International Petroleum Finance articles from October 2004

International Petroleum Finance archives from October 2004

From boardroom to courtroom.
October 1, 2004... Royal Dutch/Shell is holding strategy presentations and trying to talk about the future, but the fallout from this year's reserves downgrade continues, with the scene now moving from the boardroom to the courtroom. In recent months, the US...

Majors take plunge with Russian deals.
October 1, 2004... After months in which the persecution and possible disintegration of Yukos have hogged Russia's energy headlines, September offered three separate shots in the arm for the country's oil and gas sector. The US' ConocoPhillips and France's Total...

Little for investors in Shell's new realism.
October 1, 2004... Last month's long-awaited Royal Dutch/Shell strategy presentation was a disappointment to investors. Many shareholders had been looking for a big announcement, on divestments, on restructuring or on share buybacks. But Shell's actual plans were...

Infighting, uncertainty hamper Kashagan project.
October 1, 2004... The $29 billion plan to develop Kazakhstan's Kashagan field--the largest oil discovery for the past 30 years, with estimated recoverable reserves of up to 13 billion barrels--is in danger of coming apart at the seams. As operator Eni and its...

New licenses deliver in UK bid round.
October 1, 2004... The UK's recent 22nd licensing round saw 163 blocks awarded across the UK Continental Shelf to 58 firms, ranging from supermajors to superminnows. Featuring a new licensing system that provides greater flexibility in fees, acreage...

Shanghai takes China back into oil futures.
October 1, 2004... China is making a second attempt at establishing a domestic oil futures contract, with the launch at the end of August of a high sulfur fuel oil contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE). With China rising to become the world's second...

British Energy skulks back into state hands.
October 1, 2004... In the eight years since its privatization, ailing UK nuclear generator British Energy (BE) has come full circle and is set to reenter the public sector by the back door, an ignominious end for a company that had heralded itself as the world's...

ETP makes most of Texas pipeline jigsaw.
October 1, 2004... The 2001-02 collapse of Enron and subsequent meltdown of the energy merchant sector was costly to investors, employees and business partners, but the asset sales that followed as companies tried to stay afloat created an opportunity for a...

Iraqi contracts go west.
October 1, 2004... US companies were awarded 74% of the $1.5 billion in contracts in Iraq that were paid for by Iraqi oil revenues when the US Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was in control of the country, according to the Open Society Institute's (OSI)...

Libya planning more rounds.
October 1, 2004... Libya's National Oil Corp. (NOC) attracted some 350 people and representatives from more than 40 oil companies--including BP, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, ChevronTexaco, Eni, BG, Anadarko, Marathon and Occidental--to its London presentation...

Eni's takeover warning.
October 1, 2004... Eni could become a takeover target if the Italian government sells any more of its stake in the company, Eni Chief Executive Vittorio Mineato has warned. As of December 2003, the Italian government remained the largest shareholder, with...

EdF sells total stake.
October 1, 2004... French state-owned power giant Electricite de France (EdF) has sold its 2.3% stake in oil major Total raising almost 2.6 billion [euro] ($3.2 billion) ahead of its part-privatization. The shares in Total were placed at 168 [euro] each...

Tullow eyes more deals.
October 1, 2004... UK independent Tullow Oil has announced further acquisitions are in its plans following strong first-half results and the successful conclusion of its $500 million deal for Energy Africa (IPF Apr.,p13). Commenting on its results, Tullow...

Polish sell-off delayed.
October 1, 2004... Privatization of Poland's Lotos Group is likely to be further delayed after the government's chosen adviser BRE Corporate Finance failed to meet a Sep. 20 deadline. BRE was supposed to present a plan by that date for selling the state's...

Russia drives BP growth.
October 1, 2004... BP is expecting to report an 11% year-on-year rise in oil and gas production when it announces its third-quarter results later this month, the company said in its quarterly trading statement. BP said it expects third-quarter production to...

Anadarko sells more assets.
October 1, 2004... Anadarko Petroleum has sold a large package of US onshore assets in exchange for $850 million in cash plus interests in two oil and gas fields in Wyoming. Most of the assets were acquired by Merit Energy, a private company based in Dallas. ...

TXU, CSFB nix venture.
October 1, 2004... Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) and the US' TXU Energy have scrapped plans to create an energy trading joint venture because they cannot agree on an economic arrangement that meets both companies' strategic goals. CSFB still plans to...

Falklands firm raises funds.
October 1, 2004... UK-listed Falklands Oil & Gas has raised 10 million [pounds sterling] ($18 million) from its initial placing on London's Alternative Investment Market to fund oil exploration in the South Atlantic Falkland Islands. The company hopes the...

Sinochem inks Inchon deal.
October 1, 2004... Chinese oil and petrochemicals trader Sinochem has signed a final agreement to buy troubled South Korean refiner Inchon Oil for about 635 billion won ($552 million), according to financial advisers that worked on the deal (IPF May,p14). ...

BHP to buy back stock.
October 1, 2004... Australia's BHP Billiton is planning to buy back A$1.5 billion ($l.1 billion) of its shares as part of an overall $2 billion capital management program. The company said that the share buyback will be an off-market purchase that will go...

Vietnam offers new blocks.
October 1, 2004... Vietnam's state oil company PetroVietnam has unveiled its 2004 licensing round for blocks in the Phu Khanh Basin off the country's central coast, north of current production areas. The round includes nine areas--Blocks 122 through 129--with...

Rising oil prices lift energy shares in September.(Equity Markets)
October 1, 2004... Oil company shares went on a tear in September as oil prices marched steadily higher throughout the month, hitting $50.47 per barrel on Sep. 27, which at the time was an all-time high. Prices subsequently moved higher still in the first few...

Gas pipeline plan strengthens Brazil, China trade links.(Emerging Markets)
October 1, 2004... When China's Sinopec signed a memorandum of understanding for a $1.3 billion Brazil gas pipeline last month, the deal marked more than a giant step towards integrating Brazil's gas market. The project will help support exports to China,...