Petroleum Intelligence Weekly articles from July 2003

Petroleum Intelligence Weekly archives from July 2003

Mixed motives drive Saudi gas relaunch.
July 7, 2003... Though Oil Minister Ali Naimi has made good on his threat to open a revamped Saudi natural gas initiative to other companies after negotiations for the $25 billion package of three ventures ended inconclusively, little else is definite at this...

US pressure stalls Japan's Iran plans.
July 7, 2003... Responding to pressure from the US not to reward Iran for bad behavior, Japan is holding back from signing a $2 billion deal to develop part of Iran's giant onshore Azadegan field. Tokyo's apparent change of heart is a blow to Tehran, which had...

Majors bide their time in Brazil.
July 7, 2003... Next month promises a moment of reckoning for the big foreign oil companies exploring in Brazil but not because of the results of the fifth licensing round, which are expected on Aug. 20. Most of the industry giants that led the charge into...

BP raises its game in Pacific crude, products.
July 7, 2003... Low margins, idled capacity, and costly crude purchasing are just some of the challenges facing Asia's beleaguered refiners. Supermajor BP thinks it has a solution and is shopping a package of trading and operations services to independent...

LNG can fix US gas crisis, just not soon.
July 7, 2003... The deteriorating North American natural gas supply situation finally has the attention of US policy makers, but what they will do to mitigate the problem is still undetermined. Alan Greenspan, chief of the Federal Reserve, the US central bank,...

Statoil sails, Norsk Hydro's strategy sinks.
July 7, 2003... The gap between Norway's two oil companies as they build positions outside the maturing North Sea is widening. Statoil's cautious pursuit of low-risk development projects with other national oil companies (NOCs) looks to be paying off, while...

Second half oil market will test Opec.
July 7, 2003... Opec's market management challenge would seem to be easing now that the traditionally tricky second quarter is out of the way. Iraq's oil production remains constrained and its export revival has stalled, easing Opec's calculations. Yet a look...

Industry restructuring--Royal Dutch/Shell scooped $500 million from the sale of 26 mature shallow water properties in the Gulf of Mexico in separate deals with Morgan Stanley and Apache. (General).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING -- Royal Dutch/Shell scooped $500 million from the sale of 26 mature shallow water properties in the Gulf of Mexico in separate deals with Morgan Stanley and Apache. UK explorer Premier Oil and Gas has finally secured...

Tankers--Gaz de France has signed a letter of intent with Alstom-owned French shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique for the largest-ever LNG tanker with a whopping 153,000 cubic meters of capacity, for delivery in October 2005. (General).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... TANKERS -- Gaz de France has signed a letter of intent with Alstom-owned French shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique for the largest-ever LNG tanker with a whopping 153,000 cubic meters of capacity, for delivery in October 2005. It will be used...

Trading--Europe's gasoline market has adopted Petroleum Argus as its new benchmark. (General).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... TRADING -- Europe's gasoline market has adopted Petroleum Argus as its new benchmark (PIW Jun.9,p11). Since the market, led by Total, switched from Platts to Argus on Jul. 1, gasoline barge trade has started earlier in the day and more deals...

Australia -- Exxon Mobil is to sell its stakes in the Wandoo and Woollybutt oil fields offshore Western Australia, which are much smaller than its half share in Bass Strait reserves. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... AUSTRALIA -- Exxon Mobil is to sell its stakes in the Wandoo and Woollybutt oil fields offshore Western Australia, which are much smaller than its half share in Bass Strait reserves (PIW May 19,p2). At stake are a 60% interest and operatorship...

Colombia -- the government plans to incorporate state oil company Ecopetrol and establish a regulatory agency, Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH), to oversee new exploration awards, royalty administration, and national demand forecasts. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... COLOMBIA -- The government plans to incorporate state oil company Ecopetrol and establish a regulatory agency, Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH), to oversee new exploration awards, royalty administration, and national demand forecasts....

Egypt -- Libya has bought a stake in the Middle East Oil Refinery that was formerly held by Israeli investors. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... EGYPT -- Libya has bought a stake in the Middle East Oil Refinery that was formerly held by Israeli investors. The National Bank of Egypt (NBE), which had built up a 38% stake in the refinery, has sold its stake in the 100,000 b/d plant for a...

Egypt -- BG Group and Egyptian LNG (ELNG) Train 2 partners have agreed on the sale of 3.6 million tons/yr to BG Gas Marketing which will supply the LNG to its Lake Charles, Louisiana, terminal in the US and eventually to Brindisi in Italy where BG and Enel are building a new receiving terminal. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... EGYPT -- BG Group and Egyptian LNG (ELNG) Train 2 partners have agreed on the sale of 3.6 million tons/yr to BG Gas Marketing which will supply the LNG to its Lake Charles, Louisiana, terminal in the US and eventually to Brindisi in Italy where...

Iran -- Russia's Lukoil has signed a long-term swap contract with Naftiran Intertrade Co. (Nico) to ship Siberian Light crude across the Caspian to the port of Neka in exchange for Iranian Light allocated at Kharg Island. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... IRAN -- Russia's Lukoil has signed a long-term swap contract with Naftiran Intertrade Co. (Nico) to ship Siberian Light crude across the Caspian to the port of Neka in exchange for Iranian Light allocated at Kharg Island. Lukoil has been...

Iran -- Tehran has finally made steps to become an LNG exporter with an invitation to foreign engineering firms to prequalify to build the downstream section of a planned 9 million-10 million ton/yr LNG facility at Bandar Tombak in the south. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... IRAN -- Tehran has finally made steps to become an LNG exporter with an invitation to foreign engineering firms to prequalify to build the downstream section of a planned 9 million-10 million ton/yr LNG facility at Bandar Tombak in the south....

Japan -- crude imports jumped nearly 14% in May to 4.15 million bld compared with a year earlier, driven higher by a surge in volumes from Saudi Arabia and Iran. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... JAPAN -- Crude imports jumped nearly 14% in May to 4.15 million bid compared with a year earlier, driven higher by a surge in volumes from Saudi Arabia and Iran. Indonesia and China showed the greatest percentage gains of over 50% each, as...

Nigeria -- labor unions are keeping pressure on President Olusegun Obasanjo over large fuel price hikes, with threats to call oil workers out on strike. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... NIGERIA -- Labor unions are keeping pressure on President Olusegun Obasanjo over large fuel price hikes, with threats to call oil workers out on strike. Oil companies had maintained production and exports at normal levels as of Jul. 3, but...

Russia -- crude exports are continuing to climb, rising by 152,000 b/d in June from the previous month and a whopping 413,000 b/d over June 2002. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... RUSSIA -- Crude exports are continuing to climb, rising by 152,000 b/d in June from the previous month and a whopping 413,000 b/d over June 2002. The rise was equally due to increased Black Sea loadings and faster pumping down the Druzhba...

Russia -- the arrest of a business associate of Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky has sent shivers through the business community ahead of parliamentary elections in December and presidential elections in June 2004. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... RUSSIA -- The arrest of a business associate of Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky has sent shivers through the business community ahead of parliamentary elections in December and presidential elections in June 2004. Platon Lebedev, the board...

Syria -- new exploration and development agreements with Royal Dutch/Shell and Petro-Canada, the foreign partners in Al-Furat Petroleum Co., are intended to help boost national production capacity by 100,000 b/d to around 650,000 b/d by 2006. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... SYRIA -- New exploration and development agreements with Royal Dutch/Shell and Petro-Canada, the foreign partners in Al-Furat Petroleum Co., are intended to help boost national production capacity by 100,000 b/d to around 650,000 b/d by 2006....

United States -- Australia's BHP Billiton has made a "very encouraging" oil discovery in the ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico, at its 27,650 foot Chinook-3 exploratory well on Walker Ridge Block 469. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... UNITED STATES -- Australia's BHP Billiton has made a "very encouraging" oil discovery in the ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico, at its 27,650 foot Chinook-3 exploratory well on Walker Ridge Block 469. Drilled in 8,830 feet of water over...

Iraq tenders more oil, term contracts still distant.
July 7, 2003... Sabotage, looting, a lack of spare parts, and general mayhem stand in the way of Iraq attaining its target of a resumption of crude oil exports at a sustainable 1 million b/d by mid-July. Another declared aim--signing off on term contracts for...

Fuel oil's Asian comeback. (Marketview).
July 7, 2003... SINGAPORE -- Asia's weakened products markets are reviving in the wake of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak, which dented demand across the region. China, worst hit by Sars, is leading the way back, importing record volumes...

PIW market indicators.
July 7, 2003... PIW Market Indicators Last 2 Weeks 4 Weeks Spot Crude Week Ago Ago Opec Basket $27.15 $26.44 $27.54 UK Brent (Dated) 28.43 27.23 28.24...

Why are oil prices still so high?
July 14, 2003... In recent times, world oil demand and prices have stubbornly refused to march in step, with consumption mostly stagnant but the market persistently strong. For much of the last year, that distortion was explained away as a "war premium"--a...

BP's broad back can carry TNK's baggage.
July 14, 2003... When BP unveiled its $6.75 billion tie-up with Russia's Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK) in February, there were plenty who considered it a gamble from the point of view of corporate governance and political risk. TNK gives BP production, reserves, and...

Egypt leaps ahead in LNG, lags on oil.
July 14, 2003... Egypt is making strides in its ambition to be a leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), but foreign exploration investment is still badly needed. Despite the recent gas sales deals that have put the country on course to be the world's...

Big oil profits no better than before mergers.
July 14, 2003... Since substantial growth has been put out of reach--at least for now--for top integrated oil companies, the onus has been put squarely on enhancing profitability. For better or worse, return on capital employed (ROCE) has evolved as the...

BG targets more growth in North Sea.
July 14, 2003... While supermajors BP and Royal Dutch/Shell are looking to scale back their activities in the North Sea, the BG Group of the UK still believes there are growth opportunities in the aging oil and gas province. Rather than retrench, BG is angling...

Greece, Turkey give Gazprom a hard time.
July 14, 2003... As other suppliers seek to weaken its iron grip, Russian gas monopoly Gazprom is in defensive mode in the battle for future gas sales into southeast Europe. Gazprom was once the sole gas source for most of the region, until clients like Greece...

Saudi Arabia leads dip in global supply.
July 14, 2003... North Sea maintenance and a tightening of Saudi taps removed more than 1 million barrels per day from global oil supplies in June, bringing wellhead output down to 77.4 million b/d. Supplies were still far above the June 2002 level, when Saudi...

Africa--energy was on the back burner during US President George Bush's tour of sub-Saharan Africa last week but West Africa's importance will be evident this month as crude sales to the US hit 1.7 million b/d--well over 15% of US imports. (General).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... AFRICA -- Energy was on the back burner during US President George Bush's tour of sub-Saharan Africa last week but West Africa's importance will be evident this month as crude sales to the US hit 1.7 million b/d--well over 15% of US imports....

Formula prices--in line with falling premiums for sweet crudes, Saudi Arabia cut the official selling price (OSP) for its extra light and light grades for August exports to the US, Europe, and Asia while holding steady or raising OSPs for its other grades. (General).
July 14, 2003... FORMULA PRICES -- In line with falling premiums for sweet crudes, Saudi Arabia cut the official selling price (OSP) for its extra light and light grades for August exports to the US, Europe, and Asia while holding steady or raising OSPs for its...

Industry restructuring--Royal Dutch/Shell is selling two packages of North Sea assets acquired with the takeover of Enterprise Oil last year to Energy North Sea and Canada's Talisman, less than a week after selling off 26 assets in the shallow-water US Gulf of Mexico. (General).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING -- Royal Dutch/Shell is selling two packages of North Sea assets acquired with the takeover of Enterprise Oil last year to Energy North Sea and Canada's Talisman, less than a week after selling off 26 assets in the...

Algeria -- US' Burlington Resources has started oil production from the Menzel Lejmat North (MLN) field, along with initial commissioning of the field's oil processing and storage facilities. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... ALGERIA -- US' Burlington Resources has started oil production from the Menzel Lejmat North (MLN) field, along with initial commissioning of the field's oil processing and storage facilities. MLN is the first of a series of discoveries by...

Azerbaijan -- a Japanese consortium is the fifth casualty of disappointing exploration in the Caspian Sea off Baku. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... AZERBAIJAN -- A Japanese consortium is the fifth casualty of disappointing exploration in the Caspian Sea off Baku. Japan Azerbaijan Operating Co., which is led by Japex and embraces Inpex, Teikoku, and Itochu, spent a hefty $100 million on two...

Azerbaijan -- BP and its partners in the Shah Deniz offshore gas field have awarded France's Technip-Coflexip a $300 million contract for Stage 1 development. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... AZERBAIJAN -- BP and its partners in the Shah Deniz offshore gas field have awarded France's Technip-Coflexip a $300 million contract for Stage 1 development. The contract includes the design, engineering, procurement, assembly, installation,...

Indonesia -- prospects for the BP-led Tangguh LNG project are dimming as more of the country's customers turn elsewhere for incremental LNG. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... INDONESIA -- Prospects for the BP-led Tangguh LNG project are dimming as more of the country's customers turn elsewhere for incremental LNG. Though the government is putting a brave face on prospects for Tangguh, which would be the country's...

Iraq -- BP, Royal Dutch/Shell, ChevronTexaco, and Swiss-based trader Taurus won the second postwar tender issued by State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo). (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... IRAQ -- BP, Royal Dutch/Shell, ChevronTexaco, and Swiss-based trader Taurus won the second postwar tender issued by State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo). The companies will lift a total of 8 million bbl of Basrah Light crude in 2 million bbl...

Kuwait -- international oil companies short-listed as operators for Project Kuwait are setting up consortia ahead of a Jul. 21 deadline for submitting details to state Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC). (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... KUWAIT -- International oil companies short-listed as operators for Project Kuwait are setting up consortia ahead of a Jul. 21 deadline for submitting details to state Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC). Their comments on a draft operating service...

Nigeria -- Canada's Nexen has estimated the recoverable oil reserves in the Usan deepwater discovery at 300 million bbl after the discovery well and two appraisal wells confirmed multiple pay zones of light, sweet crude over a wide area. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... NIGERIA -- Canada's Nexen has estimated the recoverable oil reserves in the Usan deepwater discovery at 300 million bbl after the discovery well and two appraisal wells confirmed multiple pay zones of light, sweet crude over a wide area. A...

Qatar -- Japan's Chiyoda has won the front-end engineering and design (Feed) contract for the world's largest gas liquefaction trains. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... QATAR -- Japan's Chiyoda has won the front-end engineering and design (Feed) contract for the world's largest gas liquefaction trains. The contract covers two additional trains--dubbed Qatargas-2--each capable of producing 7.8 million tons/yr...

Russia -- first-quarter 2003 financial results were a vast improvement on last year for the country's top oil companies. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... RUSSIA -- First-quarter 2003 financial results were a vast improvement on last year for the country's top oil companies. Yukos reported that quarterly net income skyrocketed to $1.27 billion from $462 million in the same period last year....

Russia -- embattled Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky last week left for Washington, D.C. to lobby US government officials for support, as his business empire came under attack by Russian law enforcement bodies. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... RUSSIA -- Embattled Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky last week left for Washington, D.C. to lobby US government officials for support, as his business empire came under attack by Russian law enforcement bodies. Khodorkovsky has been a key figure...

Taiwan -- state-owned Chinese Petroleum Corp. (CPC) beat out rivals to win the coveted contract to supply 1.7 million tons/yr of LNG to Taiwan Power (Taipower) for 25 years, starting in 2008. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... TAIWAN -- State-owned Chinese Petroleum Corp. (CPC) beat out rivals to win the coveted contract to supply 1.7 million tons/yr of LNG to Taiwan Power (Taipower) for 25 years, starting in 2008. CPC's low bid of $8.7 billion undercut Royal...

New Saudi gas initiative is close to old one. (What's New Around the World).
July 14, 2003... The relaunch of Saudi Arabia's natural gas initiative is being touted as the first bidding round for onshore natural gas exploration, with expectations that four packets of acreage will be awarded early next year. Contracts will be modeled on...

Running near empty. (Marketview).
July 14, 2003... WASHINGTON -- The bulls obviously have the upper hand in a market that continues to defy fundamentals. US crude futures soared beyond $31 per barrel despite ample supply of physical crude and lackluster demand. Much depends on US demand for...

PIW market indicators.
July 14, 2003... PIW Market Indicators Last 2 Weeks 4 Weeks Spot Crude Week Ago Ago Opec Basket $26.94 $27.14 $26.17 UK Brent (Dated) 28.20 28.27 26.77...

Shell, Total are first into Saudi Arabia.(Exploration deal )
July 21, 2003... Last week's landmark exploration deal in Saudi Arabia between Saudi Aramco, Royal Dutch/Shell, and Total means that the kingdom finally has something to show for four years of negotiations over the natural gas initiative. As it is stripped of...

Iraqi council not likely to act on oil.
July 21, 2003... The end of a war can be both the best and the worst of times to do business--and few places offer as much potential as Iraq for oil companies eager to get their hands on what could be oil's last great frontier. But just what will be on offer...

Indian refiners ride high on record margins.
July 21, 2003... A heady cocktail of lower import duties, higher product prices, and rising refinery throughputs has boosted profits and refining margins at India's state oil companies to record levels. The question now is whether the unexpected spurt in...

Qatar goes West, taking the LNG crown.
July 21, 2003... Qatar's ambition of exploiting its giant North Field to become the Saudi Arabia of the natural gas world has taken a major step forward with a landmark deal with ConocoPhillips to build a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility to supply the...

Pursuing Yukos, Putin risks Russia's image.
July 21, 2003... The hounding of top oil company Yukos has provided a timely reminder of the continuing political risks of investing in Russia and brought investor sentiment back down to earth after the euphoria of BP and TNK's contract signing in June. Fund...

BP struggles for place in Asian LNG.
July 21, 2003... Having recognized that natural gas looms large in their future, the supermajors have developed strongly contrasting positions in Asia. Royal Dutch/Shell is the clear leader of new LNG developments in the region, while Exxon Mobil has focused on...

Corporate--failed negotiations to refinance loans and restructure bond debt forced energy merchant Mirant to file what could be the largest bankruptcy in the US this year. (General).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... CORPORATE -- Failed negotiations to refinance loans and restructure bond debt forced energy merchant Mirant to file what could be the largest bankruptcy in the US this year. Mirant is the fourth major energy merchant to seek such shelter,...

Corporate--Hungarian Mol's jaw-dropping offer of $505 million for a 25% equity stake in Croatian state oil firm Ina comfortably beat its main regional competitor, OMV of Austria, but was way over analysts' valuations. (General).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... CORPORATE -- Hungarian Mors jaw-dropping offer of $505 million for a 25% equity stake in Croatian state oil firm Ina comfortably beat its main regional competitor, OMV of Austria, but was way over analysts' valuations. Mol argues that its links...

IEA--the International Energy Agency advised Opec to enjoy sky-high crude prices while they last because, come 2004, rival producers will gobble up any extra demand, forcing the producer group to sacrifice market share again if it intends to defend its $22-$28/bbl price range. (General).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... IEA -- The International Energy Agency advised Opec to enjoy sky-high crude prices while they last because, come 2004, rival producers will gobble up any extra demand, forcing the producer group to sacrifice market share again if it intends to...

Industry restructuring--US utility Duke Energy is in talks with several potential buyers of its European natural gas business, which is focused on the Dutch energy market. (General).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING -- US utility Duke Energy is in talks with several potential buyers of its European natural gas business, which is focused on the Dutch energy market. Duke has 10% of the liberalized segment of the Dutch gas market, after...

Jean-Luc Vermeulen is retiring as executive vice president and president of upstream at Total on Sep. 1. (People).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... PEOPLE -- Jean-Luc Vermeulen is retiring as executive vice president and president of upstream at Total on Sep. 1. Yves-Louis Darricarrere has been named executive vice president and president of gas and power. Michel Benezit becomes senior...

Brazil -- work on two platforms reduced oil and gas output by state-controlled Petrobras in June, despite growth in international production. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... BRAZIL -- Work on two platforms reduced oil and gas output by state-controlled Petrobras in June, despite growth in international production. Petrobras produced 1.59 million b/d of oil, down from 1.7 million b/d in May. Crude produced in Brazil...

Kazakhstan -- BG, ENI, and their partners in the Karachaganak field, one of the world's largest gas condensate deposits, are set to boost their earnings after producing the first liquids from the field for export via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... KAZAKHSTAN -- BG, ENI, and their partners in the Karachaganak field, one of the world's largest gas condensate deposits, are set to boost their earnings after producing the first liquids from the field for export via the Caspian Pipeline...

India -- Reliance Industries plans to spend about $970 million to build a pipeline network for petroleum products and natural gas. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... INDIA -- Reliance Industries plans to spend about $970 million to build a pipeline network for petroleum products and natural gas. The 5,895 km network of pipelines is linked to plans for Reliance to open an initial 1,500 retail outlets and to...

Iran -- claims are being made for a huge onshore oil discovery near the port of Bushehr, consisting of three fields with combined reserves of 38 billion bbl. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... IRAN -- Claims are being made for a huge onshore oil discovery near the port of Bushehr, consisting of three fields with combined reserves of 38 billion bbl. If confirmed, it would rank among the largest finds in the world in 30 years. A senior...

Iraq -- top US firms such as Bechtel, Fluor, Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) unit, Parsons, and Shaw are likely to nab the two prime contracts, worth up to $500 million apiece, that are to be awarded by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to restore the oil industry. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... IRAQ -- Top US firms such as Bechtel, Fluor, Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) unit, Parsons, and Shaw are likely to nab the two prime contracts, worth up to $500 million apiece, that are to be awarded by the US Army Corps of Engineers...

Mauritania -- Australia's Hardman Resources is to drill a development well in August or September at the offshore Chinguetti field with the aim of confirming oil reserve estimates of 142 million bbl. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... MAURITANIA -- Australia's Hardman Resources is to drill a development well in August or September at the offshore Chinguetti field with the aim of confirming oil reserve estimates of 142 million bbl. The joint venture, operated by Australia's...

Nigeria -- first oil is now expected from ChevronTexaco's Agbami field in 2007--three years later than planned--after changes to shareholdings in the OPL 216 license and its control structure. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... NIGERIA -- First oil is now expected from ChevronTexaco's Agbami field in 2007--three years later than planned--after changes to shareholdings in the OPL 216 license and its control structure. The original agreement gave Famfa Oil, a local...

Russia -- Severtek, a 50-50 joint venture between Lukoil and Finland's Fortum, plans by the end of July to start commercial production from the South Shapkino (Yuzhno-Shapkinskoye) oil field in the northern Nenets autonomous district. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... RUSSIA -- Severtek, a 50-50 joint venture between Lukoil and Finland's Fortum, plans by the end of July to start commercial production from the South Shapkino (Yuzhno-Shapkinskoye) oil field in the northern Nenets autonomous district. The...

South Korea -- crude imports fell by nearly 7% in May compared with a year earlier, but were marked by a surge in UAE barrels in response to attractive spot prices. (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... SOUTH KOREA--Crude imports fell by nearly 7% in May compared with a year earlier, but were marked by a surge in UAE barrels in response to attractive spot prices. Total crude imports dropped 156,000 b/d to 2.09 million b/d, led by cuts from...

Turkey -- the authorities have failed once again to resolve a price and volume dispute with Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom, which has halted gas imports since March via the $3.4 billion Blue Stream gas pipeline system extending under the Black Sea (PIW Jul.14,p4). (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... TURKEY -- The authorities have failed once again to resolve a price and volume dispute with Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom, which has halted gas imports since March via the $3.4 billion Blue Stream gas pipeline system extending under the...

United Kingdom--playing catch-up in the European league table for use of renewable energy, the government is promoting a new generation of offshore wind farms, which could provide capacity of up to 6 gigawatts by 2010, equivalent to 5% of total electricity supply (PIW Mar.3,p7). (Countries).(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... UNITED KINGDOM -- Playing catch-up in the European league table for use of renewable energy, the government is promoting a new generation of offshore wind farms, which could provide capacity of up to 6 gigawatts by 2010, equivalent to 5% of...

Climate change report names, shames big oil. (What's New Around the World).
July 21, 2003... US oil companies that continue to play down the threat of global warning could find themselves at greater financial and legal risk in the future than their European counterparts, which have taken more steps to address the issue according to a...

Sweet and sour. (Marketview).
July 21, 2003... LONDON -- Oil consumers who paid a "war premium" in the months running up to the war in Iraq, ought to be getting a "peace dividend" back by now, yet many are still paying what is now being described as a "geopolitical risk premium," especially...

Remains of Enron rise from the ashes.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... Enron, whose spectacular implosion in late 2001 led to the collapse of the energy merchant sector, is trying to arise in an abridged form from its Wagnerian-scale ashes (p6). The company proposes to emerge from bankruptcy in two forms: a...

PIW market indicators.
July 21, 2003... PIW Market Indicators Last 2 Weeks 4 Weeks Spot Crude Week Ago Ago Opec Basket $28.00 $27.26 $26.44 UK Brent (Dated) 28.89 28.53 27.23...

ConocoPhillips gets its gas act moving.
July 21, 2003... ConocoPhillips is wasting no time in implementing its strategy shift toward making natural gas fully half its business, as it has demonstrated in signing a preliminary agreement with Qatar Petroleum for a $5 billion, 7.5 million ton per year...

Iraqi recovery taking shape in the south. (Eye on Iraq).
July 28, 2003... Although coming later and slower than the US had hoped, the recovery of the Iraqi oil industry is gradually taking shape, easing fears that it might be sinking into paralysis and stagnation. Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) has...

Opec to meet quietly amid latent tensions.
July 28, 2003... Frequent meetings with little official action have become the standard for Opec over the last few years. The Jul. 31 meeting looks to be more of the same, which would mean: The ceiling is maintained at 25.4 million barrels per day; the quota...

Eastern premium persists despite Atlantic spike.
July 28, 2003... Mideast crude producers made more money sending their crude east rather than west in the second quarter, although US refiners typically paid most for Mideast cargoes--the result of a combination of higher freight costs and out-of-whack high...

Syria moves to stem output decline.
July 28, 2003... Slapped with a dose of reality when it lost its illicit supply of crude from Iraq--which nearly doubled Syria's traditional export flows briefly last year--Syria is putting its faith in foreign oil firms, many less-than-household names, to...

Total still fighting for respect.
July 28, 2003... Despite recording superior upstream growth and posting competitive financial returns, French oil major Total continues to chase larger rivals BP and Royal Dutch/Shell in terms of stock market valuation. After biting on the heels of its...

China refiners get serious on revamping.
July 28, 2003... In contrast to the rest of Asia, where refiners are hunkering down to weather inclement margins, China's integrated giants Sinopec and PetroChina are embarking on a massive capacity restructuring program. New crude distillation towers are going...

Firms hedge bets in quota-bound Nigeria.
July 28, 2003... In Nigeria, rising pipeline theft, community conflict, and sabotage threats to onshore and shallow-water operations are enhancing the attraction of investing in deepwater projects far out at sea. Yet for all their allure, deepwater projects are...

Industry restructuring--Lukoil-Neftegasstroi, a construction arm of Russian oil giant Lukoil, is setting up a 50-50 joint venture with Technip Germany, an affiliate of Paris-based engineering concern Technip, to pursue projects related to oil and gas production, gas processing, refining, and petrochemicals in Russia, the CIS, and other countries. (General).(Brief Article)
July 28, 2003... INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING--Lukoil-Neftegasstroi, a construction arm of Russian oil giant Lukoil, is setting up a 50-50 joint venture with Technip Germany, an affiliate of Paris-based engineering concern Technip, to pursue projects related to oil...