Energy Intelligence Briefing articles from July 2003

Energy Intelligence Briefing archives from July 2003

Russia's July loading schedules get major reshuffling.
July 2, 2003... Sparring between Russia's oil majors has kicked off a major reshuffle of crude exports in July port loading schedules. Lukoil has been completely removed from the July loading schedules for Odessa and Gdansk--both of which have been staple...

Nigerian exports at risk from demand and supply.
July 7, 2003... Sellers of Nigerian crudes are having a grim July, and August seems to offer little respite. Differentials on light sweet crude loading in the first ten days of August have dipped from month-earlier levels by 30 cents-50 cents per barrel on...

Rodriguez says PDV's output is up, capacity to grow.
July 10, 2003... Venezuela's oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) has suffered no lasting damages from the crippling strike that brought the company and the country to its knees, has restored crude oil output to 3.353 million barrels per day, and plans to...

ConocoPhillips steps into LNG big leagues with Qatar.(partnership with Qatar Petroleum)
July 11, 2003... ConocoPhillips is wasting no time in implementing its recently enunciated strategy shift toward making natural gas fully half its business. The Houston-based international oil company is expected to announce today that it will take a stake in...

Iraqi body divided by political aims, mindful of oil's role. (Eye on Iraq).(Iraqi Governing Council)
July 14, 2003... WASHINGTON -- By establishing an Iraqi Governing Council--a 25-member board of Iraqis, mainly exiles, empowered to appoint interim ministers and review laws and budgets--US administrator L. Paul Bremer hopes to defuse some of the resentment...

Russia bids for postwar reconstruction business in Iraq. (Eye on Iraq).
July 16, 2003... MOSCOW -- Signaling that Moscow has no intention of giving up on Iraq, oil and gas contractor Stroitransgas is spearheading a new Russian campaign to win business in the postwar reconstruction of the oil-rich Mideast country. ...

The waiting game continues in unsettled oil market.(Illustration)
July 17, 2003... Last month it looked very much like the oil market was about to turn south, with large excess supplies showing in the balances and some early signs of resistance to high prices in loading schedules from swing supplier West Africa. One month...

US running out of time before chaos hits in Iraq. (Eye on Iraq).
July 18, 2003... WASHINGTON -- The US government and L. Paul Bremer, the man appointed to oversee the Iraqi postwar reconstruction on the ground, have a careful balancing act to perform--offsetting the need to rush decisions to bring in much-needed cash to...

Iraq's Southern Oil exports to hit 645,000 b/d in August. (Eye On Iraq).
July 22, 2003... LONDON -- Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) is raising its oil exports from the southern oil fields to a hefty 645,000 barrels per day in August and is finalizing sales contracts--which will run from August to December--on a term...

Russia plans drop in seaborne exports in August.(Seaborne crude exports will be cut by 17,000 barrels per day )
July 29, 2003... Russia has set out to cut seaborne crude exports by 17,000 barrels per day in the August port loading schedules, but as crude production continues to rise, clogging the country's pipeline infrastructure, Russian oil companies are working hard...

Shell aims to have mega-receiving terminal in US Gulf.(Royal Dutch/Shell)
July 29, 2003... HOUSTON -- Royal Dutch/Shell, the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, aims to have its own mega-receiving terminal in the US. The company is expected to file a proposal with US regulatory authorities in the fall for a 1...

Iraq's Somo finalizes first postwar term contracts. (Eye on Iraq).(Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) puts finishing touches on first set of postwar term export contracts)
July 29, 2003... Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) is putting the finishing touches on its first set of postwar term export contracts. Somo has already signed deals with 12 lifters for sales of Basrah Light crude, and is still negotiating with at...

Push and pull on oil prices gives Opec little room.
July 30, 2003... VIENNA -- A bullish cocktail of geopolitical uncertainties and tight market fundamentals will allow Opec at its Vienna meeting on Thursday to do what it does best--put off any tough production policy decisions until the last possible moment....

Iraq oil chief says output capacity hits 1.7 million b/d. (Eye on Iraq).
July 31, 2003... Iraq's production capacity has risen to unprecedented levels since the war ended in April, reaching 1.7 million barrels per day, according to the head of the country's oil ministry, Thamer al-Ghadban. Production is actually running at a rate of...

Opec keeps output steady in "confusing market".
July 31, 2003... VIENNA -- Puzzled by a "confusing and complicated" oil market, where prices remain stubbornly high despite sluggish demand, Opec decided on Thursday in Vienna to keep its output steady at 25.4 million barrels per day--but indicated that it was...

Iraq plans unravel as Carroll steps aside. (Eye on Iraq).
July 31, 2003... Early US plans for management of Iraq's oil sector are unraveling, as initial proposals for a strong outside advisory influence lose momentum. Philip Carroll, the former Shell Oil head who was brought in to guide the management of Iraq's...