Petroleum Intelligence Weekly articles from January 5 2009

Petroleum Intelligence Weekly archives from January 5 2009

Opec is cutting but targets are still fuzzy.
January 5, 2009... With the oil price below $40 per barrel and their backs against the wall, Opec producers are looking serious about curbing output to prevent oil stocks from building further amid falling demand. A number of Opec members last week announced...

Oil markets braced for a choppy 2009.
January 5, 2009... Oil prices took the world by surprise in 2008, both through the speed with which they rose and the speed with which they fell. A flood of investment capital, a weak US dollar, and the economic strength of China and other non-OECD countries...

Downturn could mean less cash for renewables.
January 5, 2009... The bleak global economic outlook and the plunge in oil prices pose a major threat to short-term investment prospects for renewable energy projects, and in particular the commitment of the traditional oil majors to renewable energy technology....

Delta, reform top Nigeria's to-do list.
January 5, 2009... As the new year begins, a number of issues are facing the Nigerian oil industry. The first is whether President Umaru Yar'Adua will make any progress with much-needed oil sector reforms and reduce attacks on oil installations in the turbulent...

Tests ahead for Asia's new deepwater plays.
January 5, 2009... Upstream budgets may be under pressure, but the really big wells targeting the Asia-Pacific region's next generation of promising deepwater plays are already locked in for 2009. As most of Asia's frontier deepwater basins are relatively...

Foreign legion underpins Mexico's oil nationalism.
January 5, 2009... Mexico enjoys a reputation as one of the last true bastions of state oil and gas ownership, with fervent nationalism still dominating the debate over the country's oil industry some 70 years after foreign operators were expelled. That sense of...

Long way to go to fulfill Arctic promise.(Survey)
January 5, 2009... Last year's report from the US Geological Survey (USGS) into the oil and gas potential of the Arctic prompted a fresh flurry of interest in one of the planet's last remaining "frontier" regions. The area within the Arctic Circle, the report...

Corporate.(GENERAL)(survey on capital spending)(Survey)(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... CORPORATE -- Significant declines in oil and gas prices, tight credit markets, and reduced cash flow will cause a double-digit decline in global exploration and production (E&P) spending this year, with the deepest cuts occurring in North...

Forecasts.(GENERAL)(oil production capacity )(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... FORECASTS -- Spare oil production capacity will increase significantly in the next few years, perhaps reaching as high as 8 million b/d between 2010 and 2012, according to a new report from Cambridge Energy Research Associates (Cera). Cera...

Industry restructuring.(GENERAL)
January 5, 2009... INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING -- After months of tense negotiations, Gazprom and Serbia have sealed a broad energy deal giving the Russian state gas giant control of Serbian refiner Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS). Under the $1.35 billion deal inked by...

Brazil.(COUNTRIES)(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... BRAZIL -- The board of state-controlled Petrobras will resume their deliberations this month on the company's 2009-13 strategic plan, which had been scheduled for release in October, but which has been delayed because of deteriorating global...

China.(COUNTRIES)
January 5, 2009... CHINA -- The world's second-largest oil consumer intends to take advantage of lower oil prices to boost imports and build up strategic stocks, according to a top government official. Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration,...

China.(COUNTRIES)(crude oil imports)(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... CHINA -- Crude oil imports slipped to 3.26 million b/d in November, down almost 2% compared with the same month in 2007. Government figures show that while Saudi imports rose by a whopping 70% to 938,000 b/d, volumes from Angola and Iran...

Gabon.(COUNTRIES)
January 5, 2009... GABON -- After exiting the West African producer just four years ago, Italy's Eni has returned to the country's upstream with the acquisition of two offshore and four onshore exploration licenses. The exploration agreement marks another example...

Iraq.(COUNTRIES)
January 5, 2009... IRAQ -- Baghdad formally launched the country's second postwar bid round Dec. 31, one week after the oil ministry approved a list of 14 oil and two gas fields to be offered to international companies for development (PIW Oct.6,p3). Oil Minister...

Norway.(COUNTRIES)(Eni S.p.A.)(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... NORWAY -- Italy's Eni has joined those operators seeking to benefit from the recent fall in prices for oil-field services and raw materials by delaying a decision on the development of its Goliat oil discovery in the Barents Sea. Eni stressed...

Russia.(COUNTRIES)
January 5, 2009... RUSSIA -- Shareholders in Russia-focused independent Imperial Energy have approved the UK-listed company's [pounds sterling]1.4 billion ($2.1 billion) takeover by India's state Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), meaning the deal will go through...

Saudi Arabia.(COUNTRIES)(Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and TOTAL S.A. to build oil refinery)(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... SAUDI ARABIA -- State-owned Saudi Aramco and France's Total have pushed back the start-up date for their 400,000 b/d Jubail export refinery to the first quarter of 2013, three months later than planned. Saudi Aramco Total Refinery and...

South Korea.(COUNTRIES)
January 5, 2009... SOUTH KOREA -- Crude oil imports averaged 2.48 million b/d in November, down 4.8% year-on-year, according to the latest data from state Korea National Oil Corp. Imports from top supplier Saudi Arabia edged up 2.9% to 670,000 b/d. Korea lifted...

Industry tempers support for new SEC rules.(What's New Around the World)
January 5, 2009... The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week unanimously approved revisions to the standards that oil and gas companies use to book reserves. But many of the industry lobby groups who lauded the proposed changes when they were...

Soft landing.(Marketview)
January 5, 2009... NEW YORK -- Benchmark US crude futures ended the year flirting with $40/bbl, some $60/bbl below where they started 2008. And despite the efforts of Opec producers to cut output, the pressure on prices is likely to remain. There is still plenty...

PIW market indicators.(Statistical table)
January 5, 2009... PIW Market Indicators ($/barrel) Dec. 29- Dec. 22- Dec. 1- Spot Crude Dec. 30 Dec. 26 Dec. 5 Opec Basket $34.69 $40.28 $46.03 UK Brent (Dtd.) ...