NEFTE Compass articles from January 2009

NEFTE Compass archives from January 2009

Russia Ready To Renew Energy Dialogue With US.
January 20, 2009... As Barack Obama was inaugurated Jan. 20 as the new president of the US, Russia insisted it is still interested in an energy dialogue with Washington, despite the deep disagreements that have strained relations in recent years. "The...

TNK-BP Faces Setback Over New CEO.
January 20, 2009... TNK-BP's search for a new chief executive to replace the ousted Robert Dudley has hit a snag, and the prospects of the prime candidate, former Norilsk Nickel Chief Executive Denis Morozov, landing the job are fading fast. Insiders say BP...

Russian Gas Again Flows To Europe.
January 20, 2009... Russia has resumed natural gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, raising hopes of an end to the worst energy crisis in Europe in 30 years. Flows restarted after the sides finally agreed the price at which Ukraine would buy Russian gas and ship it...

Production Fall Plays Out In Exports.(Brief article)
January 20, 2009... Hit by falling production from Russia's oil heartland in West Siberia and punishing export duties, Russian crude oil exports through the Transneft pipeline network fell to 3.715 million b/d (185.513 million tons) last year from 3.963 million...

Deripaska Puts Russneft Up For Sale.
January 20, 2009... Oleg Deripaska is considering selling Russneft, one of Russia's largest independent oil producers, to stem his mounting debts, industry sources say. Deripaska's investment vehicle EN+ bought Russneft for around $3 billion from Mikhail...

Moscow Halfheartedly Raises Jet Standards.(Brief article)
January 20, 2009... Russia has formally adopted the international Jet A-1 standard at all airports, but trading sources say the switch from looser Soviet jet fuel standards has had little real impact and that Russia is still five years away from achieving...

Sakhalin-2 Begins Gas Production.
January 20, 2009... Sakhalin Energy, operator of the Gazprom-controlled Sakhalin-2 project on Russia's Pacific shelf, has taken the final step toward launching production of LNG, which would be the first liquefied gas from Russia. Sakhalin Energy said last...

KNOC Seeks Kamchatka Compensation.(Korea National Oil Corp. v. Rosneft)(Brief article)
January 20, 2009... State Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) is demanding $301.5 million in compensation from former partner Rosneft after the Russian natural resources ministry refused to extend its license for the West Kamchatka project. The Korean firm accuses...

Russia Strengthens Control Over CPC.
January 20, 2009... Russia paid roughly $700 million to buy Oman's 7% stake in the pipeline, using dividends that state Rosneft and gas giant Gazprom paid to state holding vehicle Rosneftegas. Sources say Rosneft handed over $397 million, while Gazprom reportedly...

Rosneft Plans To Hike Spending.
January 20, 2009... State-controlled Rosneft has outlined plans to boost capital spending by 4.7% in 2009 despite falling oil prices and the global financial crisis, although the rise announced in ruble expenditures is tempered by the nearly 40% fall in the ruble...

Gazprom Signs Algerian Contract.
January 20, 2009... State natural gas giant Gazprom has signed a contract with Algerian state oil firm Sonatrach to explore and develop hydrocarbon deposits in Algeria's El Assel area, the rights to which Gazprom won in December (NC Dec.18,p4). Sonatrach,...

Events.(Conference news)
January 20, 2009... Russia Offshore 4th Annual Meeting 2009, Moscow, Feb. 4-6, The Energy Exchange, tel: +44 (0) 1242 529 090, www.theenergyexchange.co.uk GIOGIE 2009 -- 8th Georgian International Oil, Gas, Energy and Infrastructure Conference & Showcase,...

Crude Exports Bypassing The Transneft Pipeline System, 2008.
January 20, 2009... Note: * Total for Lukoil includes NK Lukoil (34.3). Total for Rosneft includes Saratovneftegas.

Russian Crude Rail Shipments, 2008.
January 20, 2009... Russian Crude Rail Shipments, 2008 ('000 metric tons)

Lithuania Blocks Poland's Baltic Expansion.(acquisation of Klaipedos Nafta by PKN Orlen S.A. has been rejected)
January 20, 2009... Lithuania has rejected a proposal to sell a controlling stake in products terminal Klaipedos Nafta to PKN Orlen, the Polish company that already owns the Mazeikiu Nafta refinery and the Butinge terminal. Analysts say the refusal could...

Kazakh Refinery Rues Russian Competition.
January 20, 2009... Kazakhstan's three refineries kept crude processing in 2008 almost flat at a total 269,000 b/d with the previous year's level (NC Jan.31,p8). But yields were down at the Pavlodar refinery in the northeast, which recently complained that...

Turkmen President Wields The Ax.(Brief article)
January 20, 2009... In a major new year reshuffle, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov has replaced ministers and senior officials involved in the energy sector for falling short of their duties and threatened others with the sack if they do not shape up....

Gazprom Neft Drops Serbian Druzhba Plans.
January 20, 2009... Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, has shelved plans to supply its newly acquired refineries in Serbia from Russia's Druzhba oil pipeline to Eastern Europe, instead supplying the two Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) plants...

Crisis Rocks Ruble, State Budget.
January 20, 2009... The global downturn is playing havoc with Russia's economic planning, forcing the country's central bank to adjust the ruble-US dollar exchange rate to its lowest level since Moscow revalued its currency in January 1998, and lower than the...

Equities and Currencies.
January 20, 2009... Share Prices Closing On January 20, 2009

Futures Weaken On Negative Financial News.
January 20, 2009... Front-month ICE Brent crude oil futures weakened during the Jan. 15-21 reporting week. From a high of $49.12 on Jan. 16, the contract traded down to a $42.96 low on Jan. 20, partly under pressure from another wave of discouraging financial news...

Lower Export Duties Spur Sales.
January 20, 2009... Domestic Russian products prices have jumped with renewed buying interest because of lower export duties and with buyers returning to the market after the holiday season. Both fuel oil and winter diesel have been ticking upward, and limitations...

Gazprom Loses Out As LNG Exports Run Late.
January 27, 2009... Russia is keeping its customers waiting in Japan, South Korea and the US as the launch of its first LNG exports, originally due to start over a year ago, slips further behind schedule. President Dmitry Medvedev is expected to attend the...

Nabucco Needs Reality Check Over Gas Supplies.
January 27, 2009... The Nabucco pipeline to bring gas to Europe from Central Asia and the Middle East to reduce reliance on Russia has never been short of political support, but the prospects of finding the resources to fill it are as remote as ever. A...

Russia Warns Europe Of New Energy War With Ukraine.
January 27, 2009... The Russia-Ukraine gas standoff has shaken confidence badly, and now there are fears that Russian oil supplies to Europe could also be affected. Fears of a rerun of the outages that swept through 18 European countries this month have been...

Gazprom Faces Compensation Claims.
January 27, 2009... The financial toll of the Ukrainian gas standoff already appears to be rising for Gazprom, as consumers in Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia and Germany prepare to file for damages. Although most countries have said they will target...

Russneft Faces Management Reshuffle.
January 27, 2009... Russneft's board chairman, Alexander Korsik, and the company's first vice president, Oleg Schegolev, are leaving the company as the result of a growing disagreement with incoming owner Oleg Deripaska, according to insiders. Experts suggest...

TNK-BP Slashes Production Outlook.
January 27, 2009... TNK-BP has lowered its production plans for 2009 and expects overall output to decline from 2008 levels, rather than hold steady from last year, as previously claimed. According to TNK-BP shareholder and Executive Director German Khan,...

Seaborne Exports Hold Steady For February.(Brief article)(Statistical data)
January 27, 2009... Seaborne exports of crude oil from the Transneft pipeline system are scheduled to drop a modest 5,000 b/d in February despite steadying global crude prices and a drop in Russia's export duties, according to preliminary port schedules released...

Russian Oil Majors Cut Staff.
January 27, 2009... State firms Rosneft and Gazprom Neft both plan to fire one in 10 of their staff to help cut costs amid the ongoing financial turmoil. Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of gas giant Gazprom, plans most of the cuts for its head office, deputy head of...

Tatneft Strikes Oil In Syria.
January 27, 2009... Russia's Tatneft says it has found oil in Syria's Block 27. Three exploration wells were spudded in 2008 and found oil-bearing reservoirs that indicate flow rates of around 150 cubic meters per day. Tatneft subsidiary Tatneftegeofizika...

Gazprom Inks Kuwait Deal.
January 27, 2009... Gazprom has inked a deal with private Kuwaiti firm Noor Financial Investment for joint exploration of acreage in both countries, extending the Russian firm's global reach. Under the memorandum of understanding, Gazprom subsidiary...

Russia Tightens Cuba Ties.
January 27, 2009... A Russian consortium set up by Gazprom, Lukoil, TNK-BP, Rosneft and Surgutneftegas to operate with Petroleos de Venezuela in Latin America has signed a memorandum of understanding with Cuban state Cupet to carry out joint oil and gas projects....

Lukoil Pursues Diamond Project Without De Beers.
January 27, 2009... Top Russian independent producer Lukoil will push ahead with a project to begin mining diamonds despite the collapse of a planned joint venture with global diamond giant De Beers. Lukoil said it plans to drill 11 wells in the Grib acreage...

Russia Tightens Ties With Uzbekistan.
January 27, 2009... In line with its strategy to retain dominance over energy flows from Central Asia and the Caspian, Moscow is trying to tighten cooperation with Uzbekistan, the third-largest natural gas producer in the former Soviet Union behind Russia and...

New-Look Company Takes Over At Kashagan.
January 27, 2009... A new company has replaced the Eni-led Agip KCO as the operator of Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan field, in accordance with agreements reached by the partners last October. "The new joint operating company named North Caspian Operating Co....

Georgia Allows South Ossetia Gas Flows To Resume.
January 27, 2009... Supplies of Russian natural gas through Georgia to the breakaway territory of South Ossetia were resumed last weekend after a six-month disruption. The gas flows were resumed after Georgia repaired the pipeline to South Ossetia and gave...

Poland Sees Fall In Russian Gas Supplies.
January 27, 2009... Russian natural gas flows to Poland dropped almost 25% early this week, as Polish imports supplied via neighboring Belarus were reduced to normal volumes while deliveries through Ukraine remained below the contracted amount. Warsaw was...

Sibir Energy Sells New Asset.
January 27, 2009... Cash-strapped independent Sibir Energy has sold 50% of downstream concern Korimos to the Moscow refinery, which it owns with Gazprom Neft. The sale will give the Moscow refinery 100% of Korimos. Sibir Chief Executive Henry Cameron...

Integra Repays Loan.
January 27, 2009... Russian servicing company Integra has repaid $35 million of its short-term debts, including closing out loans from Amsterdam Trade Bank and Credit Europe Bank, supporting analysts' expectations that the company will not succumb to the global...

Urals Energy Borrows More Money.(Brief article)
January 27, 2009... UK-listed independent Urals Energy has reached an agreement to take "a short-term working capital facility," although it remains unclear whether the funds will save the crumbling, debt-laden firm. Urals did not specify the size of the loan...

Equities and Currencies.
January 27, 2009... Share Prices Closing On January 27, 2009

Supply Overhang Weighs On Prices.(Statistical data)
January 27, 2009... Front-month ICE Brent crude oil futures traded a $6.25 range during the reporting week. From a low of $43.40 on Jan. 22, the contract traded up to a $49.65 high on Jan. 26, mostly in response to reports that Opec was showing improved compliance...

Prices Rise As Gas Crunch Impact Lingers.
January 27, 2009... Domestic Russian products prices are climbing further, with fuel oil from export-oriented refineries jumping more than 60% in the last two weeks. The impact from Russia cutting gas supplies to Ukraine and beyond is still being felt; Belarus'...