International Petroleum Finance articles from March 2002

International Petroleum Finance archives from March 2002

Balancing act.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Talk to ten different investors about what they look for in an oil company and you are bound to get ten different answers. Return on capital employed and low cost growth seem to be the most important measures of success for investors; however,...

Marathon aims to play different integrated game.(Marathon Oil Co.)
March 1, 2002... The restructuring of mid-sized US integrated company Marathon took on a new direction last month, when executives of the Houston-based company detailed plans for turning around what have been lackluster upstream results in recent years. At the...

Watchdog bond raters control capital flow in Latin America.
March 1, 2002... A flurry of recent credit ratings actions by the three majors agencies -- Standard and Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch -- are having a considerable impact on the financial fortunes of Latin American countries and their top oil and gas companies. The...

Investors focus on fine print in energy firms' books.
March 1, 2002... The spectacular collapse of Enron has prompted investors to take a greater interest in the arcane world of corporate accounting, particularly issues related to off-balance sheet debt and liquidity. Suddenly, the small print of annual reports is...

Total, BP head class in output growth.(Total Fina Elf)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Total Fina Elf and BP are expected to deliver the strongest oil and gas production growth over the next few years among the world's five largest private energy companies, according to a recent study by investment bank ABN Amro. While US-based...

Majors replace reserves but struggle to expand output.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... It seems odd that so many major oil companies are having problems achieving their upstream production growth targets, considering how solidly they have performed in replacing oil and gas reserves in recent years. Reserve replacement is one of...

TNK puts dark past behind it, looks toward bright future.(Tyumen Oil Co.)(Interview)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) has proved to be no wallflower in the rough-and-ready business world of post-Soviet Russia. The aggressive way it snatched assets from under the nose of BP after the UK oil major bought a strategic stake in sister outfit...

Frisky PetroChina flirts with Canadian Husky.(Petro China Company Ltd., Husky Energy)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Speculation about a takeover of Canadian independent Husky Energy has taken a new twist, amid reports that top Chinese oil company PetroChina is considering a deal. Husky has been on the block since last year, when several companies, including...

E&P firms ready their game plans to cope with volatile prices.(Includes related article on new power markets)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... After riding an intense price roller coaster in 2001, US independent producers are searching for the best way to deal with what they believe will be another year of extreme volatility in crude oil and natural gas markets. With storage...

Saudi stalemate.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Critical negotiations are expected in Saudi Arabia this month as international oil companies work to a revised deadline of end-March to conclude framework agreements for the $20 billion-plus natural gas initiative, having missed the target date...

Learning to share.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The proposed combo of Phillips and Conoco may be a merger of equals after all, as two Conoco executives have been slated to fill the top two positions under James Mulva, the current Phillips' chairman and chief executive, and soon to be...

Defiant Skilling.(Jeffrey Skilling)(Enron Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A defiant former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling asserted before a US Senate panel that he didn't lie to Congress when he denied knowledge of the company's financial troubles or its questionable partnership deals when he quit last year. However, two...

Enronitis in Russia.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Controversy surrounding the auditing of US Enron's accounts prompted Russia's Audit Chamber to conduct a special review of how gas giant Gazprom's financial transactions have been scrutinized by its official auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers...

Statoil in Mexico?(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Norway's Statoil is in discussion with Mexican state Pemex on possible involvement in Mexico's natural gas sector, hoping to capitalize on its offshore development expertise. Despite growing political opposition, the administration of President...

CNOOC rewarded.(China National Offshore Oil Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Chinese upstream exploration specialist CNOOC is seeking to issue upwards of $500 million in debt to fund expansion and should be able to tap fresh cash cheaply on the back of solid profits. The 10-year bonds are due to be launched on Mar. 4,...

Hope in Iran.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The buyback contract formula for attracting foreign investment to Iran may have some life left in it yet, even as major oil companies hang back. Tiny Canadian independent Sheer Energy and its privately-owned Iranian partner Naftgaran are...

Kazak shake-up.(Kazakhstan)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... In a bid to tighten control over Kazakstan's oil and gas industry, President Nursultan Nazarbaev ordered the surprise merger of state Kazakoil and national transportation monopoly Transneftegas (TNG) into a mega-holding group, to be known as...

Premcor bites bullet.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... New Premcor chief Tom O'Malley wasted no time in making his mark on the small US refining outfit by announcing impending closure of the company's 70,000 b/d Hartford, Illinois, refinery (IPF Feb.,p9). The Midwest plant will discontinue refining...

Canada's coalbed kick off.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Calgary-based PanCanadian Energy, which agreed to merge with rival Alberta Energy Co. recently, and the Canadian arm of Fort Worth, Texas-based Quicksilver Resources have begun coalbed methane production from the Palliser block program in...

Baby steps.(Pertamina Humas P.T.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Indonesian state oil and gas giant Pertamina took the first step down what is likely to be a long road to privatization by bringing forward plans to become a limited liability company from November 2003 to earlier next year (IPF Oct.,p14)....

Zadco deadline.(Zakum Development Co.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... State Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc) has set an Apr. 30 deadline for bids to be submitted for a 28% stake in 500,000 b/d offshore producer Zakum Development Co. (Zadco). Six companies have been selected to bid for what is now the hottest...

On the move.(company information)
March 1, 2002... Houston-based independent producer Benton Oil and Gas is selling its 68% interest in Arctic Gas Co. to Russia's Yukos for $190 million. Top US onshore oil and gas drilling company Nabors is buying Enserco in a US$252 million deal to expand in...

Does big oil's February rally have legs? (Equity Markets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Shares of top oil and gas companies outperformed broader equity market indices in February, propelled by investor excitement about a possible recovery in the US economy and a prospective US invasion of Iraq. Either event would likely prompt an...

Russian majors gear up for growth despite Opec pressure. (Emerging Markets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... There is a certain lack of clarity about Russia's efforts to comply with its pledges of lower export levels in the first quarter, to put it mildly. On a different but closely related tack, Russia's oil companies are anything but vague about...