Energy Report

Friday, July 28, 2006

Big oil logs big profit gains amid pressure to pump more

Big oil logs big profit gains amid pressure to pump more
By Jeffrey Ball And Benot Faucon
The Wall Street Journal Europe
28 Jul 2006

Exxon Mobil Corp. reported its second-highest quarterly profit ever, while Royal Dutch Shell PLC also reported a huge profit jump, in showings that likely will lead to greater political pressure on the oil industry and renewed calls to increase their... read more...

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Soviet power falls to City of London with series of energy flotations

Soviet power falls to City of London with series of energy flotations
Terry Macalister
The Guardian
27 Jul 2006

A substantial part of the Russian electricity sector created by Lenin to modernise the new Soviet economy is to be privatised with a series of floats expected on the London stock exchange. Unified Energy System ( UES), holding company for regional... read more...

Energetic turn to wind power

Energetic turn to wind power
By Christian THE WASHINGTON Toto TIMES
The Washington Times Daily
27 Jul 2006

he answer, or at least a partial answer, to the country’s energy woes may be blowin’ in the wind. Wind energy produces no emissions and is the ultimate renewable resource, but for now, it represents just a fraction of the nation’s... read more...


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Wednesday, July 26, 2006

I am going in 2008, says BP boss

Texas new leader in wind energy

Texas new leader in wind energy
By Steve Quinn Associated Press
San Jose Mercury News
25 Jul 2006

DALLAS — Long known as a top oil- and natural gas-producing state, Texas has gained new energy acclaim by becoming the nation’s top producer of wind energy. Texas capacity stands at 2,370 megawatts, enough to power 600,000 average-size homes a year,... read more...

Oil prices key threat: think tank

Oil prices key threat: think tank
ERIC BEAUCHESNE CANWEST NEWS SERVICE OTTAWA –
The Gazette, Montreal
26 Jul 2006

The major risk to the global economy is that oil prices, and then in turn interest rates, will be driven higher by geopolitical uncertainties, according to an otherwise upbeat forecast yesterday. The global economy will slow to 3.4 per cent this year... read more...

Monday, July 24, 2006

BP ready to look outside for Browne’s successor

BP ready to look outside for Browne’s successor
By Christopher Hope Industry Editor
Business
24 Jul 2006

PETER Sutherland, chairman of BP, is considering external candidates to succeed Lord Browne of Madingley as chief executive, which could frustrate the oil industry veteran’s attempts to anoint his successor. Lord Browne will attempt to use tomorrow’s... read more...

Sunday, July 23, 2006

British Energy stake to be sold

British Energy stake to be sold
SIMON BAIN simon.bain@theherald.co.uk
The Herald
21 Jul 2006

THE government has confirmed that it wants to offload part of its stake in British Energy in a fundraising manoeuvre. Alistair Darling, theTrade and Industry Secretary, said: “I confirm that the government will actively consider a sale of part of its... read more...

His father’s Providence

His father’s Providence
Topaz p Amoore
Business
23 Jul 2006

If Sir Tony O’Reilly famously made a killing from ketchup, the billionaire’s youngest child – also called Tony – is looking to do the same from oil. That’s crude oil, rather than the olive variety: unlikely as it sounds, the O’Reilly family is hoping... read more...

Friday, July 21, 2006

Move to stop BP retiring Browne

Move to stop BP retiring Browne
By Christopher Hope Industry Editor
Business
21 Jul 2006

INVESTORS in BP are being urged to overturn the oil major’s retirement policy for directors in order to allow the chief executive, Lord Browne of Madingley, to stay on at the company. Mark Iannotti, a Merrill Lynch oil analyst, said that Lord Browne’s... read more...

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Impoverished Madagascar lures Exxon



Impoverished Madagascar lures Exxon
MIKE COHEN BLOOMBERG
Calgary Herald
19 Jul 2006

Two-wheeled ox carts and decades-old Renaults choke the cobbled streets of Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, reminders of how slowly the country has advanced since independence in 1960. Now the government is auctioning oil drilling rights to improve... read more...

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Smart meter to jolt charges

Smart meter to jolt charges
Chris Jenkins Energy
Australian
18 Jul 2006

NSW power utility Energy Australia is planning to test a new breed of advanced electricity meter with 10,000 customers as it moves to install a half-million socalled smart meters over the next two years. The company expects to spend about $100 million... read more...

Oil, gas expected to heat up coal prices



Oil, gas expected to heat up coal prices
BY MATHEW CARR, LONDON
Globe and Mail
18 Jul 2006

Coal prices may rise as oil and natural gas become more expensive and as exporters in Australia and South Africa struggle to expand rail and port operations to boost output, a Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. analyst says. “Coal will increase as buyers... read more...

Friday, July 14, 2006

Almost out of gas on energy policy


Almost out of gas on energy policy

Edmonton Journal
14 Jul 2006

RalphKlein,Alberta’spremier for anotherfivemonths,sayshedoesn’t“give a tinker’s damn”whetherareviewhas been done of provincial resource royalties. Thankheavensomeofthecandidates to replace him as Alberta Conservative leaderdon’tshare his cavalier... read more...

U.S. has more than one reason to favour move to nuclear energy



U.S. has more than one reason to favour move to nuclear energy
JIM HOAGLAND WASHINGTON Jim Hoagland writes for the Washington Post
Edmonton Journal
14 Jul 2006

If presidential willpowercanenderas, the generation-old fear of nuclear energyborninthecatastrophesofThreeMile Island and Chernobyl is marked for extinction. Theworldwillmoveinsteadintoaconfident to reduce global warming, prevent energy shortages and... read more...

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

What is Energy Security?



What is Energy Security?
By Daniel Yergin
The Wall Street Journal Europe
11 Jul 2006


ST. PETERSBURG—At the conclusion of last year’s summit, in Scotland, Vladimir Putin said to the other leaders of the G-8 industrial nations, “We’ve talked about Africa and climate change this year. Next year it will be energy security.” Setting the agenda was certainly his prerogative as the incoming “president” of the G-8.
But the turbulence in the year since has earned “energy security” its place as the No. 1 item for this weekend’s meeting here. There was the huge shock that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita delivered to the Gulf of Mexico energy complex; the continuing loss of 20% of Nigerian oil output from domestic insurgency; Russia’s temporary interruption of natural gas supplies to Ukraine at the beginning of this year; the chronic impairment of Iraqi oil output; Hugo Chavez’s warnings about cutting off Venezuelan supplies to the U.S.; and the recurrent threats by some Iranian leaders to unleash an “oil crisis” (even if other Iranians deny any such intent.) Fueling the anxiety, of course, has been the 60% rise in oil prices, to $75 a barrel, since the beginning of last year.
The world has changed much since the concept of “energy security” emerged in the 1970s. But agreeing on the importance of the topic is not the same as agreeing on what it means. Consuming countries declare that they want “security of supply”—that is, reliability and availability of energy at reasonable prices. Exporting countries, whether Russia or in the Middle East, turn it around and talk about “security of demand”—sufficient access to markets and consumers to justify future investment (and protect their national revenues).
Probe further and the differences become even sharper. For Russia, energy security in recent years is about the state’s retaking control of the “commanding heights” of the energy industry and extending that control downstream... read more...

Search for oil, gas tilts north



Search for oil, gas tilts north
By Ian Talley
The Wall Street Journal Europe
11 Jul 2006

OSLO—The world’s major energy companies are making billiondollar long-term bets in the world’s frozen Arctic regions, as they seek to tap vast deposits of oil and natural gas amid some of the harshest conditions on Earth. The Arctic has almost 108... read more...

Monday, July 10, 2006

Rosneft poised for successful IPO in London and Moscow



Rosneft poised for successful IPO in London and Moscow
by Richard Orange
The Business
09 Jul 2006

ROSNEFT, Russia’s state-owned oil giant, is set to make a successful debut on the London and Moscow stock exchanges this Friday on the eve of the G8 summit in St Petersburg, despite being valued at less than had been hoped. President Vladimir Putin,... read more...

Friday, July 07, 2006

Race to the world’s energy hotspots



Race to the world’s energy hotspots
Terry Macalister
The Guardian
07 Jul 2006


The decision by Sinopec of China to pay $1bn for the right to explore for oil in deep water off Angola has shocked the west, which fears it could be left behind in a global scramble for resources.


Similar oil prospects off the coast of the impoverished African country were selling for $35m (19m) less than a decade ago, when western oil giants such as BP and Shell had the field almost to themselves.


The rising power of oil companies from fast-developing and energyhungry nations such as China and India have contributed to soaring oil prices. This week, they hit record highs of $75 a barrel, dipping only slightly yesterday.


“It’s just like the British housing market. You have a lot of people chasing a few opportunities. The difference with oil is the companies have huge amounts of cash,” said Derek Butter, an analyst at energy consultants Wood Mackenzie, based in Edinburgh.


And it is not just Angola that is benefiting. The Nigerian government has just sold 16 exploration licences in deep water areas for $500m and secured promises that the buyers will spend a further $20bn on new infrastructure projects such as gas-processing units. Licences have been... read more...

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Russia’s energy monopolies find room to grow



Russia’s energy monopolies find room to grow
By Guy Chazan And Gregory L. White
The Wall Street Journal Europe
06 Jul 2006


MOSCOW—When President Vladimir Putin hosts the Group of Eight leading nations in St. Petersburg next week, he is expected to sign an energy action plan bristling with pro-market rhetoric about improving the investment climate, encouraging competition and increasing access to energy markets.


But in recent months, Moscow has imposed strict limits on foreign investment in its oil and gas fields while entrenching the dominance of big state-owned monopolies like natural-gas giant OAO Gazprom.


Russia passed a law yesterday enshrining Gazprom’s exclusive right to export Russian gas, weeks after the European Union called for Moscow to open its pipeline network.


The disconnect shows how differently Russia and other G-8 members view energy security—a topic Mr. Putin has put at the top of the summit’s agenda. (See related article on Page 18.)


“Call it the Sinatra approach,” said Marc Franco, head of the European Commission delegation to Russia, in an interview. “The Russians have assured us they’ll work on issues [like market access], but they’ll do it their own way.”


Though it alarms some governments, the Russian approach hasn’t fazed many of the major international energy companies desperate for access to Russia’s vast reserves.


Big oil companies from Asia and Europe are showing strong interest in buying shares in the initial public offering of state oil company OAO Rosneft. The IPO could be valued at as much as $12 billion.


“The only way you’re going to get access to…resources in Russia is if you have good relationships with” Rosneft and Gazprom, said oneWestern oil executive.


People close to the situation said BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC have expressed interest in participating, as have China National Petroleum Corp. and Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd., or Petronas. Each could buy $1 billion or more in stock, with industry buyers potentially takingmore than half of the shares on offer, these people said.


For BP, which invested $7 billion in a joint venture in Russia in 2003 and joined with Rosneft in a project in Russia’s far east, ensuring good relations with... read more...