International Petroleum Finance articles from August 2003

International Petroleum Finance archives from August 2003

Share and share alike.
August 1, 2003... Big Oil enjoyed big profits again in the second quarter, but for some companies, the good news story was nearly overshadowed by questions over uses of cash. With all the money being generated, shareholders were expecting more share repurchases...

Yukos probe doesn't scare big oil.(YUKOS Oil Co.)
August 1, 2003... The hounding of top oil company Yukos has provided a timely reminder of the political risks of investing in Russia, and has brought sentiment among equity investors back down to earth after the euphoria of Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) and BP's contract...

Have majors missed out on cheap debt bonanza?
August 1, 2003... Repsol YPF's 1 billion [euro] ($1.13 billion) bond issue at the end of June was an opportunistic move--faced with the most favorable debt market in the company's history, which had since January seen the premium over government bonds investors...

Big profits prompt a little belt loosening.
August 1, 2003... Second-quarter earnings provided the major oil companies with another good news story to give their shareholders, albeit with one or two reservations over their plans for the cash they're accumulating. As in the first quarter, the sector...

Commodity prices help energy credit ratings in Q2.
August 1, 2003... Strong commodity prices helped energy sector credit ratings during the second quarter, with positive ratings actions outweighing negative, according to the latest Global Oil & Gas Ratings Round-Up from ratings agency Standard & Poor's. ...

Hess exemplifies pains of portfolio rationalization.(Amerada Hess Corp.)
August 1, 2003... Portfolio rationalization abounds in the oil industry. Several large, integrated oil companies, including BP, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil, and Amerada Hess, are in the midst of sweeping asset optimization programs, selling off...

Indonesia must kick bad habits to win investment.
August 1, 2003... US energy companies are currently waiting to invest a combined $7 billion in Indonesia, according to the US--Asean Business Council, but are being prevented from spending this money by a murky and unstable legal system, as well as uncertainties...

UK's BG aims for the big league.(BG Group PLC)
August 1, 2003... The UK's BG Group has been pursuing international growth in recent years, establishing a strong position on the global LNG stage. But this does not mean that the company has forgotten its roots in the UK gas business. "BG was a UK company with...

Lula reforms smooth investors' way.(Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva)
August 1, 2003... Initiatives by President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva aimed at putting Brazil on a better financial footing and standardizing arcane tax regulations could encourage more foreign direct investment in the country's energy sector. For the oil and...

Shell, Total win Saudi deal.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Royal Dutch/Shell and Total have secured a landmark gas exploration deal in Saudi Arabia, the first time foreign companies have gained access to the kingdom's vast hydrocarbon fiches since nationalization in the 1970s. The exploration deal...

Kuwait consortia approved.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Kuwait's Supreme Petroleum Council has approved the composition of the three consortia formed to bid for Project Kuwait, the scheme for investing in increasing oil production at the emirate's northern oil fields. The biggest of the three...

Mirant files for bankruptcy.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Failed negotiations to refinance loans and restructure bond debt last month led beleaguered energy merchant Mirant to file what could be the largest bankruptcy in the US this year. Mirant is the fourth major energy merchant to seek such...

Endesa agrees Nigeria LNG deal.(Endesa S.A.)(Nigeria LNG Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Nigeria LNG (NLNG) has tied up a 10-year LNG supply deal with Spanish power giant Endesa to deliver 1 Bcm/yr to Huelva and Cartagena on the Iberian peninsula. The deal hinges on a final investment decision to build a sixth train at NLNG,...

Poland rejects Lotos bid.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Poland's privatization authorities have rejected a joint bid from the country's largest downstream concern, PKN Orlen, and UK-based Rorer Energy, for a 75% stake in the Gdansk refinery, now known as Grupa Lotos. Instead, Lotos will remain...

Another huge Sibneft payout.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Russia's Sibneft is set to pay out over $1 billion in dividends as its controlling shareholders cash out ahead of the company's merger with rival Yukos. Sibneft has called an extraordinary shareholder meeting for Sep. 15 to vote on a...

Kazmunaigas raises $350 million.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Kazakhstan's state-owned Kazmunaigas has made two forays into the international capital markets, securing two loans totaling $350 million. The first loan, for $200 million, will be arranged by BNP Paribas and Euromin, an affiliate of Swiss...

Anadarko slashes jobs, targets.(Anadarko Petroleum Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... US independent Anadarko Petroleum is shutting two offices in Texas and cutting 400 jobs in a move intended to cut annual costs by $100 million. The company has also announced the departure of five high-level executives, due to retirement...

Venezuela offering blocks.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Venezuela intends to offer exploration and development licenses for nine offshore blocks, possibly as soon as this month, as part of the government's drive to bring in badly needed private investment, the country's energy minister, Rafael...

Cairn bulks up in Bangladesh.(Cairn Energy USA Inc.)(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... UK independent Cairn Energy is set to buy Royal Dutch/Shell's upstream assets in Bangladesh, including a stake in the 1.1 Tcf Sangu gas field, for around $50 million. Under the deal, Cairn will acquire a 37.5% operating interest in the...

Nippon shuts refineries.(Nippon Oil Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Japan's biggest refiner, Nippon Oil, has voluntarily shut down two of its refineries after revealing that maintenance records at the plants had been falsified. Corrosion inspections on high-pressure gas pipelines at the 127,000 b/d Marifu...

Chevron sells PNG assets.(Papua New Guinea)(Oil Search Ltd.)(ChevronTexaco Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Australian oil and gas producer Oil Search has picked up ChevronTexaco's assets in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for a bargain price of $96.6 million, signifying Oil Search's faith that it will find a home for PNG natural gas. Earlier estimates...

Big profits do little to spur big oil shares. (Equity Markets).
August 1, 2003... Even though many leading worldwide oil and gas companies posted strong second-quarter earnings last month that were typically up 50% year-on-year, investors clearly did not care. The IPF Oil & Gas Index, which is comprised of 15 of the...

Peru's Camisea project raises development issues. (Emerging Markets).
August 1, 2003... Opponents of a Peruvian natural gas project recently succeeded in delaying InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) loan deliberations by over a month. Activists denounce its impact on traditional societies and the environment; proponents claim it...