NEFTE Compass articles from May 2006

NEFTE Compass archives from May 2006

Last Word: Germany Deepens Cooperation With Gazprom.
May 2, 2006... Germany is going where others apparently fear to tread, deepening its cooperation with Gazprom at a time when any hint of Russian expansion into Europe elicits denunciations of Kremlin interference. A far-reaching agreement signed with BASF...

Final Answer: Kremlin To Have Final Say On TNK-BP Asset Sale.
May 2, 2006... The fate of TNK-BP subsidiary Udmurtneft is being decided inside the Kremlin, which is weighing up the offers made by the two leading bidders -- Hungary's Mol and China's Sinopec -- sources tell Nefte Compass. Both candidates are believed...

Baltic IPO: Baltic Terminal To Kick Off In Kaliningrad.
May 2, 2006... Baltic Oil Terminals says it raised 23 million pounds ($42.3 million), before expenses, through a share listing on the London Alternative Investment Market (AIM) ahead of plans to build a transshipment terminal in Russia's Baltic enclave of...

Maxed Out: Moscow Boosts Exports Ahead Of Tax Hike.
May 2, 2006... With sharply higher crude export duties looming on the horizon, Russia is significantly boosting its seaborne export program in May. Moscow has penciled in seaborne exports of 2.915 million b/d (12.331 million metric tons), up nearly 200,000...

Crown Jewel: Rosneft Blitzes Media With Former Yukos Pearl.
May 2, 2006... As Rosneft's targeted July initial public offering (IPO) rapidly approaches, the state company is stepping up its attempts to create the image of a top-flight, Westernized major. At the center of Rosneft's media blitz is 1 million barrel per...

Heating Up: Fuel Oil Exports Jump As Cold Weather Fades.
May 2, 2006... Exports of Russian fuel oil took a sizable jump in March to 3 million metric tons, up 70% from February as winter domestic heating demand fizzled out. Gas oil exports rose a more modest 13% in March. The increase in output of oil products...

Russia's Crude Distribution, March 2006.
May 2, 2006... Russia's Crude Distribution, March 2006

Russia's Oil Products Balance, March 2006.
May 2, 2006... Russia's Oil Products Balance, March 2006

FSU Seaborne Products Exports, April 2006.
May 2, 2006... FSU Seaborne Products Exports, April 2006

First Weld: East Siberian Pipeline Construction Begins.
May 2, 2006... Russian pipeline operator Transneft began construction of the East Siberian oil pipeline on Apr. 28 with the welding of the first joint in an area not far from Taishet, the starting point of the line. No bigwigs were present at the...

Exclusion Zone: Timan-Pechora Excluded From Tax Exemptions.
May 2, 2006... Russia's largely undeveloped Timan-Pechora region is set to be excluded from proposed legislation for tax relief, dealing a blow to the hopes of regional producers Lukoil and Rosneft. Timan-Pechora was originally recommended for the tax...

On The Shelf: Lukoil Eyes Arctic Opportunities.
May 2, 2006... Lukoil is planning to expand on the Russian continental shelf and is looking at Arctic opportunities. Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov said the oil major is aiming to participate in a tender for the rights to explore the Chukotsky Block...

Role Player: Gazprom Eyes Big Role In Sakhalin Reserves.
May 2, 2006... Gazprom is positioning itself for a greater role in Russia's Far East and has proposed buying all natural gas output from the Sakhalin-1 consortium, according to insiders. The gas giant's board of directors last week approved a strategy...

Same Old Tat: Tatneft Disappoints With Dividends.
May 2, 2006... Oil producer Tatneft disappointed analysts by announcing dividend payments for 2005 nearly flat with those paid last year. The company is controlled by the government of the Russian autonomous republic of Tatarstan. Chairman of the Tatneft...

Russian Crude Rail Shipments, April 2006.
May 2, 2006... Russian Crude Rail Shipments, April 2006

Gdansk Crude Loading Program For May 2006.
May 2, 2006... Gdansk Crude Loading Program For May 2006

Odessa Crude Loading Program For May 2006.
May 2, 2006... Odessa Crude Loading Program For May 2006

Primorsk Crude Loading Program For May 2006.
May 2, 2006... Primorsk Crude Loading Program For May 2006

Tuapse Crude Loading Program For May 2006.
May 2, 2006... Tuapse Crude Loading Program For May 2006

Butinge Crude Loading Program For May 2006.
May 2, 2006... Butinge Crude Loading Program For May 2006

Yuzhny Crude Loading Program For May 2006.
May 2, 2006... Yuzhny Crude Loading Program For May 2006

Novorossiysk Crude Loading Program For May 2006.
May 2, 2006... Novorossiysk Crude Loading Program For May 2006

Russian Crude Exports To Non-CIS Markets, April 2006.
May 2, 2006... Russian Crude Exports To Non-CIS Markets, April 2006

Kazakhstan: Russian Producers Uncertain About China Pipeline.
May 2, 2006... Russian oil producers have not made up their minds about exporting their crude via the newly built Kazakhstan-China pipeline. Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov said last week there was no clarity about the parameters of Russian crude...

Bosporus Bypass: Turkey Approves Eni Pipeline.
May 2, 2006... Turkey's Council of Ministers has approved the license for the construction of the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, bypassing the congested Bosporus Strait, according to Italian energy giant Eni. Eni said...

Georgia: Kazakhs Close In On Gas Distributor.
May 2, 2006... Kazakhstan's national gas pipeline operator Kaztransgas plans to close a deal to acquire Georgia's main gas distributor, Tbilgas, on May 20, the Kazakh company's general director, Serik Sultangaziyev, was quoted as saying late last week. ...

Belarus: Lukoil Sets Up Downstream Joint Venture.
May 2, 2006... Russian oil giant Lukoil has established a joint venture with Belarus' state-owned Novopolotsk (Naftan) refinery. The two sides agreed to set up a 50-50 joint venture, LLK-Naftan, to produce and market additives for motor oil under Lukoil's...

Lithuania: Mazeikiu Nafta Sees Profits Fall.
May 2, 2006... Mazeikiu Nafta (MN), which is operated by embattled Russian oil major Yukos, reported a fall in first-quarter net profits due to lower refining margins and increased costs. The Lithuanian company reported a net profit of 133.6 million litas...

Kazakh Crude Oil And Condensate Production, April 2006.
May 2, 2006... Kazakh Crude Oil And Condensate Production, April 2006

Deep Cut: Western Banks Cut Rates On Rosneft Debt.
May 2, 2006... Russian state-owned Rosneft has come to an agreement with a group of Western banks to cut the interest rate on debts of over $3 billion to Libor plus 65 basis points, down from 190 points previously, saving at least $42 million/yr. Rosneft...

Going Up: Gazprom Raises Profit Forecast.
May 2, 2006... The executive board of Russian gas giant Gazprom has increased the company's earnings forecast for 2006 to $79.2 billion (2.16 trillion rubles) from $65.6 billion earlier, the company said in a statement. The new projection has yet to be...

Equities and Currencies.
May 2, 2006... Share Prices Closing On May 2, 2006

Crude Oil: Futures Set New Records, Urals Differentials Ease.
May 2, 2006... June Brent crude oil futures, having taken a corrective knock to an Apr. 28 low of $70.45, soared to yet another all-time record high of $74.97/bbl on May 3 fueled by a combination of renewed tension following another round of saber-rattling by...

Products: Refinery Outages Support Gas Oil.
May 2, 2006... Demand for middle distillate products in both the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe jumped on the back of an Italian refinery outage after a fire at Erg's Isab Nord refinery in Priolo, Sicily. The fire, which erupted in the pipeline...

Loyal Partners: Rosneft Keeps Faith With Core Traders As Exports Expand.
May 17, 2006... Rosneft is striving to reach its strategic goal of exporting up to 85% of its crude and oil products, but it is not going to change its practice of selling most of its volumes on a spot basis to a core group of companies. Rosneft Vice President...

Three Cheers: Dominant Trio Battle For Control In East Europe.
May 17, 2006... The final phase beckons in the redrawing of the oil map of Central and Eastern Europe, as the dominant trio of Hungary's Mol, Poland's PKN Orlen and Austria's OMV consolidate their assets and try to prevent each other from becoming too...

Second Exit: Lukoil Buys Marathon Out Of West Siberia.
May 17, 2006... Russia's largest oil producer, Lukoil, has announced that it has agreed to purchase US-based Marathon Oil's exploration and production business in West Siberia for over $787 million, taking advantage of the American company's second...

Under Siege: TNK-BP Braces For New Tax Bills.
May 17, 2006... TNK-BP has earmarked 35 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) in anticipation of possible back-tax claims from 2002 and 2003 after receiving a preliminary tax audit from Russian authorities. TNK-BP has appealed the preliminary audit, which covered...

Free Choice: Gazprom Will Not Be Swayed In Shtokman Decision.
May 17, 2006... The cooling of relations with the US will not affect Gazprom's choice of partners for its massive Shtokman LNG project, Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Ryazanov said this week. The project is being pursued by Chevron and...

Job Lot: Former Rosneft CFO Gets A New Job.
May 17, 2006... Rosneft's former Chief Financial Officer Sergei Alexeyev has found new employment at Soyuzneftegas, a financial and investment group set up and headed by Russian oil veteran Yuri Shafranik. Alexeyev has become managing director of...

Opening Bell: Moscow To Launch Oil Exchange.(Brief article)
May 17, 2006... Following an initiative set out by President Vladimir Putin, Russia is pushing ahead with plans to host its own crude oil and products exchange. Economic Development and Trade Minister Kirill Androsov reportedly said a ruble-denominated...

Short Circuit: Crude Deliveries To Refineries Tail Off.
May 17, 2006... Russia cut crude deliveries to its refineries via the state Transneft pipeline system by 0.8% to 48.59 million metric tons (3.95 million b/d) in the first quarter of 2006, compared with the same period last year (see p11). Deliveries were down...

Slow Ride: Rosneft Faces IPO Delay, Boosts Reserves.
May 17, 2006... Rosneft may be forced by pressures of time to delay its initial public offering (IPO) to the fourth quarter of the year, Kirill Androsov, deputy economic minister and a Rosneft board director, reportedly said during a recent trip to the...

Joint Effort: Rosneft, ONGC To Jointly Market Sakhalin-1 Crude.
May 17, 2006... Rosneft and India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) will jointly market the Russian major's crude output from the Sakhalin-1 project on the Russian Pacific shelf, when crude exports begin from a newly built terminal at De Kastri later this...

Cash Pile: Surgut Cash Mountain Carries On Rising.
May 17, 2006... Russia's Surgutneftegas said its cash reserves grew to over $10 billion in 2005, a $3.2 billion increase on the previous year, according to Moscow brokerage Renaissance Capital. Kremlin-friendly Surgutneftegas's first-quarter 2006 net...

Money Flow: Transneft Eyes Funding For East Siberian Pipe.
May 17, 2006... Oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has begun talks on further funding for its East Siberian Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline, possibly involving a eurobond issue. A Russian news service citing a source with Vnesheconombank reported that...

Italian Stay: Former Yukos Executive Held In Italy.
May 17, 2006... Authorities in Italy are holding former Yukos executive Alexei Golubovich, after the Russian General Prosecutor's office issued a request that he be extradited from Italy to Russia on charges of embezzlement (NC Dec.3'98,p1). Golubovich...

Rejection: Court Dismisses Sibir Appeal Against Sibneft.
May 17, 2006... The British Virgin Islands (BVI) Court of Appeals has dismissed Sibir Energy's case against Sibneft, dealing a fierce blow to the independent's hopes of recovering control over the Sibneft-Yugra joint venture while also boosting Gazprom's...

Electric Fare: Sakhalin-2 Finalises Japanese LNG Contracts.
May 17, 2006... Finalizing gas sales from the Royal Dutch Shell-led Sakhalin-2 project on the Russian Pacific shelf, Sakhalin Energy announced it had signed a full sales and purchase agreement to supply 420,000 metric tons/yr of LNG to Japan's Tohoku Electric....

Victoria Increases Contingent Reserves.(gas industry projects)(Brief article)
May 17, 2006... London-listed Independent Victoria Oil & Gas has announced that positive results from a test well on its West Medvezhye gas and condensate project in West Siberia have led appraisal firm DeGolyer and MacNaughton to upgrade the field's...

Q1 Crude Deliveries To Russian Refineries*.
May 17, 2006... Q1 Crude Deliveries To Russian Refineries*

Kazakhstan: Low Price Could Kill Rosneft Plans To Use China Line.
May 17, 2006... Rosneft's decision to export its crude to China via Kazakhstan through the newly built pipeline could be delayed due to the low price being offered by the Chinese side. "Theoretically, we are interested in such supplies, but we are not...

Azerbaijan: Glencore Wins Socar Urals Tender.(Glencore)(Brief article)
May 17, 2006... Swiss-registered trader Glencore won the latest tender for Urals crude from Azerbaijan's state oil company Socar. The 60,000 metric ton (440,000 bbl) cargo will be loaded out of the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on May 28-29. ...

Azerbaijan: Lukoil To Drill Second Yalama Well.
May 17, 2006... State oil company Socar says that Lukoil has confirmed that it will drill a second exploration well on the Yalama (D-222) Block in the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea. Lukoil's press service in Moscow failed to either deny or confirm the...

Azerbaijan: South Korea Eyes Role In BP-Led Offshore Field.
May 17, 2006... South Korea has begun preliminary talks with Azerbaijan over the purchase of a stake in a Caspian Sea field, as the Asian consumer tries to lessen its dependence on Middle Eastern supplies. State-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) signed a...

Ukraine: Naftogas Head Steps Down.
May 17, 2006... Alexander Bolkisev has taken over the position as head of Ukrainian state Naftogas Ukrainy, replacing heavily criticized Alexei Ivchenko, who stepped down last week in order to serve in the country's parliament. Bolkisev was general director of...

Turkmenistan: Dragon Calls On Lukoil Rig For Caspian Wells.
May 17, 2006... UAE-based Dragon Oil has signed a contract with Lukoil Shelf to use the Russian major's Astra jack-up drilling rig on the Cheleken contract area in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea. The rig will start drilling on the acreage from early...

Romania: Gazprom Inks Supply Deal, Eyes Expansion.
May 17, 2006... Russia's Gazprom is pressing ahead with efforts to expand in Romania, in line with its strategy to bolster its presence in Europe. The gas giant's export arm Gazexport last week signed a preliminary agreement with Conef, a natural gas...

Q1 Crude Deliveries To Kazak Refineries From Russian Producers.
May 17, 2006... Q1 Crude Deliveries To Kazak Refineries From Russian Producers

Q1 Crude Deliveries To Belarussian Refineries From Russian Producers.
May 17, 2006... Q1 Crude Deliveries To Belarussian Refineries From Russian Producers

Q1 Crude Deliveries To Ukranian Refineries From Russian Producers.
May 17, 2006... Q1 Crude Deliveries To Ukranian Refineries From Russian Producers

Kazakh Refinery Activity, April 2006.
May 17, 2006... Kazakh Refinery Activity, April 2006

Crack On: Loan Approved For East Siberian Field.(Verkhnechonskneftegas)(Brief article)
May 17, 2006... Shareholders in the TNK-BP-led producer Verkhnechonskneftegas have approved a 700 million ruble ($26 million) loan from TNK-BP to finance development of the East Siberian Verkhnechonskoye oil and gas condensate field. This year,...

Rising Imp: Imperial Raises Money, Boosts Production.(Imperial Energy)(Brief article)
May 17, 2006... UK independent Imperial Energy has announced that it will raise an additional 112 million pounds ($208.95 million) from an accelerated book building private placement. The funds will support the company's oil production program after positive...

Equities and Currencies.
May 17, 2006... Share Prices Closing On May 16, 2006

Crude Oil: Global Market Concerns Spook Futures.
May 17, 2006... Brent front month crude oil futures traded a $5.30 range between a $73.88 May 11 high and a $68.58 May 16 low. The rally to the high was largely led by products, the sell-off by jitters in the global financial markets over a slide in the US...

Products: Gas Oil Differentials Hold Steady.(Brief article)
May 17, 2006... Middle distillate prices in Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean remained steady despite reports of a not entirely unexpected 1.6 million barrel build in US gasoline stocks. Meanwhile, several Italian refineries currently closed for...

Probe: Investigation Launched Into Nenets Governor.
May 23, 2006... The governor of Russia's oil-rich Nenets autonomous district, Alexei Barinov, a former Lukoil employee, said commercial structures with interests in Timan-Pechora stand behind a criminal investigation launched against him last week. ...

Delhi Line: Stroitransgas Wins New Indian Contract.
May 23, 2006... Russian pipeline contractor Stroitransgas is pushing ahead with expansion abroad, winning a new contract in India. The company said last week it had won a tender to build a 544 km stretch of the Mundra-Delhi oil product pipeline for...

High Altitude: Gazprom China Pipe Faces Challenge.
May 23, 2006... Gazprom's planned gas pipeline from West Siberia to China appears headed for an environmental showdown following a challenge by a member of the Russian parliament over the planned route through an ecologically sensitive area. State Duma...

On The Table: Rosneft Keeps Northern Route Alive.(export of crude production)(Brief article)
May 23, 2006... Plans to build a 775 km pipeline from the northern fields in the sprawling acreage that Rosneft has collected around its Vankor field in East Siberia to the Arctic port of Dikson are still alive. The scheme is now at the feasibility study...

Slick Road: Soyuzneftegas Builds Bigger Presence In Syria.(signed a sharing agreement)
May 23, 2006... Russian oil company Soyuzneftegas is planting deeper roots in Syria, even as the US tries to isolate the Middle East nation as a rogue state. Soyuzneftegas, a financial and investment group set up by Russian oil veteran Yuri Shafranik,...

Uzbekistan: Investors Invited To Size Up 10 New Blocks.(geological survey program of 2005-20)(Brief article)
May 23, 2006... Uzbekistan has invited foreign investors to jointly develop 10 new blocks, as part of state Uzbekneftegas' geological survey program for 2005-20. The program is aimed at increasing the country's hydrocarbon reserves by 1.15 billion metric...

Uzbekistan: Gazprom To Shift To New Cooperation Terms.
May 23, 2006... Russia's Gazprom, which wants to purchase cheaper gas from the Central Asian countries, plans to sign a more flexible long-term gas supply deal with Uzbekistan, which would be based on a price formula linked to international gas prices. ...

Lithuania: Yukos Strives To End Freeze, Complete Refinery Sale.
May 23, 2006... The US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan has extended its temporary freeze on the sale by Yukos' management of its share in the Lithuanian Mazeikiu Nafta (MN) refining and transshipping complex, in an effort to allow further negotiations with...

Role Play: Russia Mulls Tighter Limits On Foreign Role.
May 29, 2006... Riled that efforts by state gas giant Gazprom to expand into its European markets are being rebuffed, Russia is tightening up at home. More of Russia's oil and gas reserves could be labeled as "strategic," limiting foreign participation in...

Pole Position: MN Sale To PKN Raises More Questions Than Answers.
May 29, 2006... Although leading Polish refiner PKN Orlen has put its name on the dotted line for the $1.49 billion purchase of stricken Russian oil company Yukos' 53.7% stake in Lithuania's Mazeikiu Nafta (MN), most observers feel the transaction is far from...

Smart Move: Shell Makes A Point With Rising Salym Production.(production sharing agreement)
May 29, 2006... Salym Petroleum Development (SPD), the Russian joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell and UK-listed Sibir Energy, continues to exceed expectations, reinforcing Shell's line that Western companies can still add value in established oil provinces...

Growing Aims: Gazprom Sets Its Sights On Higher Oil Output.
May 29, 2006... Gazprom, the world's biggest gas producer, has growing ambitions in oil, too, setting a crude oil production target of 80 million metric tons (1.6 million b/d) for 2020. Gazprom produces 40,000 b/d of oil and 200,000 b/d of condensate at...

Half Cut: Rosneft Halves Target For IPO.
May 29, 2006... State oil champion Rosneft has cut expectations for its forthcoming initial public offering (IPO) in half to $10 billion. The downgrade in Rosneft's target coincides with Russian state companies enjoying increasingly attractive borrowing terms...

Trickle Down: Crude Exports Trimmed After Tax Hike.(Seaborne crude shipments )
May 29, 2006... Despite a bruising hike in Russia's export duties, the country's seaborne crude exports are set for only a modest downturn in June. Seaborne crude shipments are penciled in at 2.902 million b/d (11.879 million metric tons) for June, down...

Top Dollar: Gazprom Cleared For Domestic Price Hikes.
May 29, 2006... The Russian government has given Gazprom more room to increase domestic prices for natural gas, allowing the company to come in line with demands from the World Trade Organization (WTO). The state budget committee approved a maximum tariff...

Product Line: Rosneft To Maximize Products Exports, Not Crude.(oil products pipeline construction)
May 29, 2006... In line with Russia's new strategy to increase exports of oil products at the expense of crude, Rosneft is considering building an oil products pipeline from its Komsomolsk refinery in Russia's Far East to the port of De Kastri. According...

Hold-Up: Target May Slip For Prirazlomnoye Start.
May 29, 2006... The start of production from the Prirazlomnoye oil deposit in the Barents Sea could be delayed beyond the target date of 2008, according to industry insiders. The hold-ups are caused by changes in the ownership of the acreage, as well as...