International Petroleum Finance articles from February 2005

International Petroleum Finance archives from February 2005

The minnows' return.
February 1, 2005... Most dot.com start-ups went boom and then bust on the over-inflated hopes of the investment industry. As pundits predict that high energy prices are here to stay, could the same be happening in the oil and gas business? A rash of new...

Ratings and reserves still troubling shell.
February 1, 2005... The ghost of 2004 has been very much in evidence for Royal Dutch/Shell over the past few weeks, with a fresh cut to reserves exceeding investors' expectations, and a subsequent decision from one leading ratings agency to cut the group's credit...

Oil should follow mining's golden rules.
February 1, 2005... Last year's reserves accounting scandal at Royal Dutch/Shell might have been avoided if the oil and gas industry had followed the practice of the mining industry, and provided a field-by-field level of disclosure on reserves. But far from...

Oil plays the hedge fund blame game.
February 1, 2005... The world of hedge funds is seen as secretive, speculative and unregulated. And with good reason--most of it is. Nonetheless a considerable amount of hype and delirium has accompanied the spectacular emergence of hedge funds during the last few...

Business as usual for the trend followers.
February 1, 2005... For one section of the hedge fund community, the opportunity presented by the bull-run in oil last year was simply business as usual, as Michael Covel, author of the best-selling book Trend Following explains. The involvement of hedge...

France, Italy wrestle with the EdF question.
February 1, 2005... Fresh high-level efforts to reach an accord over the issue of Electricite de France's participation in the Italian power market have been restarted since the start of the year, spearheaded by the French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and...

Sinochem expansion stumbles on Inchon.
February 1, 2005... Sinochem Corp. likes to think of itself as China's fourth state-owned oil company, despite its history as an importer of agricultural products and fertilizer. It conducted a reverse takeover at the end of January, gaining a second listing for...

US firms dominate Libya's Epsa-4 round.
February 1, 2005... US companies Occidental, ChevronTexaco and Amerada Hess were welcomed back into Libya with open arms at the end of last month, following the results of Tripoli's long-awaited Epsa-4 upstream tender. By contrast, the many European firms that...

Prudence still US majors' best friend.
February 1, 2005... Don't look for the US-based major oil companies to do anything wild or even slightly risky with the mountains of cash that continue to pile up. This year will likely shape up to look like 2004, with share buybacks continuing at a consistent...

Ivan effect hits insurance premiums.
February 1, 2005... The ghost of devastating Hurricane Ivan is coming back to haunt US Gulf of Mexico producers in the form of drastically higher insurance premiums for their offshore infrastructure. Offshore production policy rates for 2005 are going up by as...

Are you ready for the LNG boom?
February 1, 2005... If you are involved in any aspect of the LNG business, you need to understand the fundamentals of this developing industry. Our new report, World LNG Review, will provide you with a comprehensive, up-to-date desktop reference to the key aspects...

Rosneft's Chinese finance.
February 1, 2005... Moscow has confirmed that China played a central role in helping state oil company Rosneft finance the $9.4 billion purchase of Yuganskneftegas, after the Yukos production arm was forcibly sold by the government late last month (IPF Jan.,p3)....

BP upsets Tehran.
February 1, 2005... Comments last month by BP CEO John Browne that the supermajor would not make any significant investments in Iran until US sanctions are lifted have incurred the wrath of Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, who says the company has "Mined its...

Iraq studies awarded.
February 1, 2005... Iraq's oil ministry has awarded contracts for reservoir studies at its giant Kirkuk and Rumaila oil fields to BP and UK-based Exploration Consultants Ltd. (ECL). Royal Dutch/Shell will also play a supporting role to the oil ministry on the...

Progress on Petroplus.
February 1, 2005... US private equity funds Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings are finally expected to launch their share offer for Dutch refiner Petroplus later this month, but the funds have bad to sweeten their offer to both the company's debt and equity...

Repsol's new structure.
February 1, 2005... Repsol YPF's new chairman and CEO Antonio Brufau has restructured the Spanish major into three core divisions, each with its own executive director (IPF Dec.,p5). And to lead a new Latin America arm, Brufau has tapped the chief executive of...

Vattenfall enters Elsam Fray.
February 1, 2005... The proposed merger of Danish power company Elsam with state-owned oil and gas firm Dong may not go ahead, following the acceptance earlier this month by 35% of Elsam's shareholders comprising Danish grid companies--of a rival cash offer from...

Conoco joins Lukoil board.
February 1, 2005... Russian major Lukoil has elected the first ConocoPhillips representative to its board of directors, cementing an alliance forged in an equity deal last year (IPF Oct.,p1). The two partners are also moving ahead with joint upstream plans in...

Bank demand for Rosneft.
February 1, 2005... Western banks have hit Rosneft with a demand for immediate payment of $525 million of borrowings that were guaranteed by former Yukos producer Yuganskneftegas, the Russian state oil company has confirmed. The suspension of Yukos' crude...

M&A values up in 2004.
February 1, 2005... Last year was one of the most active upstream merger and acquisition periods in the post-mega merger era, with the combined value of all deals worldwide totaling $68.5 billion, according to a new report by consultant John S. Herold. The...

Citgo for sale?
February 1, 2005... With new rumors swirling around that Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) could sell US refining subsidiary Citgo, analysts are questioning the financial reasoning behind such a move for Venezuela while weighing the potential opportunities for...

Ecuador plans reforms.
February 1, 2005... In a bid to grow foreign investment in his country's crucial oil sector, Ecuador's President Lucio Gutierrez plans to launch ambitious reforms this year that include the restructuring of state oil company Petroecuador and the introduction of...

Medco weighs IPO.
February 1, 2005... Indonesia's largest private E&P company Medco Energi is considering offering shares through an initial public offering (IPO) in the next six months. The funds would support Medco's long-term expansion plans. The company would launch the...

Oil equities rebound in January after subdued end to 2004.(Equity Markets)
February 1, 2005... Oil shares rebounded in January following a poor showing in the final weeks of 2004, driven by stronger benchmark oil prices that moved $5 per barrel higher during the month. The US-listed oil companies tracked by IPF all inched higher in...

China aviation creditors unhappy with debt plan.(Emerging Markets)
February 1, 2005... Major creditors of China Aviation Oil (CAO) have started to express openly their unhappiness with the company's proposed debt restructuring plan, which would see them repaid a 41.5% slice of amounts owing, and are reviewing their options for...