NEFTE Compass articles from June 2003

NEFTE Compass archives from June 2003

Blue Moon: Russia Offers To Open Blue Stream To Caspian Gas.
June 4, 2003... At $3.4 billion, the Blue Stream pipeline from Russia to Turkey is beginning to look like a very costly mistake. But at a long shot, it could one day be a key route for the supply of gas from Russia and the Caspian to European markets. ...

Star Turn: Joint Ventures Come Back Into Vogue In Russia.
June 4, 2003... News that Surgutneftegas, the most Russian of Russian oil majors, is discussing a joint venture with a foreign company is sensational in itself. But it also indicates an emerging trend that sees joint ventures coming back into vogue in Russia...

Black Hole: Traders Scramble To Fill Market Void In Black Sea.
June 4, 2003... Trading outfits are scrambling to fill a vacuum in the Black Sea ports, created by the departure of the region's biggest fuel oil exporter. Exporters see opportunities in the market in the absence of Karlak Participation. The...

Low Quality: Transneft Loses Enthusiasm For Crude Quality Bank.
June 4, 2003... Russia's national pipeline operator, Transneft, is calling for the introduction of a crude quality bank to be put off indefinitely. Yelena Kozobkova, a Transneft department head, says the quality bank would have severe social consequences...

Bush Telegraph: Russia, US Gloss Over Differences On Iraq.
June 4, 2003... Russia continues to expect a role in postwar Iraq, President Vladimir Putin made clear in a meeting last weekend with his US counterpart, George W. Bush. The meeting between the two leaders -- their first since the Iraq war -- suggested...

German Order: Putin Pushes For Germany To Join Gas Consortium.(Vladimir Putin)
June 4, 2003... Shortly after returning to Moscow from the G-8 summit in Evian, President Vladimir Putin this week ordered the government to do all it could to finalize a date when Germany will be able to participate in the work of the Russian-Ukrainian gas...

Tender Fest: Siberian Fields To Hit The Auction Block.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... The Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district in Western Siberia intends to issue this month licenses for geological exploration for 120 fields, according to Vladimir Karasyov, deputy head of the local administration. The licenses will be issued...

Dough Rising: Murmansk Pipeline Cost Jumps Over $5 Billion.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... The cost of the Murmansk project to build a new oil pipeline from Western Siberia to the deepwater port on the Kola peninsula has risen to at least $5 billion, according to Osman Sapayev, deputy head of Lukoil's chief department on crude and...

Order Book: Japanese Win Sakhalin-2 LNG Contract.
June 4, 2003... An international consortium led by Japan's Chiyoda and Toyo Engineering has been awarded a $2 billion contract to build Russia's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant for the Royal Dutch/Shell-led Sakhalin-2 project. Sakhalin Energy, the...

Ghost: TNK-BP Haunted By Past Practices.
June 4, 2003... As BP draws closer to finalizing its pioneering alliance with Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK), the Russian oil company is being haunted by its past as minority shareholders besiege it with lawsuits over its past business practices. Minority...

Hung Over: Zarubezhneft Pulls Out Of Vietnamese Field.
June 4, 2003... Zarubezhneft is quitting another project in Vietnam after deciding that the economics of developing the offshore Dai Hung oil field just don't stack up. But the state-owned company, which last year was booted out of a project to build...

Flatliners: Surgut Chief Expects Flat 2003 Performance.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... Surgutneftegas is bucking the Russian oil industry's trend of rising profitability, by forecasting a flat financial performance in 2003. Company CEO Vladimir Bogdanov says he expects a 2003 pre-tax profit of $1.9 billion on net sales of...

Plant Life: Moscow Refinery Elects New Board.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... Shareholders in the Moscow refinery have elected a new board of directors, marking the formal conclusion of a peace agreement reached last March. Moscow Oil Co. (MOC) got five seats on the new nine-member board, while Sibneft received...

Base Line: Tatneft Increases Its Crude Reserves.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... Tatneft says it increased its crude reserves by 9.4% in 2002 after additional exploration work was carried out on its mature fields. According to an audit by Miller & Lents, Tatneft's reserves increased by 72 million metric tons (528...

Pipe Loan: Sberbank To Back Transneft Export Projects.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... Russia's state-owned pipeline operator Transneft has signed a long-term agreement with Sberbank for financing export projects up to a total $900 million. Under the broad accord, a first deal has been signed, with Sberbank in June set to...

May Day Parade: Russia Continues Boosting Crude Exports.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... Russia took advantage of fairer weather at the Black Sea ports and increased pumping to most Druzhba pipeline destinations as it ramped up crude exports by 283,000 b/d in May from the previous month (see page 12). Russian exports via the...

Romania: Romania Snubs Russia, Looks To US In Privatizations.
June 4, 2003... A Romanian trade delegation headed by Industry and Resources Minister Dan Popescu was to visit the US this week to meet companies interested in investing in the Eastern European country's energy sector and to kick start a delayed privatization...

Caspian Opec: Saudi Oil Minister Welcomes Caspian Oil.(Ali Naimi)(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi has said his country welcomes "prospective and future oil production from the Caspian countries" and does not view it as a threat to Opec, as global demand to set to rise substantially in coming years. ...

Turkmenistan: Gas Sales Accelerated To Russia.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... Turkmenistan has announced that it will accelerate gas shipments to Russia, pumping up to 80 Bcm/yr to Russia as soon as 2007, two years ahead of schedule. The agreement comes as a revision of a deal inked in Moscow on Apr. 10 with Russian...

Barnraising: Yukos Taps Capital Market For Sibneft Merger.
June 4, 2003... Yukos aims to raise up to $1 billion in financing and issue new shares to cover its acquisition of industry rival Sibneft. Yukos is meeting with investment bankers this week to discuss issuing eurobonds worth up to $1 billion to cover its...

Cost Crush: Rising Tax And Transport Costs Hit Lukoil Profits.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... State hikes in taxes and transport costs ate into Lukoil's profitability last year, in line with other oil majors. Lukoil has announced that its 2002 net income fell more than 12% from the previous year, according to preliminary accounts...

Equities And Currencies.
June 4, 2003... Share Prices Closing On June 3, 2003

Crude Oil: Urals Firms On Arbitrages And Iraqi Problems.
June 4, 2003... The market is full of contradictions. Analysts deduce that crude oil supplies outstripped demand by 3.7 million b/d in May, by 2.3 million in April, and by 2.2 million in March. Nevertheless, reported inventories seemingly remain stubbornly low...

Products: European Gas Oil Demand Increases.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2003... Russian gas oil differentials held steady in Northwest Europe, as a surge in local demand took the place of an arbitrage window, which slammed shut earlier this week. Mediterranean differentials rose sharply on a spate of prompt supply...

Countdown: BTC Pipeline Starts Final Countdown To Financial Closure.(Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan)
June 11, 2003... A new key date kicked in this week for the BP-led $3 billion project to build the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. On Jun. 12, the two multilateral lenders -- the World BankAEs private sector lending arm, the International Finance...

Launch: Caspian Investment Takes Off As Projects Move Forward.
June 11, 2003... Foreign investment in the Caspian is taking off as key projects move forward. Russian influence looks to be on the wane, however, as standard-bearer Lukoil further reduces its presence in the region. Announcements of new investments in...

Boston Tea Party: Gas Producers Revolt Against Tax Hike.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Gazprom, oil companies, and independent gas producers have given a hostile reception to a Russian government plan to increase the tax on gas production. The government wants to increase the tax by 503% to 193 rubles/Mcm ($6.20) of gas. It...

Homecoming: Russians Firms Re-Open Doors In Baghdad.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Lukoil reopened its Baghdad office, after arriving in the Iraqi capital with a coterie of Russian oil and gas firms hoping to revive their contracts signed under the previous regime. A delegation of Russian diplomats and businessmen arrived...

Greener Pastures: Total To Focus On Greenfield Projects in Russia.
June 11, 2003... Total stressed last week that it remains wary for now of TNK-BP-style deals and prefers to focus on greenfield developments in Russia. "We have become a lot more positive about Russia, but we are still a long way from signing up a joint...

Crown Prince: ERC Trading Returns To River Navigation Season.
June 11, 2003... Not to be discouraged by last year's Prestige fiasco, the company formerly known as Crown Resources is making a quiet return to this year's river navigation season at the Baltic and White Sea ports. ERC Trading Co. is currently loading a...

Vanilla Ice: Lukoil To Keep Its Ice-Class Tankers.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Lukoil has decided not to sell its ice-class tanker fleet, after discovering new oil reserves near its Varandey oil terminal on the Arctic Barents Sea. Lukoil is nurturing long-term plans to produce 800,000-1 million b/d from the...

Double Down: Surgutneftegas To Double Refining Capacity.
June 11, 2003... Russia's most conservative oil major, Surgutneftegas, is planning to double its refining capacity, as it struggles to cope with rising crude output and limited export capacity. Company CEO Vladimir Bogdanov says Surgut's refining capacity...

Bandwagon: TNK May Use Crude Pipeline To China.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) could throw its weight behind a planned crude pipeline from Eastern Siberia to China, which is being promoted by Yukos. TNK does not rule out the possibility that it could export gas condensate from the Kovykta gas...

Northern Fleet: Rosneft To Build Northern Tanker Fleet.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... State-owned Rosneft is building its own tanker fleet to export crude from the north of Russia, following in the footsteps of Lukoil. Rosneft vice president Vladimir Ivanchikov has revealed a preliminary plan to amass a northern fleet...

Pipe Cleaners: Transneft Hikes Pumping Tariffs.(Federal Energy Commission)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Transneft has gotten permission from the Federal Energy Commission's (FEK) to hike its crude pumping tariffs to help expand the capacity of the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS). The national pipeline operator will raise its rates by an average...

Bulls Eye: TNK Launches Counterattack Against Dart.(Tyumenneft)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) has launched a counter-offensive against minority shareholders that obtained a court injunction freezing $380 million of its assets and jeopardizing completion of the TNK-BP joint venture. Lawyers representing TNK have...

Miller High Life: Miller Outlines Gazprom's Strategy.
June 11, 2003... Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller, talking about BP-led Kovykta gas project in Eastern Siberia, played down suggestions that China and Rusia Petroleum had agreed to peg Russian gas export prices to coal and fuel oil. It was reported in April that...

Russian Gas Production, May 2003.
June 11, 2003... Russian Gas Production, May 2003

Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan To Unveil Caspian Program.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... A long-awaited plan to open up over 100 blocks in an offshore exploration bonanza in the northern Caspian Sea is due to be unveiled later this month following its recent approval by President Nursultan Nazarbaev. The highly prospective...

Georgia: US Nervous Over Russian Pipeline Venture.
June 11, 2003... The US has expressed dismay over a potential gas pipeline deal between Russia and Georgia. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller met with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze late last month in Tbilisi to discuss bilateral energy cooperation....

Kazakhstan: CNPC Takes Up 100% Of Aktobemunaigas.(China National Petroleum Corp)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has been revealed as the buyer of a state-held stake in Kazakh producer CNPC-Aktobemunaigas. The stake was sold at the end of May by the Kazakh government for $150.16 million, but the buyer was not...

Awards Ceremony: Central Europeans Jocky For Iraqi Contracts.
June 11, 2003... Central European oil and gas companies are lining up to get contracts in postwar Iraq, seeking to reap the rewards of their governments' support of the US-led military campaign. Poland's state owned oil holding Nafta Polska will create a...

Romania: Lukoil's Chances Dimming In Petrom Privatization.
June 11, 2003... Lukoil's chances in the coming privatization of Romania's biggest oil and gas holding Petrom are getting slimmer by the day. Romania's Industry and Resources Minister Dan Popescu during his recent visit to the US to attract investors did not...

Azerbaijan: Spain's Rocoil Wins Socar Tender.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Spain's Rocoil has won a Socar tender to buy two cargoes of Urals crude loading out of Novorossiysk in June. Rocoil will lift two cargoes of 82,000 metric tons (600,000 bbl) each, the first on Jun. 23-24 and the second on Jun. 29-30. This...

Eastern Front: VNG Eyes Eastward Expansion.(Verbundnetz Gas)
June 11, 2003... Eyes are on Verbundnetz Gas (VNG), eastern Germany's leading gas supplier, as E.On prepares to divest a 42.1% stake this summer in order to secure final government approval of its $11.4 billion Ruhrgas takeover agreed on Jan. 31. At least...

Belt Tightening: Transneft Expects Lower 2003 Net Profit.(investors were disappointed)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Transneft has disappointed investors with news that its profit will drop by more than half this year. The state-owned pipeline operator has announced that its 2003 net income will only be about $214 million, down from last year's $429 million...

Downer: Sibneft Profits Drop 11%.(reports)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Sibneft has reported an 11% drop in its 2002 net profit, which was dragged down by a heavier tax burden and higher transport costs along with the rest of the Russian oil industry. The Russian oil major reported a net profit of $1.161...

Equities And Currencies.
June 11, 2003... Share Prices Closing On June 10, 2003

Crude: Futures Take Off, Differentials Steady.
June 11, 2003... Opec decided against cutting production further. This came as no surprise to a market that had already factored such an outcome into prices. Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) closed its tender for the sale of 10 million bbl of...

Products: NWE Differentials Rise On Inland Demand.(Northwest Europe)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2003... Russian gas oil differentials rose in Northwest Europe, despite a tremendous volume of loadings from the Baltic Sea ports. The market has taken another big step up in the Mediterranean with differentials rising as prices bounce back from a...

Role Reversal: BP Treads Fine Line Over Ukrainian Pipeline.
June 18, 2003... Nobody said it was going to be easy. Four months after announcing its engagement to Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK), BP has found itself caught between a rock and a hard place as it navigates between the conflicting interests of Russia on the one side and...

Exxon Puts Sakhalin Gas Line To Japan On Ice.
June 18, 2003... Exxon Mobil's hopes of shipping gas from its Sakhalin-1 project on the Russian Pacific shelf to the key market of Japan appear to be fading fast. Neil Duffin, chairman of Exxon Neftegas, the operating company of Sakhalin-1, admitted this week...

Third Wheel: Putin Promises Solution For Sakhalin-3.(Vladimir Putin )(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... President Vladimir Putin has promised Exxon Mobil that a solution would be found for its Sakhalin-3 project. Exxon senior vice president Rex Tillerson complained that Sakhalin-3 had lost its right to be developed under production-sharing...

Quartermaster: Third Quarter Exports Down Slightly.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... The government has set out a preliminary export schedule of 2.581 million b/d (32.397 million metric tons) in the third quarter, which represents a slight 11,000 b/d decrease on the previous quarter. The program is continuing to boost...

Liquid Courage: Gazprom Targets LNG Exports.
June 18, 2003... Natural gas behemoth Gazprom is taking concrete steps to turn its dream of becoming an LNG exporter into reality. The company's executive board at its Jun. 18 meeting is to approve a concept for LNG production, transportation, and marketing....

Blast Off: TNK-BP To Become Operational In July.(Tyumenneft)(British Petroleum Company PLC)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) and BP's venture will become fully operational by the end of July, according to Robert Dudley, the future president of TNK-BP. Both sides are working hard to finalize the deal by the end of next week, when Russian...

High Ball: Gazprom Softens Stance On Blue Stream Gas.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... In a sign that Gazprom might soften its emphatic stance that Russia will not lower the price of gas delivered through the Blue Stream pipeline, the gas giant met with officials from Turkish state-owned Botas in Ankara to discuss the issue. ...

Calm Down: Lukoil Advised To Ease Up On Iraq.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Two senior Iraqi oilmen have advised Lukoil to tone down its argument that Baghdad should reinstate the Russian company's contract for the West Qurna oil field. "Russia and Lukoil should stay away from making threats. Let Iraq deal with...

Freestyling: Yukos Elects New Independent Board.(appoints 11 new board members)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Yukos has set another first in the Russian oil industry, by electing a board of directors composed almost entirely of independent directors. Yukos shareholders elected a new 11-member board at their Jun. 18 annual meeting. Mikhail...

Mudslide: Sibneft Releases SEC Reserves.
June 18, 2003... Sibneft has released reserve figures audited according to more stringent US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) requirements. The company's reserves, audited Miller and Lents according to SEC guidelines, amount to 2.2 billion boe -- 53%...

Chop Shop: Lukoil To Close Down Northern Subsidiary.(Timan-Pechora subsidiary operation Arkhangelskgeoldobycha)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Lukoil is set to close up shop at its northern subsidiary Arkhangelskgeoldobycha (AGD), the biggest license-holder in the Timan-Pechora oil province. As part of its restructuring, Lukoil is transferring AGD's licenses to a newly set-up...

Desert Oasis: Lukoil To Sign Egypt Concessions.(West Geisum and North East Geisum offshore blocks)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... In a bid to keep its role as Russia's flag bearer overseas, Lukoil is set to sign two concession agreements in Egypt, adding up to 423.8 million bbl of oil reserves to its portfolio. Lukoil's international arm, Lukoil Overseas will sign the...

Jail Birds: TNK Frees Assets From Court Arrest.(Tyumen Oil Co.)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) has won a victory over minority shareholders in its subsidiaries, which had sought to freeze $380 million of the Russian oil company's assets. TNK has announced that the High Court of the British Islands granted its...

Electric Shock: TNK Launches Electronic Trading Platform.(Tyumen Oil Co)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) has unveiled an electronic exchange platform for oil products on the domestic Russian market. Products will be sold on the exchange at a fixed price or by auction.a The head of TNK's internal products trade, Valery...

Musical Chairs: Natural Resources Minister Reshuffles Staff.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Natural Resources Minister Vitaly Artyukhov has instigated a staff reshuffle in his ministry aimed at getting a key department under his personal control. First Deputy Minister for Natural Resources Vitaly Karaganov has been moved to...

Changing Climate: World Waits On Russia To Ratify Kyoto.
June 18, 2003... Russia is facing increasing diplomatic pressure to finally ratify the Kyoto Climate Change Treaty ahead of an environmental conference its due to host in September. This would allow the treaty to come into force for the next major scheduled...

Caspian Mann: US Advisor Switches BTC Focus To Kazakhstan.(Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline)
June 18, 2003... Bringing Kazakhstan into the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline project is the next target for Steven Mann, the senior advisor for Caspian Basin energy diplomacy at the US State Department. By the end of November, he hopes to have...

Kazakhstan: Taxation Could Be Next Touchpaper.(Petroleum Industry)
June 18, 2003... Oil policy is unlikely to change dramatically following the government reshuffle sparked by the resignation of Imangali Tasmagabetov over the issue of land reform. Daniyal Akhmetov, the governor of the Pavlodar region, replaces him as prime...

Big Feet: Gazprom Partners Lukoil In The Caspian.(Gazprom Russian Joint Stock Co.)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Gazprom's management board has given its nod of approval to a 50-50 joint venture with Lukoil to work on the Caspian shelf. The new company, to be called CentrCaspneftegas, will be registered in Moscow once it gets approved by both Gazprom...

Ukraine: TNK-BP To Review Lisichansk Refinery Upgrade.(Tyumen Oil Co and British Petroleum Company PLC)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... The merger between Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) and BP could lead to significant changes in the program to upgrade Ukraine's 320,000 b/d Lisichansk refinery. Under review is the three-year program prepared earlier by TNK and estimated at $250...

Lithuania: Yukos Plans Butinge Capacity Upgrade.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Yukos is negotiating with the Lithuanian authorities to upgrade the nameplate capacity of the Baltic Sea port of Butinge by some 75% to 280,000 b/d from 160,000 b/d currently. The planned capacity increase would not, however, appear to...

Kazakhstan: US Oil Trader Admits Tax Irregularities.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... J. Bryan Williams, the former head of oil trading at Mobil who played a central role in the company's successes in Russia and Kazakhstan, faces up to five years in prison after admitting in open court that he had squirreled away over $7 million...

Azerbaijan: Italian Power Utility Wins Socar Tender.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Azeri state Socar said this week it had awarded a crude tender to Enel, Italy's largest power generator. Enel will lift a cargo of 1 million barrels of Azeri Light crude from the Georgian Black Sea port of Supsa at the end of June. The...

Kazakhstan: Independent Tatar Producer Breaks New Ground.(Tatnefteotdacha)(Embamunaigas)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Tatnefteotdacha has become the first company from the autonomous Russian republic of Tatarstan to start operations in Kazakhstan. The Tatar independent oil producer signed a contract with Embamunaigas, a subsidiary of Kazakh state oil and...

Germany: EU Clears OMV Purchase Of BP Assets.(OMV (UK) Ltd.)(British Petroleum Company PLC)(European Union)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... The European Commission has approved the 377 million euro ($405 million) acquisition by Austria's OMV of a package of BP assets in southern Germany. "The merger doesn't raise any competition concerns on any of the markets considered," the...

Azerbaijan: Lukoil Believes Yalama Block Has Bright Future.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Lukoil considers the Yalama/D-222 Block in the Azeri sector of the Caspian shelf as one of the company's three centers of production growth. The project meets and even exceeds Lukoil's standard internal rate of return requirements, rather than...

Hungary: IEA Cites Perils Of Russian Gas Dominance.(International Energy Agency)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... In its latest report on Hungary, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) has commended efforts to diversify gas imports, but warned of limited gas-to-gas competition because of the strong dominance of Russian gas and oligopolistic...

Kazakh Crude Oil And Condensate Production, May 2003.
June 18, 2003... Kazakh Crude Oil And Condensate Production, May 2003

Terminator: Yukos Brings Final Curtain Down On VNK.(Mergering of Eastern Oil Co.)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Yukos has finally completed its consolidation of Eastern Oil Co. (VNK), whose legal status as a separate corporate entity will now be terminated. Putting an end to the long-running saga, shareholders in the two companies voted at a joint...

Laughing Gaz: Gazprom Reports 21% Jump In Profits.(Gazprom Russian Joint Stock Co.)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Gazprom has reported a 21% rise in its 2002 net profit, which was propped up by a lighter tax burden, more sales to former Soviet republics, and higher domestic prices. The state monopoly reported a net profit of 121.6 billion rubles ($4...

Equities And Currencies.
June 18, 2003... Share Prices Closing On Jun. 17, 2003

Crude Oil: Market Shows Signs Of Turning Bearish.
June 18, 2003... The International Energy Agency at the end of last week suddenly found 79 million barrels of unexpected crude in commercial OECD inventories, and the US Department of Energy on Jun. 18 reported a 3.9 million barrel increase in US crude...

Products: Gas Oil Differentials Weaken As US Arb Closes.(arbitrage)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2003... Russian gas oil differentials weakened in Northwest Europe with the close of an arbitrage to the US. Mediterranean differentials declined as the market moved from prompt supply tightness to a more even balance. Fuel oil has held up well despite...

Brave New World: BP Plays Down International Ambitions Of TNK-BP.
June 24, 2003... TNK-BP is going to be big in anyone's language, but it will have to wait a little longer before its role on the international stage is sorted out. Mikhail Fridman, chairman of Russia's Alfa Group and designated chairman of TNK-BP's board,...