International Petroleum Finance articles from September 2008

International Petroleum Finance archives from September 2008

War, and peace?
September 1, 2008... The four weeks leading up to Sep. 4 proved to be an interesting time for international oil companies (IOC) doing business in the former Soviet Union--particularly for BP. First, the West was reminded of Russia's intransigence, as Moscow...

Georgia conflict hits export route plans.
September 1, 2008... The full impact of Russia's swift military response to Georgia's attack on the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia last month has yet to become clear, but the impact for the West and for international oil companies (IOC) working in...

Capex stagnant in 2007, says annual upstream review.
September 1, 2008... The global oil and gas industry remains constrained by a shortage of opportunities, not of capital. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) declined last year after a boom in 2006, and profitability did not rise in line with revenues. These were some of...

Regulator seeks just one Alaska gas pipeline project.
September 1, 2008... Canadian pipeline company TransCanada appeared to gain ground over BP and ConocoPhillips last month in the race to connect Alaska's North Slope natural gas fields to the lower 48 US states via a $26 billion pipeline through Alaska and into the...

China's CNPC signs first 20-year Iraqi service contract.
September 1, 2008... The Chinese bagged the first Iraqi oil deal signed since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The $3 billion agreement suggested Iraq's oil industry is finally open for business for companies willing to take on the obvious risks. State...

IOCs cut spending as Bolivia, Ecuador move further left.
September 1, 2008... The political agendas of Ecuadorian President Evo Morales, and Bolivia's President Rafael Correa are extremely similar: Both are leftists; both hope to change their countries' constitutions; and both want to increase state control over...

Underused LNG terminals turn to storage and re-export.
September 1, 2008... With Asian buyers snapping up most available LNG cargoes, operators of LNG receiving terminals in the US and Europe are struggling. The situation is particularly acute in the US, where the boom in shale gas production has increased domestic gas...

Conoco JV set to spoil BG's Australian CBM bid.
September 1, 2008... International oil companies, which previously wanted little to do with the unconventional gas resource known as coalbed methane (CBM) or coal seam gas (CSG), are now moving into Australian CBM, mainly in the hope of turning it into LNG for...

TNK-BP deal reached.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... BP and Alfa and Access Renova (AAR), the shareholders in the Russian TNK-BP joint venture, agreed a set of management changes aimed at ending the two sides' lengthy dispute. Under the Sep. 4 memorandum of understanding, TNK-BP Chief...

ONGC buys into Russia.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... Indian state Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) beat out Chinese interest, said to be from state Sinopec, with an agreed all-cash offer of [pounds sterling]1.4 billion ($2.5 billion) for UK-listed Russian oil company Imperial Energy. ...

SWFs agree governance code.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... A group of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds (SWF) adopted draft investment guidelines on accountability and good governance. The International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IWG), comprising 26 state-owned funds, said:...

Eni buys first Calgary.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... Eni agreed to buy Canada-based, Algeria-focused First Calgary Petroleums (FCP) for C$923 million (US$865 million), boosting the Italian major's upstream profile in Algeria. The deal, at a 52.5% premium to FCP's Sep. 2 share price, paves...

Shell tight gas deal OK'd.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... The Canadian government last month approved Royal Dutch Shell's planned C$5.9 billion (US$5.6 billion) acquisition of unconventional gas producer Duvernay Oil. Shell said Canada's industry minister and the Competition Bureau had approved...

Chinese results mixed.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... China's three big state-controlled oil companies, Petrochina, China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and Sinopec reported mixed half yearly results. PetroChina's first-half net profit dropped 34.5% from year-ago levels to 53.62 billion...

Exxon bids big in Gulf sale.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... Exxon Mobil was the biggest spender at the last month's federal sale of Western US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas exploration leases. Companies that took part in the sale spent $487 million for rights to 319 blocks in the western portion of...

Conoco sells gas stations.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... ConocoPhillips followed several of its major competitors in announcing last month that it was selling its network of company-owned US retail gasoline stations. Conoco said it had sold its remaining 600 company-owned service stations to...

New ratings for BP, Shell.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... US-based ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) cut BP's rating Sep.1 from AA+ to AA, and raised Royal Dutch Shell's from AA to AA+. The respective financial policies of the two companies were pivotal to both decisions, S&P said. Although...

Peruvian protests target oil.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... Indigenous protestors occupied oil installations in Peru as part of a campaign against a law they claimed would allow oil companies to take over their native lands. The protests pushed the government to declare a state of emergency in the...

Yemen wins arbitration.(IN BRIEF)
September 1, 2008... An arbitration tribunal at the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce last month ruled in favor of the Yemeni government against Hunt Oil and Exxon Mobil over a Yemen production sharing agreement (PSA). Hunt said it accepted the...

Oil equities rise and fall in line with Gustav's srength.(EQUITY MARKETS)
September 1, 2008... Oil stocks see-sawed in line with crude prices last month, starting August on highs, softening mid month, firming on fears Hurricane Gustav would damage US offshore oil installations and refineries in Texas and Louisiana, and then, as Gustav...

Russian markets plummet as foreign investors pull out.(EMERGING MARKETS)
September 1, 2008... Russia's military confrontation with Georgia sent the country's financial markets into a tailspin. The country--which, with its heavy dependence on natural resources, had been seen as a shelter from the global credit crunch--saw its equity,...