International Petroleum Finance articles from January 2008

International Petroleum Finance archives from January 2008

It's out with the IT crowd.
January 1, 2008... What are oil companies' core competencies and how many of these can they afford to farm out or cut in their quest for cost savings and improved profitability? These questions were again being asked at the start of the new year as Royal Dutch...

Rig squeeze keeps rates at record highs.
January 1, 2008... With most drilling equipment around the world running at or near full capacity, rigs are in very short supply and day rates are soaring, giving the drilling industry its best spell in more than a decade. With forecasts suggesting the sector...

Roller-Coaster year for AIM-quoted oil firms.
January 1, 2008... Oil and gas companies trading on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) faced a difficult year in 2007. Worsening global economic conditions made raising new capital tougher, while the oil and gas sector become more competitive than ever....

Herold Picks 12 energy stocks for 2008 success.
January 1, 2008... US-based energy research firm John S. Herold released its list of favorite oil and gas company stocks just before Christmas, with a broad scope of companies making this year's top eight--including Russian energy giant Gazprom, North American...

Hinduja deal gives ONGC a way into Iran.
January 1, 2008... Last month, India's Hinduja Group (HG) and state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) agreed to work together on two big upstream projects in Iran and on related downstream and LNG ventures in India. Although replete with risk, the agreement...

Russia set to supply Exxon's new US LNG terminal.
January 1, 2008... Exxon Mobil in December announced plans to build a 1.2 billion cubic foot per day (7.5 million ton per year) floating LNG receiving terminal 30 km (20 miles) off the US east coast. The $1 billion BlueOcean Energy facility should be up and...

Different reform paths for NNPC and Sonangol.
January 1, 2008... Anyone looking at the recent government reform pledges for Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) and Angola's state-owned Sonangol could not fail to be struck by the contrasts between the two in goals, style and timetables. Nigeria's...

Tanker rates head south after record December.
January 1, 2008... The world crude tanker market had a roller-coaster 2007. At the start of the year analysts predicted rates would drop on most key routes, with the possibility of a stronger fourth quarter. The forecasts weren't far off the mark, with a soft...

Global E&P spending set to rise again this year.
January 1, 2008... Worldwide spending on upstream oil and gas projects is expected to record another year of growth in 2008, led by a spending surge outside North America. Two recent surveys--one by investment bank Lehman Brothers and another by...

Kashagan deal agreed.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... Kazakhstan and the Eni-led consortium developing the Kashagan oil field have agreed a deal to restructure the consortium. Under the deal, agreed in Astana Jan. 13, Eni will lose sole operatorship, Kazakh state oil company Kazmunaigas (KMG) will...

Edison signs Iran deal.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... Italy's Edison signed a contract with National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) to explore the offshore Dayyer Block. The deal was seen as a sign that perceptions of Iran's political risk may be easing in the wake of a December US intelligence report...

Dutch field to be restarted.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... Nam, the 50-50 Netherlands-based upstream venture of Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, said last month it has taken a final investment decision to restart oil production from the Schoonebeek field in 2010. The field will be restarted with...

Repsol sells YPF stake.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... The sale by Repsol YPF of 14.9% of its Argentine subsidiary YPF last month was a disappointment in financial terms, but may pay off politically, analysts said. Repsol sold 14.9% of YPF to Enrique Eskenazi's Grupo Petersen for $2.3 billion,...

Transcanada gets Alaska pipe.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... The Alaskan authorities said Canadian pipeline company TransCanada was the only entity that bid to commercialize gas from Alaska's North Slope field that met the state's requirements as set out under the recently passed Alaska Gas Line...

Petrobras ups output.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... Brazil's Petrobras produced a record 2 million bbl of oil on Dec. 25. On Jan. 11, the state-controlled group said average production through December was 1.85 million b/d, up from 1.76 million b/d in November. Natural gas production rose 5% to...

Gazprom spending set to rise.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... Gazprom will increase capital expenditure by 43% to almost $20 billion this year as it speeds up the development of Arctic fields and builds new pipelines. The state Russian gas group said its board had approved record capital investments...

Bush signs US energy bill.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... US President George W. Bush last month signed a new national energy bill. Although weakened to avoid a presidential veto, observers said the legislation represents one of the most sweeping changes to national energy policy since the...

Alaska LNG deal closer.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin, has agreed a deal with ConocoPhillips and Marathon designed to keep North America's only LNG export facility, the Kenai plant in Nikiski, Alaska, in operation. The agreement includes pledges from the two...

Cuban output stagnant.(IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2008... Cuban oil and gas output rose only slightly to the equivalent of 4 million tons of oil (80,000 boe/d) last year despite a significant increase in investment, according to the island's state-run media. Oil output was 2.9 million tons (57,000...

Oil shares easily outperformed stock markets in 2007.(EQUITY MARKETS)
January 1, 2008... Oil company shares easily outperformed leading stock markets as a whole in 2007, marking the fourth year in a row that oil equities beat out the broader market. For the year, the IPF Index rose 19.6% versus a 3.5% gain for the S&P 500...

Shares in Saudi Petro-Rabigh IPO predicted to soar on debut.(EMERGING MARKETS)
January 1, 2008... Subscriptions for the much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of shares in Saudi Arabia's Petro-Rabigh integrated refinery and petrochemical complex opened Jan. 5. and closed Jan. 12. Petro-Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co., a 50-50...