International Petroleum Finance articles from October 2005

International Petroleum Finance archives from October 2005

Ill winds.
October 1, 2005... As the beleaguered populations of Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi try to resume normal daily life in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, some clues to the storms' financial cost to the oil and gas industry are beginning to emerge....

Hydro breaks the bank for spinnaker.
October 1, 2005... Norway's Norsk Hydro appears to have raised the bar for other acquisitive oil companies with its $2.56 billion takeover of US independent Spinnaker Exploration. The Norwegian firm has used a long-term oil price of around $35 per barrel to...

Kremlin tightens grip with Sibneft deal.
October 1, 2005... The Russian government is further consolidating its control over the country's oil and gas sector, this time by taking over direct ownership of vast swathes of the upstream oil patch. The state's grip on the Russian oil industry was tightened...

Asians and Europeans learn lessons in Libya.
October 1, 2005... It's been clear for some time that the terms for gaining upstream access in Libya under the new Epsa-4 licensing system were going to be tough (IPF Nov., p1). Even so, the intense competition for acreage seen in the first Epsa-4 round earlier...

GN ups the ante in Europe's power struggle.
October 1, 2005... A new drive toward consolidation is taking place in Europe's power and gas sector, driven by companies' desire to diversify activities ahead of the introduction of full competition in domestic markets in 2007. As well as pursuing expansion...

Medco moves center stage in Indonesia's upstream.
October 1, 2005... With supermajors reluctant to commit to large spending programs there or tied up in contractual disputes, the task of looking for oil and gas in Indonesia has shifted to independent exploration companies such as Australia's Santos or national...

Oil prices drive rise in M&A values.
October 1, 2005... Oil companies paid top dollar for oil and gas reserves last year, with deal-making in Canada, the North Sea and US driving up purchase prices around the world. As commodity prices moved higher throughout 2004, coupled with higher finding and...

London market takes aim at Canadian energy listings.
October 1, 2005... London's Alternative Investment Market is stepping up its challenge to the Canadian stock market--traditional home to junior oil and gas company listings--by promoting itself as the No. 1 exchange for growth companies. "AIM is a very...

We're doing our share, says Aramco's Jumah.
October 1, 2005... The high oil price, tightness across the supply chain and anxiety about the industry's ability to meet future demand has triggered a major capacity expansion by Saudi Arabia. Heading that expansion program is Saudi Aramco's President and Chief...

Algeria opens up.
October 1, 2005... Algeria's new hydrocarbon law should create a better environment for foreign investment--at least that it what the chief executive of state-owned Sonatrach, Mohamed Meziane, is hoping. The law came into force in July, but will not be fully...

Oxy outlines Oman spend.
October 1, 2005... Occidental is to invest close to $3 billion in development of the Mukhaizna oil field in Oman, Oxy's Oman President Jim Eastlack said last month. The field in central Oman was formerly part of the Block 6 concession held by Petroleum...

Tax threat to Eni.
October 1, 2005... Italy's Eni could see its earnings hit as a result of a windfall tax proposal on national energy networks being studied by the country's lawmakers. The proposed levy, which could raise 2.5 [euro] billion ($3 billion) between 2006 and 2008,...

Snohvit shock for Statoil.
October 1, 2005... Costs for Norway's troubled Snohvit liquefied natural gas development have increased further, operator Statoil has announced. The budget for the project is now expected to come in at 58.3 billion kroner ($9.2 billion), a $1.1 billion or 14%...

Shtokman's shortlist.
October 1, 2005... Gazprom has short-listed five companies as its potential partners for development of the 113 Tcf Shtokmanovskoye gas field in the Arctic waters of Russia's Barents Sea. The shortlist for the Shtokman LNG project includes Norway's Norsk...

Lukoil buys Nelson.
October 1, 2005... Russia's largest oil company Lukoil has made a $2 billion cash offer for Nelson Resources, a Canadian independent producer that operates exclusively in Kazakhstan. Lukoil's offer price represents a premium of 27.5% to the six-month average...

Record fine for BP.
October 1, 2005... The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has hit BP with a record $21 million fine in connection with the Mar. 23 blast at the company's Texas City refinery, which left 15 workers dead and injured more than 170 people (IPF...

Canada trusts busted?
October 1, 2005... Canada's red hot income trust sector, which includes a large number of so-called energy trusts, is facing setbacks following a recent announcement that the Canadian government will rein in the conversion of companies to trusts in order to...

Exits in Ecuador.
October 1, 2005... Canadian independent EnCana has agreed to sell its oil and pipeline assets in Ecuador to Chinese venture Andes Petroleum for around $1.42 billion. The sale is the final step in EnCana's plan to divest $10 billion in non-corn assets and...

New Caracas warning.
October 1, 2005... The Venezuelan government is ready to seize or close fields developed by private companies under service agreements if the operators fail to switch those contracts to joint ventures with state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) by year-end, the...

PTT refinery deal fails.
October 1, 2005... Thailand's state-owned PTT has backed away from its plan to merge its Rayong refinery with Chevron's Star Petroleum after talks on the merger and an upcoming initial public offering (IPO) collapsed last month. Chevron appeared to back away from...

Exxon inks Cepu deal.
October 1, 2005... After months of haggling between Exxon Mobil and Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina, the two sides finally reached agreement in their long-running dispute over the Cepu oil block in East Java, though Exxon officials have cautioned that some...

Oil equities up in September, but history points to downturn.(EQUITY MARKETS)
October 1, 2005... Oil shares took off in September, making it the fourth straight month that oil equities have shot higher. After moving up steadily throughout the summer, share price gains may soon grind to a halt if history repeats itself in the final months...

Reliance keeps busy with Jamnagar, deepwater drilling.(EMERGING MARKETS)
October 1, 2005... India's private-sector Reliance Industries is pushing ahead with a massive expansion of its Jamnagar refinery, taking advantage of robust margins and global pressure for more downstream capacity. The board of the private-sector giant has...