International Petroleum Finance articles from August 2008

International Petroleum Finance archives from August 2008

Divide and rue?
August 1, 2008... Not putting all of your eggs in one basket has traditionally been viewed positively by oil industry investors. Having a wide range of revenue generators allows integrated oil and gas companies to ride out bad stretches in one business with...

BP and Shell buy into North American shale.
August 1, 2008... As it becomes more and more difficult to discover big conventional oil and gas fields, the majors are increasingly pushing into more unconventional, and costly, hydrocarbon resources. BP and Royal Dutch Shell both made significant acquisitions...

European utility deals launched, sealed and withdrawn.
August 1, 2008... Most leading European executives are either heading for the beach or are already on vacation by Aug. 1. But this year many were still at their desks as the deal-making in Europe's gas and power sectors showed no signs of abating. No sooner had...

Majors' record Q2 profits mask problems ahead.(Financial report)
August 1, 2008... Bumper second-quarter earnings figures disguised mounting concerns about the current health and future profitability of the majors. Although many of the big international oil companies (IOC) set new quarterly profit records, investors were not...

Moscow favors Gazprom over Rosneft in Russian Far East.
August 1, 2008... Always uneasy bedfellows, Russia's two big state-controlled energy groups, gas company Gazprom and upstream specialist Rosneft, are being pushed to work together on gas exploration and infrastructure in Russia's frontier Far East and Pacific...

Iraq sets up new body to speed strategic projects.
August 1, 2008... The Iraqi government aims to set up a National Council for Reconstruction and Development tasked with speeding up contract awards for strategic projects, including oil field development contracts. Iraq's cabinet endorsed the new body on...

China invests overseas while building domestic walls.
August 1, 2008... Direct Chinese investment overseas rose from $1.5 billion in 2003 to nearly $27 billion last year, according to management consultancy group McKinsey. The figure looks set to soar this year: Official figures released last month showed overseas...

Ghana's Jubilee boosts West African exploration.
August 1, 2008... The Jubilee field offshore Ghana could turn out to be the biggest single deepwater discovery to date in West Africa. Recent confirmation that two finds, Hyedua and Mahogany, are part of one field has reignited interest in offshore prospects...

Foreign firms pushed out of struggling Argentina.
August 1, 2008... A new word, "argentinization," has been coined to explain Argentina's policy of re-nationalizing privatized firms and encouraging the sale of foreign-owned local businesses to Argentinean companies, companies that tend to be owned by people...

OMV abandons Mol hunt.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... Austria's OMV abandoned its year-long pursuit of Hungarian rival Mol, saying European competition authorities had demanded too many asset sales. The Aug. 6 announcement was welcomed by Mol, which said OMV's "irrational business plan for...

Two TNK-BP execs leave.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... The battle for control of Russian-UK joint venture TNK-BP intensified in late July and early August as the company's chief executive, Robert Dudley, left Russia and Chief Financial Officer James Owen resigned. Dudley, who had been unable...

BG revises Origin bid.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... BG persevered with its US$13 billion hostile bid for Australia's Origin Energy. BG sent a new bidder's statement to Origin shareholders after an earlier document lodged with the Australian authorities was deemed inaccurate by Origin. While...

TransCanada gets Alaska OK.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... Alaskan lawmakers approved a state license for TransCanada to build a pipeline to deliver Alaska North Slope natural gas to the lower 48 states of the US. The state Senate approved the measure Aug. 1 following approval by the lower House...

Nigeria oil reform progress.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... A panel set up to propose reforms of Nigeria's beleaguered oil industry and state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) submitted its recommendations to President Umaru Yar'Adua earlier this month. The panel, headed by former Opec...

Repsol's Q2 output slump.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... Spain's Repsol YPF reported higher second-quarter earnings, despite double-digit output declines. Second-quarter adjusted net income, excluding one-time gains and minority interests, rose 13.5% to [euro]907 million ($1.4 billion), below the...

Cao's new pastures.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... Eni reported lower than forecast second-quarter earnings and announced the departure of its head of exploration and production. The company said Stefano Cao, Eni's upstream chief since 2000 and head of contractor Saipem before that, was leaving...

Algeria's licensing round.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... The Algerian government provided details of the 45 blocks to be offered in the country's first licensing round since 2004, some six months after interested parties were asked to prequalify. Regulatory and licensing agency Alnaft said data...

Bolivia referendum deaths.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... Two people died and 30 were injured in confrontations Aug. 5 between miners and police in the western Bolivian mining city of Oruro. Separate protests in the southern city of Tarija also turned violent, forcing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez...

Correa gets his way.(IN BRIEF)
August 1, 2008... A special assembly approved a new draft constitution granting Ecuador's leftist president, Rafael Correa, new powers, including the ability to dissolve Congress and set monetary policy, and freeing him to run for office through 2017. The...

Crude and gas price slide depresses oil company shares.(EQUITY MARKETS)
August 1, 2008... Oil equities suffered their worst month for years in July as falling crude oil and natural gas prices sent energy firms' share prices tumbling. No integrated oil company was spared during the month, with losses of 10% or more common for...

FSU specialists Regal and Sibir seek move to main UK exchange.(EMERGING MARKETS)
August 1, 2008... London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) is pitched as an exchange where smaller companies and start-ups can raise finance and develop their business free from overbearing regulatory requirements. But when such firms reach a certain size...