Energy Intelligence Briefing articles from November 2003

Energy Intelligence Briefing archives from November 2003

Yukos chief resigns amid signs of compromise.(Mikhail Khodorkovsky)
November 3, 2003... MOSCOW -- Jailed Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky resigned from his post as chief executive of oil giant Yukos on Monday following a stream of conciliatory remarks by top government officials, suggesting that a compromise has been reached...

Kuwait takes next step in upstream opening.(northern oil fields)
November 3, 2003... Kuwait has received the final batch of comments and proposals from three consortia short-listed to bid for the upstream opening of its northern oil fields and is gearing up to respond next month to issues raised, Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC)...

Iraq names new head of crude marketing.(Eye on Iraq)(Shamkhi Faraj)
November 4, 2003... Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) was today swept by change that saw the head of the sales body Mohammad al-Jibouri replaced by an oil ministry veteran Shamkhi Faraj, less than six months after the restart of Iraqi oil exports,...

Libya extends welcome mat to foreign firms.
November 4, 2003... LONDON -- "Libya has opened its doors," Prime Minister Shokri Ghanem said Tuesday in the opening address to Energy Intelligence's Oil and Money Conference in London. Libya aims to attract $30 billion in foreign oil investment by the end of the...

Exxon chief eyes Russian Chaos--and waits.
November 4, 2003... LONDON -- Exxon Mobil's plans for a deal with Russia's Yukos are obviously on hold following the arrest of former head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, but Exxon Chairman and Chief Executive Lee R. Raymond remains convinced that Exxon will have...

Iraqi exports of Basrah light back on track.(Eye on Iraq)
November 6, 2003... NEW YORK -- Iraqi oil exports from the Mideast Gulf Basrah Oil Terminal are still playing catch-up from last week's weather delays. The last of the vessels scheduled for October departure just sailed today, according to local shipping agents....

Non-Opec supply tempers chilly October oil balance.
November 7, 2003... NEW YORK -- With temperatures in Europe and the eastern half of the US dropping precipitously at the end of October, oil markets were reminded that the imminent start of the winter heating season would coincide with the Nov. 1 Opec cuts,...

West African crudes ride asian demand wave.
November 11, 2003... LONDON -- Strong Asian demand is fueling another robust month for Angolan and Congolese heavy and light sweet grades with at least 1.3 million barrels per day of West African crude expected to head east in December. The key questions are...

Iraqi oil ministry, companies reshuffled; more to come.
November 13, 2003... LONDON -- Iraq's interim oil minister, Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, is forging ahead with an overhaul of his ministry, reshuffling key posts and creating new ones, according to local oil sources. The process, launched several weeks ago, is advancing...

Iraq's November exports averaging 1.8 million b/d.(Eye on Iraq)
November 13, 2003... The weather-induced back-ups at the Mideast Gulf's Basrah Oil Terminal earlier this month did not prevent Iraq's oil export volumes from reaching an postwar monthly average high of 1.8 million barrels per day today. As of Nov. 13, thirteen...

Markets stuffed to the gills with North Sea crude.
November 17, 2003... LONDON -- The North Sea December loading programs for the eight principal UK and Norwegian crude oil systems might as well have been released into outer space for all the interest they generated. With a dozen or so unsold cargoes of November...

Iraq rolls over most oil term contracts for 2004.(Eye on Iraq)
November 18, 2003... LONDON -- Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo) has awarded crude sales contracts for the first half of 2004 based on an assumption that it will export 1.7 million barrels per day of Basrah Light. It could add more customers after the...

Iraqi oil exports remain strong, despite turmoil.(Eye on Iraq)
November 21, 2003... LONDON -- A guerrilla attack on the Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad on Friday is unlikely to affect oil production or exports, Iraqi oil officials said. However, after sabotage at a number of oil and gas pipelines in recent months, the new...

Fundamentals confounded by Robust Crude prices.
November 21, 2003... Judging by the latest sounding from EIB sister publication Oil Market Intelligence, oil prices and the market fundamentals remain disturbingly out of sync, deepening the contradiction that has been growing since September. For a second...

Kremlin's hand seen in breakup of YukosSibneft merger.
November 28, 2003... The crackdown against Russian oil giant Yukos has claimed another casualty, as the company's merger with smaller rival Sibneft has been suspended. The hand of the Kremlin is seen behind Sibneft's unilateral decision to put the merger on hold....