Energy Intelligence Briefing articles from January 2004

Energy Intelligence Briefing archives from January 2004

Russia's New Year's resolution to boost oil exports.
January 5, 2004... MOSCOW -- Russia is aiming for an ambitious boost in oil exports as it enters the New Year, although its plans are almost certain to be thwarted by stormy weather and ongoing infrastructure constraints. Moscow has penciled in a stalwart...

Somo looks south to export Kirkuk crude.(Eye on Iraq)
January 7, 2004... LONDON -- Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) is considering exporting Kirkuk crude from the south as an emergency measure, Somo head Shamkhi Faraj told Energy Intelligence Briefing by telephone from Baghdad on Wednesday. Somo is...

December ends 2003 with huge supply gain.
January 7, 2004... NEW YORK -- What a difference a year makes: Global oil supplies are running nearly 6 million barrels per day higher than a year ago, according to preliminary soundings for December 2003 taken by Energy Intelligence Briefing sister publication...

Shell drops bombshell with massive reserve revision.
January 9, 2004... Royal Dutch/Shell hit investors today with a staggering 3.9 billion barrel of oil equivalent downgrade in its proven oil reserves, spurring a 7.5% dive in the share price and renewed criticism of management. The company announced that it...

Less North Sea oil bolsters already upbeat market.
January 14, 2004... LONDON -- The North Sea February loading programs for the eight principal Norwegian and UK crude oil systems at 93.57 million barrels show a 9.83 million bbl--or 9.33% --decline against January. Although about two-thirds of this shortfall is...

West Africa's light, sweet crudes enjoy recovery.
January 14, 2004... LONDON -- A selective recovery has cheered up West Africa's light, sweet crudes loading in February--thanks to a strong US bias towards sweeter grades, reduced availability of similar North Sea crudes, and voracious Asian appetite for Naptha....

Iraqi exports of Basrah Light happy, healthy in New Year.(Eye on Iraq)
January 16, 2004... January's provisional Iraqi loading schedule adds up to an improbably grand 1.91 million barrels per day, which has prompted some gentle head-shaking among regular lifters. According to Energy Intelligence Briefing calculations, exports from...

Worst LNG explosion in 60 years rocks Algerian Complex.
January 20, 2004... This wasn't the kind of explosion global liquefied natural gas (LNG) developers had in mind. After touting LNG's safety around the world, especially in North America, the industry now has to deal with the most destructive LNG accident in some...

Nymex gets hostile with IPE in merger plan.
January 23, 2004... LONDON -- The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) appears to be launching a hostile takeover bid for its archrival, London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) and its electronic owner, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Previous merger...

Producers, pipeline group advance AK gas line plans.
January 23, 2004... The opportunity and/or challenge of moving 4.5 billion-5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from Alaska's North Slope to markets in Canada and the US lower-48 states has two sponsor groups vying to turn dirt and lay pipe in what would be...

New year, same old questions for market fundamentals.
January 26, 2004... Oil market fundamentals are getting even more confusing, making it difficult for Opec members to do anything other than sit on their collective hands--unable either to add supply to dampen high prices, or to cut production to tighten balances...

Russia cuts Black Sea loadings in February.
January 26, 2004... MOSCOW -- Russia is planning a robust 123,000 barrel per day increase in its seaborne crude exports in the short month of February--to 2.251 million b/d (8.905 million tons) from 2.128 million b/d (9 million tons) in January--but that may be...

Basrah sales hold steady; no decision on Kirkuk exports.(Eye on Iraq)
January 30, 2004... Oil exports from Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal held steady at 1.67 million barrels per day for January, according to Energy Intelligence calculations based on tanker loadings. A total of 29 cargoes had sailed as of Friday, totaling approximately...