Energy Intelligence Briefing articles from February 2003

Energy Intelligence Briefing archives from February 2003

Dissident holders to start proxy battle with El Paso?(shareholders seek to acquire control of El Paso's board of directors)
February 3, 2003... A group of dissident El Paso shareholders led by Selim Zilkha plans a fight to acquire control of El Paso's board of directors and replace much of the company's senior management team, EIB has learned. The Zilkha family is El Paso's largest...

Talk of Saddam resignation a cover for US, Saudis. (Eye on Iraq).(calls for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq could only be attempts for the US to claim it is trying to avoid war)
February 3, 2003... The various pronouncements by the US and Saudi governments of talks about finding ways for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq peacefully appear to be a cover for growing fears that the Iraqi war campaign may backfire badly. While the prospect of a...

Supply keeps pace with strong oil demand in January.(for the global oil industry)
February 4, 2003... Oil futures on both sides of the Atlantic are still soaring, but global oil fundamentals and physical trade tell a story of a supply crisis that never was. After a seasonally modest 1.7 million barrel per day supply shortfall in December,...

Russia plays the field in Iraq; signals worry Baghdad. (Eye on Iraq).(Russia is in Iraq signing more oil buisness)
February 5, 2003... BAGHDAD--Although the international community is abuzz with talk about the looming US military strike on Iraq, life in Baghdad appears to be business as usual. The streets are busy with people and traffic, markets are crowded with vendors and...

El Paso circles the Wagons in struggle for survival.(El Paso is dealing with a proxy fight)
February 5, 2003... El Paso is fighting for survival of, if not the company itself, then the incumbent management and directors. They are facing a proxy fight led by dissident shareholder Selim Zilkha, El Paso's largest independent stockholder with some 9 million...

Last chance for Iraq to prove to UN it has disarmed. (Eye on Iraq).
February 5, 2003... Following the US attempt to convince members of the United Nations Security Council that war against Iraq is inevitable, the international community awaits a series of new Iraqi documents to be released in the next 10 days--explaining Baghdad's...

As Venezuela returns, oil market can handle Iraq war. (Eye on Iraq).
February 7, 2003... Are oil markets ready for war? The answer appears to be yes, based on supply/demand balances for the months ahead projected by EIB's sister publication Petroleum Intelligence Weekly. Even assuming relatively strong global oil demand growth...

It's final: Lukoil is out of W. Qurna picture, Iraq says. (Eye On Iraq).(Lukoil loses development contract)
February 10, 2003... BAGHDAD -- Russia's Lukoil has lost its battle with Baghdad to keep the West Qurna development contract, according to acting Iraqi Oil Minister Samir Abdul Aziz al-Najm. The deal was terminated last December after the government learned of the...

BP moves deeper into Russia, making new promises.(BP to form company with Tyumen Oil Co., Sidanco)
February 11, 2003... Even in desperate times BP has proven its flair for the dramatic. With its stock price down nearly 20% since the start of 2002 and the company's direction in doubt after several embarrassing reductions to its growth projections, all eyes were...

Bin Laden tape strikes a chord in the Muslim world. (Eye on Iraq).
February 13, 2003... DUBAI -- From a Mideast Gulf vantage point, at least, attempts by the administration of US President George Bush to use the latest pronouncements of Osama bin Laden to promote its case for a war against Iraq appear to be backfiring. The...

UN hawks, doves give Iraq more time to disarm. (Eye on Iraq).
February 14, 2003... Iraq has won a bit more time to show the world that it is fully complying with the United Nations Security Council's demands to disarm, but the council remains deeply divided over how to respond if Baghdad again fails to do so. A minority group...

Dissidents propose a new board for troubled El Paso.(shareholder rebellion)
February 18, 2003... The informal group of dissident El Paso shareholders headed by Selim Zilkha made their rebellion official on Tuesday morning by disclosing the names of their choices to replace the entire El Paso board of directors. This rarely exercised right...

Iraq plays games but has refinery working overtime. (Eye on Iraq).
February 18, 2003... BAGHDAD -- On the surface, Iraq continues to present an image of slow and hesitant acquiescence to United Nations demands, allowing on Monday the first U-2 surveillance plane to fly over its territory. That followed a presidential decree on...

Saudi gas in gridlock as petroleum, politics intersect.
February 18, 2003... DUBAI -- It may be something of a stretch to say that the three-year-long negotiations by Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch/Shell-led consortia for $20 billion-plus in integrated gas projects in Saudi Arabia are dead as a doornail--but not much. Two...

Despite war threats, Iraq outlines grand oil plan. (Eye on Iraq).
February 20, 2003... BAGHDAD -- Unfazed by the prospect of an imminent war, Iraqi oil officials are forging ahead with a 10-year plan drawn up last year, which aims to bring on stream early oil production from discovered but not-yet-developed fields, as well as...

Stocks undeniably low, but have scope for recovery.(for the oil industry)(Illustration)
February 21, 2003... High prices and volatility should rule oil markets, at least for the rest of the first quarter. Unusually low inventories and steep backwardation, strong short-term demand, and geopolitical uncertainty could make this winter season a benchmark...

Sources: Jordanian/Iraqi oil smuggling scheme fails. (Eye on Iraq).(UN diplomats uncover an alleged scheme between Jordanian businessmen and Iraqi officials)
February 21, 2003... A secret scheme allegedly devised by Jordanian businessmen and Iraqi officials to enable proceeds from illicit sales of millions of barrels of Iraqi crude to escape United Nations controls and fatten the bank accounts of the Iraqi regime was...

Foreign firms in Saudi Arabia beef up security. (Eye on Iraq).
February 24, 2003... RIYADH--A feeling of nervousness is pervading the foreign business community in Riyadh following the murder last week of Robert Dent, an employee of British defense firm BAE Systems who was shot dead by a young Saudi in what diplomats are...

US natural gas prices flare in winter weather frenzy.
February 24, 2003... It's desperation time for natural gas buyers. A wicked combination of cold weather, low gas storage, widespread pipeline operational flow orders (OFOs), and the upcoming expiration of the Nymex March futures contract sent gas prices spiking to...

North Sea loadings: buyers, sellers reluctant to deal.
February 25, 2003... Are North Sea producers standing ready with additional supplies in the event that a war in Iraq takes 1.5 million-2 million barrels per day off the market next month? According to loading schedules for March released over the last few days,...

Syria boosts oil imports from Iraq--despite angry US. (Eye On Iraq).
February 25, 2003... As an elected member of the United Nations Security Council, Syria lambasted the US 10 days ago for applying double standards by demanding Iraqi adherence to 17 UN resolutions, while letting Israel off the hook for violating over 30 UN...

Iraqi smuggling scheme resurrected at Khor al-Amaya. (Eye On Iraq).
February 26, 2003... Yet another tanker was illegally loading Iraqi crude oil at the Khor al Amaya terminal in the Mideast Gulf on Wednesday, violating United Nations sanctions against Iraq and less than a week after a similar smuggling scheme was supposedly...