has succumbed to the pressure caused by the global turmoil in financial markets and accepted a higher interest rate on a $3 billion loan that the company will use to refinance the massive short-term debt the oil giant took on for a...

West Siberian Profits Rebound Ahead Of Merger.(Financial report)
February 26, 2008... Stockholm-listed West Siberian Resources announced a net profit of $4.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, as soaring oil prices helped the company turn around from a net loss of $1.5 million in the third quarter of the year. The results...

Equities and Currencies.
February 26, 2008... Share Prices Closing On February 26, 2008

Brent Tests $100, Urals More Uncertain.
February 26, 2008... The front-month April Brent futures contract price gained further momentum, trading a $5.11 range from a Feb. 21 intraday low of $95.42 to breach the three-digit psychological barrier for the first time on Feb. 27 to set a new record at...

ICE Gas Oil Punches Through $900/ton.(Brief article)
February 26, 2008... ICE gas oil futures breached more record highs this week, punching through the $900/ton ceiling early in the week and trading from a low of $869.75 on Feb. 21 up to $909/ton on Feb. 27. At press time, it was trading at $894/ton. Some see...