International Petroleum Finance articles from July 2002

International Petroleum Finance archives from July 2002

Winding down.(consolidation among oil companies decreases)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Industry consolidation may have peaked in the late 1990s, when mega-mergers between major oil companies inflated the value of merger and acquisition activity to unprecedented levels, but the trend is hardly going out with a whimper. Among the...

June brings good fortune to embattled Repsol YPF.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... June was a good month for Repsol YPF--its first in a long time. The company had some welcome good news out of Argentina, where the government announced Jun. 16 the lifting of restrictions on oil product exports implemented in the wake of this...

Market weighs new metrics to value new look merchants.(demands of rating agencies on energy companies)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Is it back to the future for the energy merchants? Will they again become the purveyors of only shorter-term trades measured in months or at most a year or two as they were a decade ago? Will they return to handling only the commodity--natural...

One year after IPO, Norway's Statoil gets mixed reviews.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... After over a decade of stability, Norway's oil and gas industry was radically revamped last year, culminating in the part-privatization of state producer Statoil. In its first year as a listed company, Statoil has delivered a solid--if not...

Value of upstream M&A dips, but refinery deals boom in 2001.(mergers and acquisitions)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... The total value of worldwide upstream mergers and acquisitions declined for a third consecutive year in 2001, perhaps signaling the official end to the "era of the mega-merger." But even though the industry may not see the formation of another...

Teton seeks partner for Western Siberia oil play.(Teton Petroleum Co.)
July 1, 2002... With Russia back in favor with Western investors, Teton Petroleum, a small US producer of Russian crude oil, is striking while the is iron is hot. The company is actively looking for a strategic partner to help grow its business and accelerate...

Fish rot at the head: SEC takes aim at corporate fraud.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
July 1, 2002... Harvey Pitt has a simple, bold recommendation for corporate America in its quest to regain investor confidence and prevent accounting scandals. It must control executive greed. Better rules for the way bosses of US firms are paid would go a...

Bow Valley reinvents itself as boring firm, plans to shed all interesting assets.(Bow Valley Energy Inc. to develop United Kingdom North Sea)
July 1, 2002... Canada's Bow Valley Energy is reinventing itself again--this time as a developer of marginal oil and gas fields in the UK North Sea. The strategy shift follows a change of management late last year, when former executives from local rival...

Yukos reveals owners.(YUKOS Oil Co. reveals shareholders)
July 1, 2002... Major shareholders in Russia's second-largest oil firm, Yukos, revealed their identities, in an unprecedented step in Russia's corporate history. Analysts praised the move by Yukos, which is seeking a listing in the US, and said it would help...

Chevron states goals.(ChevronTexaco)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... ChevronTexaco increased its target for annual cost savings to $2.2 billion, confirmed its modest upstream growth goal, and reiterated its commitment to troubled power affiliate Dynegy during a meeting with analysts in June. Chevron said the...

Bigger Buzzard.(estimating North Sea oil fields)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... EnCana has boosted its estimate of reserves at its Buzzard oil field--already the North Sea's biggest find in at least a decade--and moved closer to a $1 billion development of the rich prospect. EnCana, Canada's largest independent producer,...

Talisman nears Sudan exit.(asset sale to Oil and Natural Gas Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Canadian independent producer Talisman Energy appears tantalizingly close to the sale of its assets in Sudan--a deal that would end a long-running saga marked by fierce protests from religious and human rights groups--to India's Oil and Natural...

Firms not upping Capex.(capital spending on exploration and production)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Oil and gas prices have exceeded most companies' budgeted levels so far this year, but that does not mean the industry is ratcheting up capital spending. According to a recent study by Lehman Brothers, global exploration and production (E&P)...

Veritas-PGS deal still on.(merger of Veritas DGC, Petroleum Geo-Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Once in jeopardy of falling through, the $1 billion merger of seismic giants Veritas and Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) appears to be back on track, after the two companies agreed to revise the terms of their deal and Veritas agreed to remove a...

Calling out corruption.(disclosure of fees paid in oil producing countries)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Hedge fund guru turned philanthropist George Soros threw down the gauntlet to oil companies last month, when he endorsed a new initiative calling on companies to make public the fees, royalties, signature bonuses, and taxes paid to governments...

Golden shares take blow.(government voting shares in corporations deemed illegal)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The European Court of Justice ruled that so-called `golden shares' giving governments special voting powers in corporations were illegal, and outlawed France's golden share arrangement with oil major Total Fina Elf. The decision is expected to...

Petronas goes shopping.(upstream asset acquisitions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Long known for its conservative behavior, Petronas is beginning to loosen its purse strings after stunning financial markets in May by issuing about $2.7 billion in new debt, the bulk of which was earmarked for investment in upstream oil and...

Pioneer resumes drilling.(Pioneer Natural Resources' Argentine operations)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... US independent Pioneer Natural Resources is getting ready to resume oil drilling in Argentina, after halting activity at the start of this year in response to the country's economic crisis. But natural gas drilling will remain suspended, as the...

Oil shares avoid market meltdown in June. (Equity Markets).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... A rash of accounting scandals and illegal activities by corporate executives made the month of June miserable for most sectors of the US equity market. Top oil and gas companies largely walked away from the carnage unscathed, however. The IPF...

Struggling Sinopec presses panic button. (Emerging Markets).(calls for creation of national oil company)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Nearly four years after various ministries and agencies were transformed into China's two giant integrated oil firms, heavyweight refiner Sinopec is pressing the panic button. Spooked by plunging downstream profits, mounting competition with...