NEFTE Compass articles from June 2008

NEFTE Compass archives from June 2008

BP Chief To Stress Importance Of Russian Operations.
June 4, 2008... BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward flew to Moscow this week for a series of meetings at which he was expected to underline the importance of Russia to the UK supermajor, despite the turbulence that has engulfed its TNK-BP joint venture. ...

Europe Faces New Competition For Caspian Gas.
June 4, 2008... Russia, Iran and Israel have joined the list of bidders wanting to import natural gas from Azerbaijan, potentially dealing a blow to European hopes to buy substantial volumes directly. Gazprom offered this week to buy Azeri gas "at the...

Europe Gasps For Products As Russia Upgrades.
June 4, 2008... The launch of a new clean products pipeline to Primorsk in mid-May shows how serious Russia is about gaining full value for its oil, but there is still progress to be made on capturing additional premiums from products. Russian crude...

Russian Oil Production Stages Mild Recovery.
June 4, 2008... Russian crude and condensate production averaged 9.74 million b/d in May, a slender 0.2% up on the previous month, according to preliminary Energy Ministry data. But the average was 0.8% lower than in May 2007. Production in the first five...

CPC Plows Ahead Despite Disagreements.
June 4, 2008... The feasibility study for doubling the capacity of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) oil pipeline from Kazakhstan to the Russian Black Sea to 67 million metric tons (1.35 million b/d) will be ready in the middle of 2009, although...

Gazprom Sets Out Shtokman Targets.
June 4, 2008... The massive Shtokman LNG project in the Barents Sea will start up in 2014, according to Yuri Komarov, general director of Gazprom's Sevmorneftegas, which holds the license to the Arctic acreage. But that looks likely to depend heavily on...

Imperial Discovery Opens Up New Region.
June 4, 2008... Russia-focused independent Imperial Energy has announced that a test well at its Kiev Eganskoye field has yielded commercial quantities of oil, in a discovery of regional significance, as it opens up the largely unlicensed and almost completely...

Mooted Geological Concern Would Attract Investors.
June 4, 2008... Russia's Natural Resources Ministry is considering setting up a state geological corporation to attract private investment in exploration, according to the ministry's Subsoil Use Department director, Sergey Fyodorov. The idea is to unite...

Blast Hits Surgut Refinery.
June 4, 2008... One person was killed and five were injured in an explosion and fire at Surgutneftegas' Kirishi refinery in the St. Petersburg area last week. The blast did not affect production at the plant, according to the regional emergencies ministry...

Gazprom Mulls New Sakhalin Pipeline.
June 4, 2008... Gazprom plans to build a new gas pipeline linking Russia's gas- and oil-rich Sakhalin Island to the city of Vladivostok, on the Pacific coast, as it has changed its mind on purchasing a stake in an existing regional trunk pipeline from...

Lukoil Profits Boosted By High Oil Prices.(Financial report)
June 4, 2008... Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil company, announced first-quarter net profits of $3.16 billion, more than double the year-earlier figure of $1.2 billion, according to US generally accepted accounting principles. The company said the...

Start-up Dates Named For Prirazlomnoye.
June 4, 2008... After several years of delay, Gazprom has set a new date for the production start-up at the Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Barents Sea. According to Yuri Komarov, general director of Gazprom's Sevmorneftegas, which holds the license to...

Gas Exporters Panel Meets In Moscow.
June 4, 2008... A panel of senior experts from the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) held a three-day meeting in Moscow this week, apparently aimed at finalizing an official charter for the group ahead of a ministerial-level meeting of the forum now...

BP Sets Its Sights Higher In Azerbaijan.
June 4, 2008... As production from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) field nears the 1 million barrel per day plateau and with the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline close to maximum throughput, it would appear that BP, which operates both projects, has achieved...

US Envoy: Second Caspian Phase Starting.(Brief article)
June 4, 2008... A second phase of Eurasian energy development is unfolding, in which existing projects in the Caspian region will be expanded and new ones launched, according to Steven Mann, coordinator for Eurasian energy diplomacy at the State Department....

Odessa-Brody Faces New Hurdles.
June 4, 2008... Ukraine's plans to start using the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline in its originally intended direction from July are looking increasingly optimistic, as a host of important issues have yet to be resolved. Kiev plans to make a trial shipment of...

Gazprom, Lukoil Announce Caspian Oil Find.
June 4, 2008... TsentrCaspNeftegas, a joint venture between Russia's biggest private company, Lukoil, and Gazprom, its largest state-owned firm, announced last week that it has found commercial quantities of oil and condensate in the Tsentralnoye Block shared...

Gazprom Neft Targets Iran, Kazakhstan.
June 4, 2008... Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian state Gazprom, is trying to broaden cooperation with Iran and Kazakhstan in a bid to expand globally. Gazprom Neft officials are expected to arrive in Tehran Jun. 8 to discuss possible development of...

Ukraine Seeks To Salvage Libyan Block.
June 4, 2008... State-owned Naftogaz Ukrainy may win back a license to one exploration block in Libya after seeing rights to a further three blocks handed to other companies. Tripoli is considering granting Naftogaz a license to explore and develop oil...

Gazprom Steps Up Ukrainian Marketing.
June 4, 2008... Gazprom is building up its customer base in Ukraine with the aim of doubling direct monthly gas sales to industrial consumers. The Russia's gas giant's local subsidiary, GazpromSbytUkraina (GSU), said it would deliver around 500 MMcm of gas...

Croatia, Bosnia Eye South Stream.
June 4, 2008... Russia's Gazprom continues to slot the pieces into place on the route of its proposed South Stream gas pipeline, most recently holding talks with Croatia and Bosnia, according to Carlo Meriggi, vice president on gas activities at Eni. ...

Gazprom Boosts European Sales.
June 4, 2008... Gazprom's Berlin-based holding for Western European sales, Gazprom Germania (GG), boosted its first-quarter 2008 sales volume to 14 Bcm of gas, a year-on-year increase of 38% (NC May15,p9). This included sales of 6.45 Bcm, up by 84%, by its...

Events.(Calendar)
June 4, 2008... Russia Petroleum Oil and Gas Congress, Moscow, Jun. 24-26, ITE, www.mioge.com Kazakhstan Growth Forum, London, Jul. 2-4, IBC, www.kazgf.com Ukrainian Energy Forum, Kiev, Oct. 7-9, Adam Smith Conferences, www.ukrainianenergy.com ...

Rosneft Runs Into Resistance Over New Loan.
June 4, 2008... State-controlled oil giant Rosneft is running into problems negotiating a $5 billion Western bank loan to repay a short-term facility it took out last year to finance the purchase of Yukos assets, market sources claim. Rosneft has to repay...

Sakhalin-2 Turns To Japan For Funding.
June 4, 2008... The Gazprom-led Sakhalin-2 LNG project offshore Russia may have found new lenders to finance its second phase, after abandoning attempts to attract funding from the US Export-Import Bank and the UK's Export Credit Guarantee Department. The...

Equities And Currencies.
June 4, 2008... Share Prices Closing On Jun. 3, 2008

Sentiment Changes Favor Bears.
June 4, 2008... July Brent ICE crude oil futures traded an $11.09 range between a May 29 high of $132.85/bbl and a Jun. 4 low of $121.76. The slide in prices was attributed to a strengthening US dollar -- prompted by tentatively supportive economic news from...

Asian, US Supplies Undermine Gas Oil.
June 4, 2008... Europe has succeeded in sucking in middle distillates to meet its needs, with supplies from both the US and Asia undermining prices. This is easing the supply crunch, with European gas oil cracks retreating from above $40/bbl to just above...