NEFTE Compass articles from October 2007

NEFTE Compass archives from October 2007

Kremlin Factions Fight Over Russneft.
October 31, 2007... The fate of Russian independent Russneft hangs in the balance as a battle for control over the 280,000 barrel per day producer rages at the highest levels in Moscow. Aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska has already paid Mikhail Gutseriyev $3...

TNK-BP Optimistic On Russia But Eyes Overseas Openings.
October 31, 2007... Despite losing the massive Kovykta gas field in East Siberia to Russian Gazprom earlier this year, TNK-BP remains optimistic about its Russian growth prospects. The Russian-UK joint venture's chief executive, Robert Dudley, said this week...

StatoilHydro Grabs Last Place In Shtokman Group.
October 31, 2007... Norway's StatoilHydro has emerged as Russian Gazprom's second foreign partner in the giant Shtokman gas and condensate development in the Arctic Barents Sea, following in the footsteps of French Total. The two sides late last month signed...

Gazprom, BASF To Finalize Assets Swap.
October 31, 2007... Gazprom is close to finalizing a deal to let Germany's BASF into its massive onshore Yuzhno-Russkoye gas field in northern Russia in exchange for increasing Gazprom's stake in the companies' Wingas joint venture. BASF would take a stake of...

Yukos Owners Win In Dutch Courts.
October 31, 2007... A court in the Netherlands has refused to recognize Russia's bankruptcy of now-defunct oil firm Yukos, giving a major victory to former majority shareholder Group Menatep. The ruling represents major progress for Menatep's bid to collect...

Tokarev Brings Own Team Into Transneft.
October 31, 2007... New Transneft head Nikolai Tokarev has appointed former colleagues Mikhail Arustamov and Vladimir Kushnaryov as deputy chief executives in the state oil pipeline monopoly, bringing them over from state oil firm Zarubezhneft, Transneft announced...

Qatari Minister Talks Up Russia Gas Swaps.
October 31, 2007... Although no formal gas swap agreement is yet in place, Qatar does already exchange LNG cargoes for other gas in order to maximize profits, and these activities could increase in the coming years, including with top natural gas producer Russia,...

Russia Completes Product Pipeline To Primorsk.
October 31, 2007... Russian state oil product pipeline operator Transnefteproduct announced this week that it has completed its "North" pipeline to Russia's flagship Baltic seaport, Primorsk. Transnefteproduct said that it has completed filling in the 1,056...

Lukoil Approves Midterm Spending.
October 31, 2007... Lukoil has penciled in investments at $9.5 billion next year and $10.7 billion in 2009, according to the midterm plan approved this week by the company's board of directors, Nefte Compass has learned. The oil major said only that the plan...

Gazprom Neft President Outlines 2020 Plan.
October 31, 2007... Gazprom Neft has offered US Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and Norwegian StatoilHydro the opportunity to set up a joint venture to explore and develop the Lopukhovsky Block offshore Sakhalin Island, company President Alexander Dyukov says. The...

Indian Firm Seeks Stake In Lukoil's Saudi Project.
October 31, 2007... Indian state gas company Gail India says it has approached Russia's Lukoil about taking a stake in its upstream gas development in Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter. Gail Chairman and Managing Director UD Choubey last week met with the Lukoil board...

Moscow Pleased With Sakhalin-2 Clean-Up.
October 31, 2007... Russian Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev has said that he is satisfied with the actions taken by Sakhalin Energy to remedy environmental damage caused by the consortium's Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project on Russia's Pacific shelf. The...

Lukoil Launches New Unit At Perm Plant.
October 31, 2007... Lukoil has launched a new isomerization unit with a hydrotreating section at its Perm refinery in West Siberia in a bid to raise the quality of its refined oil products. The $50 million unit can handle 470,000 tons/yr and is capable of...

Kazakhs Tighten Subsoil Law.
October 31, 2007... Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev last week signed amendments to subsoil legislation, ignoring investors' pleas to veto the changes. Under the new law, Kazakhstan can force changes to oil contracts or break the terms of production sharing...

Lukoil Reopens Ukraine Refinery.
October 31, 2007... Lukoil officially opened its Odessa refinery in Ukraine last week after a two-year modernization program, although it remains unclear whether netbacks will justify operations. Lukoil said on Oct. 26 that the modernization has increased...

Gazprom Signs New Turkey Gas Supply Deal.
October 31, 2007... Gazprom has signed a 14-year natural gas supply contract with Turkish energy firm Avrasya Gaz enabling the Russian firm to get access to the country's end-users. Under the accord, the Russian state gas group is to supply the utility with a...

Gazprom Places Major Bond To Fund Sakhalin-2.
October 31, 2007... Russia's Gazprom has placed a yen-denominated eurobond worth 50 billion yen ($437 million), according to newswire reports citing banking sources. The money will reportedly be used to finance the development of the Gazprom-led Sakhalin-2 project...

Transneft Profits Inch Higher.(Financial report)(Brief article)
October 31, 2007... Russian state oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has announced that net profits for the first six months of the year rose slightly to almost 35.98 billion rubles ($1.45 billion) from 35.89 billion rubles in the same period last year. Revenues...

Sibur Plans $1 Billion IPO.
October 31, 2007... Gazprom-controlled petrochemical firm Sibur confirmed its plan to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) in 2008 to finance investment plans and new acquisitions, according to media reports this week. According to Chairman Alexander...

Equities and Currencies.
October 31, 2007... Share Prices Closing On October 30, 2007

Another Week, Another Record For Futures.
October 31, 2007... December ICE Brent futures last week overcooked its positive response to a bullish US inventory report and on Oct. 24 trailed into the close at $82.41, $2.59 below its $85 intraday high. However, the contract then recovered to set another...

Increasing Demand Meets Tighter Supplies.
October 31, 2007... High product prices in Northwest Europe have pushed demand for Russian products higher and encouraged exports. However, with refinery maintenance and logistics issues, players have reported fewer cargoes of Russian products available. ...