International Petroleum Finance articles from September 2003

International Petroleum Finance archives from September 2003

Something in reserve.
September 1, 2003... Ask a top executive what the biggest challenge is today for a large, integrated oil company, and you will invariably get the same answer--gaining access to new, low-cost reserves. In recent years, a disturbing trend of falling reserve...

Is BP losing its Russian luster?(British Petroleum Company PLC)(investing in Russian petroleum ventures)
September 1, 2003... Less than seven months after the initial announcement, BP formally completed its multi-billion dollar tie-up with Russia's Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) on Aug. 29. It wasn't simply a question of dotting 'i's and crossing 't's, however--the financial...

Anadarko sale no sure thing in age of discipline.(Anadarko Petroleum Corp.)
September 1, 2003... Once the gold standard of US independent producers, Anadarko is now considering a sale. But the self-styled "super-independent" from Houston may be disappointed by any auction process, as it becomes increasingly clear that major oil...

South Korea reaches a corporate crossroads.
September 1, 2003... South Korea's failure to reform its corporate sector has arrived at a watershed this year with the decision by creditors of SK Global to support a bailout plan for the debt-ridden trading firm. The move is symptomatic of Korea's unwillingness...

Total plays up to image as growth champion.
September 1, 2003... Total's mid-year review in Paris this month may have missed a trick in terms of providing fresh insights into the company's post-2003 strategic plan, but it certainly gave the French major's management a chance to underline that they are...

LNG the glittering prize for majors.(economics of liquefied natural gas)
September 1, 2003... The glittering prize so many supermajors and international oil companies are pursuing these days isn't gold, but natural gas, specifically liquefied natural gas (LNG). BP, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Marathon Oil, and Royal...

PDV--the new versus the old.
September 1, 2003... When personnel from state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) joined an opposition-led strike to force the resignation of President Hugo Chavez they cannot have imagined that the consequences for the company would be so severe. Once a...

Growth comes at a price in Eastern Europe.
September 1, 2003... As the process of consolidation in the Balkan downstream continues, Central and Eastern European oil companies have shown they are a force to be reckoned with and raised the stakes in the region's privatization auctions. And with good...

Saudis set for record revenues.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Saudi Arabia is expected to produce oil worth up to $85 billion this year, the highest value since 1981's $110 billion record, thanks to higher prices and volumes, according to a Saudi American Bank (Samba) study. Samba expects the Saudi...

OMV sells up in Sudan.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Austria's OMV has agreed to sell stakes in two exploration blocks in Sudan to India's state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) for $115 million. The deal also provides for contingent payments pending further success in the blocks. Under...

Lithuania deal probed.(corporate corruption investigation)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Lithuania's general prosecutor's office has accused two as yet unnamed executives of US Williams, as well as two former Lithuanian ministers and one deputy minister, of squandering state property in the privatization of national oil champion...

Shell seeks Putin pledge.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Royal Dutch/Shell chairman Philip Watts met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sep. 1 to plead his company's case in Russia. Talks between the two sides appeared to go well, with Putin promising that "we are determined to create and strengthen...

Yukos plans $1 billion loan.(YUKOS Oil Co.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Russia's Yukos has issued a tender for a $1 billion five-year loan backed by exports of crude oil, according to banking sources. This would represent one of the largest single loans yet for a Russian oil company and is expected, despite the...

Karachaganak gas plea.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The BG and ENI-operated Karachaganak Petroleum Organization (KPO) is trying to convince Russian giant Gazprom to triple the price it pays for gas supplied from the giant Karachaganak gas condensate field to Russia's Orenburg gas processing...

Marathon sells Canada assets.(Marathon Oil Co.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Marathon Oil has sold its upstream interests in Alberta and northeast British Columbia to Canada's Husky Energy for $588 million. Husky said separately that it has agreed to sell on some of the Marathon assets to the US' EOG Resources for $320...

Talisman upbeat on targets.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The start-up of several new projects over the next few months has put Canada's Talisman Energy on track to hit its production growth target of 5%-10% in 2004 and 2005. Talisman closed the sale of its Sudan oil and gas assets earlier this...

Atlantic LNG stakes agreed.(Atlantic LNG Co.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Equity stakes have been agreed on for Train 4 of Trinidad's Atlantic LNG project, with BP set to take 37.78%, BG Group 28.89%, Repsol YPF 22.22%, and Trinidad's National Gas Co, (NGC) 11.11%, according to shareholders in the project. The...

Camisea loan rejected.(natural gas exploration financing rejected)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The US Export-Import Bank has decided not to support a $214.6 million syndicated loan to Peru's Camisea natural gas project, citing the $1.6 billion project's adverse environmental and social impacts. The vote was split 2-1, with board...

Buffett sells PetroChina ADRs.(American Depository Receipts)(billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett)(PetroChina Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... US billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett has sold some of his New York-listed shares in China's biggest oil and gas producer PetroChina, Buffett's investment company Berkshire Hathaway revealed last month in a US regulatory filing. ...

Sinopec plans bond issue.(China Petroleum and Chemical Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... China's second-largest oil producer, Sinopec, is planning its first corporate bond issue aimed at raising some $420.6 million. The funds will be put toward a $253 million pipeline to transport imported crude between Ningbo and Nanjing via...

Oil shares gain ground on market in September.(Equity Markets)
September 1, 2003... Investors in oil and gas equities, which have lagged behind the broader market so far in 2003, are hoping that a strong showing in September will continue through the rest of the year and help close the performance gap. The IPF Oil & Gas...

Kuwait upstream opening runs into fresh controversy.(Emerging Markets)
September 1, 2003... Kuwait's accelerated scheme for getting its upstream opening, Project Kuwait, off the ground has encountered a new snag, in the form of a controversy over the composition of one of three consortia applying to participate in the plan to develop...