International Petroleum Finance articles from October 2007

International Petroleum Finance archives from October 2007

Straight-talking Tony.
October 1, 2007... It's tough at the top, as new BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward discovered to his and his shareholders' cost last month, when comments he made at a meeting with company employees were leaked to the press. Hayward told staff at a meeting in...

Libya investigation clouds Statoil-Hydro merger.
October 1, 2007... The agreed merger between Norway's Statoil and Norsk Hydro was thrown into disarray a few days after its completion by the resignation of Chairman Eivind Reiten over allegations of improper payments to a consulting firm in Libya. The merger,...

Calgary mulls increase in oil sands taxes.
October 1, 2007... A higher royalty rate and a new oil sands tax proposed by the government of Canada's Alberta province could, if approved, have a huge impact on the province's booming oil sands sector, with one of the country's players threatening to slash its...

Colombia's offshore, better security, attracts majors.
October 1, 2007... Since introducing new contract terms four years ago, aimed at attracting new investment and arresting the decline in the country's oil output, Colombia has offered some of the most attractive exploration terms in Latin America. But so far only...

Conoco alliance could complicate Lukoil's plans.
October 1, 2007... The strategic alliance between Lukoil and US major Conoco-Phillips, which has a 20% stake in the Russian group, could become an obstacle to Lukoil's aim of becoming a global heavyweight over the next decade. Russia's largest private-sector...

Ipic buys stake in Japanese refiner Cosmo.
October 1, 2007... For years a sleepy state investment vehicle, Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co. (Ipic) continued its recent, more adventurous, spending spree last month with a $770 million investment in Japanese refiner Cosmo Oil. The Mideast...

With no Iraq oil law, Kurdistan beckons.
October 1, 2007... More than four years after US-led forces invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime there have been no big contracts for leading US oil companies. At stake is the chance to help develop Iraq's 115 billion barrels of oil reserves, which...

Oil business missing big opportunities, says banker.
October 1, 2007... The oil and gas industry has focused too much recently on obstacles to international growth, while many "tremendous" opportunities have been largely passed over, according to Andrew Bartlett, global oil and gas coordinator for Asia-focused,...

Asian buyers unhappy as LNG prices rise.
October 1, 2007... Unhappiness is growing among Asia-Pacific's LNG buying community because of the way sellers are raising LNG prices, without consideration for their customers' particular situation. Speaking at a recent LNG conference in Singapore, a senior...

Chevron criticized on Myanmar.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Chevron came under growing pressure to pull out of Myanmar, also known as Burma, as popular protests against the country's military dictatorship were violently put down by troops at the start of this month. The US administration responded...

Big US Gulf block sale.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Royal Dutch Shell made successful bids totaling $554.6 million, gaining 69 blocks in the most recent US Gulf of Mexico block sale. Shell's haul included the most expensive and most highly contested tract in the sale, Walker Ridge Block 7,...

EU fines Spain cartel.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... The European Commission fined Spain's Repsol YPF and Cepsa, Swedish refiner Nynas and Portugal's Galp almost [euro]184 million ($260 million) for operating an 11-year bitumen supply cartel in Spain. BP, which was also part of the price-fixing...

Exxon inks Kuwait deal.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Exxon Mobil signed a heads of agreement with state Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) last month, laying out ground rules for negotiation of an integrated deal that could be finalized by early next year. The preliminary agreement with KOC, the upstream...

BP's Plutonio starts up.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Production officially started Oct. 1 from the BP-operated Greater Plutonio development offshore Angola. BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward attended a launch ceremony on Sep. 25. The long-awaited project will deliver an eventual 220,000 b/d of...

Kazakhs fine Chevron.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Kazakhstan has imposed a $609 million fine on the Chevron-led Tengizchevroil (TCO) venture relating to environmental and other violations at the huge Tengiz oil field in western Kazakhstan. Chevron said it would challenge the fine. Kazakh...

Port Arthur expansion.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Motiva Enterprises, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Arabia's state Saudi Aramco, has taken a final investment decision on a $7 billion, 325,000 b/d capacity expansion at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, which will more...

Exxon Venezuela arbitration.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Exxon Mobil is seeking arbitration after failing to reach agreement with Venezuela on compensation for the recent nationalization of the US supermajor's assets in that country. Exxon submitted a request for arbitration to the World Bank's...

OMV changes mol tactics.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Austria's OMV has made a direct appeal to shareholders of Hungarian oil company Mol, targeting the owners of the 40% of Mol stock not controlled either by Mol's management or by OMV. Backing down from talk of a traditional takeover, OMV said it...

Shell-Tatneft bitumen deal.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Russia's Tatneft has chosen Royal Dutch Shell as its strategic partner to develop sizable bitumen reserves in the Russian republic of Tatarstan. Shell outbid ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Repsol YPF for its place on the project. ...

Brazil-Venezuela accords.(IN BRIEF)
October 1, 2007... Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras and Venezuela's Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) agreed late last month to create two joint ventures and to press ahead with the construction of a natural gas pipeline. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula...

Record oil prices lift equities in September.(EQUITY MARKETS)
October 1, 2007... September was a good quarter for oil equities with most companies in the sector seeing their share value climb 5% or more throughout the course of the month. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices climbed steadily in September, hitting...

Almost half a million Colombians buy shares in Ecopetrol.(EMERGING MARKETS)
October 1, 2007... Domestic investors snapped up the first 10.1% of stock offered in an oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO) of shares in Colombia's state-controlled oil company, Ecopetrol, late last month. An estimated 488,000 Colombians bought shares in...

Shifting power in the global oil industry.
October 1, 2007... The InterContinental London Park Lane * An exclusive forum for senior executives to assess current and future trends in the global energy industry * Top executives, policy makers, traders, and thought leaders from over 50...

The global energy industry's premier conference.(Conference news)
October 1, 2007... Every year the most important leaders in the international oil and gas industry gather at Oil & Money in London to assess and debate the key challenges confronting the global energy industry. These are some of the key issues that will be on the...

Conference Agenda.
October 1, 2007... Monday Evening, October 29 Welcome Cocktail Reception - Speakers and delegates welcome Tuesday, October 30 Breakfast Briefing Conference Opening: Keynote Address NOCs and IOCs: Striking a New Balance * Will IOCs be...

The world's longest running executive oil & gas forum.
October 1, 2007... Oil & Money offers a unique opportunity for executives, traders, bankers, planners, and analysts to exchange confidential insights, network, and debate the most important issues facing the industry. Reserve your place today at Oil & Money 2007!...

2007 petroleum executive of the year.
October 1, 2007... One of the highlights of the Oil & Money conference is the presentation of the prestigious Petroleum Executive of the Year Award. This year, H.E. Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry for the...

The Energy Intelligence Group.(Conference Convenors)
October 1, 2007... The Energy Intelligence Group (www.energyintel.com) has been the core information provider for the global energy industry for more than 50 years. We provide decision-makers with critically important news, insight and analysis on the global oil...

The International Herald Tribune.(Conference Convenors)
October 1, 2007... The International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com) is the premier international newspaper for opinion leaders and decisionmakers around the globe. It combines the extensive resources of its own correspondents with those of New York Times and is...