International Petroleum Finance articles from March 2005

International Petroleum Finance archives from March 2005

Seeking direction.
March 1, 2005... It's the world's leading business and is crucial to the health of the global economy--but does the oil industry know where it's going? True, top executives from the majors regularly turn out at conferences and other public occasions to talk...

Majors urge SEC to fix reserves rules.
March 1, 2005... The debate over accounting rules for oil and gas reserves has been reignited in recent weeks, with leading industry consultants urging reform of the current regulatory framework endorsed by the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and...

Shell, Total lend backing to Qatar's Euro vision.
March 1, 2005... Qatar has confirmed its dramatic entry into the European LNG market by signing several agreements worth some $20 billion--a preliminary accord on the $7 billion Qatargas-4 venture, the formal launch of the $12 billion-plus Qatargas-2 project...

Gazprom-Rosneft plans hit by Kremlin row.
March 1, 2005... The mega-merger of the world's largest natural gas producer, Gazprom, and Russian state oil company Rosneft is back on the fast-track after a Houston court last month dismissed Yukos' claim for US bankruptcy protection following the seizure and...

Grand designs pose challenge for Eni.
March 1, 2005... Italian major Eni has big plans for the rest of the decade. Chief Executive Vittorio Mincato has announced Eni will be able to produce over 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2008, equivalent to growth of over 5% per annum, and one...

Rock fans take shine to African oil.
March 1, 2005... High oil prices and a voracious appetite for shares in new oil companies are encouraging increasingly exotic players--even by regional standards--to set up shop in Africa's oil sector (IPF Feb.,p1). But the bull rush of new oil companies,...

Oilfield services join the equity party.
March 1, 2005... The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Oil Service Sector index--a basket of 15 service firms, from offshore drillers like Transocean to worldwide service experts like Sehlumberger--has been hitting one all-time high after another in recent weeks,...

Chevron chief believes the surplus is over.
March 1, 2005... With oil prices at over $50 per barrel, most oil companies are in great shape. But this is no time for complacency as the issues facing the industry are the most daunting they have been for decades. Demand is growing rapidly while production...

Libya to tweak terms.
March 1, 2005... Libya plans to delay the launch of its fifth upstream licensing round, originally scheduled for early March, by up to three months, due to planned changes to the country's licensing terms. A new framework will be designed to boost...

Repsol slashes reserves.
March 1, 2005... Repsol YPF has downgraded its proven reserves by 4.1%--or 222.7 million boe--to a total of 4.9 billion boe following the result of a three-year audit by independent consultants DeGolyer & McNaughton and Gaffney, Cline & Associates. The downward...

Oslo sells Statoil equity.
March 1, 2005... The Norwegian government has reduced its stake in state-controlled Statoil by 5.4%, selling just under 118 million shares in two tranches to institutional and retail investors. The government sold 4.6% of Statoil, equivalent to 100 million...

Maurel & Prom issues bonds.
March 1, 2005... French independent Maurel & Prom has launched an offering of convertible bonds to "finance external growth" and diversify its assets. Although the offering was initially worth 270 million [euro] ($357 million), this was increased to 327 million...

Austrian loan for Sibneft.
March 1, 2005... Russia's Sibneft has received a $200 million loan from a consortium of banks led by Austria's Raiffeisenbank. The loan, which is for 39 months with an interest rate of Libor plus 1.6%, will be used for "standard working capital," a Sibneft...

TNK-BP plans move ahead.
March 1, 2005... TNK-BP's restructuring plans are moving ahead, with the boards of the Anglo-Russian joint venture's three main subsidiaries--Tyumen Oil Company (TNK), Sidanco and Onaco--holding shareholder meetings this month which approved integration into a...

Koreans ink Kazakh deal.
March 1, 2005... A South Korean consortium led by state-owned Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) has made a breakthrough in the northern Caspian Sea by signing a preliminary agreement with Kazakhstan's state oil and gas company Kazmunaigas. The Korean consortium...

Mixed news from Cairn.
March 1, 2005... UK independent Cairn Energy has revealed another significant discovery at its prolific Rajasthan Block in India, but has at the same time warned that higher costs, compounded by a weak dollar, will hit its 2004 profits. Cairn said it had...

Icahn's plan for Kerr-McGee.
March 1, 2005... Corporate raider Carl Icahn has spelled out his plans to correct what he sees as a severe undervaluation of US independent Kerr-McGee's shares, calling for the sale of its chemicals business, forward sales of future production and a massive...

Exxon's Orinoco woe.
March 1, 2005... Exxon Mobil has asked the Venezuelan government to start consultations over last year's unilateral increase in royalty rates for its 120,000 b/d Cerro Negro heavy crude project in the country's Orinoco Belt. "The government of Venezuela...

Koreans eye Malampaya stake.
March 1, 2005... Four South Korean firms--Korea Gas Corp. (Kogas), industrial firms LG International and DaeSung Industrial and utility Seoul City Gas--are negotiating with the Philippines National Oil Co. (PNOC) to buy a 4.9% stake in the country's Malampaya...

Exxon exits Sinopec.
March 1, 2005... Exxon Mobil has sold its 3.7% stake in China's listed Sinopec Corp., making it the last Western oil major to cash out of the refiner. Exxon, BP and Royal Dutch/Shell all bought stakes in Sinopec in the company's initial public offering in...

Oil prices push equities higher through February and into March.(Equity Markets)
March 1, 2005... Oil company stocks started March on a down note, taking the lead from benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, which tumbled more than $1 per barrel early in the Mar. 1 trading session. Share prices were down across the board on the first...

Majors remind Mexico its deepwater needs their dollars.
March 1, 2005... Mexico's closed energy sector has become an increasing source of frustration for the major international oil companies, who are now seeking to remind state-owned Pemex--as gently as possible--that without their financial muscle or technological...