International Petroleum Finance articles from March 2004

International Petroleum Finance archives from March 2004

An epidemic in E&P?
March 1, 2004... Royal Dutch/Shell's reserves downgrade in January had a lot of oil executives--not to mention investors--looking nervously over their shoulders. Were there skeletons in other cupboards? Where would the next downgrade come from? How would...

Do resignations signal real change at shell?
March 1, 2004... Weeks of investors' pressure on Royal Dutch/Shell have finally reaped their reward, with the Anglo-Dutch supermajor announcing Mar. 3 the resignation of chairman Phil Watts, and the man previously considered his most likely long-term successor,...

Japanese take the plunge with Azadegan.
March 1, 2004... Last month's announcement of a $2 billion contract for a Japanese-led consortium to develop part of the giant onshore Azadegan oil field was a definite fillip for Iran as it strives to boost oil production capacity, officially put at around 4.2...

Sarbanes-Oxley, reserves concerns slow US M&A.
March 1, 2004... The explosion of corporate transactions by US companies that fueled frenetic merger and acquisition activity in the oil and gas industry during 2000-01 has subsided. The rate of takeovers and mergers slowed in 2002-03 and has virtually ground...

New competitors muscle in on E&P hotspots.
March 1, 2004... Royal Dutch/Shell downgrades reserves. Oil majors abandon production targets. BP and Shell shift strategic focus toward building long-term "legacy" positions. They all point to one thing--the majors desperately need new sources of oil and gas....

Growing Lundin sees challenges ahead.
March 1, 2004... Swedish independent Lundin Petroleum, launched in 2001 after the $400 million sale of Lundin Oil, has just generated its first full-year profit and is well on the way towards production of 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day at the end of...

Thailand plots to capture Singapore trading crown.
March 1, 2004... Thailand's efforts to turn itself into a multi-billion dollar regional oil hub are not going anywhere fast, as most traders have yet to see what cost advantages it could offer over Singapore. Longer term, however, Thailand's geographical...

Dudley explains TNK-BP plan for success in Russia.
March 1, 2004... Many oil industry eyes are watching TNK-BP very carefully as a bellwether indicator of strategic partnerships of Russia with the West. Bankers and governments around the world view the venture as a gauge for further foreign investment in...

GEPetrol pulls out of LNG loan.
March 1, 2004... Equatorial Guinea's state-owned GEPetrol raised a few eyebrows last month when it abruptly withdrew from a planned $400 million oil backed loan to finance its share in a $1 billion-plus liquefied natural gas (LNG) project with US Marathon Oil...

Kashagan back on track.
March 1, 2004... The world's biggest new oil project--the $29 billion development of the Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea--is back on track after Kazukhstan and a consortium led by Italy's Eni agreed to a new timetable for first oil, aiming to hit peak output...

Lukoil back in Iraq.
March 1, 2004... Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov is due in Baghdad later this month to discuss the Russian company's participation in the West Qurna oil project. Alekperov is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Iraqi oil ministry on...

Pars LNG takes shape.
March 1, 2004... Total, Malaysia's state-owned Petronas and the state-owned National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) have signed a shareholder agreement forming Pars LNG, which will now continue negotiations with the Iranian government on an LNG project based on gas...

Sasol, Engen tie up.
March 1, 2004... South African refiner and synthetic fuel producer Sasol and Petronas' majority-owned subsidiary Engen are merging their South African downstream assets to create one of the region's biggest fuel suppliers. The merger, if approved by the...

Total tackles chemicals.
March 1, 2004... Total has finally moved to tackle one of the few remaining drags on its performance--its oversized and underperforming chemicals division. The French major plans to fold its chlorochemicals, intermediates and performance products...

Hydro too busy to merge.
March 1, 2004... Norsk Hydro will be too busy developing its existing portfolio of oil and gas prospects to spend much time considering a merger or alliance with Statoil or any other company, according to Hydro chief executive Eivind Reiten. "We are one of...

Kukes warns on taxes.
March 1, 2004... Russian oil companies are likely to cut capital expenditure if a government plan to raise their taxes is realized, Yukos chief executive Simon Kukes has warned. But Kukes said he does not expect the administration of Russian President...

El Paso cuts reserves.
March 1, 2004... El Paso Corp. has revised down its estimated proven reserves by 1.8 Tcf of gas equivalent or 41%, and will take a related $1 billion charge against its fourth-quarter earnings. The company had already warned of well performance problems and...

Exxon pushes Rex on.
March 1, 2004... Exxon Mobil's promotion of upstream chief Rex Tillerson to the position of company president is a clear sign that Tillerson will succeed Lee Raymond as CEO, perhaps within a year or two, analysts say. Tillerson, 51, was elected president of...

Shell quits Venezuelan retail.
March 1, 2004... Royal Dutch/Shell has decided to pull out of Venezuela's retail fuel market because the country has failed to carry out the deregulation expected by the company. Shell entered the Venezuelan market in 1998 on the expectation of wider...

Pemex in red again.
March 1, 2004... Mexico's state-owned Pemex has reported a net loss for 2003 despite record production and a 30% rise in sales to $55.7 billion. The company lost $3.7 billion, after contributing $34 billion to the federal government. In 2002, Pemex had lost...

CNPC buys into Peru.
March 1, 2004... China National Petroleum Co. (CNPC) has extended its push into Latin America by purchasing a stake in the Peruvian subsidiary of Argentina's Pluspetrol. The move is part of a broader effort by CNPC and fellow state oil companies Sinopec and...

Surprise Opec cut boosts big oil shares in February.(Equity Markets)
March 1, 2004... Shares of leading worldwide oil and gas companies made strong gains in February, outpacing broader equity market indices on the back of robust commodity prices. After posting a 3.4% loss in January, the IPF Oil & Gas Index jumped 6.6% in...

BP continues Asian overhaul, Inpex plans listing.(Emerging Markets)
March 1, 2004... BP has continued the overhaul of its Asian portfolio with the divestment of its 2.11% stake in China's Sinopec, the sale, after years of trying, of its one-third holding in Singapore Refining Co. (SRC), and the disposal of the remaining 70% of...