NEFTE Compass articles from November 2003

NEFTE Compass archives from November 2003

Roaming Free: Lukoil Takes The Long-Term View.
November 11, 2003... Lukoil, which is settling into its position as Russia's No. 2 oil producer in the shadow of new giant YukosSibneft, is quietly mapping out its strategy for growth over the next decade. A meeting of the board of directors in Geneva on Nov....

Behind Bars: Yukos May Change Tack As Khodorkovsky Stays In Jail.(Mikhail Khodorkovsky)
November 11, 2003... Even though imprisoned Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky has no intention of challenging Vladimir Putin for the presidency, a Moscow court refused this week to release the ex-head of Yukos on bail. While Khodorkovsky now looks set to...

Day One: YukosSibneft, New Year, New Company.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2003... The shareholding structure of YukosSibneft has not yet been finalized, as the equity swaps with minority shareholders have not yet been completed. However, Yukos chief financial officer Bruce Misamore said in a conference call with...

Double Zinger: Primorsk Expansion Displaces Yuzhny Volumes.
November 11, 2003... Russia has killed two birds with one stone with this month's crude export capacity expansion at Primorsk. It has helped to ease the pipeline bottlenecks that have squeezed crude exports, as it has punished Ukraine for refusing to reverse the...

Last Hurrah: Final Boost For Fuel Oil Exports Ahead Of River Closure.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2003... Russia ramped up exports of fuel oil in October, giving the product a final boost before the closing of river navigation and the floating storage system in November. October shipments climbed nearly 10% to 124,000 metric tons per day, from...

Dream Team: Russians Team Up With US Firms For Iraqi Projects.
November 11, 2003... Despite its desire to regain the West Qurna oil field contract in Iraq, Lukoil should be "not in a rush," according to the Russian oil company's independent director Richard Matzke. "They [Lukoil] should not be overly arrogant about their...

Study Group: Kovykta Cost Could Rocket.(Kovykta gas project)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2003... Working groups from Russia, China and South Korea signed off on Nov. 12 in Irkutsk on an international feasibility study for the $12 billion Kovykta gas project to export gas from Eastern Siberia to China and South Korea. The working...

Capping Up: Ventspils Nafta To Double Crude Capacity.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2003... Latvian oil terminal Ventspils Nafta plans to build new offloading units at its Baltic terminal that by mid-2004 will more than double the amount of crude oil delivered by railway that the port can handle. Currently, three railway...

The It Era: Itera Mulls Takeover Offers.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2003... Itera, the Russia-based, US-registered gas trader is considering three offers it has received to buy a controlling interest in the company, said Igor Makarov, Itera's chairman and leading shareholder with a 46% stake. The proposals are...

Power Ranger: Russia Switches On To Spot Power Market.
November 11, 2003... Russia has set up a new spot wholesale power exchange, where for the first time electricity can be traded freely at market-determined prices. As the Russian power sector is not due to be fully deregulated until 2006, trade in the new market is...

Georgia: US And Russia Seek To Defuse Crisis.
November 11, 2003... A political crisis in Georgia has jangled investors' nerves, but the US and Russia are taking steps to reduce tension that blew up after opposition groups accused the government of rigging elections. BP, which heads a consortium building...

Turkmenistan: Burren Set For Stock Market Debut.(Burren Energy plans listing on London Stock Exchange)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2003... Burren Energy, the UK-based operator of the onshore Nebit Dag license area, has turned in healthy six-month results just ahead of a planned listing on the London Stock Exchange. "The listing is the next milestone for Burren," CEO Finian...

Azerbaijan: Exxon Spuds First Well On Caspian Block.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2003... Exxon Mobil has started drilling the first exploration well under a production-sharing agreement (PSA) for the offshore Zafar Mashal Block. The well will be watched with interest following a long succession of dry holes in the Azeri sector...

Lesser Half: Tatneft Profits Hit By Taxes And Transport Costs.
November 11, 2003... Tatneft has reported an 11% drop in its first-half 2003 net profit due to a heavier tax burden and higher transport costs. The Russian oil major reported a net profit of $6.335 billion ($208.7 million) in the first six months of the year,...

Equities And Currencies.
November 11, 2003... Share Prices Closing On November 11, 2003

Crude Oil: Futures Prices Firm On Saudi Scare.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2003... Crude oil futures found renewed support after yet another suicide bomb hit Saudi Arabia's capital on Nov. 9. So far only "soft" targets have been hit and most oil installations are heavily guarded, but the markets react nervously to bombs...

Products: NWE Differentials Steady, But Med Softens.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2003... Russian gas oil differentials in Northwest Europe held steady on the week, although softening futures dragged down outright prices a bit. Differentials weakened in the Mediterranean. Russian gas oil exports are unusually light for this time...

Sakh Race: Sakhalin Island To Reshape Asia-Pacific Market.
November 18, 2003... The oil and gas industry of Sakhalin island is set to have a huge impact on the Asia-Pacific energy market as the first projects off Russia's far eastern coast come on stream over the next three to four years. "Sakhalin has arrived: it is...

French Polish: Moscow Agrees To Kharyaga Peace Pact With Total.
November 18, 2003... After a strained patch, relations between Total and Russia are back on an even keel, and the French major's upstream head Christophe de Margerie tells Nefte Compass that the company remains committed to developing its Russian business. The...

Fast Forward: Kovykta Project Starts To Take Off.
November 18, 2003... Six years after BP first bought into the East Siberian field, development of Russia's giant Kovykta gas find for exports to China and South Korea and for domestic use is starting to look like a serious proposition, following the Nov. 14...

Magic Act: Export Reallocations Favor Primorsk, Surgut.
November 18, 2003... The government has given a boost to the newly expanded Baltic Sea outlet of Primorsk as it redistributed nearly 1 million metric tons (79,000 b/d) of fourth-quarter crude export allocations (see p9). The government has diverted volumes from...

Pacifier: Kukes Pacifies Investors As Guns Still Target Yukos.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Yukos' newly appointed CEO Simon Kukes has spent the last two weeks trying to pacify investors in the US and UK, saying that Russia's law enforcement agencies are not targeting the oil company itself, but rather its shareholders. Yukos...

Leftovers: Transneft To Start Selling Crude.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Transneft is lobbying for the right to sell "leftover" crude that accumulates in its pipeline system. The Energy Ministry has recommended that the State Property Ministry should vote in favor of such deals when the issue is discussed at...

Chill Out: Putin Moves To Calm Business Elite.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... President Vladimir Putin met leaders of Russia's business elite late last week, in a bid to calm their fears over the Yukos affair. Addressing the 13th Congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Putin stressed that...

African Venture: Rosneft Starts Drilling In Algeria.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Rosneft has spudded its first exploration well on Block 245-South in eastern Algeria, which it is developing in a joint venture with Russian pipeline contractor Stroitransgas. But it has been less successful in Colombia. Drilling of the...

Control Freak: Lukoil Takes Hold Of Northern Gas Field.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Lukoil has managed to win full control over the Nakhodkinskoye gas field in far northern Yamal-Nenets autonomous region, home to 100 Bcm of gas. Lukoil has bought a 40% stake in Nakhodkaneftegas from Minley, a wholly owned subsidiary of...

Kazakhstan: Kapparov Makes A Comeback At PetroKazakhstan.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Nurlan Kapparov, a former deputy minister of energy and mineral resources, is getting back into the oil business by joining the board of directors of Canada's PetroKazakhstan. Kapparov, 33, who recently received his masters in public...

Kazakhstan: New Tax Could Scare Investors Away.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Oil executives in Almaty say that a proposed tax on oil exports is unlikely to be introduced because it would deter foreign investment. The government said the new tax, which could be passed into law by the end of the year after...

Azerbaijan: Trader Roc Oil Bags Socar Volumes.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Portuguese-held, Madrid-based trader Roc Oil has won the latest tender from Azeri state oil company Socar to lift 140,000 metric tons of Urals crude out of Novorossiysk. The cargo, which is scheduled to load out of the Russian Black Sea...

Lithuania: Mazeikiu Nafta Launches Arctic Diesel.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Mazeikiu Nafta (MN) has introduced a new winter diesel fuel, Arctic Grade 2, that it says can perform at temperatures down to minus 32 degrees. The new fuel, produced at the 260,000 b/d Mazeikiu refinery, will be available to drivers in...

Merger Mania: Mol And PKN Talk Up Merger.
November 18, 2003... Prospects for a combination of Poland's PKN and Hungary's Mol are firming up, with PKN saying talks on closer cooperation and a potential merger could lead to a letter of intent being signed this week, as Hungarian Prime Minister Peter...

First Steps: Rosneft Releases First Interim GAAP Results.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... In a bid to match the transparency of its private sector rivals, state-owned Rosneft has released its first-ever interim financial statements prepared according to US GAAP standards. Rosneft has reported a net profit of $179.2 million in...

Tattoo: Tatneft Blames Higher Taxes For Profit Fall.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Russia's Tatarstan-based producer, Tatneft, reported an unconsolidated net profit of $132 million in the third quarter of 2003, slightly lower than the same time last year, in financial results prepared according to Russian Accounting...

Crude Oil: Futures Fireworks Leave Fundamentals Behind.
November 18, 2003... Crude oil futures are waving goodbye to fundamentals as yet another blistering rally pushed New York prices above $33 a barrel -- the highest level since Mar. 18, just before the Iraq war. Premised on minor gasoline supply worries ahead of the...

Products: Cash Up With Futures, Fuel Weaker.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2003... Oil products tracked futures and crude, with gasoline leading the way. Fuel oil prices in the Mediterranean were weakened by a surge in supply. Baltic Sea gas oil shipments totaled 354,000 metric tons over the last week, of which Ventspils...

Velvet Revolution: Georgia Turmoil Casts Cloud Over Batumi.(oil firms, investment environment)
November 25, 2003... Georgia's bloodless revolution that swept away a decade of rule by President Eduard Shevardnadze last weekend is being welcomed by oil companies as a chance to wipe the slate clean of corruption and improve the climate for investment. ...

Caspian Passion: Wintershall Stakes Its Claim In Northern Caspian.(oil and gas firm, oil exploration; Caspian Sea)
November 25, 2003... The passion for the Caspian has not faded away for Wintershall, the oil and gas arm of German giant BASF. After failing to make any headway with projects it was pursuing offshore Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, the German company has switched its...

Single Parent: YukosSibneft Sings In Praise Of Synergy.(trader for company's oil exports)
November 25, 2003... While the synergies resulting from the Yukos and Sibneft merger are still to be calculated, the new giant has already declared that a single trader, Yukos Export Trade, will handle all its exports, leaving Sibneft's trading arm, Sibneft Oil...

Breaking Out: YukosSibneft To Spud First Foreign Well.(Kazakhstan, oil well)(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... YukosSibneft is set to kick off the first foreign upstream project ever carried out by the two merged companies when it spuds an exploration well this week in Kazakhstan. The well will be bored at the Fyodorovskoye block, which covers a...

On The Rails: Rail Volumes Make Debut In Novo Sked.(Novorossiysk, Russia; oil )(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... The Energy Ministry has for the first time begun to include crude volumes delivered by rail in the official December loading schedule for the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. A 73,000-ton cargo to be loaded by producer Russneft is scheduled...

Vienna Calling: OMV Trolls For Upstream Projects.(oil company, expansion plans in Russia)(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... Austria's OMV has become the latest foreign oil company to eye Russia, announcing that the country will be the core focus of its international upstream expansion strategy. OMV wants to participate with Russian partners in projects that...

Slow Flow: Russian Crude To Flow Down CPC.(Caspian Pipeline Consortium, oil)(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... Russian crude may start flowing down the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) line in June 2004, following the signing of a transportation agreement last week between CPC and Russia's KalmTek. KalmTek, an investment company representing the...

Hang Ten: Lukoil Board Approves 10-Year Investment Program.(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... Lukoil plans to invest more than $25 billion over the next 10 years to boost production to 2.8 million boe/d, according to a strategic development program approved by the company's board of directors on Nov. 21. Lukoil has set its...

Inside Track: Firms Plot Joint Venture Route To Belarus.(oil companies, Russia)(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... Having failed to acquire stakes in Belarus' downstream assets within the country's 2003 privatization program, due to Minsk's insistence on retaining state control over the firms, Russian oil companies are resorting to a new method -- setting...

Novorossiysk Crude Loading Program For December 2003.
November 25, 2003... Novorossiysk Crude Loading Program For December 2003

For Sale: Bidders Declare Interest In Romanian, Czech Sell-Offs.(Romania's Petrom, Czech Republic's Unipetrol; privatization)(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... Deadlines for the privatization of Romania's Petrom and the Czech Republic's Unipetrol passed at the end of last week, arousing interest from the usual suspects, as well as a host of others. Eight of the 11 companies shortlisted for a stake...

Latvia: Suitors Line Up For Sale Of Ventspils Stake.(Ventspils Nafta oil terminal)(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... Plans for the proposed sale of up to half of Latvia's Ventspils Nafta (VN) oil terminal are moving forward. Shareholders in VN subsidiary Ventspils Nafta Terminals have begun negotiations with Russia's state-owned Rosneft and Transneft, as well...

Ukraine: Druzhba-Adria Pipeline Hits A Snag In Kiev.(oil pipeline)(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... The Druzhba-Adria pipeline project to boost Russian crude exports and route them directly to the Mediterranean has hit another snag, although the project still looks set to start pumping oil by the end of next year. Ukraine's parliament...

Merger Option: Mol And PKN Set Stage For Merger.(PKN Orlen, Mol Rt.)(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... Hungary's Mol and Polish counterpart PKN Orlen have signed a memorandum of understanding that could represent the first step toward a merger that would create Central Europe's largest oil company, with a market capitalization of around $6...

Caspian Gushers: Kazakh Offshore Exploration Comes Up Trumps Again.(Caspian Sea, oil)
November 25, 2003... The north Caspian Sea's importance as a major source of energy to meet growing world demand was underlined this week with the announcement of two new discoveries by the ENI-led Agip KCO consortium that is developing the giant Kashagan oil and...

Anticipation: Gazprom Sets Out Its 2004 Investment Plan.
November 25, 2003... Moscow has given its stamp of approval to a nearly $8 billion investment program for Gazprom next year. The government on Nov. 20 approved in principle a draft 2004 investment program for natural gas monopoly Gazprom, which totals 232.34...

Equities And Currencies.
November 25, 2003... Share Prices Closing On November 24, 2003

Crude Oil: Dardanelles Closure Opens Baltic-Med Arb.(prices, world)
November 25, 2003... Crude oil futures are mid-bounce following a massive sell-off by the funds ahead of this weekend's Thanksgiving holiday. Profit-taking wiped nearly $2 off New York prices on Nov. 24, taking the front-month contract to a three-week low of $29.65...

Products: Cash Down With Futures, Weak Demand.(Oil products, world)(Brief Article)
November 25, 2003... Oil products followed crude futures downward. A gasoline arbitrage from Northwest Europe to the US supported products prices at the end of last week, as US buyers scurried to cover an expected surge in demand ahead of the Thanksgiving...