NEFTE Compass articles from February 2009

NEFTE Compass archives from February 2009

US-Russia Ties Show Signs Of Warming Under Obama.
February 3, 2009... Two weeks after Barack Obama took the helm in Washington, a cautious thaw in Russian-US relations appears to be under way. Top officials in both Moscow and Washington seem ready to step back from confrontational plans such as a US missile...

Lukoil Strikes Gas In Saudi Arabia, Revises Priorities.
February 3, 2009... Lukoil has struck gas in Saudi Arabia, but the global downturn is forcing Russia's largest private oil company to revise its priorities as Moscow's major flag carrier overseas. The company has allocated $1.5 billion this year for key...

Oil Exports Come Off The Boil.
February 3, 2009... Russian exports of crude oil through the Transneft pipeline system fell 138,000 b/d in January, as the flood of exports in December settled back to a regular pace. Exports from the Transneft system to destinations outside the former Soviet...

Oil Production Gets Off To Weak Start In 2009.
February 3, 2009... Russian crude and gas condensate production stood at 9.696 million b/d (41.007 million tons) in January, a drop of 0.9% from a year ago and 0.6% less than the previous month, according to preliminary data issued by Russia's energy ministry. ...

Deripaska's People Take Charge At Russneft.
February 3, 2009... In a sign that Oleg Deripaska intends to keep Russneft, representatives of his Basic Element (Basel) holding company took key positions in the oil producer. Yakov Itskov has become acting president of Russneft, while Vladislav Solovyov,...

Gazprom Grabs Yamal Field.
February 3, 2009... Metals magnate Alisher Usmanov reportedly has sold his 75% holding in of one of Russia's biggest gas fields to Gazprombank, giving the Gazprom banking arm 100% ownership. Usmanov sold his holding in Yamal LNG, license holder to the 1.3 Tcm...

BP Says Kovykta Talks Frozen.
February 3, 2009... Discussions over the sale of TNK-BP's controlling stake in the giant Kovykta gas field in East Siberia to Gazprom are in a "deep freeze" and there is little hope that they will be revived soon, BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said this week....

Transnefteproduct Cuts Capex.(Brief article)
February 3, 2009... Russian state oil product pipeline operator Transnefteproduct says it will almost halve investments in 2009, but promises to stick to key projects. The Transneft-controlled product pipeline monopoly puts its 2009 spending plan at 2.5...

Novatek May Team Up With Total.
February 3, 2009... Independent gas producer Novatek may set up a gas exploration and production joint venture with Total, Novatek Chief Executive Leonid Mikhelson said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Novatek and Total have been partners...

TNK-BP Eyes Bigger Stake In East Siberian Field.
February 3, 2009... TNK-BP wants to increase its stake in the Verkhnechonskoye oil and gas field in East Siberia by buying 5.48% of field operator Verkhnechonskneftegas from East Siberian Gas Co. (ESGC), a 50-50 venture between TNK-BP and the local Irkutsk...

Cold Weather Hits Pacific Oil Pipeline.
February 3, 2009... Bitterly cold weather in Siberia has forced Russian pipeline operator Transneft to temporarily suspend construction of the massive East Siberian Pacific Ocean (Espo) pipeline. "Temperatures in Siberia are below minus 50C," Transneft spokesman...

Lukoil Gets Ice-Breaker For Barents Sea Terminal.
February 3, 2009... Russian independent producer Lukoil has taken delivery of a new multifunctional ice-breaker, the Varandey, designed to work at the Barents Sea's Varandey terminal. The 4,643 deadweight ton ice-breaker was constructed by Singapore's Keppel...

Russia Tightens Control Over Central Asian Gas.
February 3, 2009... Russia has once again caught the European Union napping in the race for Central Asian gas. Last month's shortages of Russian gas have spurred the EU to seek alternative sources, but Moscow remains one step ahead, and last week it initiated...

Nabucco Weighs Funding, Delivery Options.
February 3, 2009... The Nabucco gas pipeline project's estimated C7.9 billion ($10.1 billion) cost could be revised downward due to the fall in global steel prices, the project's chief executive, Reinhard Mitschek, told reporters in Ankara this week. He also said...

Lukoil Shuts Ukrainian Refinery For Maintenance.
February 3, 2009... Russia's Lukoil said it closed its 56,000 b/d Odessa refinery in Ukraine last weekend for around 25 days of scheduled maintenance. The shutdown was initially scheduled for Jan. 23, but Ukraine's Ministry of Fuel and Energy asked Lukoil to...

Mol Takes The Reins At Ina.(Brief article)
February 3, 2009... Hungary's Mol said last week that it has reached an agreement with the Croatian government about gaining management rights in jointly owned Ina, allowing Mol to consolidate the firm into its figures while getting rid of Ina's loss-making gas...

Sibir Cancels Real Estate Deals.
February 3, 2009... UK-listed independent Sibir Energy has canceled heavily criticized plans to bail out its main Russian shareholder, Shalva Chigirinsky, by buying some $500 million of his real estate developments. Sibir Chief Executive Henry Cameron had...

Sistema To Finalize Purchase Of Bashkir Assets.(Bashkir Oil)(AFK Sistema OAO)(Brief article)
February 3, 2009... Russian investment holding firm AFK Sistema says it plans to spend more than $1 billion on acquisitions in the first quarter of this year, which suggests it is preparing to take over several major oil assets in the autonomous republic of...

Prices Pulled And Pushed By Instability.(Statistical data)
February 3, 2009... Front-month ICE Brent crude oil futures traded a moderate $3.98 range during the reporting week. From a high of $47.75 on Jan. 30, supported by the threat of labor strikes against parts of both the UK and US refining industry, the contract...

Demand Holds Up In Cold Weather.
February 3, 2009... Demand for Russian refined products has held steady thanks to cold winter weather in much of Europe and North America. Traders said the arbitrage window for gas oil to the US remained open, but opportunities to ship across the Atlantic...

Russian Megaproject Hit By Global Uncertainties.
February 11, 2009... Russia's biggest and most challenging upstream project, the huge Shtokman gas field in the Arctic offshore, is feeling the chill wind of recession. State gas giant Gazprom confirmed this week that the final investment decision (FID) on the...

Full Steam Ahead As Kashagan Gets Out Of A Rut.
February 11, 2009... Despite the global turndown, Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan field development by an international consortium that includes Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Total is steaming ahead. "They have made so many promises to the Kazakh...

Gazprom Trims Plans To Meet Global Slowdown.
February 11, 2009... Uncertainty over prospects for the world's economy and energy prices in 2009 has prompted Gazprom to adjust its financial plan for the year. The state gas giant told investors it plans to export 170 Bcm of gas to Europe this year, down...

Sakhalin-2 Gas Exports Set For March.
February 11, 2009... The secret of Russia's first LNG supplies to world markets has been revealed: Russia's energy ministry said this week that exports from the Gazprom-controlled Sakhalin-2 project on the Russian Pacific shelf will start only at the end of March....

Total's Kharyaga To Get New Russian Partner.(Brief article)
February 11, 2009... Russian state Zarubezhneft is to join the Total-operated Kharyaga project in the northern Timan-Pechora oil province in "several weeks," according to the general director of Total Exploration and Production Russia, Pierre Nerguararian. ...

Gazprom Presses Overseas Expansion.
February 11, 2009... Gazprom is pressing ahead with plans to expand overseas, considering new opportunities in both Latin America and Africa. During a recent Gazprom delegation visit to Bolivia, the Russian state gas giant and state-owned Yacimientos...

Gazprom's Prirazlomnoye Plans Still On Track.
February 11, 2009... Gazprom's plan to start crude production from the Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Barents Sea in 2011 is still on track, but options for the oil output have changed. The oil production platform for the project is to be completed in the...

Stroitransgas Plans Syria Gas Output Boost.
February 11, 2009... Russia's Stroitransgas will account for more than half of the increase in Syria's gas output expected within the next two years, adding production of 8 MMcm/d from fields in the country's central and northern parts, a Syrian official said last...

Surgut Postpones Kirishi Hydrocracker.(Surgutneftegaz)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
February 11, 2009... Surgutneftegas reportedly has postponed the launch of a deep refining complex at its Kirishi refinery near St. Petersburg for at least a year. The oil major reportedly plans to bring a new hydrocracker into operation in 2010, rather than in the...

Novatek Increases Reserves.(Brief article)
February 11, 2009... Novatek announced this week that proven oil and gas reserves rose 6.1% to 4.963 billion boe at the end of 2008 from 4.678 billion boe the previous year, according to US Securities and Exchange Commission reserve classifications. Its reserve...

BG Hails Record Year At Giant Kazakh Field.
February 11, 2009... Record gross production of 373,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day was achieved from Kazakhstan's giant Karachaganak field in 2008, despite some downtime in the fourth quarter while new facilities were tied in, BG said in annual results last...

Azeri Crude Loadings Set To Rise At Ceyhan.
February 11, 2009... Loadings of Azeri Light crude oil at the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan are set to increase to more than 850,000 b/d in March as production from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) field creeps back up toward its capacity of 1 million b/d...

Vitol Takes Over Ventspils Pipeline.
February 11, 2009... International commodities trader Vitol has taken control over the Latvian stretch of pipeline supplying gas oil to the port of Ventspils, giving the company even greater control of the operations of the port, which was once Russia's largest...

Azerbaijan Dents EU Gas Hopes.
February 11, 2009... European hopes of capturing some Caspian gas took a further knock this week when Azerbaijan's state oil and gas company, Socar, said it had checked the condition of an existing gas pipeline to Russia. "The check was conducted in order to...

Aral Sea Survey Completed For Uzbekistan.
February 11, 2009... Russia's PetroAlliance has completed seismic works for an international consortium set up to explore the Uzbek sector of the inland Aral Sea, according to state-run Uzbekneftegaz. A 2-D seismic survey has been completed over a 2,300 sq km...

Gazprom Ties Latvia Into Longer Deal.
February 11, 2009... In a bid to secure deliveries to the Baltic states, Gazprom has signed a long-term agreement with Latvian gas utility Latvijas Gaze (LG) on the supply of natural gas through 2030. The deal extends an existing agreement that ran until 2015,...

Bulgaria Sucked Into Russian Gas Stream.
February 11, 2009... Gazprom made further progress last week in efforts to turn January's cutoff in gas flows through Ukraine to the advantage of its own pipeline projects, pulling landfall country Bulgaria into plans to speed up construction of the South Stream...

Canadian Firm Expands In Ukraine.
February 11, 2009... Ukraine-focused Shelton Canada announced last week that it has signed a deal with Ukrainian state-owned Chornomornaftogaz to jointly develop an offshore natural gas field in the Black Sea and is awaiting approval from the government's...

Lukoil Gets Major Loan From Gazprombank.
February 11, 2009... Lukoil has raised a C1 billion ($1.3 billion) loan from Gazprom banking arm Gazprombank to cover its recent string of purchases and other corporate needs. Gazprombank agreed to provide an unsecured loan at the relatively attractive...

Gazprom Neft Raises New Loan.
February 11, 2009... Gazprom oil arm Gazprom Neft has become the latest company bailed out by the Russian government because of the financial crisis, as the oil firm has received a new loan from state-controlled Vnesheconombank (VEB) to help repay its debts. VEB...

Equities and Currencies.
February 11, 2009... Share Prices Closing On February 10, 2009

US Stimulus Moves Support Prices.(Statistical data)
February 11, 2009... Front-month ICE Brent crude oil futures traded another relatively undramatic $4.37 range during the Feb. 5-11 reporting week. From a brief low of $44.05 on Feb. 5, under pressure from the previous day's bearish US inventory report, prices...

Port Congestion Backs Up Gas Oil.(Brief article)
February 11, 2009... Congestion at European storage hubs is still taking its toll on the gas oil market, with discharge delays for vessels backing up barges trying to load. Combined with low water levels capping barge loading at just over half their capacity,...

US To Rely On Central Asia, Russia In Afghan Campaign.
February 18, 2009... US President Barack Obama's decision this week to deploy an extra 17,000 US troops in Afghanistan has highlighted the key role played by the former Soviet nations of Central Asia in supplying the campaign against a resurgent Taliban. Washington...

Foreign Investors Seek Signs Of Russian Weakness.
February 18, 2009... Exxon Mobil and Eni are looking -- and hoping -- for signs that Russia will soften its stance on foreign investors as lower oil prices start to impact the state budget. Eni wants to be allowed to keep hold of sizable Russian assets that it...

Trading Patterns Shift Around Middlemen.
February 18, 2009... Lukoil's export quota to Germany was used in January by TNK-BP, which supplied an additional 250,000 tons (59,000 b/d) of crude oil to trader Sunimex last month. The supply chain was rather complicated and involved not only TNK-BP, but...

Putin Promises Limited Tax Breaks.
February 18, 2009... Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has promised limited tax breaks to oil companies, which are seeking further allowances so they can boost investment in upstream projects to stem a decline in production. According to Energy Minister Sergei...

State Plans To Purchase Crude Oil.
February 18, 2009... The Russian government could buy16 million tons (320,000 b/d) this year from the country's oil producers for the state reserve, fulfilling a pledge to Opec, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin reportedly said this week. At the Opec meeting...

Lukoil Closes Isab Refinery Purchase.
February 18, 2009... Lukoil has completed the C1.45 billion ($1.83 billion) purchase of a 49% stake in Italian Erg's Isab refinery in Sicily, this week paying the second tranche of over C850 million for the plant. Lukoil paid the first C600 million ($760...

Sakhalin-2 Launches LNG Production.
February 18, 2009... The Gazprom-controlled Sakhalin-2 project on Russia's Pacific shelf launched production from the country's first gas liquefaction plant on Feb. 18 and expects to supply about 50 cargoes of LNG this year, with the bulk of the volume destined for...

Litasco Pursues Expansion Despite Downturn.
February 18, 2009... Lukoil trading arm Litasco plans to continue expanding its trading business in 2009 despite a likely drop in profits because of the sharp drop in oil prices from last year, Litasco head Gati al-Jebouri said this week. Litasco hopes to...

TNK-BP Slashes Capex, Launches New Fields.
February 18, 2009... TNK-BP has approved plans to slash capital spending amid crashing oil prices and financial turmoil, but still plans to hold production level with 2008 thanks mainly to key new projects such as Uvat, where the Russian-UK joint venture launched...

Russia, China Agree To Massive Loans.
February 18, 2009... Russia and China have finally signed two massive loan agreements that give $25 billion to Russian state firms in exchange for long-term oil supplies. In agreements signed during Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin's visit to China,...

Chevron Quits JV With Gazprom Neft.
February 18, 2009... Gazprom oil arm Gazprom Neft and US Chevron have terminated a joint venture in West Siberia after failing to find hydrocarbons in the area. Gazprom Neft has taken control of 100% of the Severnaya Taiga Neftegas joint venture, set up in 2006...

Urals Energy Sells Assets.
February 18, 2009... Under pressure from falling oil prices and the ongoing global economic crisis, UK-listed independent Urals Energy has sold its Chepetskoye NGDU production unit in Russia's Udmurtia republic. The sale comes just days after approving a measure to...

Bashneft Forecasts Output Decline.
February 18, 2009... Bashneft, which is focused in the autonomous republic of Bashkortostan, said it expects a production decline of 2.5% this year, supporting statements from Russian officials that the country's oil production could fall by 8%, to 9 million b/d...

Events.(Conference news)
February 18, 2009... 15th Annual Balkan and Black Sea Petroleum Association Conference, Vienna, Apr. 2-3, BBSPA, www.bbspetroleum.com GIOGIE 2009 -- 8th Georgian International Oil, Gas, Energy and Infrastructure Conference & Showcase, Tbilisi, Apr. 2-3, ITE,...

Chevron Warns Of Caspian Export Shortfall.
February 18, 2009... The export infrastructure of the Caspian region will fall far short of Kazakhstan's needs in the coming years without significant investment in new pipelines to bring crude oil to market, according to Ian MacDonald, Chevron's vice president for...

EU President Steps Up Caspian Energy Search.
February 18, 2009... Mirek Topolanek, European Union president and Czech prime minister, stepped up EU efforts to tap into Caspian energy resources when he met Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the Kazakh capital, Astana, last week. Topolanek, who also...

Iran To Develop Giant Turkmen Gas Field.
February 18, 2009... Iran is to help develop a giant natural gas field in neighboring Turkmenistan according to a new agreement to step up economic cooperation forged over the weekend during a visit to Tehran by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov. ...

Lukoil Picks Up Pace In Uzbekistan.
February 18, 2009... Russia's top private oil major, Lukoil, is pushing ahead with upstream projects in Uzbekistan, which it tags as one of its key regions for expansion overseas. Lukoil Uzbekistan, the local arm of the Russian firm, said last week that it had...

Gazprom Ups Belarus Stake.
February 18, 2009... Gazprom is set to increase its stake in Belarusian state gas pipeline operator Beltransgas to 37.5% next week as part of a deal to gradually boost its holding in the firm. The Russian company is set to hike its stake in Beltransgas to 50%...

Gazprom Neft Taps State Financial Lifeline.
February 18, 2009... Gazprom oil arm Gazprom Neft will get a $724 million loan from state Sberbank to refinance its liabilities as a part of state efforts to help Russian companies weather the global financial turmoil. Gazprom Neft and Sberbank have signed an...

Sibir Gives Chigirinsky Time To Clear Debts.
February 18, 2009... Russian independent Sibir Energy says it has reached an agreement with key Russian shareholder Shalva Chigirinsky under which Chigirinsky will sell several major real estate holdings to pay back more than $300 million. Chigirinsky must...

Equities and Currencies.
February 18, 2009... Share Prices Closing On February 17, 2009

Prices Pressured By Bad News.(Statistical data)
February 18, 2009... Front-month ICE Brent crude oil futures traded a $7.02 range over the reporting week. From a high of $46.50 on Feb. 12, prices fell to a $39.48 low on Feb. 18, pressured by doubts about the effectiveness of the US economic stimulus package and...

European Gas Oil Demand Fades.
February 18, 2009... Russian refinery prices for diesel are continuing to climb, but the fire has gone out of European gas oil, with demand falling toward the end of winter. The ICE front-month reached its lowest level in more than four years on Feb. 18, down...

Deripaska Losing Control Of Russneft To Russian State.
February 24, 2009... The fate of Russian oil producer Russneft is hanging in the balance after owner Oleg Deripaska failed to meet loan repayments to Sberbank, leaving the Russian state bank holding his shares in the company, industry sources tell Nefte Compass....

Turkmenistan Keeps Europe Waiting As It Studies Reserves.
February 24, 2009... New drilling in Turkmenistan should provide a clearer picture this month of what proportion of reserves are recoverable at the country's massive South Yolotan/Osman gas discovery, says Jim Gillett, business development manager at UK-based...

Events.(Conference news)
February 24, 2009... 15th Annual Balkan and Black Sea Petroleum Association Conference, Vienna, Apr. 2-3, BBSPA, www.bbspetroleum.com GIOGIE 2009 -- 8th Georgian International Oil, Gas, Energy and Infrastructure Conference & Showcase, Tbilisi, Apr. 2-3, ITE,...

Putin Pushes Domestic Bourse, New Breaks.
February 24, 2009... To stimulate the development of Russia's fledgling commodities exchange, the government plans to lower the excise tax on products traded at the bourse and grant the volumes priority access to export infrastructure. Those measures were...

Gazprom Seeks JV With CNPC To Sell Gas In China.
February 24, 2009... Gazprom has targeted gaining direct access to Chinese consumers as a compromise to end years of price negotiations with China on natural gas supplies. The Russian state company is interested in forming a joint venture with state China...

Oil Production Holds Steady.
February 24, 2009... Russia's crude oil and gas condensate production in January was higher than previously reported, standing at 9.77 million b/d (41.32 million tons), according to the latest data from Russia's energy ministry (see p9). January's output was...

Rosneft May Cancel Dividend Payouts.
February 24, 2009... In an unprecedented move aimed at ensuring that Rosneft can fulfill its investment plan this year despite the global credit crunch, the state-controlled Russian oil major may cancel its 2008 dividend payment despite record profits over the...

Drooping Demand Prompts Revision Of Gas Balance.
February 24, 2009... Facing declining demand for natural gas both domestically and in Europe due to the global economic slowdown, Russia is reportedly considering revising its gas balance for 2009. State gas giant Gazprom, whose gas output has been declining...

Gazprom, KNOC To Set Up Kamchatka JV.
February 24, 2009... Gazprom will replace Rosneft and create a joint venture with state Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) to develop the West Kamchatka shelf in the Sea of Okhotsk. The decision on the joint venture between Gazprom and KNOC "is already there,"...

Transneft To Introduce New Espo Tariffs.
February 24, 2009... Russian crude oil pipeline monopoly Transneft plans to introduce a new tariff system for the East Siberian Pacific Ocean (Espo) pipeline aimed at further supporting new projects in Russia's new developing region of East Siberia. Transneft...

Lukoil Confirms Big Saudi Gas Find.
February 24, 2009... Lukoil's unit for foreign upstream projects, Lukoil Overseas, has confirmed the discovery of "two big gas-condensate fields" in Saudi Arabia and has applied for the extension of the company's exploration period for Area A by another year (NC...

Yukos Saga Drags On As New Cases Open.
February 24, 2009... The European Court of Human Rights has accepted a $34 billion lawsuit against Russia by the former management of now-defunct oil firm Yukos, extending the saga of Russia's former top oil producer, which was bankrupted by monster tax bills and...

Rosneft Sponsors 2014 Olympics.
February 24, 2009... State-controlled Rosneft has become an official sponsor of the 2014 winter Olympic and Paralympic games to be held in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, pledging $180 million in investment as a general partner of the Olympics and the...

Morozov Out Of Running For TNK-BP CEO.
February 24, 2009... TNK-BP has restarted the nomination process to find a new chief executive and candidates are being lined up for interview, but former frontrunner Denis Morozov is not in the frame. Morozov, a former chief executive of metals giant Norilsk...

Russia, Croatia To Revive Druzhba-Adria Pipe.
February 24, 2009... Russia and Croatia have moved a step closer to reviving a planned Druzhba-Adria oil pipeline designed to ship Russian crude to world markets from the Adriatic Sea's deepwater port of Omisalj. Representatives from Croatia and Russian...

Russia Ropes Slovenia Into South Stream.
February 24, 2009... Russia is pushing ahead with slotting the pieces into place on the route of the Gazprom-proposed South Stream gas pipeline, most recently holding talks with Slovenia. A team led by Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky and...

Gazprom Steps Up Exploration In Tajikistan.
February 24, 2009... Gazprom is to launch a large-scale geological survey of oil and gas fields in Tajikistan in May-June, almost a year after signing a new cooperation agreement with the government. Gazprom's overseas subsidiary, Zarubezhneftegas, will carry...