FSU Energy articles from July 2002

FSU Energy archives from July 2002

Kremlin makes waves: President Putin's team is proposing a legal shake-up with potentially worrying implications for oil firms.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 26, 2002... The Kremlin appears to be making another awkward attempt to tighten its grip over Russia's oil and gas wealth. The presidential administration's commission on the division of power between federal and regional governments has proposed...

Here we go again: a repetition of last year's stand-off between Russia and Opec could be on the cards. But times have changed. (Editorial).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
July 26, 2002... Opec is suddenly paying attention to the FSU again. Just a month ago, at the time of the organisation's last meeting in Vienna, the region appeared to have more or less slipped off its radar. Securing promises of supply cuts from non-Opec...

TNK enters Sakhalin. (News).(Tyumen Oil awarded with license for exploration)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Tyumen Oil (TNK) has been awarded a five-year exploration licence for the Lopukhovskaya area, off Sakhalin island in Russia's far east. And it hopes to persuade foreign investors to join it in future activities in the region. The...

China sends mixed signals on gas. (News).(Russia seeks foothold in China's gas market)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Russian plans to establish a firm foothold in the Chinese gas market face a potential threat from the latter's uncertainty about future demand. The vice-president of Chinese oil giant PetroChina, Shi Xingquan, last week told the Chinese...

Government hikes product export duties. (Exports and trade).(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov has confirmed a 40pc rise in export duties for certain products from next month. The hike in middle distillate, gasoline and naphtha from 25 [euro]/t to 35 [euro]/t will take effect from 21 August. ...

Transneft squeezes Tatneft. (Exports and trade).(Transneft cancels shipment of crude oil)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Tatneft was hit with an unexpected and unprecedented loss earlier this month when a 100,000t shipment of crude due to load at the Polish port of Gdansk was halted without explanation. A trading source at Tatneft, which produces heavy,...

Seaborne exports steady. (Exports and trade).(Transneft schedules seaborne exports)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Russian pipeline operator Transneft has scheduled seaborne exports of Russian and Caspian crude oil at 7.26mn t (1.71mn b/d) in August, just 1pc higher than scheduled volumes in July. Transneft's key Black Sea terminal at Novorossiysk is...

Lukoil wants US cash for terminal. (Russia & CIS).(discusses financing terminal at Vysotsk, Gulf of Finland)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Lukoil is in talks with US government agency the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic)--which promotes private American investment in overseas projects--about financing for a planned product terminal at Vysotsk on the Gulf of...

Ukraine woos Russian exporters. (Russia & CIS).(Ukrtransnafta seeks rail terminal at Pivdenne oil terminal on Black Sea)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Ukrainian pipeline monopoly Ukrtransnafta held talks last week with Russian oil firms Yukos and Tyumen Oil (TNK) about the construction of a rail terminal at the new Pivdenne oil terminal, 40km northeast of Odessa on the Black Sea....

Government greenlights Lukoil ADRs. (Russia & CIS).(Russia federal property fund to sell stake in Lukoil in the form of American Depositary Receipts)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Russia's federal property fund has confirmed that the sale of a 5.9pc state-owned stake in Lukoil, in the form of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), is to go ahead (FSUE, 19 July, p8). The sale will involve 50mn shares, with one ADR issued...

Yukos' US shipment runs into trouble. (Russia & CIS).(ExxonMobil ordered to withhold payment to Yukos for crude petroleum cargo delivery)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... A Texas federal court on 11 July withheld $17mn of ExxonMobil's $42mn payment for Yukos' first ever VLCC crude cargo delivered to the US (FSUE, 31 May, p7). This followed a lawsuit from Dardana, a US investment company, which claims Yukos...

Butinge to close for maintenance. (Baltics).(Mazeikiu Nafta to close oil terminal for annual maintenance, inspection)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Lithuanian oil company Mazeikiu Nafta (MN) will shut its 160,000 b/d Butinge crude oil terminal for around 10 days from 29 July, to carry out maintenance and inspection work. The work forms part of the terminal's annual inspection and will...

Kashagan gets Azeri drilling rig. (Caspian/central Asia).(Transocean SedcoForex to drill appraisal well in Kazakhstan sector of Caspian Sea)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Cayman Island-registered deepwater drilling company Transocean SedcoForex will send the Trident-20 jack-up rig from Azerbaijan to drill an appraisal well at the offshore Kalamkas field in Kazakhstan's sector of the Caspian, which forms part...

August Supsa loadings. (Caspian/central Asia).(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Three 1mn bl cargoes of Azeri Light will load at the Georgian Black Sea port of Supsa in August. A fourth 1mn bl cargo will load cross-month August-September. BP, leader of the Azerbaijan International Oil Company (AIOC) consortium, plans to...

Transneft plans ADR placement.(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Transneft this week announced that it plans to place level I American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), based on its preferred shares, possibly before the end of the year or early next year. The move would allow Transneft shares to be traded in the...

Looking ahead.(refining, petrochemical technology, Baltic ports conferences)(Brief Article)
July 26, 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...

Global woes clobber RTS. (Stock markets).(Russian Trading System, Stock Exchange)(Statistical Data Included)
July 26, 2002... Plunging markets in the US and Europe had a disastrous knock-on effect in Russia. The Russian Trading System (RTS) fell by 13.7pc to 324 points, wiping out in just one week the steady gains made since mid-March as western investors quickly...

Lukoil back in running for Gdansk. (Companies).(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Lukoil and UK company Rotch Energy have re-established their consortium and renewed a joint bid for Poland's 90,000 b/d Gdansk refinery. The consortium broke up after the two could not agree on how to split the management of Gdansk if...

Overseas expansion brings mixed results for Lukoil. (Companies).(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... Lukoil's efforts to gain a foothold in Poland and Croatia (see above) have demonstrated the firm's unabated desire to expand its international operations. But with the company's high costs under increased scrutiny recently, analysts are...

Ina bidders confirmed. (Companies).(Ina allows bidders to contend for share stake in firm)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2002... The Croatian government has selected the five bidders that will be allowed to contend for a 25pc plus one share stake in Croatian firm Ina, They include the favourites. Hungary's Mol and OMV of Austria, as well as Russia's Lukoil, which has...

Oversupply hits gasoil. (Products market).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 26, 2002... * Product prices were all lower as losses on crude futures filtered through to the market. There is concern about the global stock levels of gasoil after mild winters in Europe and the US last year, and poor industrial demand in Asia-Pacific...

Crude takes cue from stock markets. (Crude market).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 26, 2002... * Outright crude prices fell over the week, dragged down by bearish stock market sentiment. Dated Brent lost over $1/bl. Urals fell even further, its discount against the benchmark widening by 10 cents/bl as poor refining margins hit demand...

FSU crude offtakers.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
July 26, 2002... Crude export offtakers, Jun 2002 Producers Offtakers Volume ('000t) Novorossiysk Lukoil Lukoil Petroleum 748.8 TNK Total Int ...

Russian rail data.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
July 26, 2002... Russian rail exports/imports, Jun 2002 '000t Crude % chg YTD '000 b/d May '000 b/d Overland Armenia Azerbaijan...

Netbacks.(Russian crude)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
July 26, 2002... [GRAPHICS OMITTED] Russian crude netbacks 24 Jul Ventspils Primorsk Butinge Urals (cif-fit) ($/bl) 24.15 24.15 24.15 Urals (cif-fit) ($/t) ...

CPC gets ready to expand; the new line is already the largest export route from the Caspian. And it looks set to get bigger.(Caspian Pipeline Consortium)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) is weighing up plans to expand its 600,000 b/d link from Kazakhstan to Novorossiysk, once the first phase of construction is completed at the end of this year. At a press conference in Moscow this...

The talented Mr Vainshtok: the profile of Russian crude pipeline operator Transneft is rising. And so is that of its ambitious president.(Semyon Vainshtok)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
July 19, 2002... Transneft has generated a lot of interest in Moscow investment circles in recent months. This week, its preferred shares began trading on the Russian Trading System (RTS) exchange (see p11). Three Russian investment banks--Aton, Centerinvest...

Sakhalin Energy draws a blank. (News).(no liquefied natural gas buyers)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... The Shell-led Sakhalin Energy group, operator of the Sakhalin II production sharing agreement (PSA) project, has run into problems in its search for potential buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Sakhalin Energy had hoped to secure...

Sibneft takes the wheel at Slavneft. (News).(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... The interior ministry has dropped its investigation of new Slavneft president Yuri Sukhanov over alleged involvement in transfer pricing schemes. Sukhanov, a former Sibneft executive, is now pressing ahead with a wide-ranging shake-up of the...

Gazexport shake-up. (News).(Oleg Siyenko fired)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller this week fired Oleg Siyenko, the head of the company's export arm, Gazexport. Siyenko was appointed to the post just six months ago, replacing Yuri Vyakhirev, the son of former Gazprom boss Rem...

Gazprom and Itera bury the hatchet. (News).(Gazprom Russian Joint Stock Co., Itera settle disagreement over lost assets)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Gazprom has signalled that its long campaign to recover lost assets from controversial trader Item is over. Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller and Itera head Igor Makarov last week signed an agreement saying the two companies are set...

Mol steps up green drive. (News).(Mol Rt invests in environmental upgrades)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Hungarian oil company Mol will launch a 70bn forint ($286mn) environmental investment programme this year to meet EU product quality standards by 2005. The move is expected to result in a redrawing of Mol's capital expenditure plans for this...

Transneft gives trader a leg-up. (Exports and trade).(Europetroleum)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... Swiss-registered Europetroleum appears to have inherited the trading portfolio of once powerful trader Nafta Moskva. Europetroleum, which exports around 150,000 b/d, is increasing shipments through Primorsk and Novorossiysk, as well as...

FSU exports up 16pc on year. (Exports and trade).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Crude exports from the FSU in the first half of 2002 were over 16pc up on the first six months of 2001. This was despite a slip in exports to under 4mn bl (16.3mn t) in June, down 2.3pc on May. First-half 2002 exports through Russia's...

FSU refiners face new sulphur hurdle. (Products).(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... Tightening of EU environmental regulations, coupled with environmental tax incentives in Germany, is set to cause major changes in European gasoil trade. But FSU refiners are questioning economic incentives for upgrading to produce more...

Transneft raises alarm over crude quality. (Crude).(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... Russia's monopoly pipeline operator Transneft has gathered evidence of declining crude quality, which will be submitted to oil producers in the near future in support of its plans to introduce a crude quality bank. The company's study shows...

Sakhalin signs crude deal. (Russia & CIS).(Sakhalin Energy)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... Sakhalin Energy has signed a term crude supply deal with a South Korean buyer, believed to be SK. The South Korean group had a similar agreement with Sakhalin Energy last year and has been the biggest buyer of Sakhalin crude in the past,...

BP's Sidanco switch. (Russia & CIS).(Sidanco Oil Corp. names new president)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... BP executive Lawrence Smyth is to take over as president of Sidanco in September, replacing Robert Sheppard, another secondee from BP. The major says the change is part of routine rotation procedures. Smyth oversaw the consolidation of BP,...

Export duty hike. (Russia & CIS).(Russia raises duty on crude oil exports)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov last week signed a government resolution raising the crude export duty to $21.90/t ($3/bl) from $20.70/t. The increase will take effect from 1 August. The decision was approved by the government's...

Gas exports rise. (Russia & CIS).(Russian gas, oil export data, forecasts)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Russian gas exports to European destinations in Jan-May 2002 were 56.2bn [m.sup.3], up by 4pc on the same period last year. Total gas exports, including CIS destinations, rose by 3pc to 82.17bn [m.sup.3]. Earlier, Gazprom reported that it...

Lukoil hits the road. (Russia & CIS).(Russian government to sell stake in Lukoil)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... Lukoil president Vagit Alekperov has announced that the road show for the sale of a 5.9pc state stake in Lukoil will start on 26 July in London, New York and Boston. The placement will take place on 31 July. The government hopes to raise at...

Zarubezhneft signs India deal. (Russia & CIS).(Zarubezhneft, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. form oil well rehabilitation agreement)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... State-owned foreign projects firm Zarubezhneft has signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian oil firm ONGC over participation in a $7mn, 1 O-year rehabilitation project covering three wells in Assam in the eastern part of India....

Looking ahead.
July 19, 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...

Yukos tightens grip of Yakutia. (Russia & CIS).(YUKOS Oil Co. will supply petroleum products to Sakha-Yakutia)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Yukos has won a tender to supply 900,000t of oil products to the remote Sakha-Yakutia autonomous republic in eastern Siberia. The deal will not harm the oil firm's chances when the region's Talakan oil and gas field--with estimated crude...

Israel line could carry Russian crude. (Russia & CIS).(Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co. proposes plan to ship crude oil from Russia)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... Israel's Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) has put forward a plan that could see Russian or Black Sea crude run through the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon and the Red Sea port of Eilat. If Russian and international oil companies provide...

Transnefteprodukt exports slip. (Russia & CIS).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Russian products pipeline operator Transnefteprodukt exported 7.94mn t of products in January-June 2002, a slight decrease on the same period the previous year. A fall in gasoil shipments was attributed to increased competition from the rail...

CPC readies for Russian crude. (Russia & CIS).(Caspian Pipeline Consortium ()(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) plans to receive the first Russian crude into its system as soon as the end of this year (see p1). CPC director-general Ian MacDonald told reporters in Moscow this week that the group is negotiating a...

Baku, Moscow to sign deal in October. (Caspian/central Asia).(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... Azerbaijan and Russia are planning to sign a bilateral agreement on Caspian Sea division in October, at a summit of CIS heads of state to be held in the Moldovan capital, Kishinev. Following a visit to Baku this week, Russian deputy prime...

Kazakh jv eyes gas export hike. (Caspian/central Asia).(KazRosGas )(Brief Article)
July 19, 2002... The Kazakh-Russian joint venture KazRosGas intends to export 3.5bn-4bn [m.sup.3] of natural gas from Kazakhstan this year, increasing shipments to 6bn [m.sup.3] in 2004, says Gazprom deputy chairman Yuri Komarov. The majority of the gas will...

RTS hit by global jitters. (Stock markets).(Russian Trading System )(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Russian shares had to take their cue from markets elsewhere, after receiving little solid direction from domestic events. This led to a 3.73pc dip in the Russian Trading System (RTS) index to 376 points, investors' increasing jitters led to...

Transneft debuts on stock market. (Companies).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Russia's monopoly crude pipeline operator Transneft this week listed its preferred shares on the country's leading stock exchange, the Russian Trading System (RTS). This will boost Transneft's profile, upping its chances of gaining...

Gasoline demand boosts VGO. (Products market).(vacuum gasoil)(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... * As last week. products prices finished a touch higher in he wake of rebounding crude futures. The largest gains came on vacuum gasoil (VGO) as European refiners maximised their gasoline production to take advantage of US strong demand from...

Tide turns for Urals. (Crude market).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... * Outright prices moved slightly higher. But after gaining in recent weeks, Urals weakened, particularly in northwest Europe. * In the Mediterranean, the July loading programme was almost cleared out, with only one 80,000t cargo still...

Russian oil production.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Russian oil production Russian crude production, May 2002 May May %chg '000t '000b/d Apr 02 Vertically integrated oil...

Russian crude netbacks. (Netbacks).(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
July 19, 2002... Russian crude netbacks Ventspils Primorsk Butinge Urals (cif-fit) ($/bl) 25.28 25.28 25.28 Urals (cif-fit) ($/t) 184.54 184.54 184.54 Freight...

Lukoil spoils Shtokman party; the oil giant is determined to play a leading role in developing offshore fields on Russia's Arctic shelf.(Barents Sea gas field)(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... Lukoil has emerged as a potential obstacle to development of the giant Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea, potentially jeopardising TotalFinaElf's hopes of involvement in the project. The Russian firm has blocked transfer of the...

Proceed with caution: until recently the Middle East seemed to have more to offer western firms than Russia. But that's changed now. (Editorial).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
July 12, 2002... This year has seen resounding proof that Russia is well and truly back on the map for western oil firms. TotalFinaElf appears to have moderated its previous ambitions to operate the giant Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea in the hope...

Baku-Ceyhan gets the go-ahead. (News).(Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline)(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... Shareholders in the BP-led Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project will officially sanction construction of the $2.94bn !ink this month, following completion of a feasibility study in June. The news open the way for construction of a 1mn...

TNK talks to Gazprom about Kovykta. (News).(Tyumen Oil; gas field in Siberia)(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... Tyumen Oil (TNK) and Gazprom have been holding talks on the creation of a joint firm to transport gas to China from the 1.8 trillion [m.sup.3] Kovykta gas field in eastern Siberia. The oil firm says other shareholders in Kovykta operator...

Lukoil plans short-term export cut. (Exports & trade).(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... Lukoil plans a short-term cut in product exports from this month (see table). The company ascribes its decision to "domestic price stabilisation" and the need to cover consumer demand. Observers suggest the company is keen to avoid...

Transneft squeezes small producers. (Exports & trade).(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... Russian pipeline operator Transneft has tightened its grip on independent crude producers exporting through the Primorsk terminal, forcing them to sell through its own trader, Europetroleum. Trading sources say White Nights, Northern Oil,...

Croatia narrows down Ina list. (News).(national oil and gas company)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... Croatia has shortlisted five of the 10 original bidders looking for a 25pc plus one share stake in national oil and gas company Ina. The shortlist, drawn up by the economy ministry, is subject to government approval. The 5 July...

Koreans poised for Khabarovsk deal. (News).(Samsung Corporation; petroleum refinery renovation)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... South Korea's Samsung Corporation is on the brink of signing a deal to carry out modernisation work at the 115,000 b/d Khabarovsk refinery in Russia's far east. Samsung is expected to sign an agreement next week with Khabarovsk's...

Lukoil and Rotch scrap Gdansk bid. (News).(Rotch Energy)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... A consortium between Lukoil and UK company Retch Energy that was bidding for a 75pc stake in Poland's 90,000 b/d Gdansk refinery, has broken up. The two firms could not agree on how to manage Gdansk if their bid had proved successful. ...

Record six months for exporters. (Product exports).(petroleum)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... Seaborne products shipments from FSU ports hit almost 41mn t in the first six months of this year, substantially outstripping the 33mn t of exports in the same period last year. Record product shipments helped Russian oil companies offset the...

June pipeline shipments slip ... (Crude exports).(petroleum)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... Russian and Caspian producers exported 2.83mn b/d (11.63mn t) through the Russian pipeline system in June (see pp14-15), down from just over 3mn b/d in May. Exports by Russian firms accounted for 2.53mn b/d of the total, compared with...

... but first-half exports are up. (Crude exports).(petroleum)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... The June export figures take total shipments in the first half of 2002 (see table p9) to just under 3mn b/d, an increase of 3.3pc on the same period last year. Shipments by Russian producers increased by a modest 1.8pc. Exports through...

Gas production up. (Russia & CIS).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... Russia produced 302.7bn [m.sup.3] of gas in January-June (see table), an increase of 2.6pc on the first half of 2001, the Russian energy ministry reported last week. Gazprom increased production by 1.25pc to 264.65bn [m.sup.3]. It expects to...

German super-utility targets Russia. (Russia & CIS).(Eon)(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... German utility Eon will concentrate on Russia as part of a strategy to develop an upstream presence. Eon has committed 6bn-8bn [euro] ($5.9bn-7.9bn) towards vertical integration--including a major move upstream--as part of a takeover of...

TNK sells Orenburg Light from Tallinn. (Russia & CIS).(Tyumen Oil)(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... Tyumen Oil (TNK) has taken over the marketing of sales of its Orenburg Light crude out of the Estonian port of Tallinn since 1 July. Previously, Swedish trader Swonco acted as marketer. July exports will total 110,000t in 20,000-30,000t...

Azeri crude exports up 12 pc. (Caspian/central Asia).(Azerbaijan crude oil statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... Azerbaijan exported 4.12mn t (166,000 b/d) of crude in the first half of this year, an increase of 12pc on the first half of last year. This includes 3.02mn t shipped through Supsa by AIOC, operator of Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli, and 1.1mn t...

CPC boosts exports.(Caspian Pipeline Consortium)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal at South Ozereyevka, 20km north of Novorossiysk, handled 1.132mn t (300,000 b/d) of crude in June, compared with 838,000t in May. And 982,000t of Tengiz crude was shipped through the 600,000 b/d...

Looking ahead.
July 12, 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...

Turkmenbashi tanker fire. (Caspian/central Asia).(Caspian Shipping Company)(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... A 5,000t tanker belonging to Azerbaijan's Caspian Shipping Company (Caspar) caught fire in the Turkmen port of Turkmenbashi this week, resulting in the deaths of all six crew members. The tanker was being loaded with gasoil bought by Turkish...

Hungary plans new gas law. (Central/eastern Europe).(Statistical Data Included)(Illustration)
July 12, 2002... The Hungarian economics and transport ministry has begun preparing legislation to liberalise Hungary's gas market and create a new gas pricing model. The socialist-led government elected in May hopes the Hungarian parliament will pass a gas...

Tough times for independents. (Stock markets).(oil company finances)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... Problems with securing reliable and cost-effective export routes made it a very gruelling week for several independent foreign firms with operations in the FSU. Wavering investor confidence dealt a severe blow to share prices. The value...

Sibneft secures record loan. (Companies).(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... Sibneft has secured a $450mn syndicated loan backed by crude exports from a group of western banks, the largest ever credit awarded to a Russian oil company. The deal takes Sibneft's total borrowing this year to $1bn. The oil firm plans...

Miller goes after Vostokgazprom. (Companies).(Alexei Miller to recover Gazprom assets)(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller appears to have scored a new success in his campaign to recover the gas giant's lost assets. Gazprom's management has succeeded in recovering control of Vostokgazprom, a subsidiary responsible for developing...

Dragon seeks finance. (Companies).(Dragon Oil to refinance)(Brief Article)
July 12, 2002... Dubai-based Dragon Oil, which produces crude in Turkmenistan, will have to refinance to remain in business. "To complete the current drilling programme new funding will be required," chairman Hussain Sultan told the company's AGM on 5 July....

Products respond to crude bounce. (Products market).(oil prices)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... * Products prices were generally higher as crude futures rebounded towards the end of last week. Solid bunker demand helped push fuel oil prices higher. Poor demand for heating oil in northwest Europe was compensated for by interest from the...

Urals continues to strengthen. (Crude market).(Ural mountain region oil and gas prices)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... * Outright prices continued to strengthen, with benchmark dated Brent gaining 23 cents/bl. Urals' discount to the benchmark narrowed by 18 cents/bl in northwest Europe and 5 cents/bl in the Mediterranean, dashing refiners' hopes that the...

Pipeline exports.(Russia)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... Russian pipeline exports, Jun 2002 `000t Exporter Novorossiysk Tuapse Odessa Total exports through Russia 3,673.04 400.59 782.08 Total exports by...

Netbacks.(oil and gas industry statistics)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
July 12, 2002... [GRAPHICS OMITTED] Russian crude netbacks 10 Jul Ventspils Primorsk Butinge Urals (cif-fit) ($/bl) 25.04 25.04 25.04 Urals...

Slavneft struggle takes new turn; the Slavneft saga continues to surprise. And the latest developments suggest it is far from over.(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2002... The struggle for control of Slavneft has flared up again in an almost farcical battle between contenders for the role of president. The events reflect a continuing behind-the-scenes fight for the state-owned firm between the "St Petersburg...