International Petroleum Finance articles from June 2004

International Petroleum Finance archives from June 2004

Climate control.
June 1, 2004... How many investors does it take to change an oil major? A lot more, it seems, than the number who last month asked Exxon Mobil for a better explanation of its position on global warming. At its annual shareholder meeting, investors...

Yukos sinks deeper into the mire.
June 1, 2004... Whether Yukos will exist in anything like its present form in a year or so is open to question. The one person who could decide its future, President Vladimir Putin, has vowed not to get involved, lest he influence the legal process. But...

Petroplus and Carlyle--oil's new odd couple.
June 1, 2004... An intriguing new future is taking shape for troubled European refiner Petroplus, following the announcement last month of plans for a recommended takeover bid for the company from The Carlyle Group, arguably the world's best known and best...

Income trusts transform Canada's oil patch.
June 1, 2004... Tax-friendly energy income trusts have taken over the Canadian oil patch. Trusts are driving merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the country and several oil companies are considering ditching the traditional corporate structure to take...

Self-assessment taxing for Shell bosses.
June 1, 2004... Royal Dutch/Shell has "more problems than just the reserves issue" that has dogged it this year, chairman Jeroen van der Veer has told the company's top 400 managers. Addressing senior staff at Shell's biannual Business Week meeting in Houston...

Petrobras prepares banquet for the bankers.
June 1, 2004... Among Latin America's state-owned oil companies, Petrobras is taking the road less traveled. Its mixed private and state shareholding structure should suit it well, as it approaches the market to raise $16.1 billion over the next six years,...

Minnows make good on Africa's frontiers.
June 1, 2004... More discoveries in the deep waters off northwest Africa, and new signs of commercial oil life along the continent's eastern coast, have encouraged a growing band of minnows and juniors to explore Africa's frontier countries. It is a risky...

Asian IPOs dead in the water.
June 1, 2004... What is preventing Asia's many state-owned oil companies from becoming publicly listed? Analysts say it has a lot to do with the reluctance of regional governments to give away shares in profitable oil firms. Talk of initial public offerings...

Benchmark report on Iraqi oil industry--updated.
June 1, 2004... One year on and the political and economic scenarios in Iraq are still highly uncertain. Anyone managing or planning operations in this region should have the newly updated edition of Energy Intelligence's benchmark survey, Iraqi Oil: A Bonanza...

Exxon, Apache tie up.
June 1, 2004... Last month's deal with Apache Corp. suggests that Exxon Mobil may have found a novel way to rationalize its North American portfolio, essentially transferring control of mature oil and gas fields to the US independent while retaining interests...

Angola bonus disclosed.
June 1, 2004... Angola's decision to disclose the $300 million payment it received from ChevronTexaco to extend an oil production concession was welcome news to human rights activists, donors and NGOs lobbying for greater transparency, but the southern African...

Petro-Canada catches Buzzard.
June 1, 2004... Petro-Canada has paid $840 million for a 29.9% stake in the UK's 550 million bbl Buzzard oil field development. Petro-Canada is buying the stake from privately held UK independent Intrepid Energy through the acquisition of its Intrepid...

Romania picks OMV.
June 1, 2004... Romania has chosen Austria's OMV to enter into exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of a 33.34% stake in state-owned Petrom, the country's largest oil and gas group. This would be followed by an increase in Petrom's share capital to raise...

Tupras ruling appealed.
June 1, 2004... Turkey's Privatization Administration has appealed against a Jun. 3 court ruling annulling the $1.3 billion sale of a 66% stake in state-owned refiner Tupras, the latest step in the legal battle to take the sale forward. A Turkish appeal...

Hydro in Shtokman talks.
June 1, 2004... Russia's Gazprom has invited Norsk Hydro to discuss equity participation in the giant Shtokman gas project and agreed that a joint working group should look at development proposals, following a meeting in Moscow at the start of June between...

TNK-BP's tax tactics.
June 1, 2004... TNK-BP has drawn up a preliminary plan to form a Russian holding company that will streamline the operations of the Russian-UK joint venture. In the wake of the Yukos affair, the move is seen as an attempt to avoid criticism from Russian...

Banks warned on Sakhalin.
June 1, 2004... The world's largest banks are being lobbied by environmental groups not to finance the Royal Dutch/Shell-led Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project off Russia's Pacific coast, because of a threat to an endangered species of whale. "Shell's selective...

XTO buys more onshore.
June 1, 2004... US independent XTO Energy has bought a second package of US onshore assets, following its $340 million deal with Exxon Mobil at the start of May (IPF May, p1). In its latest deal, XTO is paying ChevronTexaco $1.1 billion for producing...

PDV woos Wall Street.
June 1, 2004... Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) chief executive All Rodriguez has tried to reassure Wall Street of his company's and country's reliability as a supplier and investment partner at a meeting with more than 150 top US financial executives in New York...

Tax hit for Repsol.
June 1, 2004... New oil and gas export taxes unveiled by Buenos Aires last month could shave as much as $100 million from Repsol YPF's operating profit this year, the company has said. The Argentine government announced May 11 that it was raising the...

CNOOC to buy back shares.
June 1, 2004... Shares in Chinese offshore producer CNOOC Ltd. jumped last month after the company announced plans to buy back as much as 10% of its stock. The share price of CNOOC Ltd., the listed arm of China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), gained...

Majors beat market in May as crude soars to record heights.(Equity Markets)
June 1, 2004... Shares of leading worldwide oil and gas companies outperformed the broader equity market in May, as crude oil prices and US natural gas prices soared to record heights and refining fundamentals remained strong in most key regions. The IPF...

Indian oil shares slump as voters turn back on BJP.(Emerging Markets)
June 1, 2004... The share prices of India's leading oil companies are slowly recovering following a mini-crash on the Bombay Stock Exchange due to the results of last month's Indian parliamentary elections. Shares in the big four state-owned companies Oil...