Energy Intelligence Briefing articles from March 2004

Energy Intelligence Briefing archives from March 2004

Moscow rides high on crude windfall.
March 1, 2004... MOSCOW -- Russia plans to ramp up seaborne crude exports by 60,000 barrels per day in March from the previous month's level as it takes advantage of capacity increases at the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk and boosts shipments via Ukraine. Crude...

Iraq gets back on feet ahead of handover: adviser.(Eye On Iraq)
March 2, 2004... For the first time since the end of the Iraq war in April 2003, Iraq's oil production has hit the 2.5 million barrel per day mark and, according to the coalition forces' outgoing chief oil adviser, Robert McKee, is on course to reach 3 million...

Royal Dutch/Shell bows to pressure, sacks top execs.
March 3, 2004... LONDON -- Weeks of investor pressure on Royal Dutch/Shell finally reaped their reward Wednesday, with the Anglo-Dutch supermajor announcing Wednesday the departure of Chairman Phil Watts and the man previously considered his most likely...

Oil supply/demand balance: looking tighter.
March 5, 2004... NEW YORK -- Oil markets became more balanced last month as oil demand grew and supply slid a little. With help from the US and a handful of non-OECD countries, global demand appears to have jumped by 1.1 million barrels per day from January,...

Iraq set on more Kirkuk exports following new tender.
March 11, 2004... Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) awarded 6 million barrels of Kirkuk crude in batches of 1 million bbl each through a public tender, and is now looking at tendering more cargoes as crude continues to flow between northern Iraq and...

Primorsk to lead charge in Russia's Q2 oil exports.
March 12, 2004... MOSCOW -- Russia is planning to ramp up crude exports by 99,000 barrels per day via the Transneft system during the second quarter of 2004, continuing the upward trajectory of rising output. Exports are penciled in at 3.150 million b/d (39.110...

Iraq oil exports recover with extra options.
March 12, 2004... Just hitting its oil export goal for March, Iraq has exported an average 1.668 million barrels per day from its two Mideast Gulf ports this month, according to Energy Intelligence calculations based on tanker loadings. With new export capacity...

North Sea loadings support prices with 10.7% drop.
March 16, 2004... LONDON -- The North Sea April loading programs for the eight principal Norwegian and UK crude oil systems, at 93.66 million barrels, show an 11.23 million bbl--or 10.7%--decline against March. In terms of barrels per day, and taking into...

Iraq: a year later and a long way to go.
March 19, 2004... One year ago today, the US and its allies invaded Iraq armed with a handful of objectives--overthrowing Saddam Hussein, destroying Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD), cracking down on international terrorism and spreading democracy...

Oil market spring thaw test for Opec's flood control.
March 22, 2004... NEW YORK -- With the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, February's surprisingly small 660,000 barrel per day draw in global oil stocks could turn into a significant surplus in the second quarter. Opec could be facing a second-quarter...

Sellers of west African crude in wait-and-see mode.
March 24, 2004... After riding high on strong prices and enviable differentials for April cargoes, sellers of West African crude are wondering if their luck will hold. With all but a few April cargoes now cleared, the market is in a wait-and-see mode, pending...

Iraq oil exports touch prewar levels in March.
March 26, 2004... Far surpassing expectations, Iraqi oil exports have hit an astounding 2 million barrels per day this month. March loadings from Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal (BOT) in the south, combined with a one-off 6 million bbl tender of Kirkuk crude from the...

Russia seeks new outlets for rising production.
March 30, 2004... MOSCOW -- Taking advantage of the spring thaw, Russia is planning to ramp up seaborne crude exports by 103,000 barrels per day in April from the previous month. National pipeline operator Transneft is planning on pumping almost all the...

Opec looks set to stick to April target for cut.
March 30, 2004... Despite doubts among some members, Opec is expected to follow through on its earlier decision to lower the output ceiling by 1 million barrels per day from Apr. 1 at its meeting in Vienna on Wednesday. But given high oil prices, it could prove...

Opec snubs US call for more oil.
March 31, 2004... VIENNA -- Opec ministers shrugged off a consumer outcry over high fuel prices and stuck to their guns on Wednesday, reaffirming their commitment to lower their collective production limits to 23.5 million barrels per day from Apr. 1. ...