International Petroleum Finance articles from November 2003

International Petroleum Finance archives from November 2003

Moving targets.(oil companies)
November 1, 2003... The measures that major oil companies use to assess their performance seem to be changing again. The past 12 months have seen a shift away from production growth targets--largely because companies were failing to hit them--and a fresh emphasis...

Yukos overshadows Russia's rehabilitation.
November 1, 2003... In any normal month, a decision by credit ratings agency Moody's to return Russia to investment grade status would have been the biggest news story by far for Moscow's financial markets. But the arrest at gunpoint of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chief...

Can minnows carve a role in Iraq?
November 1, 2003... There's little point in asking executives from the major oil companies about their plans for Iraq. The companies are unanimous that now is not the time. With a legitimate elected government unlikely for two years, potential guerrilla action...

Big Oil comes up small in third quarter.
November 1, 2003... It has been said that a rising tide lifts all ships. The same could be said for high commodity prices and oil company profits. Major oil companies posted robust third-quarter profits that were, on average, 50% higher or more compared to...

Rivals line up for new Saudi gas race.(ChevronTexaco Corp.)(Exxon Mobil Corp.)(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos.)
November 1, 2003... The contest for Saudi Arabia's first international upstream tender for gas exploration and development is starting to shape up, as companies begin to take their positions. Royal Dutch/Shell and Exxon Mobil, the two majors that led the running...

BP outlines hopes and fears in Russia.(British Petroleum Company PLC)(Alfa-Access-Renova Group)
November 1, 2003... Those investors who had complained about the lack of detail provided on BP's $7 billion TNK-BP joint venture in Russia certainly got their money's worth last month. Almost seven hours of presentations, a 200-page data book, and all the big...

Vote could spell end for Bolivia LNG.
November 1, 2003... For those companies hoping to use Bolivia's 53 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves as a path into the booming global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, the dream may have died. After widespread public protests, which claimed 74...

The great Australian gasoline war.
November 1, 2003... A few years ago, when Australian department store bosses tried to persuade big oil companies to join forces to sell gasoline, they were politely but firmly given the bum's rush by the likes of Royal Dutch/Shell and ChevronTexaco affiliate...

Paladin balances drilling and dealmaking.(Paladin Resources PLC)
November 1, 2003... UK independent Paladin Resources will have to dip into the asset market again in order to achieve its long-term targets for production and reserves, according to the company's chief executive Roy Franklin. Paladin saw output surge by 42%...

Exxon inks huge Qatar deal ...(Exxon Mobil Corp.)(Qatar Petroleum Corp.)
November 1, 2003... Exxon Mobil has signed an agreement with state-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) for the largest LNG project in the industry's 35-year history. The $12 billion RasGas-3 project will be the largest LNG facility in the world at 15.6 million...

... And so does Shell.(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos.)
November 1, 2003... Royal Dutch/Shell and the Qatari government have signed a landmark deal to build a $5 billion gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility in the Mideast Gulf state, representing the biggest plant so far that tams natural gas into liquid fuels. The heads...

Tehran probes Statoil affair.
November 1, 2003... The scandal over Statoil's dealings in Iran--which last month claimed the scalp of Chief Executive Olav Fjell--has started to make waves in Tehran, fueling calls for Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh to explain the matter to deputies in the...

Landmark for Woodside.(Woodside Energy )
November 1, 2003... Woodside Energy has brought on stream its $1 billion Ohanet gas and liquids stripping project in Algeria, the first time that Woodside has drawn revenue from a project outside its native Australia. Ohanet is expected to process up to 710...

Arcadia heads upstream.
November 1, 2003... Arcadia Petroleum, one of the largest traders in African crude, is making a strategic shift into the upstream, with negotiations under way for two blocks in Nigeria and Congo (Brazzaville), according to chief executive Peter Bosworth. The...

Total seeks Cepsa mediation.(Netherlands Arbitration Institute)(Compania Espanola de Petroleos S.A.)
November 1, 2003... France's Total has asked the Netherlands Arbitration Institute in The Hague to mediate in a dispute with Spanish bank Santander Central Hispano (SCH) over the two companies' shareholdings in Spanish oil company Cepsa. The row follows the...

Lukoil mulls share worries.
November 1, 2003... The board of Russia's Lukoil met last month to discuss ways of increasing the company's value--an issue included on the agenda at the initiative of the company's independent director, Mark Mobius of US fund manager Templeton. Lukoil, with...

Refiner slams refiners.(environmental regulations)
November 1, 2003... US refiners should stop whining about new government regulations meant to clean up fuels, because customers want them, according to Premcor Refining Chief Executive Tom O'Malley. But the government should pass on the costs of making these...

Pemex plans peso bonds.(Petroleos Mexieanos)
November 1, 2003... Mexico's state-owned Petroleos Mexieanos (Pemex) intends to issue peso-denominated debt of up to 20 billion pesos ($1.78 billion) before the end of the year, the company said in a preliminary prospectus filed last month with the country's stock...

Repsol hikes gas prices.(Repsol-YPF S.A. (Buenos Aires, Argentina))
November 1, 2003... Repsol YPF is successfully negotiating an increase in wellhead gas prices with its major customers in Argentina, after almost two years of futile attempts at boosting downstream tariffs, which had collapsed when the country suffered its...

CNOOC buys into Gorgon.(China National Offshore Oil Corp.)
November 1, 2003... State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) has agreed to pay $21 billion for up to 100 million tons of LNG from Australia's Gorgon gas project over the next 25 years. The agreement is the biggest export deal in Australian...

Unocal inks Bangladesh deal.
November 1, 2003... US Unocal has signed a gas purchase and sales agreement with Bangladesh's stateowned Petrobangla supporting development of the 440 Bcf Moulavi Bazar field. Under the agreement, Unocal expects to produce 70 MMcf-100 MMcf/d from the field,...

Oil shares surge ahead with market in October.(Equity Markets)
November 1, 2003... Shams of leading worldwide oil and gas companies surged in October alongside the broader market, led by European firms Norsk Hydro, BG, and Repsol YPF. The broad equity market opened the fourth quarter with a bang, with the S&P 500 Index...

Repsol takes historic step down Mexico way.(Emerging Markets)(Repsol-YPF S.A. (Madrid, Spain))
November 1, 2003... Repsol YPF last month became the first foreign oil firm to participate in Mexico's upstream sector since the oil industry was nationalized in 1938. Repsol submitted the sole bid for the multiple service contract (MSC) for the Reynosa-Monterrey...