Energy Intelligence Briefing articles from May 2003

Energy Intelligence Briefing archives from May 2003

Installations, output creep back to life at South Rumaila. (Eye on Iraq).
May 1, 2003... SOUTH RUMAILA -- As production from Iraq's giant Rumaila oil field creeps up and surrounding installations creak back to life, inhabitants of this desolate region near the Kuwaiti border share two overriding desires. The first is a swift end to...

West African loading plans mirror market's confusion.
May 1, 2003... Sellers of West African crude are having a grim month, as at least 15 May-loading cargoes have to be sold before they can focus on June deals. While the market has some good patches, conditions are particularly tricky for light, sweet Nigerian...

Oil flows at Kirkuk as KBR begins damage assessment. (Eye On Iraq).(Kellogg, Brown & Root )
May 1, 2003... KIRKUK -- A team from US Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) on Thursday started assessment work at Iraq's northern oil fields as part of a contract the company holds with the US military, a KBR official told Energy Intelligence...

UN members push Iraqi rebuilding fund to lure US. (Eye on Iraq).
May 2, 2003... NEW YORK -- A new proposal designed to break the United Nations deadlock over who will control the rebuilding of Iraq would keep the UN in charge of supplying food and medicine to Iraqi citizens, while proposing the creation of a reconstruction...

Iraqi oil veteran appointed to get industry back on track. (Eye on Iraq).(Thamir Ghadban)
May 4, 2003... BAGHDAD -- The Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq (ORHA) has announced the appointment of the director general of planning at the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Thamir Ghadban, as chief executive officer of the interim management...

Iraqi know-how helps Basrah tackle years of neglect. (Eye on Iraq).(oil refinery)
May 4, 2003... BASRAH -- The challenges of getting Iraq's oil industry back on its feet after years of neglect and decay are encapsulated at the Basrah refinery which stuttered back into action at the beginning of the week and is now working at around half...

Iraqi oil industry advisory board: late or not late? (Eye on Iraq).(US plans for oversight of Iraq's oil industry appear to be taking shape)
May 5, 2003... With the weekend announcement of the first two names for an advisory board, US plans for oversight of Iraq's oil industry appear to be taking shape. As expected, former Shell Oil Chief Executive Philip Carroll is to serve as chairman, and...

Iraqis weigh long-term oil policy--and US role in it. (Eye on Iraq).
May 6, 2003... With current efforts in Iraq's oil sector focusing on near-term repairs and restoration, cooperation between officials from the US and Iraq is proceeding smoothly. On long-term policy, however, Iraqi oil technocrats appear more skeptical about...

Global oil market surplus begins to bloom in April.(Global demand and supply accelerated seasonal declines, but demand dropped far more than supply, by 1.1 million barrels/day)
May 6, 2003... Global demand and supply both accelerated seasonal declines in April, but demand dropped far more than supply, by 1.1 million barrels per day, according to preliminary soundings taken by Oil Market Intelligence. The implied global stockbuild...

Suicide bombings may serve as Saudi wakeup call.(to insecurity in Middle East)
May 13, 2003... The suicide bomb attacks in the heart of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, serve as a deadly reminder of the insecurity of the oil-rich Middle East at a time when postwar Iraq is causing a major US security headache, and pushing...

Few expect Iraq to quit Opec despite suggestion. (Eye on Iraq).
May 19, 2003... The veteran oil man sent by the US to help Iraq get its oil industry back on its feet got off to an inauspicious start when he told an interviewer that the country may be best advised to pull out of Opec, an organization Iraq helped to found in...

West African June crudes recover after difficult start.(Illustration)
May 19, 2003... After a slow start, June loading West African crudes have sold better than expected, thanks to supportive Asian buying, favorable arbitrages both to the east and to the west, uncertainties over Nigerian supply, and reduced availability of some...

June North Sea loadings show moderate maintenance.(crude oil loadings)
May 21, 2003... North Sea loading programs for June from the eight principal UK and Norwegian crude oil systems total 91.22 million barrels--a decline of 15.41 million bbl, or 14.5%, against May's 106.63 million bbl. Even allowing for June having one...

UN vote on Iraq clears political hurdles for oil sales. (Eye on Iraq).
May 21, 2003... The US and UK are likely to get nearly unanimous support from a skeptical United Nations Security Council on Thursday to adopt a resolution scrapping sanctions on Iraq, establishing the allies who led the war on Iraq as occupying powers firmly...

Oil price bounce covers fragile market fundamentals.
May 22, 2003... For three months now, oil prices have gyrated around the old principle of 'buying the rumor, selling the fact,' fueled by the Iraqi invasion in mid-March. But since mid-April, sentiment has flip-flopped, from concern about Opec 10...

Return of Iraqi oil faces obstacles on many fronts. (Eye on Iraq).
May 23, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Now that more than a decade of crippling economic sanctions have come to an end, Iraq is no doubt keen to resume exports as soon as possible. But a combination of technical, political, and security issues may hold up a steady flow...

Russian majors jostle at ports amid pipeline squeeze.(Russia plans an increase in its seaborne crude exports)(Industry Overview)
May 27, 2003... Russia has scheduled yet another boost in its seaborne crude exports, with a 75,000 barrel per day rise penciled into the June port loading schedules taking liftings to a hefty 2.014 million b/d. But pipeline capacity is already stretched to...

Somo prepares for direct sales of Iraqi oil again. (Eye on Iraq).(Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization will send out its first tender for oil sales since the lifting of United Nations sanctions)
May 27, 2003... BAGHDAD -- Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) is about to send out its first tender for oil sales since the lifting of United Nations sanctions. Documentation is in the "final stages of preparation" and will be a modified version of...

For traders, how to pay for Iraqi oil is a mystery. (Eye On Iraq).(oil traders wanting to do business in Iraq must face several issues)
May 28, 2003... BAGHDAD--For oil traders keen to bid for the first Iraqi oil, which is to be tendered next week, one of the myriad logistical issues they will face is who and where to pay for the crude. With passage last week of UN Resolution 1483 bringing an...

Iraqi official miffed at Opec's postwar attitude. (Eye on Iraq).
May 29, 2003... BAGHDAD -- Reflecting Iraq's uncomfortable position as an Opec member under US rule, the country's top oil official tells Energy Intelligence that Iraq will not be attending the next extraordinary meeting of the Opec ministerial conference,...