www.jamaicaobserver.com Observer Reporter

Friday, February 21, 2003CLARKE... war will significantly increase production costs in manufacturing sector

SOME of Jamaica's top business leaders registered concern Wednesday over the "devastating" impact a war in Iraq would have on Jamaica's fragile economy.

Members of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA) also expressed distaste over the scandal engulfing Finance Minister Omar Davies, saying his remarks on pre-election spending reflected a larger problem of economic mismanagement, and underscored the need for legislation to control fiscal policy.

JMA members broke into rare and unanimous applause during a regular board meeting when JMA President, Clarence Clarke, urged that the United States achieve "peace at all cost" in Iraq and not act unilaterally.

Calling on the US to "let good sense prevail", Clarke said a war would have a devastating impact on our economic wellbeing, hurting the tourism industry and provoking a significant increase in production costs in the manufacturing sector.

Clarke said some manufacturers already have complained that their electricity bills jumped 25-30 per cent, as a result of Venezuela's oil-worker strike, and that a war would exacerbate the situation.

In addition to hurting Jamaica's economy, Clarke said the US economy and global economy would suffer, and that the economies of small developing nations would be particularly hard-hit.

Clarke joins a growing list of high-profile Jamaicans, including leaders from the People's National Party and Jamaica Labour Party, who recently have spoken out against the increasing possibility of a US-led attack on Iraq.

US officials say military action may be the only way to disarm Saddam Hussein of weapons of mass destruction that he's alleged to have, and which, they say, pose a threat to US security following the Sept 11 terror attacks. However, some members of the United Nation's Security Council argue that more time should be given to UN weapons inspectors to find weapons that Hussein denies having.

Regarding the finance minister, Clarke said the Government faced a "credibility problem" and should consider legislation to better control election budgets, campaign financing, and deficit-to-GDP ratios.

Davies had said he gave the OK to some pre-election spending so as not to give the parliamentary Opposition the edge going into the election, and that it was time to correct the problem now that the administration has been returned to power.

Clarke said such remarks were unfortunate, considering that the fiscal deficit was programmed at 4.4 per cent of GDP but has now reached 8.4 per cent.

"If we implement such laws then governance will be much more transparent, and relevant sanctions can be brought against those not complying with the regulations," Clarke said.

"We cannot leave these issues to chance or discretion."

www.forbes.com Reuters, 02.20.03, 8:43 PM ET Latin America  Natural Gas   SAN RAMON, Calif., Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major ChevronTexaco (nyse: CVX - news - people) on Thursday said its Colombian subsidiary signed an agreement with Ecopetrol, the Colombian national oil company, to produce natural gas from the Guajira region in the country's northeastern coast. The agreement for the Catalina Project, signed on Feb. 8, provides the basis for the country's natural gas supply and distribution through 2016, the San Ramon, California-based company said in a statement. Texas Petroleum Co., Chevron's Colombian unit, and Ecopetrol currently produce more than 80 percent of the natural gas consumed in Colombia. The gas comes from Chuchupa, the country's only offshore field, and Ballena, an onshore field located in Guajira State, which together produce on average 500 million cubic feet of gas a day. The new agreement will enable both companies to develop and produce an additional one trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves that are still in the area, according to ChevronTexaco. The company said gas produced from Catalina will be distributed mainly in the northern and central regions of Colombia. Gas may also eventually be exported to Venezuela if a gas pipeline project under study by both countries demonstrates the feasibility of connecting the gas producing fields of Guajira with the Maracaibo region of Venezuela.

www.ctv.ca

CTV News: Consumers aren't buying the reasons for gasoline price hikes 1:45 protesting gas prices in L.A.

CTV.ca News Staff

Consumers are getting pumped up about rising gas prices, which some critics are calling "war profiteering." Oil companies explain that high costs for crude oil means price increases at the pump, but politicians will soon be asking them to justify the price hikes.

Analysts explain that fears of war in Iraq and more than 11 weeks of disruption to oil exports from strike-bound Venezuela have pushed oil prices up by about 45 per cent since November.

After jumping 7 cents in one day, a litre of self-serve regular unleaded is now selling for a record high 89.5 cents in Halifax. In California prices are topping out at $2 US a gallon.

The price hikes have left many frustrated consumers convinced that there is something more sinister behind the price changes. A group of protesters rallied in South Central Los Angeles Thursday, decrying what they call blatant price-gouging by the oil companies.

With a gas price increase of 20 cents US in the past two weeks in 15 cities across the U.S., critics say there's more to it than crude costs.

With no war presently underway, and with a possibility it might never happen at all, many were asking why gasoline prices seem to already incorporate a "war premium." Increasingly vocal critics accuse the oil companies of war profiteering.

At least one independent retailer says markets are over-reacting and prices shouldn't be this high, but the oil industry still points to the rising cost of crude.

Most oil company officials have declined public comment on the matter, but Calgary-based oil giant EnCana Corp. CEO Gwyn Morgan told a conference call that the pump price reflects the sway of international market forces and the high percentage of federal and provincial tax.

EnCana is one of several Canadian oil producers now ringing up big profits. EnCana announced Thursday its profit for the fourth quarter was $429 million, up 376 per cent from the same period a year ago. Earlier this month, Imperial Oil said it posted a 100 per cent improvement with a $454 million fourth quarter profit, and Petro-Canada reported a profit of $370 million, up 393 per cent.

Such healthy performance has done little to quiet the resentment among consumers. While higher energy costs threaten further damage to a U.S. economy, which is already in the doldrums, Finance Minister John Manley insists Canadians should not be worried.

"In the Canadian economy it's kind of neutralized, because we're producers" Manley said. "I think what we have is a short-term spiking in prices that may reverse itself once some of the international tensions have been worked out," Manley told reporters.

Top Canadian oil executives are reluctant to comment, but they won't be able to stay quiet for long. The CEOs of Petro Canada, Sunoco, Shell, Esso and others have been summoned to Ottawa by a commons industry committee looking for the factors driving record-high gas prices. Although the issue has been studied in the past, no investigation has found evidence of collusion or price-fixing.

new.stockwatch.com 2003-02-20 20:13 EST - News Release

SAN RAMON, Calif., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ChevronTexaco's Colombia subsidiary, Texas Petroleum Company, and Ecopetrol, the Colombian national oil company, have signed an agreement for incremental gas production from the Guajira region in the northeastern coastal region of the country. The agreement for the Catalina Project, signed on Feb. 8, provides the basis for the country's natural gas supply and distribution through 2016.

Texas Petroleum Company and Ecopetrol currently produce more than 80 percent of the natural gas consumed in Colombia. The gas comes from Chuchupa, the country's only offshore field, and Ballena, an onshore field located in Guajira State. Together these fields produce on average 500 million cubic feet of gas a day. The new agreement will enable both companies to develop and produce an additional one trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves that are still in the area.

"The Catalina Agreement reaffirms ChevronTexaco's commitment to Colombia by allowing us to expand production to meet the country's natural gas needs," said George Kirkland, president of ChevronTexaco Overseas Petroleum. "We are proud of our history and contribution to the country through the production of energy, creation of jobs and the development we have brought to the Guajira region. Furthermore, this project demonstrates our commitment to building a world-class global natural gas business."

The gas produced from Catalina will be distributed mainly in the northern and central regions of the country. Gas may also eventually be exported to Venezuela if a gas pipeline project under study by both countries demonstrates the feasibility of connecting the gas producing fields of Guajira with the Maracaibo region of Venezuela.

ChevronTexaco's history in Colombia dates back to the late 1920s, when the company began exploration activities. Today, ChevronTexaco operates the Ballena and Chuchupa fields. ChevronTexaco is active in the retail gasoline marketing industry in Colombia where there are 290 Texaco-branded service stations. In addition, through a joint venture ChevronTexaco provides jet fuel to Colombia's major airports.

About ChevronTexaco

Based in San Ramon, Calif., ChevronTexaco is the second-largest U.S.-based energy company and the fifth largest in the world, based on market capitalization. More than 53,000 ChevronTexaco employees work in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing oil and natural gas and marketing fuels and other energy products. More information is at www.chevrontexaco.com

Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information for the Purpose of "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

This news release contains forward-looking statements about the signing of an agreement for incremental production of natural gas from the Guajira region of Columbia; the estimated minimum cost over the near term for additional development of the field; and the significance of the agreement to ChevronTexaco. The statements are based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections; are not guarantees of future performance; and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the company's control and are difficult to predict. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the results of the evaluation of the options for the project's development, local political events and general economic conditions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Unless legally required, ChevronTexaco undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. ChevronTexaco

CONTACT: Patricia Serrano, Bogota, Columbia, +57-610-7366, or +57-610-0997, or Maripat Sexton, Houston, Texas, +1-713-752-6665, or Nicole Hodgson, San Ramon, Calif., +1-925-842-2564, all of ChevronTexaco

Web site: www.chevrontexaco.com

www.examiner.ie IN Iraq there is a misguided bully with guided bombs.

This problem is not about oil because Saddam is probably as price competitive as any democratic successor. If the US wanted oil that badly they could take over Venezuela. The US and Britain will bring FDR’s four freedoms to the Iraqi people: freedom to elect a representative government, freedom of expression, freedom from fear and freedom from hunger. The same Allies did this for Germany, Italy and Japan after World War II.

Stephen Fallon, 16, Barrington St, Limerick.