International Petroleum Finance articles from August 2002

International Petroleum Finance archives from August 2002

Squeaky clean.(accounting practices following Enron Corp. collapse)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Are there skeletons in the closet of Big Oil's accounting records that are waiting to come out and set off the same kind of panic that has ravaged the energy merchant sector? Equity analysts think it highly unlikely--but they wouldn't bet their...

BP, Shell aim to close gap with Exxon Mobil.(equity markets)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Since its inception in late 1999 Exxon Mobil has always garnered the highest valuation in equity markets of the three supermajors, topping European rivals BP and Royal Dutch/Shell based largely on its superiority in asset management and...

Green issues to wack big oil where it hurts most.(shareholder value and environmental risk)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Some oil and gas companies stand to lose more than 6% of their shareholder value as a result of environmental risk over the next decade, according to a recent report by a US environmental think tank. The World Resources Institute (WRI) survey...

Borrowing binge could be imminent in Opec countries.(project finance)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... One noteworthy casualty of the disappointingly slow global recovery from the synchronized recession of 2001 has been the project finance market. Opec countries contributed to that decline, due partly to unexpectedly strong oil prices. However,...

Chevron's dangerous dance with Dynegy.(financing of energy merchants)(Industry Overview)
August 1, 2002... Observing the fate of energy merchants these days has more in common with a death watch than the beauty pageant that the sector represented not much more than a year ago. Their price-to-earnings multiples were well into the double digits then....

Merchant cause troubles for energy software firms.(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Energy merchants aren't the only ones that have had a rough few months. Energy software makers--particularly companies that sell software to energy traders and utilities--have been hammered in recent weeks. Many software vendors have failed to...

UK E&P firms pursue divergent strategies.(exploration and production companies)(Company Profile)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... The European independent sector has shrunk severely since 1995, as the sub-plot to the age of mega-mergers saw a number of smaller companies--Lasmo, Saga, British. Borneo, Clyde, and most recently Enterprise Oil--snapped up by larger rivals....

Profits down at BP, Shell.(British Petroleum Company PLC and Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... BP posted pro forma second-quarter earnings, including special items, of $2.18 billion, down 36% year-on-year but towards the top end of analysts' forecasts. The supermajor also felt confident enough to increase its dividend by 9%, stressing...

Shell ups stake in DEA.(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos. acquires RWE-DEA downstream joint venture stake)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Even though it has been choking on its recent downstream purchases recently, Royal Dutch/Shell brought forward its acquisition of the remaining 50% of the Shell & DEA Oil downstream joint venture formed last year in Germany with RWE-DEA. That...

PetroChina turns up heat.(plans for more service stations)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Upstream heavyweight PetroChina is taking the retail war with downstream rival China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec) to new heights, with plans to spend close to $500 million to build or acquire 1,500 retail outlets this year. The contest is...

Malampaya up for grabs.(Philippines National Oil Co. to sell 10% stake in natural gas project)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... State-owned Philippines National Oil Co. (PNOC) is to sell its 10% stake in the $2.5 billion Malampaya natural gas project, handing a potential $400 million to the government to help cover the budget deficit. PNOC and its financial adviser...

US majors 2Q profits fall 45%.(second quarter financial data for top 6 integrated oil companies)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Total profits excluding special items for the six top US-based integrated oil companies--Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco, Phillips, Conoco, Marathon, and Amerada Hess--dropped by 45% to $4.8 billion, from a robust $8.7 billion in the second quarter...

Moscow nixes Lukoil sale.(government cancels stock sale)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Moscow did nothing to boost international investor confidence when it cancelled at the last minute a placement of 5.9% of Lukoil stock on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The equity was to be sold off as level-1 American Depository Receipts...

Ina's shortlist.(list of bidders for oil, gas company Ina)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Five candidates have been short-listed to bid for a 25% stake in Croatia's wholly state-owned oil and gas company Ina, which produced 40,000 b/d of oil last year and has interests in Angola, Albania, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Syria, and Russia....

S-Oil takes offense.(S-Oil denies share, accounting scandal)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Federal prosecutors blocked attempts to arrest five executives of South Korea's third largest refiner, S-Oil, which has gone on the offensive to deny allegations that it overstated 2001 earnings by $23 million while executives helped themselves...

Petrobras digs deeper.(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. acquires stakes in Perez Companc S.A., Petrolera Perez Companc)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... State-controlled Petrobras is digging deeper into Latin America with a $1.1 billion deal to buy 58.6% of Argentina's Perez Companc, adding an upstream side to last year's acquisition of Spanish Repsol YPF's downstream assets in Argentina. In...

E.On deal still likely.(Trainel, Ampere oppose E.On AG's takover of Ruhrgas AG)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... A legal challenge to E.On's proposed takeover of Germany's Ruhrgas could delay the $9.97 billion deal for months, although it is unlikely to derail it. A temporary injunction blocked the merger following complaints from energy traders Trainel...

American Electric Power (AEP) has joined the ranks of US energy merchants pulling back from the Asia-Pacific region, selling its Australian retail gas and power business, CitiPower, to two Hong Kong companies, Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI) and Hong Kong Electric (HKE). (On The Move).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... American Electric Power (AEP) has joined the ranks of US energy merchants pulling back from the Asia-Pacific region, selling its Australian retail gas and power business, CitiPower, to two Hong Kong companies, Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI)...

Transocean. (On The Move).(TransOcean A/S to sell assets in initial public offering)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Deepwater drilling specialist Transocean is to sell a portion of its Gulf of Mexico shallow and inland water business unit through an initial public offering (IPO) later this year or in early 2003. The 28-rig unit is active in the US Gulf of...

Japan's Nippon Oil is teaming up with China National Petroleum Corp. (On The Move).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Japan's Nippon Oil is teaming up with China National Petroleum Corp., the parent of PetroChina, to produce lubricants in China by February 2003.

Gas Authority of India plans to sell 2%-2.5% of its equity through an IPO. (On The Move).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Gas Authority of India plans to sell 2%-2.5% of its equity through an IPO, and the planned sale of two state refiners, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, has received initial approval.

Korea Electric Power Corp. (On The Move).(privatization)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... South-East Power, a unit of Korea Electric Power Corp. has been selected as the first of five power generation units to be privatized.

Saipem completed its acquisition of a 50.8% stake in Bouygues Offshore. (On The Move).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Saipem completed its acquisition of a 50.8% stake in Bouygues Offshore and has filed for the remaining shares held by the public.

Italy's ENI and German power firm EnBW are teaming up to buy 62.22% of southwest German gas firm GVS. (On The Move).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Italy's ENI and German power firm EnBW are teaming up to buy 62.22% of southwest German gas firm GVS, with a further 33.4% to follow, valuing GVS at some $712 million. If approved by regulators, ENI/EnBW will gain a strategic regional asset...

US Varco is buying virtually all of rival ICO's oilfield services business for approximately $136.7 million. (On The Move).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... US Varco is buying virtually all of rival ICO's oilfield services business for approximately $136.7 million, plus the assumption of trade payables and certain other accrued operating expenses. ICO's oilfield services business provides...

Big oil suffers equity market meltdown in July. (Equity Markets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... It was not nefarious corporate governance violations or egregious accounting scandals that dragged down oil equities in July. Basic equity market fundamentals devoured the sector last month, as investors bailed on oil and gas shares after most...

China pipeline team in place but payoff in doubt. (Emerging Markets).(Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, Gazprom, PetroChina, Sinopec to build natural gas pipeline)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... The fog has finally cleared from the race to win a stake in China's monolithic West-East natural gas pipeline: Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, and Russia's Gazprom will each get a 15% share of the $18 billion project, with Chinese champions...