NEFTE Compass articles from January 2007

NEFTE Compass archives from January 2007

Showdown: Druzhba Shutoff Revives Ghosts Of Winters Past.
January 10, 2007... Europe was treated to another shocking reminder of the vulnerability of Russia's energy lifeline when Moscow cut pipeline flows this week in the midst of a row with Belarus. The celebrations of a last-minute deal between Russian and Belarus...

Fresh start: Turkmenistan to boost energy ties with foreign partners.
January 10, 2007... The new leadership of Turkmenistan, which boasts the world's fifth-largest natural gas reserves, is likely to pursue new export routes -- notably one to China -- to reduce its reliance on Russia, according to comments published by the acting...

Up in smoke: Russia leads the world in gas-flaring.(The Global Gas Flaring Reduction)
January 10, 2007... Russia almost certainly flares more gas than any other country, and its efforts to reduce flaring have been faltering. The Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) initiative was set up at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in August...

Winter warmer: seaborne products exports surge.
January 10, 2007... Russian oil firms ramped up seaborne exports of refined products across the board in December from the previous month as slim domestic demand and a bump in refining left little room at home for the product. With unseasonably warm weather...

Shuffle: Crude Export Plans Face Potential Changes.
January 10, 2007... Moscow is expected to make substantial changes to its seaborne loading schedules for the month of January following the shutdown of the Druzhba pipeline, which has left up to 1.8 million b/d of crude oil searching for a new exit, although it...

Eastern Promise: Japanese Refiners Pick Up Sakhalin Crude.
January 10, 2007... Three Japanese refiners will each purchase 700,000 bbl cargoes of Sokol Crude from the Exxon Mobil-led Russian offshore pacific Sakhalin-1 project on a spot basis during the months of January and February, according to Japanese media. ...

Bidding Up: Rosneft To Build New Tuapse Refining Complex.
January 10, 2007... Russia's state-controlled Rosneft has announced a tender to choose a general contractor to build a new oil refining complex with an annual capacity of 12 million tons at its Tuapse refinery on the Black Sea. Japan's Toyo Engineering,...

Uzbekistan: Tashkent Starts 2007 On A High Note.
January 10, 2007... After a long period of inactivity, Uzbekistan, the third-largest natural gas producer in the former Soviet Union after Russia and Turkmenistan, finished 2006 with a flurry of exploration and development deals. Russia's Lukoil Overseas said...

Kazakhstan: premier switch brings in new executive.
January 10, 2007... Citing the need to "bring in a new generation of executives," Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has overseen the appointment of Karim Masimov as prime minister to replace Daniyal Akhmetov. Analysts said the promotion of Masimov, a...

Kazakhstan: nations clinches Karazhanbas sale to China.(Karazhanbasmunai)
January 10, 2007... Canada's Nations Energy clinched the sale of Kazakh oil producer Karazhanbasmunai to China's Citic Group at the end of 2006 after Kazakhstan waived its right to preempt the entire US$1.9 billion deal. Sources close to the transaction told...

EU Accession: Romania, Bulgaria Bring New Energy Clout To EU.
January 10, 2007... The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union this year has added two new oil and gas players to the now 27-strong grouping. The two new members are among the world's fastest growing energy markets as they race to catch up...

Azerbaijan: Crude Supplies Cut To Novorossiysk.
January 10, 2007... Azerbaijan has ceased exports of crude by pipeline to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, according to Azeri news reports, in response to Russia's decision to more than double gas prices to the former Soviet republic. Azeri President...

Up and away: Transneft sees profits soar 24%.(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 10, 2007... State pipeline monopoly Transneft saw profits soar 24% in the first nine months of 2006 to 50.889 billion rubles ($1.92 billion), according to interim unaudited accounts prepared in lone with international accounting standards. Sales were...

Rosneft Reports Net Profit Fall.
January 10, 2007... Russian state-owned oil major Rosneft said last week that its net profits under US GAAP declined to $2.93 billion in the first nine months of 2006 from $3.59 billion in the same period of 2005. The figure was slightly below analysts' forecasts....

Dutch Target: Yukos Receiver Seeks Mazeikiu Proceeds.
January 10, 2007... Eduard Rebgun, external receiver for bankrupt Russian oil company Yukos, is looking at legal action to target the proceeds from the sale of Lithuanian refining complex Mazeikiu Nafta (MN). In May, a bankruptcy court in New York ruled that...

Equities and Currencies.
January 10, 2007... Share Prices Closing On January 9, 2007

Crude Oil: Futures Hammered, Differentials Firm.
January 10, 2007... February Brent futures took a hammering from a major sell-off by fund managers during the first trading week of the year. Far from hibernating, the bears seemed intent upon ignoring every possible bullish indicator. Even the shutdown of the...

Products: mild winter means weak demand.
January 10, 2007... European middle distillate prices have suffered large losses alongside crude futures, but the shutoff of Russian crude supplies through Belarus did lend some price support to products markets. Over the past seven days, ICE gas oil futures have...

Friendly Fire: After Belarus, Russia May Probe Trade With Kazakhstan.
January 17, 2007... Kazakhstan could be next on Russia's hit list, putting their friendly relations under strain. After the recent run-in with Belarus, and disputes over energy last year with Ukraine and Georgia, an investigation could be launched into...

Revolver: Chevron And Oxy Make It One In, One Out For Russia.
January 17, 2007... The revolving door for foreign companies entering Russia has been spinning over the past week as Chevron and Occidental made it one in, one out. The two-way traffic does not amount to either a clamor to get into Russia, or a stampede to...

Tender Spot: Gazprom Neft Seeks Bids For Domestic Sales.
January 17, 2007... In a move to increase the transparency and efficiency of its domestic operations, the oil subsidiary of state gas giant Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, has begun selling its refined products in Russia on a tender basis. Gazprom Neft held the first...

Siberian Puzzle: Who Owns Surgutneftegas, Russia's Fourth-Biggest Producer?
January 17, 2007... The murky corporate maneuverings of Russian producer Surgutneftegas have reached new levels of opacity as Leasing Production (LP), a vehicle through which Surgut previously held 37% of its own shares -- a stake worth an estimated $20 billion in...

Sales Pitch: India To Press Putin For Oil Projects.
January 17, 2007... India, which relies on imports for over 70% of its oil needs, will make a strong pitch for a stake in Russian upstream projects when President Vladimir Putin visits New Delhi on Jan. 26 to participate in the country's Republic Day celebrations....

Hot Stuff: Services Company Integra To Launch IPO.
January 17, 2007... Russian oil field services company Integra will make an initial public offering (IPO) of shares through Russia's Alfa Bank, according to industry insiders, as the services company attempts to rival international Schlumberger in the Russian...

Crisis Plan: Baltic Pipeline Could Be Expanded After Belarus Crisis.
January 17, 2007... At the peak of its oil conflict with Belarus, Moscow made a statement that it could expand the capacity of its Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) from Siberia to the port of Primorsk to 2.4 million b/d (120 million metric tons) from the current 1.5...

Role Reversal: Rosneft Appoints New CFO.
January 17, 2007... After last year's successful initial public offering (IPO), as the result of which Rosneft raised more than $10.6 billion, the state-controlled oil major has decided to limit the role of Peter O'Brien, who was in charge of the share placement....

Wish List: Gazprom Approves 2007 Spending Plan.
January 17, 2007... Gazprom's board of directors has approved a financial plan for 2007, slightly cutting investments to 529.38 billion rubles ($19.97) from an earlier planned 531.78 billion rubles ($20.06 billion). Capital spending in 2007 will total 360.56...

Strategic Moves: Gazprom Seeks Sakhalin Expansion.
January 17, 2007... Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom has confirmed its plans to gain control over other major gas fields in East Siberia and Russia's Far East, following its successful move to acquire a majority stake in the Royal Dutch Shell-led Sakhalin-2...

Tajik Coup: Gazprom Gains Ground In Tajikistan.
January 17, 2007... Russian gas monopoly Gazprom was recently awarded two geological survey licenses to develop oil and gas reserves in the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan, in a bid to get cheaper gas volumes that should be supplied to Russian consumers. ...

Kazakhstan: Kazmunaigas Targets European Expansion.(Brief article)
January 17, 2007... Kazakhstan's state oil and gas company Kazmunaigas is eyeing cooperation with Romania's Rompetrol Group, aiming at entering the promising Central and Eastern European energy markets, according to media reports citing sources at the Kazakh firm....

Georgia: Gas Flows From Azerbaijan Begin.(Industry overview)(Brief article)
January 17, 2007... Georgia has received its first supplies of gas from Azerbaijan via the new South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP), according to Georgia's economic development minister, Giorgi Arveladze. Under the terms of a contract signed by the two countries in...

No Deal: EBRD Drops Loan For Sakhalin-2.
January 17, 2007... The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it has stopped looking at an investment proposal in the Royal Dutch Shell-led giant Sakhalin-2 project, due to a change in its ownership structure, with Russian state gas monopoly...

Healthy Profit: Lukoil Posts Third-Quarter Gains.(Financial report)
January 17, 2007... Lukoil's profits for the third quarter of 2006 were roughly in line with market expectations, hitting $2.432 billion -- a 10% increase from the same period in 2005. Higher crude prices pushed total net profit for the first nine months of 2006...

Equities and Currencies.
January 17, 2007... Share Prices Closing On January 16, 2007

Crude Oil: hysical More Robust Than Futures.
January 17, 2007... Brent futures weakened further as speculative capital continued to flow out of the energy complex. The persistent sell-off played havoc with technical indicators, leading to further selling becoming almost self-perpetuating. The result is that...

Products: Tank Tops Pressure Prices.(Brief article)(Market overview)
January 17, 2007... European products markets have fallen across the barrel in response to plummeting crude futures. With storage tanks of winter fuel stocks brimming due to the warmer-than-usual weather, gas oil futures have seen a massive fall, on Jan. 17...

Russia Plans New Oil Pipeline To Guarantee European Supplies.
January 24, 2007... In a dramatic new development for Russian crude oil exports, Moscow is considering building a new pipeline spur from the Druzhba network to the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk as an alternative to shipments via Belarus. The plan was part of the...

Poland Stirs Controversy By Naming New Oil Chief.
January 24, 2007... The appointment of a former associate of President Lech Kaczynski as the new chief executive of Poland's leading oil company PKN Orlen has caused a political stir in Poland at a time when the country is striving to loosen its dependence on oil...

Oil Production Growth Slowed In 2006.
January 24, 2007... Russian crude oil production grew by a slim 2.2 % in 2006 to reach 9.65 million b/d (480.53 million metric tons) compared with the previous year, according to the latest data from the Industry and Energy Ministry (see p9). The growth rate...

Yukos Assets Valued At Up To $33 Billion.
January 24, 2007... Russian court evaluators have assessed the remaining assets of bankrupt oil firm Yukos at upward of $22 billion -- and perhaps as high as $33 billion -- providing a benchmark as the state moves forward with the liquidation of the company that...

Moscow Turns Guns On Kovykta.
January 24, 2007... Moscow has launched a probe into TNK-BP's Kovykta gas project in East Siberia, looking into the UK-Russian venture's compliance with the terms of the licensing agreement. Inspectors from the Natural Resources Ministry's environmental...

Offshore May Be Reserved For Rosneft, Gazprom.
January 24, 2007... Control over future Russian offshore shelf licenses could pass exclusively to a seismic and geological exploration company that would be led by Russian state energy champions Rosneft and Gazprom as well as state Zarubezhneft, according to media...

Algeria To Step Up Collaboration.
January 24, 2007... Russia and Algeria are galloping ahead with plans to expand energy cooperation, apparently unfazed by worried reactions from European leaders. A memorandum of cooperation sealed this weekend by Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko and...

Rosneft Presses Ahead With Refinery Upgrade.
January 24, 2007... Rosneft plans to choose the winner by the end of July of a tender for a turnkey contract to construct new refining facilities at an existing plant at Tuapse on the Black Sea. A number of international firms were invited to participate in...

Gazprom Plots European Expansion.
January 24, 2007... Russia's state gas monopoly Gazprom has confirmed it wants to increase its presence in European end-consumer energy markets, using its UK-based subsidiary as a vehicle to get access to more markets. Gazprom's UK-based trader, Gazprom...

Russia Eyes Sharp Cut In Seaborne Crude Exports.
January 24, 2007... Seaborne exports of Russian crude are set to fall off sharply in February on the back of significantly lighter flows to the southern port of Novorossiysk and to the Baltic flagship port of Primorsk, both of which are generally hampered by...

Total Comes Under New Pressure At Kharyaga.(Brief article)
January 24, 2007... French major Total's Kharyaga development in Russia's northern Timan-Pechora region came under renewed pressure from Russian officials this week, sparking new speculation that a Russian state partner is looking to join the operation. Russian...

Rosneft Could Be Ripe For Further Equity Issue.
January 24, 2007... The Russian state may offer markets a further 25% of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft's shares this year, said Valeriy Nazarov, director of Russia's Property Agency. However, analysts doubt that the state's holding company, Rosneftegas,...

BP Shuts Down Shah Deniz For Second Time.
January 24, 2007... BP has shut down the Shah Deniz gas field for the second time since it started up in December to carry out more "corrective action" on the well, the UK major said this week. The shutdown will be a blow to Georgia, which had negotiated to...

Kazakhstan Puts Freeze On Oil Field Sales.
January 24, 2007... A two-year freeze on the sale of oil field licenses has been imposed in Kazakhstan, but it is unclear if it covers the sale of oil producer Mangistaumunaigas, which is owned by interests close to the family of President Nursultan Nazarbayev....

Pension Fund May Hold Missing Surgut Shares.
January 24, 2007... The missing 37% share stake in Russian oil major Surgutneftegas -- worth an estimated $20 billion in total -- apparently never made it onto the balance sheet of Leasing Production (LP) where it was believed to have been held since Surgut...

West Siberian Raises $80 Million In Share Issue.
January 24, 2007... West Siberian Resources has raised a total of $80 million in the private placement of 90 million new common shares as it pays for the recent purchase of Timan-Pechora producer Nortoil and finances 2007 capital expenses, the Swedish listed...

Equities and Currencies.
January 24, 2007... Share Prices Closing On January 23, 2007

US Strategic Increase Bolsters Brent.
January 24, 2007... Brent futures received several boosts, first from colder weather and then from US President George W. Bush announcing plans for an increase in the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve of 11 million bbl this spring, which translates into a...

Prices Bounce Up On Cold Weather.(Brief article)
January 24, 2007... European middle distillate products felt a bounce over the past week, on the back of a crude oil futures rally and as Europe finally began to experience colder winter weather. ICE February gas oil prices on Jan. 18 hit a $461/metric ton low...

Kremlin Turns Guns On Independent Oil Producer.
January 31, 2007... Raids on the offices of Russian oil producer Russneft last week suggest there is little future in the country's state-dominated energy sector for privately owned independent oil companies with sizable production. Russneft's offices in...

Kazakhstan Ties Exports Into Caspian Transit System.
January 31, 2007... The East-West transportation corridor designed to wean the Caspian region off a dependence on Russia has received a big boost with the signing of an agreement to establish a new crude oil export route from Kazakhstan to link in with the...

Warm Weather Boosts Product Exports.(Brief article)
January 31, 2007... Russian refining runs dipped slightly in December as the country's oil firms diverted more crude to exports, which became significantly more profitable because of a sharp drop in crude export duties. Russian refineries processed 4.612...

Winter Slump Hits Crude Exports.(Statistical data)
January 31, 2007... The long-delayed arrival of winter has at last forced Moscow to cut back its seaborne crude exports, which will dip by 115,000 b/d in February compared with January. Russian state pipeline monopoly Transneft has penciled in crude exports of...

Ministry Rules Out Bankrupting CPC.
January 31, 2007... Russia's Ministry for Economic Development and Trade does not support a proposal to bankrupt the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which has been put forward as one of the possible scenarios in Moscow's campaign to make the company profitable...

Kirishi Refinery Lines Up Extra Crude Supplies.
January 31, 2007... Russia's Industry and Energy Ministry is preparing a resolution that would boost crude supplies to Surgutneftegas' Kirishi refinery by 80,000 b/d to 482,000 b/d (24 million tons/yr), according to insiders. The plant, which is located not...

Bashkir President Says Assets Are Not For Sale.
January 31, 2007... Murzata Rakhimov, president of Russia's Bashkortostan region, said this week that the Bashkir government has no plans to give Russia's federal government control over the region's three Ufa refineries or crude producer Bashneft. Rakhimov's...

TNK-BP Under Fire Over Kovykta Violations.
January 31, 2007... An investigation into the TNK-BP-held licenses for the huge Kovykta gas and condensate field has found that contract terms for the East Siberian field have been violated, adding a new level of pressure to BP's operations in Russia. The...

Moscow Downplays Iran Meeting On Gas Opec.
January 31, 2007... Russia has no plans to create an Opec-style group of gas producers, but the country will continue to coordinate its gas policy with other producing countries, according to the country's Security Council secretary, Igor Ivanov. "To my...

Rosneft, ONGC Build Relationship.
January 31, 2007... The Kremlin may give Indian state Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) another crack at obtaining equity in Russia's Rosneft or even participation in future upstream projects, though it remains to be seen what India can offer in return (NC...

Bosporus Pipeline Deal Set For Signing.
January 31, 2007... Russia, Greece and Bulgaria should finalize terms of the agreement needed to begin construction on a pipeline running from the Black Sea Bulgarian port of Bourgas to the Greek Mediterranean port of Alexandroupolis on Feb. 7, according to Greek...

Belarus Comes To Terms On Russian Oil Prices.
January 31, 2007... Russian oil firms agreed this week on the price for crude supplies to Belarus' refineries, avoiding a standoff that could have turned into a rerun of the Druzhba pipeline's shutdown in early January. Top Russian producers Lukoil, TNK-BP,...

Conoco Downgrades Kashagan But Still Optimistic.
January 31, 2007... ConocoPhillips, a member of the consortium developing the giant Kashagan field, has signaled its frustration with prolonged delays to the project by revising down its estimates of reserves but says it has no doubt of the field's great...

Rosneft Pulls Out Of Serbian Refinery Sale.
January 31, 2007... Russia's state-run Rosneft said this week it was pulling out of the running for Serbian oil monopoly Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), as the privatization terms were unacceptable. Rosneft President President Sergei Bogdanchikov said...

Poland Abandons Danish Gas Deal.(Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo S.A.)(Brief article)
January 31, 2007... State company Polish Oil and Gas (PGNiG) has pulled out of plans to buy Danish natural gas and to invest in the construction of a pipeline from Denmark to Poland, according to a local press report. A 2001 cooperation deal signed with Danish...

Italian Companies Move On Yukos Assets.
January 31, 2007... Independent Russian energy company ESN has applied to bid for the remaining assets of bankrupt Russian energy group Yukos in a consortium with Italian companies Eni and Enel. Enel and Eni are not, however, considered major contenders for...

Gazprombank May Offload Petchem Unit.
January 31, 2007... Gazprombank, the financial arm of gas giant Gazprom, is preparing to sell its majority stake in Russian petrochemicals company Sibur, according to media reports. Gazprombank, which holds a 75% stake in the company, may either sell to a...

Equities and Currencies.
January 31, 2007... Share Prices Closing On January 30, 2007

Prices Buoyed By US Cold Snap.(Statistical data)
January 31, 2007... Brent futures traded a $2.92 range between a $53.56 low on Jan. 29 and a $56.48 high on Jan. 30. Prices were supported by a cold snap in the US that sparked a short-covering rally, but doubts about Opec's commitment to a promised 500,000 b/d...

Prices Mixed In Weak Market.(Brief article)
January 31, 2007... Middle distillate product prices ended the past week mixed, with gas oil up on expectations of a bullish inventory report from the US, while fuel oil activity remained weak in a well-supplied market. Gas oil ICE February futures prices hit...