International Petroleum Finance articles from December 2006

International Petroleum Finance archives from December 2006

Pros and cons.
December 1, 2006... Angola's decision to apply to join Opec has mixed implications for Big Oil. The most obvious negative, at least in theory, is the impact Opec membership, and adherence to quotas, could have on production volumes for those companies with...

Cairn proving a tough act to follow.
December 1, 2006... Cairn Energy's phenomenal rise from UK minnow to multi-billion dollar independent has been one of the industry's great success stories of the past few years, a triumph based around a series of potentially world-class oil discoveries onshore...

Builders are Spain's new power brokers.
December 1, 2006... Recent ownership changes at Repsol YPF were consolidated last month with the arrival of two new board members nominated by Sacyr Vallehermoso, the Spanish construction firm which has now built up a 20% stake in the oil major. Sacyr's move...

Repsol rules out YPF flotation until end of decade.
December 1, 2006... Repsol YPF has ruled out a partial flotation of its YPF unit in Argentina until there is more certainty over that country's return to international pricing in its energy sector. Speculation has been rife for months that Repsol was preparing a...

Enron's legacy--hype, but no substance.
December 1, 2006... As former Enron Chief Executive Jeff Skilling starts a federal prison term of at least two decades this month, a person could speculate on whether the one-time energy-trading "wunderkind" ever imagined the turmoil Enron would cause throughout...

Shakeout looming for African indies.
December 1, 2006... Record attendance at the annual Africa Upstream Conference in Cape Town last month shows that Africa's oil business is booming--but not for everyone. Oil executives predicted that the region's many small players will thin out during the next...

Gazprom outlines rise in spending.
December 1, 2006... Russian gas giant Gazprom has announced spending plans through to 2010 well in excess of market expectations as it looks to use its increased earnings to develop several new fields and acquire assets. Last month, Gazprom's executive board...

Eni chief says IOCs face paradox of plenty.(Interview)
December 1, 2006... Paolo Scaroni's appointment as the new chief executive of Italy's Eni was not greeted with universal delight when it was announced in May last year--many investors felt the company would have been better off reappointing Scaroni's predecessor...

Inflation prompts cuts to budgets in Canada.
December 1, 2006... For the first time in several years, exploration and production companies in Canada are ratcheting down spending plans for 2007. Rig rates and prices for oil field services have spiraled out of control, most upstream companies argue, which will...

Devon to exit Egypt.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... US independent Devon Energy has decided to sell its oil and gas assets in Egypt, where it produces around 5,000 boe/d, after operating in the North African country for about three years. "Our decision to exit Egypt is primarily a matter of...

Taqa buys BP Dutch assets.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... State-owned Abu Dhabi National Energy (Taqa) is buying BP's upstream assets in the Netherlands for a reported $694 million. "The acquisition of these BP assets in the Netherlands represents a significant advancement for Taqa as we continue...

BG to quit Mauritania.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... The UK's BG has put its assets in Mauritania up for sale, less than three years after acquiring them. BG has hired US investment bank Jefferies to auction the Mauritania assets, which include a 10% stake in the producing Chinguetti field. BG...

Premier bid talks end.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... Shares in UK independent Premier Oil plunged more than 10% after the UK independent announced the end of talks on a possible takeover. Premier said it had "terminated all discussions," but remained "extremely confident in the future...

Kazakhs mull nations bid.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... Kazakhstan has until the first week of January to decide whether to preempt a $1.91 billion agreement by China's Citic to buy the Karazhanbasmunai oil producer from Canada's Nations Energy, Kazakh oil officials have told IPF. Two senior...

Kashagan costs probed.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... Eni Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni has played down the severity of problems at its giant Kashagan development in Kazakhstan following reports that the Kazakh government plans to call in external auditors to assess the project's rapidly rising...

Nymex off to a flier.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... After years of groundwork, the New York Mercantile Exchange's highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) got off to a flying start last month, with shares almost tripling in price to $150 within hours of their Nov. 17 launch on the New...

Anadarko sells Genghis Khan.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... A group led by Australia's BHP Billiton and including Spain's Repsol YPF and US Hess is paying $1.35 billion for Anadarko's Genghis Khan oil and gas development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The deal will give BHP a 44% interest in and...

Total pulls plug in Argentina.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... Total has sold all of its electricity assets in Argentina, saying it did so because the government has not made good on a five-year-old pledge to lift a freeze on utility rates. The French major plans to retain its natural gas assets in...

OGDC shares snapped up.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... Pakistan's state-owned Oil & Gas Development Co. (OGDC) expects to raise $813 million through the sale of 10% of its shares, the Pakistani government has said. The institutional portion of the deal--or 95%--was twice oversubscribed, with...

Woodside drops EPL bid.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... Australia's Woodside Petroleum has finally given up on its $883 million bid for US independent Energy Partners Ltd. (EPL) after the offer expired last month, although analysts have been quick to point out that the failure will not diminish its...

QGC deal foils Santos.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2006... Queensland Gas Co. (QGC) looks to have foiled a hostile takeover bid from Australian independent Santos with the announcement of a strategic partnership with utility Australian Gas Light (AGL), which will pay up to A$292 million ($230 million)...

Hess steals the show as equities surge in November.(EQUITY MARKETS)
December 1, 2006... The late November rise in oil prices lifted oil equities in the final week of the month, giving investors gains for the second month in a row. Hess was easily the top performer in November, with the New York-based integrated oil company's share...

Investors may not be only victims of Algeria's uncertainty.(EMERGING MARKETS)
December 1, 2006... Algeria's oil business is plagued by uncertainty. It's not just the rules governing private participation that are in flux as high oil prices embolden the government to grab more of the spoils--some of the industry's top players also face...