NEFTE Compass articles from July 2005

NEFTE Compass archives from July 2005

Opening Up: Russia Opens Reserves To China.
July 4, 2005... In a move to cement relations with China, Russia has finally agreed to open up its oil and gas reserves to its fast growing neighbor. During last week's visit to Moscow by Chinese leader Hu Jintao, when relations were defined as...

Breaking In: Rosneft And Statoil Break Caspian Deadlock.
July 4, 2005... With a growing number of foreign oil companies knocking at its door, Kazakhstan appears to have moved into a higher gear in negotiating for potentially juicy offshore acreage. After years of haggling, Russia's emerging giant Rosneft and...

Payout Time: Sibneft Plans Record Dividend As Sale Rumors Mount.
July 4, 2005... Russia's Sibneft is preparing for the largest dividend payout in its history as evidence grows that the sale of the company is not far away. Sibneft's board of directors on Jun. 30 recommended a dividend of 13.91 rubles per share for 2004,...

Final Twist: Novatek Teams Up With Gazprom.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... The ongoing mystery surrounding Novatek seems to have been solved, with Russia's largest independent gas producer moving closer into the realm of Gazprom. The two companies have signed a cooperation agreement encompassing gas purchases by...

Barging Out: TNK-BP Raises Standards For Barge Traffic.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... TNK-BP has announced further strides in its efforts to improve the health, safety and environmental standards of its river navigation operations to international standards. The UK-Russian venture can now boast that a "big percentage" of...

Portly: Novo Embarks On Ambitious Port Expansion.(Black Sea port of Novorossiysk )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk is embarking on an ambitious capacity expansion program to boost crude and oil products loadings significantly. The port's controlling shareholders, banks Uralsib and Investsberbank, plan to invest...

June Bug: Russian Production Rises In June.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Russia's oil output rose to a new high of 9.426 million b/d (38.581 million metric tons) in June, up almost 1% from the previous month and nearly 2% higher than June 2004, according to preliminary government data. In the first half of this...

Flying Dutchman: ABN Amro Helps Rosneftegas Raise Funds.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Rosneftegas, the holding company for Russia's state-owned Rosneft, has appointed Netherlands bank ABN Amro to raise the $7.1 billion for the government to pay for the 10.74% stake in Gazprom it acquired on Jul. 1. The government plans to...

Black Is Back: Rosneft Weighs Up Black Sea Projects.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... The development of the Black Sea shelf is on the list of Rosneft's long-term projects, according to company Vice President Stepan Zemlyuk. Rosneft is "at the initial stage of taking decisions on such projects," Zemlyuk said, naming them...

First Degree: Ex-Yukos Executive Faces New Murder Charges.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Russian prosecutors have filed new charges against a former Yukos executive who has already received a 20-year sentence for murder. A former top security officer at Yukos, Alexei Pichugin is now facing five new murder charges, according to...

Stalemate: Lukoil Seen Making No Progress On West Qurna.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... The involvement of Lukoil in the development of Iraq's West Qurna field should not be adversely effected by its alliance with ConocoPhillips, according to Iraqi former Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban. There has been no progress on the...

Down Rover: Transneft Backs Down Over Primorsk Row.
July 4, 2005... National pipeline operator Transneft has finally issued a full, two-page version of the July Primorsk loading schedule, after backing down from a standoff with Russian oil companies over its plans to massively ramp up shipments out of the port....

Steady: TNK-BP Retains Production Growth.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... UK-Russian joint venture TNK-BP has upped its production by 75,000 b/d over the last three months, Chief Operating Officer Larry McVay said on the sidelines of a conference in Istanbul last week. TNK-BP is currently producing a total of 1.6...

Azerbaijan: Socar Awards First Batumi Tender To Arcadia.(State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... State Socar has awarded a tender for an Azeri Light cargo to UK trader Arcadia. The 80,000 metric ton (586,000 bbl) parcel will load out of Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi on Jul. 26-27. The BP-led Azerbaijan International Operating Co....

Lithuania: Moscow Aims To Block Yukos Assets Abroad.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Russia's Justice Ministry appealed to its counterparts in Lithuania and the Netherlands to identify local assets affiliated with besieged oil major Yukos. It also urged them to put a ban on registering any deals involving Yukos shares in...

Caspian Gas: Nabucco Partners Move Up A Step.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... The five partners in the Nabucco project -- which plans to build a major pipeline for Caspian and Iranian gas that would link Turkey via three states to Austria by 2011 -- signed a joint venture agreement at a meeting in Vienna last week. ...

Serbia: Lukoil Plans JV To Supply Crude To Refineries.
July 4, 2005... Lukoil has signed a memorandum of intention to set up a joint venture with Serbia's state oil group Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), the Russian major revealed last week. Lukoil said it could guarantee to deliver 30,000-90,000 b/d via the...

Going Up: Rosneft To Triple Output, Boost Investments.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Russia's Rosneft plans to triple its crude output to 75.35 million metric tons (1.5 million b/d) in 2005, compared with 2004. The rise largely derives from Rosneft's acquisition of Yukos' former main production unit Yuganskneftegas at the end...

Rejection: Transneft Blocked Over Pipeline Financing.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... The Russian government is refusing to finance the construction of the northern oil pipeline by using the profits of national pipeline operator Transneft. The government has asked the ministries of industry and energy, economic development...

Equities and Currencies.
July 4, 2005... Share Prices Closing On July 5, 2005

Crude Oil: Threat Of Tropical Storms Blows Prices Higher.
July 4, 2005... Brent futures traded a volatile $4.35 range from a $55.04 low on Jun. 30 to a $59.39 high on Jul. 6. A technical sell-off was followed by a profit-taking and end-of-quarter book-balancing rally which then gathered renewed momentum after a long...

Products: Gas Oil Prices Driven Higher By Futures.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Russian gas oil prices have increased over the past week, driven by a rise in futures. Futures prices for most oil products have been boosted by concern over refinery outages in the US and the threat to crude supplies from tropical storms. ...

Out Of Town: US Military Faces Expulsion From Central Asia.
July 5, 2005... The US military now faces the threat of losing its bases in Central Asia. The presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan both said over the past week they are "reconsidering" the continued presence of US bases in their countries, used as...

In The Loop: Shell-Gazprom Deal Helps All, But Rosneft?(OAO Gazprom, Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos.)
July 5, 2005... A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed last week between Gazprom and Royal Dutch/Shell, giving the Russian gas behemoth a blocking stake in the Sakhalin-2 project, provides enticing prospects for all the parties involved. Gazprom would get...

Colombian Roast: Lukoil Starts Exploration Drilling in Colombia.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Russia's Lukoil has launched deep exploration drilling in the Medina structure of Colombia's Condor block, Lukoil's international arm Lukoil Overseas said in a press release. The project -- in which Lukoil holds a 70% stake and Colombian...

Field Of Dreams: Rosneft Eyes Yukos Field.(OAO NK Yukos, Yurubchenskoye oil field )(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Rosneft is preparing to take over from Yukos as operator of the Yurubchenskoye oil field in East Siberia. The company plans to present the Russian government with a proposal to assume operatorship within 10 days, said Rosneft President...

Dating Game: Putin Confirms Gazprom Keen on Sibneft.(Vladimir Putin, OAO Gazprom to purchase Sibneft Oil)
July 5, 2005... President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that oil company Sibneft is up for sale and that Gazprom is holding talks on a potential acquisition. "I know that representatives of Gazprom and Sibneft have been discussing the deal," Putin told...

Fond Farewell: Lukoil Abandons Moscow Refinery Project.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Lukoil has abandoned its plan to build a new refinery in the Moscow region, the company's President Vagit Alekperov said. Instead, the company plans to carry out a complex modernization of its Nizhegorod (Norsi) refinery located in Nizhny...

Tax Man: TNK-BP Details Provision for Tax Claim.
July 5, 2005... The tax squabble between Anglo-Russian joint venture TNK-BP and the Kremlin may be headed for an amicable conclusion. TNK-BP has put a provision in its 2004 accounts for at least $123 million in back tax payments for 2001, suggesting that...

Catfight: Moscow Refinery Spat Deepens.(Sibneft Oil, Tatneft, Moscow Oil and Gas Co.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Russia's Sibneft is fighting back in a battle for control of Moscow Refinery. The company has sent a claim to the Moscow Arbitration Court calling for negation of the refinery's shareholder decision on dividend payments for 2004. This...

Sniffles: Investors Sniff Out New Potential In Rosneft IPO.(Initial Public Offering)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... With state-controlled Rosneft set to become one of Russia's biggest blue chip stocks, investors are swarming around the company's subsidiaries in the hopes of cashing in on what promises to be a transformation of gargantuan proportions. ...

Southern Charm: Gazprom Starts Drilling At South Kovykta.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Gazprom has started exploration drilling at the South Kovykta gas deposit in East Siberia and expects to have results by year-end, a company official reported last week. The work is being carried out by the gas giant's wholly owned...

Baked Greens: Environmentalists Score Victories In Russia's Far East.(Greenpeace Foundation Inc.)
July 5, 2005... Environmentalists are scoring a series of victories in Russia and making life more difficult for oil and gas companies trying to develop projects there. Traditionally, environmentalists have been marginalized or ignored entirely, while oil...

Burning Issue: Russia And Kazakhstan Head In Different Directions.
July 5, 2005... As the world's thirst for oil rises, Russia and Kazakhstan are front and center in the charged debate over production growth. A hot topic is how much these two pivotal players will be able to contribute to the world oil market and assuage fears...

Romania: IFC To Finance Lukoil's Refinery Upgrade.(International Finance Corp., Petrotel LUKoil S.A.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... The World Bank's financial arm, the International Financial Corp. (IFC), is extending an $82 million loan to Russia's Lukoil to upgrade its Romanian refinery. The IFC's board of directors approved the loan to finance the modernization of...

Kazakhstan: Turgai Petroleum Wins New Cases.(against PetroKazakhstan)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Kazakhstan's Turgai Petroleum has won two more cases against Canada's PetroKazakhstan (PKN), Turgai said in a press release on Jul. 11. One claim had to do with crude supplies. In August-October of last year, PKN bought crude from Turgai...

Lithuania: Yukos Makes Last Ditch Effort To Keep Mazeikiu.(OAO NK Yukos, Mazeikiu Nafta)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Beleaguered Russian oil company Yukos is making a last ditch attempt to prevent its Lithuanian subsidiary from being snatched away. Group Menatep, the controlling shareholder in Yukos, has obtained a court injunction from the Netherlands...

Firecreek Buys Kazakh Firms.(EGPI Firecreek, The Sahara Group, TransNaftaCenter)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Arizona-based independent oil and gas producer EGPI Firecreek has announced it and The Sahara Group have agreed to acquire a 51% stake in Kazakh oil and gas firm TransNaftaCenter. TransNaftaCenter holds the exploration and development...

Leap Year: Gazprom's 2004 Profits Jump.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Gazprom has trumpeted a 30% rise in net profits to 205.7 billion rubles ($7.2 billion) in 2004. This compares to the previous year's 159.1 billion rubles ($5.5 billion) in consolidated accounts prepared according to international accounting...

On Your Marks: Novatek Valuation Announced In Run-up To IPO.(Initial Public Offering )(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... Russia's largest independent gas producer Novatek has released a valuation of its worth in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO) later this year. It has set a price range for its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), which will be...

Equities and Currencies.
July 5, 2005... Share Prices Closing On July 12, 2005

Crude Oil: Extreme Volatility.
July 5, 2005... Brent futures traded an extreme $5.15 range between $55.55 and $60.70 in one day as markets on Jul. 7 initially reacted to a swathe of suicide bombs in London by sending prices crashing $4-plus and then, having had second thoughts, pulled them...

Products: Turbulent Futures, Bearish Physicals.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... It has been a turbulent week for the gas oil market in Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean, with outright prices rising in response to storms in North America, which have caused supply fears in the US. Also, the discount contango between...

Shifting Weight: Sakhalin-2 Cost Overruns Could Alter Gazprom-Shell Deal.
July 18, 2005... The ink was barely dry on a landmark deal between Royal Dutch Shell and Gazprom when the supermajor announced a colossal cost escalation on the flagship project at the heart of the agreement. The initial gloss of the deal tarnished overnight as...

Dragging Feet: CPC Expansion Still Faces Hurdles As Moscow Drags Feet.(Caspian Pipeline Consortium)
July 18, 2005... Problems continue to dog the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) ambitious expansion plans, even as it celebrated this week the loading of the 600th tanker since starting operations in 2001. Reports of progress in resolving differences with...

Sea Maiden: J&S Lifting More Surgut Barrels.(J&S Service and Investment's petroleum shipment contract with Surgutneftegas)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Polish trader J&S is rapidly expanding its business of lifting seaborne crude barrels. The trader lifted four cargoes from Russian Surgutneftegas in the second quarter, taking one each from Primorsk and Yuzhny in April and May, according to the...

Tough Luck: Yukos Loses More Cases To Yugansk.(Yuganskneftegas, transfer pricing)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... The Moscow Arbitration Court has supported Yuganskneftegas' bid to increase its claim against Yukos, its former owner. Yugansk is demanding $7.9 billion in compensation from Yukos for the latter's use of transfer pricing in purchasing...

Members Only: Proposed Subsoil Legislation Limits Foreigners.(foreign ownership)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... To speed up the auctioning of the country's strategic oil and gas reserves, Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources has submitted proposals to the government to amend the current Subsoil Law to regulate access to natural resources by foreign...

French Whine: Total Stripped Of Privileged Crude Pumping Tariff.(Federal Tariff Service )(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... France's Total will be stripped of its privileged long-term tariffs for pumping crude via the Transneft pipeline system, announced Russia's Federal Tariff Service. The Federal Tariff Service has decided to hike the tariff by 30% that Total...

Cold Shoulder: Moscow Lambasts US For Nevzlin Visit.(demands extradition of Leonid Nevzlin)
July 18, 2005... Russia is keeping the heat on Leonid Nevzlin, the highest-ranking core Yukos shareholder not yet in prison. Nevzlin, who resides in Israel, was in the US last week to speak to the Senate's Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe...

Paddling Upstream: Alliance Buys Upstream Unit, Upgrades Refineries.
July 18, 2005... In line with its strategy to get into the upstream side of business, Moscow-based Alliance Group has acquired an 88.24% stake in an oil producer in Russia's republic of Tatarstan. Alliance said it bought the stake in Tatnefteotdacha from...

Eastern Exposure: Sibneft Explores Offshore Chukotka.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Sibneft has announced it is carrying out geophysical exploration work offshore Chukotka, where its controlling shareholder Roman Abramovich is governor. The company is exploring the Tumansky license block, located in the Anadyr Bay section of...

Gloves Off: Sibneft And Sibir Fight For Yugraneft.(Sibir Energy PLC)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... The battle is heating up between Sibneft and UK-registered Sibir Energy for control of Siberian producer Yugraneft. Sibneft representatives were locked out of a creditors' meeting of Yugraneft on Jul. 19 by security guards, who would not...

Pipe Strains: Gazprom And Ukraine Haggle Over Gas Transit.
July 18, 2005... Following protracted talks with Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogas Ukrainy, Russia's Gazprom has settled a dispute over 7.8 billion cubic meters of gas accumulated in underground storage in Ukraine. Gazprom said over the...

Azerbaijan: Azpetrol Teams With Turkish LPG Retailer.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Azpetrol, the largest retail and transport operator in Azerbaijan, is teaming up with Turkey's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) retailer Milangaz to distribute LPG to households in Azerbaijan. A&D, a joint venture set up by the partners on a...

Kazakhstan: Lukoil Drills Another Dry Well On Caspian Shelf.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... In another setback for its Caspian Sea exploration, Lukoil has not found any hydrocarbons in commercial quantities in its first well on the Tyub-Karagan Block offshore Kazakhstan, a source close to the company confirmed to Nefte Compass (NC...

Kazakhstan: Momentum Heats Up For PetroKazakhstan Sale.
July 18, 2005... The battle for Canada's PetroKazakhstan is heating up. India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has expressed an interest in bidding, and it is widely expected that Lukoil and PetroChina will throw their hats into the ring as well. Last...

Tat's Back: Tatneft's GAAP Disclosure Saves NYSE Listing.(New York Stock Exchange)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... After a long delay resulting from questions about possibly fraudulent deals, Russia's Tatneft has released its US GAAP financial results for 2003 just in time to save its listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The story began when...

Two-Step: Gazprom Places Eurobonds.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Gazprom placed a $1.87 billion eurobond in two eight-year tranches last week to refinance existing loans. The two issues were valued at $647 million and $1.222 billion, with the latter guaranteed by Italian export credit agency Sace. The...

Equities and Currencies.
July 18, 2005... Share Prices Closing On Jul. 19, 2005

Crude Oil: Urals Up, Futures Down.
July 18, 2005... Crude oil futures have continued on their downward path, albeit in some volatility. Brent futures traded a $2.39 range during the reporting period with the $58.54 high on Jul. 14 reached in response to the threat to US crude oil production in...

Products: Differentials Supported.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... The market for Russian gas oil has been relatively steady over the past few days. A slight, recent increase in demand and loading difficulties have supported differentials although cash values were hammered by a negative futures market reaction...

First Blood: Heeding Kremlin Message, Lukoil Shakes Up Export Operations.
July 27, 2005... Lukoil looks to be toeing the Kremlin line by reshuffling key managers in charge of exports at Russia's biggest oil company. The changes in personnel and operations over the past four months look to have been politically motivated, in line...

Last Stand: Yukos Directors Stake Survival On New Upstream Program.(OAO NK Yukos)
July 27, 2005... Although the final demise of Yukos seems imminent, the company's board members have initiated an upstream program in a bid to persuade the government to leave the company with enough financial resources to maintain production and exploration...

Fire Alarm: Traders Skeptical Over Refinery Fire Claims.(Novo-Ufa)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... A fire broke out at Russia's Novo-Ufa refinery this week, in Russia's autonomous republic of Bashkortostan. The blaze was caused by a rupture of a natural gas pipeline at the refinery on Jul. 26. Refinery and local officials were quoted as...

Pacific Charm: Putin Backs Pacific Pipe.(East Siberian oil pipeline construction)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... President Vladimir Putin has thrown his weight behind a scheme to construct the East Siberian oil pipeline to the Pacific coast. The scheme recently attracted severe criticism because of environmental concerns. "This, as a matter of fact,...

Rosy: Russia Upgrades Output Forecast.(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... Moscow has issued a more cheery forecast for its crude production and exports. The positive outlook by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade this week contrasts with other gloomy production growth forecasts for Russia, where...

Offshore Probes: Seismic To Start In Barents, Okhotsk Seas.(TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co., New Field Ventures)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... Two new seismic programs are to kick off in August, including one in the Barents Sea, which is viewed in some quarters as one of the world's most prospective petroleum provinces. TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co., an Oslo-listed company, and...

Big In Ukraine: TNK-BP Pursues Lisichansk Refinery Upgrade.(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... Russian-UK joint venture TNK-BP is continuing to upgrade its refining network by bringing on stream this week a gasoline isomerization unit at its 320,000 b/d Lisichansk refinery in Ukraine. The new $20 million unit has a design capacity of...

Done Deal: Schlumberger Gets Control Over PetroAlliance.(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... Global oil services giant Schlumberger has increased its stake in Russia's biggest independent domestic oil-field service company PetroAlliance to 51%, the giant reported last week. Schlumberger said it acquired an additional 25% in the...

Fat Chance: Yukos Sues State Over Yugansk.(Yuganskneftegas)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... Not willing to go down without a fight, Yukos is suing the Russian government for 398.7 billion rubles ($14 billion), for what it calls misappropriating Yuganskneftegas in a forced auction last December. The Moscow Arbitration Court on...

Tax Man: Tax Threat For TNK-BP Remains Uncertain.(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... UK-Russian joint venture TNK-BP continues to assuage fears over further tax problems with Russian authorities. The company's executive director, German Khan, said last week that the company expects no significant further back-tax claims from...

Blast From The Past: TNK-BP Battles With Former Shareholders.(bankruptcy compensation)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... Former shareholders of an asset now fully owned by TNK-BP are hoping that a US court will support a claim that could award as much as $1.5 billion. A US federal court of appeals last month reinitiated a case in a New York district...

Baker's Dozen: Gazprom Raises $12 Billion For Sibneft.(finance for acquisition)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... Natural gas monopoly Gazprom is looking to raise up to $12 billion for the purchase of Sibneft, bankers say, just days after a Moscow court removed the final obstacle to a takeover of Sibneft. The Basmanny District Court last week reversed...

Plant Life: Lukoil Plans $500 Million Upgrade Of Refineries.
July 27, 2005... Russia's Lukoil has announced that it is kicking off a $500 million upgrade program for its Nizhny Novgorod refinery and other plants to improve the quality of its fuels. The company plans to invest in building new catalytic cracking,...

Moving Sale: Lukoil Sells Assets To Urals Energy.(Arcticneft )
July 27, 2005... Lukoil has sold its Arcticneft production subsidiary to Urals Energy Holdings in a departure from the past battles which the Russian major had fought with the independent over upstream assets in the northern Timan-Pechora oil province. ...

Spaghetti Western: Western Banks Support Rosneft.
July 27, 2005... Rosneft's financial position is looking increasingly brighter, according to credit rating agency Standard & Poor's. For this reason, S&P confirmed Rosneft's credit rating at B- and removed it from Creditwatch with negative implications. ...

Azerbaijan: Sunoil Scoops Latest Socar Tender.(export contract)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... State oil company Socar has awarded a tender for two Urals cargoes to Swiss-registered Sunoil, loading out of Novorossiysk next month. The two 82,000 metric ton cargoes are scheduled to load out of Russia's Black Sea port on Aug. 14-15 and...

Kazakhstan: Mittal To Inject Some Steel Into Indian Campaign.(joint ventures of ONGC Videsh and Mittal Steel Company N.V.)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... India is stepping up its drive to secure oil assets overseas by forging an alliance between state oil and gas overseas operating company ONGC Videsh and the UK-based Mittal group, which owns a major steel plant in Kazakhstan. ONGC Videsh...

Ukraine: Lukoil Creates A Stir With Refinery Shutdown.
July 27, 2005... Russian major Lukoil raised some political hackles in Ukraine, with its announcement on Jul. 26 that it is kicking off a three-year reconstruction and modernization of its Odessa refinery. The $320 million project envisages building a...

Lithuania: Kazakhs To Expand Into EU From Vilnius Base.(Kazmunaigas)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... Kazakhstan's state-owned oil and gas company Kazmunaigas last week opened a representative office in Lithuania to help build relations with the European Union's energy market -- a key strategy of the company. The Kazakh company plans to...

Loan Star: Rosneft Taps Into The Loan Market.(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... The syndication of a $2 billion loan for Rosneft should be finalized next month, but already the market is talking about the Russian state company showing interest in raising an even bigger loan, banking sources say. ABN Amro and Barclays,...

Comeback: Novatek IPO Bodes Well For Russian Market.(initial public offering)(Brief Article)
July 27, 2005... With the placement last week of Novatek's initial public offering (IPO) in London, the Russian investment story was resurrected. Shares of Russia's largest independent gas producer were oversubscribed by some 13 times and were sold at...

Equities and Currencies.
July 27, 2005... Share Prices Closing On Jul. 26, 2005