Energy Intelligence Briefing articles from April 2003

Energy Intelligence Briefing archives from April 2003

Two fires continue to burn in Southern Iraqi oil fields. (Eye on Iraq).
April 1, 2003... SOUTH RUMAILA -- In a desolate landscape where camels roam and the occasional Apache helicopter flies overhead, Kuwaiti and Texan oil well firefighters on Tuesday continued efforts to douse the flames at Iraq's South Rumaila oil field, which...

War news, not profits dictating share fate for big oil. (Eye on Iraq).
April 1, 2003... While most other sectors are primed to post weak first-quarter results due to the soft economy, Big Oil should enjoy its finest quarter since early 2001, bolstered by oil prices that averaged more than $30 per barrel and a broad recovery in...

March demand, supply soften as market digests war.(global oil balances)
April 2, 2003... On average, global oil balances began to look more balanced in March. But the first half of the month and the second half were quite different: The start of the war in Iraq and a significant cut in Nigerian output sucked nearly 3 million...

Iraq reconstruction: will oil revenue be enough? (Eye On Iraq).
April 3, 2003... With billions in the bank from Iraqi oil sales, funds will suffice to ship more than enough emergency aid to the country to help citizens survive. But two years down the line, only small sums will be available to help rebuild the debt-ridden...

Chevron, Shell restarting stalled West African crudes.(ChevronTexaco, Royal Dutch/Shell to restart Nigerian production operations)
April 4, 2003... ChevronTexaco and Royal Dutch/Shell will restart production from parts of their operations in the western Niger Delta this weekend, thanks to improved security conditions. However the resumption of exports to the international market will be...

Facing market glut, Opec calls emergency meeting. (Eye On Iraq).
April 7, 2003... Alarmed by a 20% slide for the price of its oil in just one month, Opec may meet in emergency session on Apr. 24 in Vienna to take action to thwart a mounting oversupply situation at a time when oil demand normally registers a seasonal fall....

Syria cuts oil exports now that Iraqi flows have dried up. (Eye on Iraq).
April 8, 2003... After more than two years of fierce denials, Syria on Tuesday indirectly confirmed that it has been illegally importing 200,000 barrels per day of Iraq crude in violation of United Nations sanctions. Syria's state oil marketer Sytrol told its...

Kirkuk falls to Kurds as oil keeps on trickling. (Eye on Iraq).
April 10, 2003... Iraq's northern oil hub of Kirkuk--which before the war accounted for around 40% of Iraqi production--fell on Thursday with little resistance to a group of Kurdish peshmerga fighters overseen, at least in theory, by US special forces operating...

As end-game nears in Iraq, who are hawks eyeing now? (Eye on Iraq).(other canditates for regime change in the Middle East)
April 10, 2003... DUBAI -- With the end-game approaching in Iraq, some of its neighbors are worried about becoming the next candidates for US-sponsored `regime change.' Iran, lumped in with Iraq and North Korea as a member of the `axis of evil,' is one. Saudi...

Iraqi exports hang in balance as US plans postwar Iraq. (Eye on Iraq).
April 11, 2003... WASHINGTON -- No one can accuse the US government of not planning for a post-Saddam Iraq. But months of meetings and consultations with Iraqi exiles have failed to come up with a clear consensus on how the war-ravaged country should be governed...

Politics, not damages, could delay return of Iraqi oil. (Eye On Iraq).(US, UN relations)
April 15, 2003... NEW YORK -- Now that the US is calling its aircraft carriers back home and the looting in Iraq's major cities is winding down with the decrease in available abandoned or damaged property, global attention should shift to the reconstruction of...

Evolving fundamentals and geopolitics confront Opec.
April 16, 2003... Oil traders are going through withdrawal as the relevance of the daily diet of war news is petering out. The cozy relationship between headlines and oil price moves that dominated the first quarter is coming unglued. The market psychology is...

Early power play for Iraqi oil underlines challenges ahead. (Eye on Iraq).
April 21, 2003... BAGHDAD -- The intriguing power plays erupting in postwar Iraq underline the conundrum faced by Opec when it meets later this week to plot out a production strategy that ministers hope will stave off a price collapse before the group has to...

Iraq to restart oil output for domestic consumption. (Eye on Iraq).
April 22, 2003... BAGHDAD -- The first Iraqi oil production since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime is set to restart next week from the northern Kirkuk complex, but would be limited to supplying the domestic market in terms of crude for refineries and natural...

North Sea loading schedules point to small seasonal.(for petroleum industry)
April 22, 2003... If price bulls were hoping for a major seasonal decline in North Sea loadings this quarter to ease Opec's burden in dealing with a well-established seasonal slump in demand, recently released loading schedules--which should be understood to be...

Opec readies production cut to maintain $25 basket.
April 23, 2003... Anxious to tighten leaky taps before a burgeoning glut erodes more of their revenue, Opec ministers are ready to slash sales by at least 2 million barrels per day, in order to tighten up fundamentals before Iraqi crude returns to the market....

Iraq sees first postwar production--exporting harder. (Eye on Iraq).(oil production for domestic use seems to be resuming quicker than expected in southern and northern Iraqi)
April 23, 2003... Oil production for domestic use looks to be resuming much earlier than planned in both southern and northern Iraqi oil fields. Today, the team of US engineers charged with getting Iraq's oil production back on its feet eked out the first...

Syria cuts May oil exports by 40% since Iraq is out. (Eye on Iraq).
April 24, 2003... Syria's export schedule for May provides something of a reality check for state oil company Sytrol. Syria plans to export 264,000 barrels per day in May, a reduction of some 140,000 b/d from April, or 35%, and nearly 170,000 b/d from March, or...

Cutting and raising: Opec tries to reassure skeptics.
April 24, 2003... Convinced that Iraqi oil will not reappear on world markets before June, Opec ministers on Thursday decided to slash collective supply by two million barrels per day to stave off a burgeoning glut that threatens to take prices below its ideal...

US keeps UN in the dark on plans for future of Iraq. (Eye on Iraq).
April 24, 2003... Frustrated UN diplomats say the US is keeping the international community in the dark over its plans for the future of Iraq, paralyzing a debate sought by all other Security Council members on how the US and the UN can work together in...

Security adds to sense of urgency for Iraq planners. (Eye on Iraq).
April 28, 2003... BAGHDAD -- About 300 Iraqis--most of them exiles until the recent fall of Saddam Hussein's regime--met in Baghdad on Monday under the leadership of US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and began debating the process of setting up an interim Iraqi...

US engineers make headway in Iraq oil sector. (Eye on Iraq).
April 28, 2003... KUWAIT CITY -- The team of US engineers charged with getting Iraq's oil sector up and running again has achieved a new landmark with the reactivation of the Basra refinery, which is now working at just under half its 140,000 barrel per day...

Russia moves May crude to Polish port, Asian buyers.(Illustration)
April 28, 2003... Russia is sending an armada of Urals crude tankers to Asia next month, taking advantage of an open arbitrage made possible by the narrow Brent-Dubai spread. Five to six tankers will sail east with a million barrels each of Urals crude loaded...

In first Iraq oil ministry meeting US says keep status quo.
April 29, 2003... BAGHDAD -- A senior US official from the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) made a first visit to the Iraqi oil ministry in Baghdad on Tuesday, delivering instructions from ORHA chief Jay Garner that the status quo be...