NEFTE Compass articles from May 2008

NEFTE Compass archives from May 2008

Shareholder War Escalates At TNK-BP.
May 21, 2008... The war between TNK-BP's Russian and British shareholders is escalating, sowing mistrust and uncertainty that is starting to impact operations at the 1.4 million barrel per day producer, Russia's third largest. The Russian partners'...

Gazprom Gets A Foothold In North America.
May 21, 2008... After building a strong presence in Europe, Gazprom is finally set to take an ownership position in the North American gas sector through a stake in the proposed Rabaska LNG import facility near Montreal in eastern Canada. The facility in...

Putin Revives BPS-2 Pipeline To Ust-Luga.
May 21, 2008... New Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has supported plans for the 1,200 km Baltic Pipeline System-2 (BPS-2) from the Belarus border to the Baltic Sea, reviving a project that will boost the business of Kremlin-linked trader Gunvor. Russia's...

Sechin Meets Oil Firms To Discuss Production.
May 21, 2008... The outlook for the country's oil sector was the main issue discussed by Russia's new deputy prime minister, Igor Sechin, at a meeting with top oil company managers last week, providing another sign that Moscow is concerned about the country's...

Russian Production Awaits Tax Cuts.
May 21, 2008... Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's call for the government to ease the tax burden on the Russian upstream is good news for the oil industry, but doubts remain as to whether it will push Russian production out of creeping declines. Putin's vague...

Gazprom Managers Move To Kremlin.
May 21, 2008... Demonstrating that the ties between the Kremlin and Gazprom will remain tight during the tenure of Dmitry Medvedev, the new Russian president has hired former managers of the state-controlled gas monopoly to work in his administration. ...

East Siberian Pipeline Gets New Deadlines, Tariffs.
May 21, 2008... The 600,000 b/d first phase of the East Siberian Pacific Ocean (Espo) pipeline from Taishet to Skovorodino, 60 km from the Chinese border, is planned to start up on Dec. 25, 2009, national pipeline operator Transneft said. The new...

Sakhalin-5 Shows Modest Reserves.(Brief article)
May 21, 2008... Rosneft has registered reserves from the Sakhalin-5 contract area on Russia's Pacific shelf of only 16.14 million metric tons (118 million bbl), the company revealed in its 2007 report for the annual shareholders meeting scheduled for Jun. 5....

EBRD Boosts Irkutsk Oil Growth.(European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)(Brief article)
May 21, 2008... Russian privately held INK-Capital has completed another deal aimed at turning Irkutsk Oil into an international operation, with the sale of an 8.15% stake in the East Siberian producer to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development...

Gazprom Expands In Europe With Belgium Deal.
May 21, 2008... Gazprom, through its UK-based Gazprom Marketing and Trading subsidiary, this week became the 25th company licensed to supply gas to industrial consumers in Belgium. The company has similar licenses in France and the UK and already sells gas in...

Eni To Market Its Gas In Russia.
May 21, 2008... Eni plans to start direct gas marketing inside Russia by 2009 -- and it's not talking about doing so through a joint venture with Gazprom. This coincides with continued progress by Gazprom in expanding its direct marketing potential in Europe....

Gazprom And Rosneft Eye Russian Far East.
May 21, 2008... State champions Rosneft and Gazprom may be working on an agreement to divide the remaining fields in the Sakhalin-3 Block and other assets located in the Russian Far East. Rosneft Upstream Vice President Sergei Kudryashov and Gazprom...

Zarubezhneft Outlines Production Plan.(Vietnam Oil and Gas Corp.)(Brief article)
May 21, 2008... State-controlled Zarubezhneft and partner Petrovietnam expect to launch production in 2011 from 13 fields in the northern Nenets region of Russia that were won in a tender earlier this month. The goal is to reach peak output of 130,000 b/d by...

Uzbekistan Falls Behind In Race For Investment.
May 21, 2008... Uzbekistan has a lot going for it, not least its abundant natural gas reserves. Its population of nearly 27 million people is by far the biggest in Central Asia and it is the region's leading industrialized nation, even producing a range of...

UK Producer Blazes A Lonely Trail In Uzbekistan.
May 21, 2008... Rosehill Energy is treading a lonely path as the only Western company drilling for oil in Uzbekistan in an industry dominated by Russian and Asian giants. The UK company, which takes its name from the London street where its leading...

Kazakhstan Puts 38 Firms On Export Tax Hit List.
May 21, 2008... The Kazakh government has published a list of 38 oil-producing enterprises that will have to pay the new export tariff of $109.90/ton ($15/bbl) that came into force on May 18. The two noticeable absentees from the list are the top two...

Ukraine Calls Off Attack On US Firm.(Brief article)
May 21, 2008... In a further escalation of the political showdown between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the country's prosecutor general has overturned the Tymoshenko government's decision to revoke US deepwater...

Armenia To Pay More For Russian Gas.
May 21, 2008... Gazprom has likely agreed on a new gas supply contract with Armenia that envisages a gradual shift to European price levels over the next three years. The issue topped the agenda of talks in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, between Gazprom...

Baltic Refinery Narrows Operating Loss.(Financial report)
May 21, 2008... Lithuania's Mazeikiu Nafta (MN) refinery narrowed its first-quarter operating loss and says it plans to return to profitability in the second quarter. MN, which is majority-owned by Poland's PKN Orlen and is the only refinery in the Baltic...

Gazprom Neft Boosts Profits On Domestic Sales.(Financial report)
May 21, 2008... Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, saw profits rise 13% in 2007 to $4.14 billion, largely in line with analysts' expectations, as it managed to avoid hefty export duties by focusing on domestic sales of oil...

Mol Profits Surge Thanks To Downstream Boost.(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 21, 2008... Hungary's Mol saw first-quarter net income rise 9% to 65 billion forints ($402.9 million), bolstered by higher oil prices and a strong downstream performance. Revenues jumped 52% to 786.1 billion forints. "The major profit-drivers were a...

Refiners Boost Profits Despite Weaker Margins.(Financial report)
May 21, 2008... Polish refiners PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos both saw net profits rise substantially in the first quarter of 2008 as financial gains offset weak refining margins. PKN reported a net profit of 626 million zlotys ($285.5 million), up from 117...

Equities and Currencies.
May 21, 2008... Share Prices Closing On May 20, 2008

Long-Term Strength Versus Prompt Doubts.
May 21, 2008... New front-month July Brent ICE crude oil futures traded up $10.27 to a new record high of $131.57/bbl on May 21, with the latest rally triggered by a bullish US inventory report. However, this vigor -- in part attributed to bullish investments...

Gas Oil Still At Record High But Showing Signs Of Weakening.
May 21, 2008... The ICE gas oil futures curve moved back into contango on May 21 despite low stock levels. European refineries are returning from maintenance in June. Just under 1.2 million b/d, or up to 8% of Europe's capacity, is reportedly off line in May,...

Growing State Role Will Offset Russian Tax Losses.
May 28, 2008... The billions of dollars that the Russian budget stands to lose as a result of the latest oil and gas tax initiatives will be compensated for by an increased state presence in the country's energy sector, insiders claim. Dismissing industry...

TNK-BP Expatriate Managers Get Deadline To Leave.
May 28, 2008... Unless there is a last-minute reprieve, all expatriate managers at TNK-BP, including President and Chief Executive Robert Dudley, will have to leave Russia when their visas expire on Jul. 30, as relations between the joint venture's British and...

Exxon Offshore Expansion Stalled In Pacific, Black Sea.
May 28, 2008... Exxon Mobil's plans for offshore development in Russia's Pacific Ocean and Black Sea acreage appear to be stalled by political agendas and a lack of legal clarity. Earlier this month, the US supermajor canceled a contract with Norwegian...

Events.
May 28, 2008... Caspian Oil and Gas, Baku, Jun. 3-6, ITE, www.caspianoilgas.az 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,...

Oil Exports Hold Steady As Power Struggle Rises.
May 28, 2008... Seaborne Russian crude oil exports are set to hold steady in June despite a rebound in domestic refining demand from the return of several of the country's largest plants from spring maintenance turnarounds. Russian state oil pipeline...

Russia Delays Domestic Gas Prices Hike.
May 28, 2008... Russia intends to delay plans to bring domestic gas prices in line with prices in European markets by 2011 by at least three years following skyrocketing global energy prices. Domestic gas prices would have to jump 95%-100% to keep up,...

BPS-2 Judgment Day Set For June.
May 28, 2008... The Russian government plans to make a decision on the construction of the revived Baltic Pipeline System-2 (BPS-2) project next month, Transneft head Nikolai Tokarev said this week. Speaking at an industry conference in Paris, Tokarev said...

Rosneft Outlines Achinsk Upgrade.
May 28, 2008... State oil major Rosneft plans to invest 18 billion rubles ($759.5 million) modernizing its Achinsk refinery to meet higher quality specifications, according to the company's president, Sergei Bogdanchikov. The money will be used to build...

Moscow Refinery JV Seeks State Approval.
May 28, 2008... Russian independent Sibir Energy and Gazprom oil arm Gazprom Neft have reportedly presented Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service with the paperwork that would seal the creation of a 50-50 joint venture to run the Moscow Refinery, suggesting...

Gazprom Ups Turkey Gas Supply.
May 28, 2008... Gazprom has increased natural gas supplies to Turkey to compensate for a shortfall caused by a blast on the Iran-Turkey gas pipeline. The Russian state gas group increased gas shipments to Turkey via the Blue Stream pipeline under the Black...

Gazprom Expands Presence In Vietnam.
May 28, 2008... Gazprom has expanded its presence in the Asia-Pacific region by signing a deal last week with Vietnamese state Petrovietnam to explore and develop four blocks offshore Vietnam. The Russian state firm said the Vietnamese projects would be...

Kazakhs Snub Kiev Summit As Medvedev Drops By.
May 28, 2008... Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko welcomed leaders from across Eastern Europe to Kiev for a two-day energy summit at the end of last week, designed to build new relationships that could help break Russia's near-stranglehold over energy...

Turkmenistan, EU Agree Closer Energy Ties.(European Union )(Brief article)
May 28, 2008... Turkmenistan and the European Union have signed a memorandum of understanding to bolster their energy relations. The EU has signed similar energy pacts with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine as part of its strategy to create a trans-Caspian,...

South Korea Targets Turkmen Blocks.
May 28, 2008... Turkmenistan has asked South Korea to help explore its Caspian shelf, according to Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo. "Turkmenistan's president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, told me that he is eager to partner with Korean firms to develop...

Belarus Sets Output Goal For Venezuela Venture.(Petrolera BeloVenesolana)(Brief article)
May 28, 2008... Belarus' joint venture in Venezuela, Petrolera BeloVenesolana, plans to produce around 18,000 b/d of oil this year, rising to roughly 40,000 b/d by 2010. The output will be sold on world markets, with the proceeds used to buy oil for...

TNK-BP Holds Onto Yuzhny Line Operatorship.
May 28, 2008... Russian-UK joint venture TNK-BP has denied claims that it has lost its role as operator of the pipeline that brings Russian crude oil to the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny. TNK-BP said that the 2006 agreement giving the company operatorship...

Putin To Serve Up Tax Cut Proposals.
May 28, 2008... Russia's governing presidium, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, is to present Russian lawmakers with measures to reduce taxes on Russian oil producers that are expected to go into effect next year. Deputy Finance Minister Sergei...

Gazprom Neft Goes For $1 Billion Loan.
May 28, 2008... Gazprom oil arm Gazprom Neft, which has major expansion plans, has appointed a consortium of five international banks to arrange a $1 billion loan. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Japan's Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui...

Equities and Currencies.
May 28, 2008... Share Prices Closing On May 27, 2008

Dated Strength Counters Futures Weakness.
May 28, 2008... July Brent ICE crude oil futures traded a $9.10 range between a May 22 record high of $135.14 and a May 28 low of $126.04. The slide in prices was attributed to a strengthening US dollar and news of a readjustment of fuel subsidies in a number...

Prompt Gas Oil Soft, Futures Firm.
May 28, 2008... The ICE gas oil futures contango deepened this week, with later months valued more highly than the prompt prices. The front-month contract came off under pressure from concerns about weakening energy demand in Asia. Refinery constraints and low...