International Petroleum Finance articles from May 2006

International Petroleum Finance archives from May 2006

No peace in La Paz.
May 1, 2006... Can Bolivian President Evo Morales really afford to go around threatening foreign oil and gas investors in the way he has this month? The writing has been on the wall since Morales' election in January, but he has now backed up his rhetoric...

Moscow makes a point with BASF deal.
May 1, 2006... The framework agreement signed at Tomsk in Siberia at the end of last month by the heads of German chemical giant BASF and Russia's Gazprom in the presence of the leaders of the two countries not only cemented an already tight relationship...

Repsol struggles with the Latin factor.
May 1, 2006... These are tricky times for Repsol YPF. Most oil companies couldn't be happier with oil at $70 per barrel, but high prices are causing headaches for the Spanish major--they seem to be emboldening governments to dictate harsher terms to foreign...

Smaller players bring Asia back in vogue.
May 1, 2006... "Southeast Asia has been out of fashion in the oil and gas world for quite some time now, but it's definitely coming back." That's the view of James Menzies, chief executive of new London-based, Asian-focused start-up Salamander Energy--and at...

Earnings momentum falters in Q1.
May 1, 2006... For most of 2004 and all of 2005, the integrated oil sector took advantage of the steep run-up in oil prices, posting solid quarter-over-quarter improvements in profits. However, during the first quarter of 2006, the group failed to earn more...

Contracting boom lifts gulf markets.
May 1, 2006... Soaring oil prices and the associated huge corporate revenues have brought activity levels to fever pitch in the Middle East's contracting sector, where it is estimated that the value of total projects in the pipeline now tops the $1 trillion...

Doing deals with Africa's secessionists.
May 1, 2006... When now defunct independent Fusion Oil and Gas signed a deal with Western Sahara's Polisario liberation movement--which seeks independence from Morocco--back in 2002, little did it know it was starting a trend in Africa. Since then, a raft of...

Foreign legion sinks deep roots in gulf.
May 1, 2006... During the early days of deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, the major international oil companies ruled the roost with little competition from smaller players. That all changed in the 1990s, when North American independents such as...

Syria makes progress despite US pressure.
May 1, 2006... Despite Washington's attempts to isolate it, Syria has taken its energy policy forward this year on two fronts, in negotiations with Cairo for the import of 2 billion cubic meters per year of Egyptian gas through the Arab Gas Pipeline, and in...

BG signs Oman deal.
May 1, 2006... The UK's BG Group has signed its first production sharing agreement in Oman, covering development of a gas field relinquished by main operator Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). The agreement gives BG a 100% interest in and operatorship of...

Libya plans bid round.
May 1, 2006... Libya is planning to announce its next upstream tender by the end of the year, the third such bid round in less than two years. "We are looking at the acreage available, its location and whether we need to introduce changes in the...

Eni bids big in Angola.
May 1, 2006... Italy's Eni raised eyebrows last month by offering a staggering $902 million signature bonus for Angola's Block 15, one of the most prospective tracts offered in the country's latest licensing round. The Italian bid--thought one of the...

Italy's Saras launches IPO.
May 1, 2006... Privately held Italian refiner Saras has launched an initial public offering for up to 40% of the company which could raise almost 2.47 billion [euro] ($3.05 billion). The IPO, which runs from Apr. 26 to May 12, will initially offer just...

Technip issues warning.
May 1, 2006... French rig contractor Technip saw its shares plunge 16% in one day late last month after issuing a warning on first-quarter and full-year earnings. Technip said its financial performance was being pressured by an "overheating" oil and gas...

Pair vie for TNK-BP unit.
May 1, 2006... The Kremlin is poised to decide the fate of oil producer Udmurtneft, as it weighs two candidates--Hungary's Mol and China's Sinopec--in a contest to buy the TNK-BP subsidiary, sources have told IPF. Mol confirmed it filed a binding bid on Apr....

Rosneft cuts debt rate.
May 1, 2006... Russia's state-owned Rosneft has come to an agreement with a group of Western banks to cut the interest rate on debts of over $3 billion to Libor plus 65 basis points, down from 190 points previously. Rosneft's president Sergei Bogdanchikov...

BTC pipe costs soar.
May 1, 2006... BP has admitted that the cost of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline has risen sharply, and could ultimately hit the $5 billion mark. The UK supermajor, which heads a consortium building the pipeline, said that the cost had increased to $3.9...

Devon snaps up chief.
May 1, 2006... Already by far the biggest producer in Texas' largest natural gas field, US independent Devon Energy this month became a Barnett Shale powerhouse by snapping up privately owned Chief Holdings for $2.2 billion in cash. Devon estimates that...

Lyondell-Citgo for sale.
May 1, 2006... Lyondell Chemical and Citgo Petroleum are to consider offers for Lyondell-Citgo Refining (LCR), a partnership that operates a 268,000 b/d refinery in Houston. Lyondell and Citgo said they would work "diligently and expeditiously" to compile...

CNOOC refills war chest.
May 1, 2006... CNOOC Ltd., the listed arm of state-owned China National Oil Offshore Corp., is placing about 2.5 billion shares, worth around $1.95 billion, to fund its expansion plans. About 91% of the shares in the placement are new. They were priced...

New boss for Cairn India.
May 1, 2006... UK independent Cairn Energy has moved a step closer to the partial flotation of its Indian upstream business with the appointment of Rahul Dhir as the subsidiary's new chief executive. Dhir will join Cairn this month from Merrill Lynch,...

Tehran's hard line drives oil prices, equities higher in April.(EQUITY MARKETS)
May 1, 2006... Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hardline stance on his country's nuclear ambitions sent oil prices soaring in April. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude hit a record $75.35 per barrel on Apr. 21, sending share values soaring, with...

Reliance IPO gets boost from chevron equity investment.(EMERGING MARKETS)
May 1, 2006... As one major exits, another one enters. Less than three weeks after BP decided to pull out of a planned refining and marketing joint venture with Hindustan Petroleum, Chevron last month announced that it was diving headfirst into India's...