Traders expect oil prices to hold in a narrow range in the coming weeks as fundamentals remain little changed with demand firmer in the second half of the year and global inventories still at multi-year lows. Supply issues will focus on OPEC, the outlook for the flow of Iraqi oil, and the possibility of sharp...
RUSSIA: Economy minister calls for quick end to Yukos crisis
MOSCOW (AFX) – Russian Economic Trade and Development Minister German Gref called in an interview for a rapid resolution to the crisis surrounding oil giant AO Yukos that has stunned foreign investors here and deeply unsettled the political climate on the eve of parliamentary elections. “I hope the situation with Yukos is temporary,” he told...
INDIA: Supreme Court halts privatisation of state-run oil firms
NEW DELHI (AFX-ASIA) – The Supreme Court has halted the privatisation of two state-run oil firms until the government can muster support for the plan in parliament, officials said. The court, ruling on a case filed by a public-interest group opposed to privatisation, issued notices to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s government halting the sell-offs...
NIGERIA: Ethnic violence threatens peace process, future oil exports
LAGOS, (AFX) – A new outbreak of ethnic violence has threatened a fragile peace process in southern Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta, police and local leaders said. Nigeria is the world’s fifth largest exporter of crude oil, with an OPEC quota of just over two million barrels per day. “We learnt there was an attack. We...
MALAYSIA: Petronas to maintain RM6 billion oil exploration budget
KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – National oil corporation Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will maintain its oil exploration and production budget at RM6 billion, president and chief executive officer Mohd Hassan Marican said. (US$1=RM3.8). “We have been setting aside 6 bln rgt for exploration and budget activities for many years. There is nothing special,” he said when...
CHINA: HK’s Hutchison says receiving 900 million in cash dividends from Husky
HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Hong Kong-listed conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa (13.HK) said it is to receive a total of HK$900 million in second quarter dividends from its associate company, Husky Energy Inc. (US$1=HK$7.78). Husky announced a second-quarter dividend of C$0.10 per share and a special dividend of 1.00 cad per share, Hutchison said in a statement....
PHILIPPINES: Planning tender for 46 oil exploration contracts
MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The Energy department plans a tender for 46 new oil exploration contracts covering offshore areas this year, Undersecretary Eduardo Manalac said. “Forty-six new exploration blocks will be placed on the market for bidding,” he said in a statement. “The areas represent shallow, deep and ultra-deep water close to oil discoveries and producing...
MARKETS: US sulphur specs may create import barrier
The US has increasingly been a suitable market for high sulphur gasoline and components, especially from Europe. ESAI, in the latest edition of the Stockwatch Quarterly Review, believes that an import barrier may form as the US starts phasing in the Tier 2 sulphur regulations next year. “One of the most interesting developments over the...
KOREA: Russia to conclude joint feasibility study on Siberia gas project by September
SEOUL (AFX-ASIA) – South Korea and Russia have agreed they will complete a feasibility study on a tripartite project involving about US$11 billion to develop Siberia’s Kovykta gas field and pipe it to China and South Korea by the end of September, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said. The ministry said the feasibility study,...
AUSTRALIA: Oil Search gains on higher H1 production report
SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) Ð Shares of Papua New Guinea-based oil and gas developer Oil Search Ltd have been trading higher after last week’s release of its first half to June operating and production report, dealers said. The company reported its first half operating revenues rose 64.5% from the year earlier to US$148.4 million, as sales were...
JAPAN: Chubu Elec, Osaka Gas to build LNG line for mutual supply
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Chubu Electric Power Co and Osaka Gas Co have agreed to jointly build a pipeline that spans their service areas, mutually supplying natural gas used to generate electricity and produce city gas, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, without citing sources. Osaka Gas has begun construction on a pipeline to supply city gas...
IRAQ: Ministry launched US$1.6 billion plan to raise oil output to 2.8 million b/d
NICOSIA (AFX) – Iraq’s oil ministry has finalised an “optimistic” plan to raise oil output to 2.8 million barrels per day (b/d) by April 2004, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) said in a report. The target figure depends on the “necessary security, electric power and finance” being in place, the Cyprus-based industry newsletter said....
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: ChevronTexaco sells assets to Oil Search for US$96.6 million
ChevronTexaco Corp. (NYSE: CVX) said it has sold its wholly owned affiliate Chevron Niugini Ltd. (CNGL) and all of its assets in Papua New Guinea to Oil Search Limited for US$96.6 million. The transaction includes ChevronTexaco’s oil and gas interests in the Kutubu, Moran, Gobe Main and South East Gobe oil fields in Papua New...
MALAYSIA: Power sector to invest RM30 billion in next 5-10 years
KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – The country’s power sector is expected to spend some RM30 billion to upgrade facilities and increase capacity over the next 5-10 years, out of which about RM18 billion will be spent on power generation, Energy, Communications and Multimedia Minister Leo Moggie said. (US$1=RM3.8). Local newspapers reported him as saying the transmission...
CHINA: HK’s CLP unit to sell 5% stake in Malaysia’s YTL Power for RM320.985 million
HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – CLP Holdings Ltd (2.HK) said indirectly-owned unit CLP Power Projects (Malaysia) Ltd has agreed to sell its entire 5% interest in YTL Power International Berhad (6742.KL) to YTL Corp for a total consideration of RM320.985 million, or RM2.75 per share. (US$1=RM3.8). It said in a statement that the deal is subject...
MALAYSIA: Success lays groundwork for ‘Second Liners’
Petronas’s aggressive overseas expansion is laying the groundwork for Malaysian companies to take on a more active role on the international oil and gas scene. Since its founding in 1974, Petronas has proved itself to be one of the best managed state-owned energy companies in the region, setting the stage for its own recent rise...
SINGAPORE: Senoko Power adopts Sustainable Development as corporate policy
Singapore’s Senoko Power Limited said it is sponsoring the Singapore Environment Achievement Award 2003 for the first time as it looks towards sustainable development as a part of its corporate policy. The Singapore Environment Achievement Award (SEAA) was developed by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), with the aim of having Singapore-based companies commit to becoming...
AUSTRALIA: BHP Billiton’s first half oil, condensate output falls 16%
SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – BHP Billiton said its oil and condensate production in year to June output fell 16% to 65.893 million barrels, with second quarter production down 21% from the year earlier, due to natural field declines at its Bass Strait and Laminaria fields in Australia and Typhoon field in the US. In a statement,...
AUSTRALIA: BHP Billiton upgraded to ‘outperform’ by Citigroup Smith Barney
LONDON (AFX) – Shares in BHP Billiton PLC are expected to be in demand after Citigroup Smith Barney upgraded the stock last week on hopes for an imminent improvement in the mining sector, dealers said. The broker upped BHP Billiton to ‘outperform’ from ‘in line’, although it cut Rio Tinto PLC to ‘in line’ from...
JAPAN: Sakhalin Energy signs its third LNG supply deal with Kyushu Electric
The multi-billion dollar Sakhalin II Phase 2 Project achieved another major marketing success last week with the signing of a substantial liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement between Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. and Kyushu Electric Power Company, Incorporated. The deal calls for the supply of up to 500,000 tonnes per year for 21 years....
Oil prices expected to hold this week (SGX Column)
Traders expect oil prices to hold in a tight range this week as OPEC meets in Vienna on Thursday to decide on its production quota for the second half of the year. Industry analysts expect the cartel to roll over its existing production quota as Iraq has yet to emerge as a major products exporter,...
CHINA: Hong Kong government study supports CLP, Hongkong Electric interconnection
HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – A study conducted by engineering consultant firm Mott Connell for the government shows that it is viable to interconnect the systems of CLP Holdings (2.HK) and Hongkong Electric (6.HK) for bilateral trading, the South China Morning Post reported, citing some papers from the Legislative Council. Bilateral trading can be achieved by...
KOREA: SK Global US unit files for court receivership
SEOUL (AFX-ASIA) – SK Global America, the US unit of SK Global, filed for receivership with a US court yesterday, SK Global said, confirming an earlier report by Yonhap News. It said in a statement that the application for Chaper 11 follows a suit by Kookmin Bank’s New York branch to seize SK Global America’s...
SINGAPORE: CSE Global secures S$16 million worth of contracts in Africa
SINGAPORE (AFX-ASIA) – CSE Global Ltd said it secured S$16 million worth of contracts in the Africa oil and gas market. (US$1=S$1.75) Among these deals are two contracts worth S$7.7 million from Exxon-Mobil’s Kizomba B Offshore Africa Development Project. Other contracts include a S$4.5 million contract from Shell Petroleum Development Co’s Bonny Island Integrated Project...
THAILAND: Chevron Texaco acquires 51.66% stake in Gulf of Thailand exploration block
BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Chevron Texaco said it has acquired exploration and production rights to offshore Block 9 A in the Gulf of Thailand. The block is approximately 80 square kilometers adjacent to the eastern boundary of the Chevron Texaco-operated Block 8/32, with a water depth of approximately 250 feet. Chevron Texaco will operate the block...