International Petroleum Finance articles from March 2003

International Petroleum Finance archives from March 2003

For sale.(petroleum industry faces restructuring)(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2003... With several top oil companies planning to `high-grade' their asset portfolios in ah effort to enhance financial returns, the industry appears to be on the cusp of the biggest restructuring since the era of the mega-merger in the late 1990s....

Bouquets and boos as BP courts investors.
March 1, 2003... It's still early, but BP may have begun making some progress in rebuilding its reputation with investors following the debacle of last year's missed production growth targets. The company's management presented the results of their...

Majors plan for unknown in US-Iraqi conflict.
March 1, 2003... As the US edges closer to war with Iraq, what--if anything--are top oil companies doing to prepare themselves for a potentially messy, protracted conflict in the world's most prolific oil-producing region? Such a scenario could induce a spike...

US firms mull best practices under new Sarbanes-Oxley law.
March 1, 2003... Last year was not a period of high times for corporate America. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reported a 259% increase in the number of executives or companies subject to criminal indictments: a 147% increase in officer and...

EnCana CEO Morgan refuses to pull growth plug.(Gwyn Morgan )
March 1, 2003... At a time when major oil companies are backing away from volume growth targets, Calgary-based EnCalla is sticking its neck out with a 10% multi-year growth target and insists it will have no problem in delivering the goods. "We have huge land...

TNK boss sees major growth in Russian output, exports.(Tymnen Oil Co.'s President Simon Kukes)
March 1, 2003... Tymnen Oil Co. (TNK) President Simon Kukes may be uncertain about his future role in the new company TNK recently formed with BP, but he is supremely confident about the potential of Russia's oil sector. If pipeline capacity expands and oil...

Majors find reserves hard to replace in 2002.
March 1, 2003... The list of large integrated oil companies that failed to replace production with new oil and natural gas reserves in 2002 is growing. It now includes Royal Dutch/Shell, Repsol-YPF, Statoil, Amerada Hess, and ConocoPhillips--a disturbing trend...

India chases China's tail in race for investment.
March 1, 2003... To paraphrase Ross Perot, the giant sucking sound coming from Asia is the sound of foreign direct investment (FDI) being sucked into China, largely at the expense of regional rival India, which continues to attract a fraction of the investment...

Continental Europeans growing while rivals falter.
March 1, 2003... Continental Europe's majors have ended 2002 looking smug next to their rivals in the UK and the US, with the sector bucking growing industry disillusionment with the growth and returns ethos of the past few years. In a year where BP, Royal...

ONGC makes progress in Sudan.(ONGC Videsh to purchase Talisman Energy's interest in Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Intense diplomatic efforts by India have secured the Sudanese government's support for plans by Oil and Natural Gas Corp.'s (ONGC) overseas arm ONGC Videsh to buy Talisman Energy's stake in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co. (GNPOC),...

Gas Natural in Edison talks.(as )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Spanish gas distributor Gas Natural has been holding exploratory talks with Edison about taking an equity stake in the cash-starved Italian electricity firm, although both companies are stressing that Gas Natural is just one of a number of...

OMV snaps up BP assets.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Austria's OMV has clinched a $405 million deal to buy a package of BP assets in central Europe, comprising a 45% stake in southern Germany's Bayernoil refinery network, 313 filling stations, and an 18% stake in the Trans Alpine (Tal) pipeline...

Mol's gas warning.(profitability of gas business in 2003)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Hungary's Mol has warned that its price-capped gas business will plunge back into heavy losses this year, losing as much as $90 million in the first quarter alone. A strong local currency that helped the business almost break even last year is...

Lukoil, Rosneft ink peace pact.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Russia's Lukoil may be near to putting its terrible 2002 behind it. Booted out of the West Qurna oil field in Iraq, and snubbed in privatizations in Poland and Greece, the company looks to have come to an understanding with state-owned rival...

Gazprom raises $1.75 billion.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has raised $1.75 billion through the capital markets as part of its quest to raise funds for its investment program and to ease its heavy debt repayment schedule. In line with a decision by the company's board...

Shell buys into Kazakhstan.(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos., Kerr-McGee )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... After months of negotiations, Royal Dutch/Shell has agreed to buy the Kazakh assets of US independent Kerr-McGee in a $165 million deal due to be signed at the end of March. The breakthrough deal will give Shell its first equity production in...

Devon and Ocean merge.(Devon Energy, Ocean Energy)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Devon Energy will become the biggest US-based independent oil and natural gas producer and gain a significant deepwater exploration presence in the US Gulf of Mexico and West Africa as the result of its $5.3 billion acquisition of Ocean Energy....

Shell upbeat on Great White.(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos., oil exploration offshore US Gulf of Mexico )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Royal Dutch/Shell believes its Great White deepwater discovery in the US Gulf of Mexico holds sufficient reserves to warrant development on a stand-alone basis--and that says a lot, based on Shell standards. "We still see it as a potential...

Deltana blocks awarded.(ChevronTexaco and Statoil's contract for exploration of oil fields in Venezuela)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... ChevronTexaco and Norway's Statoil have been awarded contracts by Venezuela to exploit two of the five fields that comprise the $3.8 billion Deltana Platform project off the country's east coast. After weeks of negotiation and delay due to...

China loan deal for pipeline.(construction of crude oil pipeline from East Siberia to China)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... China is ready to repay a $658 million loan early to Moscow--on condition that it would be invested in building the proposed crude oil pipeline from East Siberia to China. The statement, from Zhang Guobao, rice chairman of China's State...

Cosmo outlines survival plan.(Cosmo Oil Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Japan's smallest refiner Cosmo Oil plans to slash debt and boost spending on exploration and refinery upgrades in a radical new plan designed to ensure the company's survival. As part of its new strategy, Cosmo plans to reduce its liabilities...

Soaring prices can't help oil shares in February. (Equity Markets).(2003)
March 1, 2003... Despite oil prices surging to nearly $40 per barrel by the end of the month, share prices for leading global oil and gas companies fared poorly in February, continuing a trend that started in the second hall of 2002. The IPF Oil and Gas...

Sink or swim: Mexico mulls floating 10% of Pemex. (Emerging Markets).
March 1, 2003... A proposal floated by opposition Mexican legislators to sell off 10% of state monopoly Pemex through a stock offer might raise as much as $6 billion for the company to use for badly needed investment, but it would not do much for foreign...