NEFTE Compass articles from November 2005

NEFTE Compass archives from November 2005

Financial Mess: Putin Says Shell's Sakhalin Overruns Are Unacceptable.
November 2, 2005... Royal Dutch Shell's controversial Sakhalin-2 project, where costs have doubled to a staggering $20 billion, is back in the limelight once again. During an official visit to the Netherlands, President Vladimir Putin criticized the...

Critical Mass: Calm Reigns In Baku Ahead Of Elections.(politics)
November 2, 2005... Talk of revolution, along the lines of the uprising that toppled the regime in neighboring Georgia, is belied by a sense of calm on Baku's streets as Azerbaijan gears up for parliamentary elections this weekend. But under strong pressure from...

Stagnant Pond: Russian Output May Stagnate Next Year.(crude production)
November 2, 2005... Russian crude production may not rise at all next year, according to Sergei Oganesyan, head of the country's Federal Energy Agency. Even under an "optimistic scenario," production could grow by just 2% in 2006, Oganesyan told reporters on the...

Flatliners: Products Exports Flatten Out.(seaborne oil products)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2005... Seaborne oil products exports from the former Soviet Union held steady in October, with overall transshipment volumes remaining about flat on the previous month. The lack of change in overall volumes, however, masks a rise in exports of...

Swap Meet: Rosneft Prepares For Consolidation.
November 2, 2005... State-owned Rosneft has called a Nov. 9 shareholders meeting to approve the consolidation of its subsidiaries as a precursor to its planned public offering in 2006. Shareholders will vote on the proposed share swap for minority holders in...

Total Refusal: Total Unwilling To Increase Kharyaga Spending.(TOTAL S.A.)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2005... French Total is unwilling to boost investments in its Kharyaga project to ramp up production until the problem of pipeline bottlenecks is resolved. The oil major plans to invest $130 million next year in Kharyaga, located in Russia's...

In Denial: Russia Fires Back At Iraq Inquiry.
November 2, 2005... Russian officials and businessmen have strongly denied allegations of wrongdoing in the UN's former oil-for-food program in Iraq. A report released at the end of last week by a UN-appointed independent commission chaired by the former head...

Back On Track: China Crude Pipeline Back On The Agenda.
November 2, 2005... Russian energy supplies to China are on the agenda of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov's visit to Beijing this week. While the Chinese are trying to hurry through with the deal to build a pipeline spur to China from the planned East Siberian oil...

Autumn Leaves: Taxes, Weather Force Further Exports Drop.
November 2, 2005... Russia is slashing its seaborne crude exports, as Moscow's taxation policy encourages diverting crude to domestic refineries and the arrival of winter hampers physical loadings. Exports via the Transneft system plummeted by 163,000 b/d to...

Complex Issue: Lukoil To Build Chemicals Complex With Kazakhstan.
November 2, 2005... Lukoil has unveiled plans to build a $3.6 billion-$3.8 billion natural gas and chemicals complex with Kazakhstan. The complex is included in Lukoil's long-term gas development strategy, which has been approved by the company's board of...

Rain Check: New Subsoil Law Approval Postponed.(natural resource policy)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2005... The State Duma, lower house of the Russian parliament, has again postponed the first reading of the new Subsoil Law, sending it back for further amendments. The Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement that it had requested the...

Eastern Promise: Slavneft Expands In East Siberia.
November 2, 2005... Slavneft has expanded its presence in East Siberia by winning three more licenses to develop reserves in the Krasnoyarsk region. Slavneft subsidiary Slavneft-Krasnoyarskneftegas acquired licenses to develop the Baikitskoye, Chambinskoye and...

Berlin Call: Germany Moves Towards LNG.
November 2, 2005... Underscoring its intention to reduce reliance on Russian gas, German utility giant E.On has announced plans to build an up to 10 Bcm/yr LNG import terminal at a site that it co-owns at the deepwater North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, a first for...

Canada Wry: Petro-Canada Remains Hopeful On LNG.
November 2, 2005... Petro-Canada remains optimistic about its proposal to build an LNG plant in Russia in partnership with Gazprom, for exports to Canada and the US Northeast. Gazprom earlier indicated it might drop the project in favor of the massive...

Jailhouse Rock: Khodorkovsky Remains Defiant From Prison Cell.(Mikhail Khodorkovsky from OAO NK Yukos)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2005... Former Yukos Chief Executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was recently sent to a remote prison in eastern Siberia, continued his assault on the Russian government, promising that "the battle is just beginning." In a message published on...

Russian Crude Loadings For November 2005.
November 2, 2005... Primorsk Crude Loading Program For November 2005

Kazakhstan: CNPC Turns Tables On Lukoil Over Preemption Rights.
November 2, 2005... China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) is getting its own back on Lukoil by claiming preemption rights to the 50% of the North Buzachi field in western Kazakhstan, which the Russian company is acquiring as part of its takeover of Kazakh oil...

Kazakhstan: CNPC Completes PetroKazakhstan Takeover.
November 2, 2005... Close to three months after presenting the winning bid for PetroKazakhstan, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) last week concluded its takeover of the Kazakh producer. The acquisition of the Calgary-based company was sealed after an...

Plant Growth: Lithuanian Champion Comes Up Trumps.(Mazeikiu Nafta)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2005... Lithuania's Mazeikiu Nafta (MN), which is operated by besieged Russian major Yukos, is continuing to improve its operations. MN reported net profits of $281 million (776 million litas) for the first nine months of 2005 in unaudited accounts...

Revolver: Lukoil Taps BNP Paribas For Bulgaria Loan.
November 2, 2005... Lukoil has established a revolving credit line for $142 million through BNP Paribas. The loan will be used to cover the working capital of Lukoil's 160,000 b/d Bourgas refinery in Bulgaria and to finance the company's other operations in...

Equities and Currencies.
November 2, 2005... Share Prices Closing On Nov. 1, 2005

Events.(Calendar)
November 2, 2005... The Russian and CIS Oil & Gas Investment Forum, London, Nov. 9-10, The Energy Exchange, tel: +44 (0) 207 067 1800, www.theenergyexchange.co.uk Transport Infrastructure for Oil and Gas in Russia and the CIS, Moscow, Nov. 10-11, C5, tel: +44...

Crude Oil: Futures Drift, Differentials Firm.
November 2, 2005... Brent futures for a change drifted down gently during the seven-day reporting period rather than gyrate wildly. Starting off with an Oct. 27 high of $59.62, December Brent hit an initial Nov. 1 low of $58, primarily because of predictions of...

Products: Milder Weather Hits Gas Oil Prices.
November 2, 2005... The market for Russian gas oil weakened sharply this week as milder temperatures put a stop to the cold-induced pickup in buying interest seen last week. Both futures and differentials dropped over the course of the week, ignoring the...

Sale Away: Rosneft Shares To Be Offered Up In 2006.
November 8, 2005... After sitting quietly in the back of investors' minds since May, a barrage of information is emerging about the Russian government's plans to privatize part of Rosneft. The Russian press has reported that the government plans for minority...

Marching On: Baku Braced For Protests After Flawed Elections.
November 8, 2005... Thousands of people took to the streets in Baku this week to protest at irregularities in parliamentary elections that international observers concluded fell well short of acceptable standards. As Azerbaijan braces itself for a tense...

Glen Glory: Glencore Cements Leading Position In Hungary.
November 8, 2005... Swiss-registered trader Glencore has emerged as the dominant supplier of Russian crude to Hungary, similar to the position its peers Sunimex and J&S hold in Germany and Poland, respectively. According to official Russian export data,...

Timetable: Transneft Sets Out Schedule For East Siberian Pipe.
November 8, 2005... Russia's national pipeline operator Transneft has prepared the construction schedule for the first phase of the East Siberian oil pipeline, including the 2,284 km stretch from Taishet to Skovorodino and an oil terminal at the Perevoznaya Bay on...

Foreign Model: Gazprom Takes New Tack Overseas.
November 8, 2005... Gazprom has completed another step in its structural reform, having finalized this week the restructuring of its foreign economic operations in a bid to improve the efficiency of its international activity. Some analysts say that Gazprom is...

Cruising: Russian Crude Output Rises In October.
November 8, 2005... Russian crude and condensate production averaged 9.62 million b/d (40.71 million metric tons) in October, up 80,700 b/d from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Industry and Energy. Compared with October 2004,...

Selling Up: Yukos Disposes Of Siberia Unit To Pay Bills.
November 8, 2005... Besieged Yukos has sold its controlling stake in its production unit Sakhaneftegas located in Russian East Siberian republic of Sakha-Yakutia to Russia's Bin-bank for $6 million to partly cover the company's massive tax bill, according a...

Purse Strings: Exxon Keeps Careful Eye On Sakhalin Spending.
November 8, 2005... Exxon Mobil, operator of the Sakhalin-1 project on the Russian Pacific shelf, is trying to be careful with its spending, mindful of the lesson learned from the competing Sakhalin-2 development, which has been subjected to harsh criticism over...

Compressor: Gazprom Ups Capacity Of Blue Stream Gasline.
November 8, 2005... Gazprom last week put into operation the first stage of a gas compressor station at the Blue Stream natural gas pipeline across the Black Sea to Turkey, the gas giant said in a statement. The Beregovaya station, which cost $320 million, is...

Signature Bonus: Putin To Sign Gazprom Liberalization Decree.
November 8, 2005... A presidential decree on Gazprom's share liberalization is to be signed by Vladimir Putin on Dec. 28, according to sources in Russia's Ministry for Economic Development and Trade. Before that, a number of final pieces have to fall into...

Victory: Sibneft, Tatneft Get Control Over Moscow Refinery.
November 8, 2005... The Moscow authorities have lost control over the city's only refinery following an arbitration court's decision on preferred shares giving over 50% of voting rights at the Moscow refinery to oil majors Sibneft and Tatneft. The Moscow...

Looking Ahead: Gazprom Gets Out The Crystal Ball.
November 8, 2005... Gazprom expects revenues of around 1.7 trillion rubles ($58.9 billion) in 2006, the gas giant said in a statement of preliminary forecasts this week. The company's investment would total 310.1 billion rubles ($10.76 billion) in 2006, of...

In Consort: Norwegians May Form Shtokman Consortium.
November 8, 2005... Norway's Norsk Hydro and Statoil are ready to combine forces in a bid for the right to develop the giant Shtokmanovskoye gas field in Russia's Arctic Barents Sea. Norsk Hydro's chief executive, Eivind Reiten, recently said that his company...

Bosporus Bypass: Eni Backs Samsun-Ceyhan Pipeline.
November 8, 2005... Eni has teamed up with Chalyk, a private Turkish industrial conglomerate, to develop a project to build an oil pipeline across Turkey, from the Black Sea port of Samsun to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, bypassing the Bosporus strait that cuts...

Kazakhstan: Production Picks Up On Karachaganak Comeback.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2005... Crude oil and condensate production rose sharply in Kazakhstan in October from the previous month as liquids output from the Karachaganak field came back strongly after a prolonged period of maintenance. Overall production was up 6% at 1.25...

Ukraine: Odessa-Brody Speeds Up In Reverse Gear.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2005... The London-based Worldscale Association has lowered the freight rate for crude out of Ukraine's Yuzhny port near Odessa, raising the economic feasibility for TNK-BP's use of the Odessa-Brody pipeline in reverse mode. After a series of...

Lithuania: Exports Drop Off From Klaipeda.
November 8, 2005... The operator of Lithuania's oil export terminal, Klaipedos Nafta (KN), has seen its volumes fall due mainly to a decline in product shipments from Belarus and Russia. KN handled 4.3 million metric tons of oil products from January to...

Poland: Gazprom Looks To Hike Gas Prices.
November 8, 2005... Poland's concerns about growing dependence on Russia for energy supplies have been renewed following reports that the country may soon face demands for higher natural gas payments. Polish state-controlled gas company PGNiG announced that...

Melrose Hits Dry Well, To Spud Again.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2005... UK independent Melrose Resources said last week that its Samotino No. 1 well in offshore Bulgarian Block Kaliakra 99, found hydrocarbon shows in good potential reservoir sand sections, but that it was clear such hydrocarbons had migrated. The...

End Game: Gazprom Ups Direct Ownership In Sibneft.
November 8, 2005... Gas behemoth Gazprom has transferred 55.99% of Sibneft to its balance sheet, increasing its direct ownership in the oil producer to 59.01% from 3.016% earlier. The shares were transferred from Gazprom's Dutch-registered subsidiary, Gazprom...

Value Added: Urals Energy Seeks To Build Value.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2005... Urals Energy, a small Cyprus-registered company, is keeping its promise to increase its capitalization. It announced last week that it had agreed to acquire production and exploration assets in the far northern Komi region for $70 million,...

Equities and Currencies.
November 8, 2005... Share Prices Closing On Nov. 8, 2005

Crude Oil: Poor Margins Hurt Differentials.
November 8, 2005... The erosion of Brent futures prices continued during the past seven days with December Brent trading a $3.75 range from a Nov. 3 high of 60.65 to a Nov. 9 low of $56.54. Warm weather throughout the Northern Hemisphere was blamed for most of the...

Products: Prices Cooled By High Temperatures.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2005... The market for Russian gas oil continued to weaken over the past seven days, as unseasonably warm weather in Europe and the US extended the steady futures losses seen since the end of October. After a month of sparse European demand and a...

First Shot: Oil Intrigue Looms Large In Kremlin Reshuffle.
November 15, 2005... The growing ties between the Kremlin and the oil and gas business have become abundantly clear in the latest government shake-up, which many observers say represents the first shots fired in the campaign for the 2008 presidential election. ...

Last Word: Oil Fund Chief Sets Out Strategy For Azerbaijan.
November 15, 2005... Fresh from elections that have been judged as less than perfect, Azerbaijan is getting on with the business of raking in the oil money, bracing itself for a flood of "petrodollars" that at current prices could exceed $150 billion over the next...

New York: Nymex To Launch Urals Futures Contract.
November 15, 2005... The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) said it has formed a joint venture with the privately owned Expertica to launch a Russian export blend crude oil (Rebco) futures contract, to trade on Nymex's London floor. The two will form Russian...

Rising Sum: Inpex Seeks To Boost Sakhalin Stake.
November 15, 2005... Japan's largest oil exploration firm Inpex is hoping to boost its share of the Sakhalin-1 project to around 10% by increasing its stake in the Japanese consortium Sakhalin Oil Development Corp. (Sodeco). An Inpex spokesman said the company...

Slow Ride: Rosneft Board Delays Share-Swap Decision.
November 15, 2005... The board of directors at Russia's state-owned Rosneft has asked for more time to approve a consolidation plan that would lay the groundwork for an eventual initial public offering. The board failed to agree on the proposed terms to...

Plan B: Lukoil Plans New Refinery On The Baltic Sea.
November 15, 2005... In response to its expected failure in the bid for the Lithuanian Mazeikiu Nafta (MN) group, Lukoil could build a new refinery in Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea. Lukoil Vice President Leonid Fedun said last week that his...

Done Deal: Urals Energy Completes Dinyu Acquisition.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2005... Urals Energy has completed its $70 million acquisition of independent producer Dinyu, located in the far northern Komi region. The addition of 2,900 b/d Dinyu brings the total output of Urals Energy, a small Cyprus-registered company with...

No Quarter: Crude Deliveries Drop To Ukrainian Refineries.
November 15, 2005... Crude deliveries to Ukraine from Russia and Kazakhstan are dropping sharply, as only three of Ukraine's six refineries are currently in operation. According to local experts, the three that are down are the Drogobych refinery, which is...

Data Update: Russia Adopts New Standards For Reserves.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2005... Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources has approved a new classification system for oil and gas, bringing the country's reserves data into line with international standards. The document was signed by Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev...

Syrian Call: Russians Respond To Damascus Overtures.(Stroitransgas to build refinery)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2005... Russia's Stroitransgas has proposed the construction of a $2 billion refinery, Syrian Oil Minister Ibrahim Haddad told the official Syrian News Agency (Sana) last week. The Russian firm is studying a 140,000 b/d refinery, for which a...

Introverted: Russian Crude, Product Output Rises, Exports Sink.
November 15, 2005... Higher domestic heating demand and Moscow's imposing tax regime kept more Russian crude at home in October, continuing the trend of recent months. Russian refineries met the arrival of winter with 12.81 million metric tons of fuel oil, gas...

Eastern Front: Lukoil, Gazprom Eye Eastern Projects.
November 15, 2005... Lukoil and Gazprom have decided to set up a working group to define projects for joint development in East Siberia and Russia's Far East, according to the vice president of Lukoil, Leonid Fedun. The issue was also discussed by the two...

Non: Lukoil Rejects Stake In Total's Kharyaga PSA.
November 15, 2005... Lukoil has confirmed that it is not going to realize its option for a 20% stake in the Kharyaga project operated by Total in the northern Timan-Pechora oil province of Russia due to inflated costs. "So far, Total's proposals for the field's...

In Defense: Khristenko Buys Time Over US Summons.
November 15, 2005... Russia's Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko has submitted a petition for a delay in a US courts summons related to a lawsuit brought by minority shareholders in Yukos. Khristenko reportedly asked that the US court give him until...

Venture Talks: Russia, Venezuela Hold Energy Talks.
November 15, 2005... Russia and Venezuela are pushing ahead with plans to strengthen economic ties, including cooperation in the energy sector. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov discussed energy plans during a visit to Caracas last week. The oil...

Shuffleboard: BP Replaces Representative On TNK-BP Board.
November 15, 2005... BP has shuffled the board of directors of its Russian joint venture TNK-BP, appointing Robert Sheppard to replace Brian Gilvary, TNK-BP said in a press release. Sheppard has worked for BP in several of the UK oil major's international...

Deep Pockets: TNK-BP Plans Spending Hike.
November 15, 2005... Russian-UK joint venture TNK-BP plans to increase its capital expenditures as 25% to $2.5 billion in 2006, TNK-BP President and Chief Executive Robert Dudley reportedly said at a conference in London. A TNK-BP spokeswoman confirmed that the...

Kazakhstan: Russia Signs Central Asia Gas Transit Deal.
November 15, 2005... Gazprom has sealed two contracts with Kazakhstan on transiting Russian and Central Asian natural gas via the country's territory, the Russian company said last week. The Russian gas monopoly and Intergaz Central Asia, a transportation...

Azerbaijan: Shah Deniz To Earn Up To $15 Billion.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2005... Azerbaijan stands to earn $10 billion-$15 billion over 20 years from the BP-operated Shah Deniz gas project, Samir Sharifov, the chairman of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan, tells Nefte Compass. That's about one-tenth of the receipts expected...

Hungary: Mol Profits Hit By Cost, Fine.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2005... Oil and gas group Mol has reported third-quarter net profit of $282 million (56.7 billion forint), a 23% decline in both dollar and local currency terms form the year-earlier period, and below what analysts had forecast. The dollar figure used...

Ukraine: Russia Fails To Agree On New Gas Sales Terms.
November 15, 2005... Russia and Ukraine have failed in another attempt to negotiate revised terms for transiting Russian gas across Ukrainian territory. Ukraine, which is the main transit corridor for Russian and Central Asian gas exports to Europe, still...

Road Bump: Gazprom Shares Stumble After Scare.
November 15, 2005... The hearts of investors in Gazprom skipped a beat after news emerged of a possible delay in liberalization of the gas giant's share market. Gazprom shares fell sharply on Nov. 11 after Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said the...

Planning Ahead: Russneft Plans IPO, Bonds.
November 15, 2005... Independent oil producer Russneft has confirmed that it is considering launching an initial public offering (IPO), though probably not much before 2008. A lot has to be done before that, including the acquisition of processing facilities...

Equities and Currencies.
November 15, 2005... Share Prices Closing On Nov. 15, 2005

Crude Oil: Futures Drop But Differentials Strengthen.
November 15, 2005... Brent futures continued their rapid descent over the past seven days under pressure from generally bearish market sentiment, taking note of more than adequate global stocks and milder than normal weather as well as aggressive short-selling by...

Products: Sluggish Demand Shows Slight Improvement.
November 15, 2005... The market for Russian gas oil was mixed this week, as difficult shipping forestalled traders' attempts to meet slightly increasing European demand. Patchy cold snaps in both Europe and in the US helped strengthen markedly weak demand,...

Talking Shop: BP's Browne Leads Crucial Russian Gas Talks.
November 21, 2005... Although the official agenda of BP Chief Executive John Browne's talks in Moscow this week has not been revealed, his visit takes place at a time of crucial debate over which Russian gas reserves are going to become the main source of exports...

Taking Stock: Turkey Could Replace Ukraine As Gazprom Gateway.
November 21, 2005... In a bid to ease its dependence on Ukraine, which is the main export hub for Russian and Central Asian gas to Europe, Russia is considering Turkey as a new transit corridor to southern Europe and Israel. Speaking at a ceremony in Turkey...

No Fear: Putin Allays Japanese Concern Over Siberian Pipeline.
November 21, 2005... Russia's plan to build an East Siberian pipeline to the Pacific coast for crude sales to Asian markets -- which Moscow is turning into a high-stakes game pitting China against long-time rival Japan -- was further fleshed out on the eve of...

Lucky Strike: Victoria Comes Up With The Goods.
November 21, 2005... Victoria Oil and Gas, a UK-listed company, has seen its share price shoot through the roof since it announced last week that it had made a big gas discovery at its West Medvezhye field in the Yamal-Nenetsk region. Analysts have cautioned...

Existential: Conoco Rules Out Building New Refinery With Lukoil.
November 21, 2005... ConocoPhillips said last week its cooperation with Lukoil in the downstream sector would take the form of a joint bid for refining capacities rather than building a new plant. "We'd look at joint assets we would acquire, but not a...

Newcomer: Sakhalin-1 Output Adds To Russian Production Rise.
November 21, 2005... Production from Exxon Mobil's Sakhalin-1 project appeared in the official Russian statistics for the first time in October, coming in at 15,000 b/d (63,500 metric tons) during its first month of operation. Russian crude production stood at...

Mutual Trust: Statoil, Chevron To Cooperate In Barents Sea.
November 21, 2005... Norway's Statoil and US major Chevron have decided to cooperate in the long-term exploration of the Barents Sea, through an "area of mutual interest" agreement. It remains to be seen if the new alliance will also cover Russia's giant...

Green Light: Regulator Approves TNK-BP Asset Sale.
November 21, 2005... Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service has approved a request from independent producer Russneft to purchase TNK-BP production unit Saratovneftegas, setting the stage for the Russian-UK joint venture to dispose of another non-key asset. The...

Swiss Role: Novatek Sets Up Foreign Trading Arm.
November 21, 2005... In a bid to expand its operations abroad, Russia's biggest independent gas producer Novatek is setting up a Swiss-registered subsidiary. The gas producer has registered a firm named Novatek Overseas AG, which would reportedly act as its...

French Source: French To Supply Gazprom With US LNG Cargo.
November 21, 2005... Gaz de France has confirmed that a limited swap has been agreed with Russian giant Gazprom that will enable the latter to deliver its second LNG cargo into the US, most likely during December 2005. The cargo would most likely be of Algerian...