FSU Energy articles from August 2002

FSU Energy archives from August 2002

Russia sets up far east bridgehead; Russia is gearing up to become a player in Asia-Pacific, with plans to develop its far east transport infrastructure.(Trans-Siberian railway will be expanded and linked to N Korean rail network)
August 30, 2002... President Vladimir Putin has spent the past couple of weeks visiting major towns and ports in the Russian far east. Putin's visit has coincided with the visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to Vladivostok. The parties have agreed to...

Caspian manoeuvres: energy and security issues are drawing the US and Russia into closer co-operation. The Caspian is crucial. (Editorial).
August 30, 2002... The importance of the Caspian region to the US has increased as Washington's doubts about the future stability of the Middle East have grown. But as the US seeks to diversify its sources of oil by looking to the former Soviet Union, the...

Yukos-led China pipeline gets premier support. (News).(Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov )
August 30, 2002... Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov is backing Yukos' project to build a crude oil pipeline from Angarsk in east Siberia to China's port of Daqing. Following talks with senior Chinese government officials last week, the Russian...

Statoil seeks ties with Russian firms. (News).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Norway's Statoil wants to expand operations in the Barents Sea with Russia's Rosneft and Lukoil. Both companies have received proposals from Statoil, insiders say. And Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Norway this autumn....

Russia launches 2003 draft budget. (News).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Russia expects oil prices to fall next year and will base its 2003 budget on a level of just $21.50/bl, the same assumption that underpins state financing this year. The draft budget assumes Russia will export around 160mn t of crude...

Sakhalin gas prospects turn the corner. (News).(liquefied natural gas production)
August 30, 2002... The chances of the Sakhalin I and II projects finding buyers for their future liquefied petroleum gas (LNG) production are brightening, after a series of meetings with Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese companies. Representatives of...

Lukoil builds alliance with Gazprom. (News).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Lukoil and Gazprom are discussing ways in which they can co-operate on the exploration, development and transportation of natural gas. Lukoil president Vagit Alekperov and Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller held talks this week in...

Russia mulls fuel oil export curbs. (Exports and trade).
August 30, 2002... The Russian government is considering restricting fuel oil exports to just 20pc of total production from mid-September for a period of three to four months, says deputy prime minister Viktor Khristenko. Khristenko added that an increase...

Neva product shipments resume. (Exports and trade).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Russia's Neva river reopened last week, to a barge bound for St Petersburg's product export terminals. The Neva, a major inland waterway, was closed for several days following an accident which saw a barge carrying steel hit the Liteiny...

Tatars strengthen hand in Ukraine's downstream. (News).(Tatneft acquires larger stake in Ukrtatnafta)
August 30, 2002... Russia's Tatneft has seized a controlling stake in Ukrtatnafta, a joint venture that operates Ukraine's Kremenchug refinery. Tatneft now owns 55.68pc of Ukrtatnafta, acquiring an additional 18.3pc by buying two offshore...

PSA gets new head. (News).(Olga Rybak heads production-sharing agreements )(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Olga Rybak, a former director of state-owned Rosneft, has been appointed Russia's senior official in charge of production-sharing agreements (PSA). Rybak replaces Oleg Koshikov as head of the trade ministry's department on PSAs. But the...

Bashkortostan to sell oil stakes. (News).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Bashkortostan's state-owned oil companies Bashneftekhim and the Bashkir Fuel Company have been instructed to sell off stakes in various subsidiaries. Russian oil companies Surgutneftegaz, Lukoil and Tyumen Oil (TNK) could be interested...

Seaborne exports still steady. (Exports and trade).
August 30, 2002... Russian and CIS crude exporters plan to load 7.02mn t (1.71mn b/d) of crude at Black Sea and Baltic marine terminals in September, in line with scheduled loadings in August. Scheduled daily loadings from pipeline operator Transneft's...

Russian production rises. (Russia and CIS).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Russian crude output for January-August will be 8.3pc up on the same period of 2001, says energy minister Igor Yusufov. He predicts Russia will increase crude output in the fourth quarter, but did not say whether this would translate into...

Yukos takes over Mazeikiu Nafta loan. (Russia and CIS).
August 30, 2002... Yukos has bought a $75mn loan made by US company Williams to Lithuania's Mazeikiu Nafta (MN), having last week paid $85mn for Williams' 26.85pc stake in MN. The firms hope to finalise the sale by the end of September, but opposition from...

Sibneft signs up Baker Hughes. (Russia and CIS).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Sibneft has signed up US services firm Baker Hughes in a bid to meet ambitious 2002 production targets. Use of western technology such as horizontal drilling provided by Schlumberger helped Sibneft boost output by 20pc to 408,000 b/d in 2001....

Makhachkala transit up by 11pc. (Russia and CIS).(crude transported through Russian port)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Crude transit through Russia's Caspian port of Makhachkala rose to 252,400t in July from 226,700t in June, a source at loading operator Transpetroleum tells Argus. The port currently loads only crude from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan for...

TNK awards Urals tender. (Russia and CIS).(to Fortum)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Finland's state-owned Fortum took the first four Urals cargoes offered by Russian producer Tyumen Oil (TNK) in an unusual sell tender for all of the producer's equity cargoes out of the Estonian port of Tallinn for the rest of 2002. TNK had...

First Kashagan well in September. (Caspian/central Asia).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... The Agip-led consortium developing the Kashagan block in the Kazakh sector of Caspian Sea hopes to complete drilling a first appraisal well on the Kalamkas structure in September. US drilling firm Transocean SedcoForex sent a rig from...

Looking ahead.(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... * The Future of the Baltic Ports. Partnership in EU. 19-20 September. Tallinn. Bi-Info. Tel (372) 627 2786. www.bi-info.ee/marketing * 1st Russian Petrochemicals Technology Conference, 23-24 September. Moscow. EPC. Tel: (44 20) 7357 8394...

Socar, Shirvanoil to prepare PSA deal. (Caspian/central Asia).(production-sharing agreement)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Azeri national oil firm Socar is preparing to convert the terms of the Shirvanoil joint venture into a production-sharing agreement (PSA). Shirvanoil is developing the onshore Kyurovdag field. The venture should get PSA status by the end of...

Kurmangazy exploration to begin. (Caspian/central Asia).(oil exploration)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Kazakhstan and Russia plan to start exploration and surveys on the Kurmangazy block in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea early next year. They plan to complete two exploration wells by the end of 2003, says Kazakhstan's state-owned energy...

Mangistau output to rise. (Caspian/central Asia).(oil production)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Oil production in the Mangistau oblast in western Kazakhstan will rise to 13mn t (260,000 b/d) by year-end, up 2.2mn t on last year, said regional governor Bolat Palymbetov last week. This rise and Agip KCO's extensive plans to develop the...

Lukoil to build floating rig for Caspian development.(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Lukoil has appointed Russian research institute VolgogradNIPImorneft to design and engineer a winter-ready floating oil production platform for drilling in the Caspian. "The platform will be ice-proof, as it will be used in the north of...

Turkmenistan to raise output. (Caspian/central Asia).(oil, natural gas)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Turkmenistan plans to produce 13.5mn t(270,000 b/d) of crude and 70.8bn [m.sup.3] of natural gas in 2003, hiking output by 3.5mn t and 10bn [m.sup.3] respectively on the year. State-owned producer Turkmenneft plans to boost crude production...

Kenkiyak-Atyrau finished in December. (Caspian/central Asia).(new pipeline)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Kazakhstan's national firm Kazmunaigaz plans to complete the $160mn, 448km Kenkiyak-Atyrau pipeline on 16 December, with first flows in early 2003. The pipeline links oil fields in Kazakhstan's Aktyubinsk region with the existing 15mn t/yr...

Aktau loadings rise. (Caspian/central Asia).(crude oil)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Kazakhstan's Caspian port of Aktau loaded 498,668t of crude and products in July, 71,400t up on June. The terminal handled 3.11mn t in January-July, up by 13.7pc on 2001. It hopes to handle 4.5mn t crude and products in 2002, and 5mn t in...

Rompetrol wins Azeri crude tender. (Caspian/central Asia).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Romanian oil firm Rompetrol won the tender held by Azeri state-owned oil firm Socar to load 85,000t of Azeri export blend from the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on 26-27 September. Socar plans to ship 245,000t of crude through the...

Iberians develop appetite for Tengiz. (Caspian/central Asia).(Petrogal purchases Tengiz crude oil)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... ChevronTexaco, sole marketer of Kazakh Tengiz crude, is finding new markets for the light grade. The US major last week sold an 80,000t cargo to Portugal's state-owned Petrogal for early September loading, the first time the Portuguese firm...

RTS drifts with global trends. (Stock markets).(Russian Trading System)
August 30, 2002... Russian equities lacked any firm direction, with even the increased tensions over an imminent US attack on Iraq failing to spark any life into the markets. which were generally lacklustre the world over. The Russian Trading System was...

Russian gas export battle intensifies. (Natural gas).
August 30, 2002... Tension is rising in Moscow over competing strategies for Russian gas exports to 2020. The first strategy was developed by Oleg Siyenko, the recently dismissed head of Gazprom export arm Gazexport (FSUE, 23 August, p9). Its competitor is...

Russia to launch first gas exchange. (Natural gas).(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... The Russian government is close to giving the green light to a project which could see Russia's first gas exchange operating by this autumn, according to Gazprom deputy chairman Aleksander Ryazanov. Speaking last week, Ryazanov said that...

Gazprom reprieves Sibur. (Natural gas).(Sibur debt restructured)(Brief Article)
August 30, 2002... Gazprom and its petrochemical subsidiary Sibur have agreed to restructure a Rbs257bn ($850mn) debt built up by Sibur under its former management, which is accused of asset-stripping. Sibur will pay off its debt in eight years with 11.5pc/yr...

Prices respond to export cuts. (Products market).(petroleum products)
August 30, 2002... * Prices for fuel oil were higher after the Russian government said that it would cut exports to satisfy local demand. But distillate output was rising steadily and gasoil responded to lower crude futures, which had been inflated by...

Markets rise on war fears. (Crude market).
August 30, 2002... * Outright prices eased over the week. Speculation over the effect on world crude supplies of a US attack on Iraq drove trade. Dated Brent eased late in the week, dipping under $27/bl, after Opec said it would increase output if prices for...

Russian refinery output.
August 30, 2002... Russia refinery output, Jul 2002 Crude Crude throughput throughput Company/refinery Jul Jul '000 b/d % chg Jun Total for Russia 15,504.6 ...

Netbacks.(Russian crude oil prices)
August 30, 2002... Russian crude netbacks Ventspils Primorsk Butinge Urals (cif-fit) ($/bl) 25.91 25.91 25.91 Urals (cif-fit) ($/t) 189.14 189.14 189.14 Freight ($/bl) ...

Yukos boosts Baltic presence; the Russian firm looks poised to take over Lithuania's MN. But the news has stirred political opposition.
August 23, 2002... Yukos announced this week that it has signed an agreement to buy troubled US energy firm Williams' stake in Mazeikiu Nafta (MN). If the deal goes ahead, Yukos will pay $85mn for the 26.85pc stake in MN under an agreement that would also...

Winners and losers: Lithuania was always a bed of nails for US firm Williams. Yukos should fare better. (Editorial).
August 23, 2002... There is an irony of sorts in the decision of troubled US energy firm Williams to sell its stake in Lithuania's Mazeikiu Nafta (MN) to Yukos (see p1). Ever since Williams took its stake in MN in 1999, many observers had predicted that...

Baku-Ceyhan construction to start in September. (News).
August 23, 2002... BP's president in Azerbaijan, David Woodward, this week officially announced that construction of the $2.95bn Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) will start on 18 September. US energy secretary Spencer Abraham will attend a ceremony in Azeri...

Sibneft shakes up Slavneft. (News).(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Having effectively gained control over Slavneft, Sibneft is now reorganising the latter's subsidiaries ahead of the expected sale of a 19.68pc stake in the parent company later this year. The development has brought unexpected good news for...

Moscow backs both far east pipelines. (News).(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... The Russian government appears to be backing both Yukos and Transneft's rival proposals for pipelines to Asia-Pacific. A government source says prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, in China this week for talks, is likely to support both options,...

Russia sends ambiguous signals to Iraq. (News).
August 23, 2002... The Russian government has downplayed claims by Iraq that Moscow is on the brink of signing a long-awaited economic co-operation agreement. Iraq's ambassador to Moscow, Abbas Kunfud, said this week that a deal would be signed at the end...

Moscow keeps in with Kuwait. (News).
August 23, 2002... Russia and Kuwait this week signed an oil and gas co-operation protocol during a visit to Moscow by a high-ranking Kuwaiti delegation, led by the country's acting oil minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah. Russian oil minister Igor...

St Pete sinking stalls exports. (Exports and trade).(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Fuel oil exports from St Petersburg were severely disrupted this week following an accident, which blocked river traffic from inland refineries. Shipments down the Neva river to the St Petersburg export terminal were suspended on 19...

Dubendi fights to regain lost ground. (Exports and trade).(oil terminal looking to increase output and usage)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Azerbaijan's Dubendi oil terminal on the Caspian Sea, is striving to restore throughputs of Kazakh crude after the departure of ChevronTexaco's Tengiz oil into the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) link. Dubai-based Middle East...

BP looks to Arkhangelsk. (Exports and trade).
August 23, 2002... BP is planning to export 50,000-100,000 t/month of vacuum gasoil (VGO) and other oil products from the Nizhnekamsk refinery through Russia's White Sea port of Arkhangelsk. The major has signed an agreement with Arkhangelsk oil terminal...

Tuapse loadings rise. (Exports and trade).(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... The Russian Black Sea port of Tuapse loaded 1.21mn t of crude and products in July (see table), up by 93,000t on the month. Tuapse expects to handle 1mn t this month, less than in July, due to maintenance of the Tikhoretsk-Tuapse crude...

Russia reclaims its old role. (Crude exports).
August 23, 2002... Rising output from Russia and a possible change of regime in Iraq are threatening to upset the balance of power in the world's oil market, eroding Saudi Arabia's dominant position. Nearly half of the world's known remaining reserves of...

FSU crude exports hit new high. (Crude exports).(Former Soviet Union)
August 23, 2002... Crude exports from the former Soviet Union (FSU) hit a new post-Soviet era high of 4.26mn b/d (18mn t) in July, only the second time the total has topped 4mn b/d. Exports were up by over 6pc on June. For the first time this year, growth...

Rising crude exports will need new markets. (Crude exports).(Russian petroleum industry)
August 23, 2002... With crude exports from the FSU having hit a record 4.26mn b/d in July (set, opposite) and set to rise again in coming months and years, pressure is mounting on producers to find new markets. FSU crude exports are currently placed almost...

Northern Oil faces new claims. (Russia and CIS).(court case ruling)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... A Russian court has ruled that Northern Oil, which operates in the Nenets autonomous district of Russia's far north, must pay $35nm to Russia's Imperial bank. Observers suggest that Lukoil, which bid against Northern Oil in last year's...

Ministry relaunches auctions. (Russia and CIS).(Russian Natural Resources Ministry)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Russia's natural resources ministry is to resume auctions of development licences for oil and gas fields, says a ministry source. The ministry has already approved a list of fields for the auctions. By the end of this year, five production...

Kharyaga gets new government rep. (Russia and CIS).(Leonid Tropko)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Russia's first deputy energy minister Leonid Tropko has been appointed government representative in the TotalFinaElf-led Kharyaga project in Russia's far north. Tropko replaces former first deputy energy minister Gurami Avalishvili, who left...

Stroitransgaz bids for Jordan-Iraq line. (Russia and CIS).(pipeline construction bidding )(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Russian construction firm Stroitransgaz is one of four bidders to build, own and operate a crude pipeline from the Iraqi border to Jordan's 100,000 b/d Zarqa refinery. It is competing against Petrofac of the UK, Italian firm CTIT and Oman's...

Gazprom worries about prices. (Russia and CIS).(Gazprom Russian Joint Stock Company)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Gazprom last week presented four different revenue and debt projections for next year, based around different scenarios for government pricing policy. The most pessimistic envisages the government not increasing prices at all while export...

Lukoil subsidiary slashes investment. (Russia and CIS).(Arkhangelskgeoldobycha)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Arkhangelskgeoldobycha (AGD), the Lukoil-owned oil company developing fields in the Nenets autonomous district in Russia's far north, has slashed investment plans for this year. The decision is seen as yet another episode in the long-running...

Looking ahead.(conference calendar)
August 23, 2002... * The Future of the Baltic Ports. Partnership in EU. 19-20 September. Tallinn. Bi-Info. Tel (372) 627 2786. www.bi-info.ee/marketing * 1st Russian Petrochemicals' Technology Conference. 23-24 September. Moscow. EPC. Tel: (44 20) 7357...

Turkmen crude output rises. (Caspian/central Asia).(Turkmenistan petroleum)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Turkmenistan produced 4.7mn t (162,000 b/d) of crude in January-July, according to the country's energy ministry (see table). The bulk of this was produced by state-owned firm Turkmenneft, with the rest accounted for by UK-registered Burren...

Kuwaiti investor drills in Kazakhstan. (Caspian/central Asia).(Zaysan)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Zaysan, 99.9pc owned by Kuwait-based Gulf Star Investment Holdings, has recently started drilling its first exploration well at the Sarybulak oil field in eastern Kazakhstan. Regional authorities claim extensive oil production in the nearby...

Miller appoints new exports chief. (Caspian/central Asia).(Alexei Miller, Alexander Medvedev)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller this week appointed a new chief at Gazexport, the monopoly's export arm. Alexander Medvedev, previously head of Austrian-based oil trader IMAG, was unexpectedly chosen to manage Russia's $14bn/yr gas...

Azeri gas import rises. (Caspian/central Asia).(Azerbaijan)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... International trader Itera delivered 217mn [m.sup.3] of natural gas to Azerbaijan in July (see table). By the end of this year, Itera plans to supply Azerbaijan with 4bn [m.sup.3] of gas, at $52/'000 [m.sup.3]. Azeri state-owned oil and gas...

Azeri product output rises. (Caspian/central Asia).(Azerbaijan refinery production)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
August 23, 2002... Output from the two Baku refineries in Azerbaijan fell in July compared with the previous month (see table). But production remains up compared with levels of a year ago for all products apart from gasoline. Azeri refinery output Jul 02...

Itera gains ground in Georgia. (Caspian/central Asia).(Rustaviazot divestiture details)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... President Eduard Shevardnadze said last week that Rustaviazot, Georgia's only nitrates producer, may be handed over to Russian gas trader Itera to pay off part of its $90mn debt for gas deliveries, Itera has been supplying gas to Rustaviazot...

Azerbaijan wants Iranian gas. (Caspian/central Asia).(Natural gas industry)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Azerbaijan may be set to buy 300mn-350mn [m.sup.3]/yr of gas from Iran in the near future, say government officials. The gas would go to the Nakhichevan enclave, which borders Iran but is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenian...

OMV profits fall on downstream woes. (Central/eastern Europe).(OMV (U<) Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2002... Austrian firm OMV's second-quarter profits fell by almost a fifth, to 77mn [euro] ($71mn). Profits at the company's core relining and marketing business unit, which has built up a leading position across central and eastern Europe, fell by...

Global markets, oil prices lift RTS. (Stock markets).(Russian energy industry securities)
August 23, 2002... Russian stocks climbed further this week, buoyed by renewed strength in global equity markets. But energy companies performed best overall as lingering fears of a US military attack on Iraq continued to propel crude oil prices higher. The RTS...

Gazprom considers bid bond. (Companies).(company financial planning)
August 23, 2002... Gazprom's board decided this week to consider at its next meeting in September the issue of a new tranche of 10-year eurobonds worth $750mn before the end of the year. The proposed tranche will be issued according to rule S/144, meaning US...

Sibneft moves west. (Companies).(company expansion details )
August 23, 2002... Sibneft is targeting key cities in western Russia as part of its downstream expansion strategy. The development reflects its growing involvement at the 240,000 b/d Moscow refinery. The company has acquired 26 gasoline stations in Moscow...

Prices find fundamental support. (Products market).(oil prices)
August 23, 2002... * Product prices were firmer across the board. The steady march of crude futures drove the market initially, but this was backed by solid fundamentals, most notably on fuel oil. Disrupted exports from St Petersburg and improved Mediterranean...

Urals hit by poor margins. (Crude market).(news items from the crude oil market)
August 23, 2002... * Outright prices gained strongly on the week as speculation increased of a US attack on Iraq in the near future. Dated Brent retained its strong premium over the futures market to break $28/bl, but Urals eased against the benchmark,...

Russian rail data.(rail exports/imports in July 2002)
August 23, 2002... Russian rail exports/imports, Jul 2002 '000t % chg YTD Crude '000 b/d Jun '000 b/d Overland Armenia Azerbaijan...

Netbacks.
August 23, 2002... [GRAPHICS OMITTED] Russian crude netbacks 21 Aug Ventspils Primorsk Butinge Urals (cif-fit) ($/bl) 27.31 27.31 27.31 Urals...

White Nights sale sparks rumours: the troubled producer has been bought for over twice the asking price. But the buyer's true identity is a mystery.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 16, 2002... Croatian state-owned oil company Ina has unexpectedly found a buyer for its White Nights production venture in western Siberia, after unknown firm Rosneftegaz snapped it up for $74mn--more than double the asking price. The sale, struck...

Share and share alike: Russia may well be unlikely to join Opec. But in the longer term some form of co-operation will be necessary. (Editorial).(Brief Article)
August 16, 2002... After their recent talks in Moscow Opec secretary-general Alvaro Silva and Russian energy minister Igor Yusufov were quick to downplay talk of a looming price war. Despite their protestations, the fact remains that Russia is not only seizing...

Transneft proposes Austria link. (News).(begins pipeline talks with OMV)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2002... Transneft has started talks with Austria's OMV on possible construction of a pipeline linking the southern leg of the Druzhba export line from Russia with the Austrian firm's 200,000 b/d Schwechat refinery near Vienna. The link would...

Kazakhstan delays offshore tender. (News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 16, 2002... Kazakhstan has delayed a decision on how it is going to allocate some 100 offshore blocks in its sector of Caspian Sea. The government last month indicated it would disclose the details of a planned tender at trade shows in Kansas City...

Nenets governor leans on TotalFinaElf group. (News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 16, 2002... The government of the Nenets autonomous district has expressed "concern" about rising costs at the Kharyaga field in Russia's far north, one of only two producing production-sharing agreements (PSAs) in the country. Observers see the...

Crown eyes Cuban refinery. (News).(Crow Refineries seeks investment in Cienfuegos refinery)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 16, 2002... Swiss-based trader Crown Resources, which is owned by Tyumen Oil (TNK) shareholder Alfa Group, has expressed interest in upgrading and modernising Cuba's Soviet-built Cienfuegos refinery. Cienfuegos--one of four refineries on the island--has...

Sibneft digs in. (News).(signs supply contract with Moscow Oil Co. refinery)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 16, 2002... Sibneft has reiterated its ambition to expand its presence at the 240,00 b/d Moscow refinery, following the recent signing of a long-term crude supply deal with the plant. The oil firm, which already owns 37pc of the plant, is to supply...

Azeri gas transit plans take shape. (News: natural gas).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 16, 2002... Greek pipeline company Depa and Italian firm Edison Gas have signed a co-operation agreement to study the possibilities of joining the gas transportation systems of both countries to provide transit of gas from the Caspian region to Europe....

Shakh sanction close. (News: natural gas).(Shakh-Deniz pipeline project)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2002... Shareholders in the BP-led Shakh-Deniz project are expected to sanction development in October, BP president for Azerbaijan David Woodward tells Argus. He adds that project members are now preparing tender documentation for construction of...

Gazprom cuts out Polish middleman. (News: natural gas).(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
August 16, 2002... Polish gas trader Gas Trading, which previously handled Gazprom sales to Poland, looks set to be liquidated in September. Gas Trading, owned by Gazprom (15.88pc), Polish oil and gas firm PGNiG (43.4pc), and Polish trader Bartimpex...

Rosneft tests waters in Afghanistan. (News: Russia).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 16, 2002... State-owned Russian oil firm Rosneft and gas trader Itera are to study gas fields in Afghanistan following talks with the new Afghan government. The firms will focus on the Jarkuduk, Hoja-Gugerdag and Yetim-Tag gas fields in north...