(PRESSI.COM 06/10/2003) World oil supply is becoming more diverse and world oil production capacity comfortably exceeds world oil demand, said BP chief economist Peter Davies today.

"As a result, producers were able to meet the needs of oil consumers during the Iraq war and during unplanned supply disruptions in Venezuela and Nigeria. Consuming nations were not required to tap their emergency reserves. This is good news for those concerned about energy security, but it should not lead to complacency," Davies said at the launching of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2003.

OPEC, while using spare capacity of almost 4 million barrels a day to keep the market supplied during the war, cut its average daily output by 1.87 million barrels a day in response to weak global oil demand and a 1.45 million barrel-a-day increase in non-OPEC production. OPEC production has declined in three of the last four years.

"The story is one of supply momentum that looks set to continue," Davies said. "Russian oil production is up 25 per cent in three years and Russia has been joined by a new group of oil producing basins, across several continents and regions, that have begun to grow rapidly."

Production from Russia, the Caspian, the deepwater Atlantic Basin and Canada is up 3.3 million barrels a day (26.5 per cent) in three years and has the potential to increase another 5 million barrels a day by 2007.

China accounted for 68.5 per cent of the increase in global primary energy consumption in 2002 and has become a major energy consumer and importer. Consumption of coal, which accounts for 66 per cent of Chinese energy use, grew a massive 27.9 per cent. Oil consumption increased 5.8 per cent or 332,000 barrels a day, accounting for all of the world's oil consumption growth in 2002. China replaced Japan as the world's second largest oil consumer.

Natural gas is the world's preferred non-transport fuel. Outside the Former Soviet Union (FSU) gas consumption has grown 3.4 per cent a year over the past decade and its share of total energy consumption is now roughly equal to coal at 24 per cent.

US gas consumption grew 3.9 per cent in 2002 as North American gas production fell 1.8 per cent. Imported LNG is filling part of the gap. Producers are now considering options for delivering new sources of pipeline gas and LNG to this growing gas market.

Commercial (non-hydro) renewable energies are growing rapidly, but their contribution to total world electricity generation remains small (1.7 per cent in 2000 versus 1 per cent in 1990).

Oil - Brent oil prices averaged $25.19 a barrel in 2002, up slightly on the 2001 average price of $24.77 and well above the post-1986 annual average of $19.40. Prices during 2002 ranged from a low of around $18 per barrel in mid-January to peak just before the end of the year at $32.

Global oil consumption was broadly flat, increasing 290,000 barrels a day from 75.5 to 75.7 million barrels a day. All of the increase is attributable to China where oil consumption increased 5.8 per cent or 332,000 barrels a day.

Global oil production declined 415,000 barrels a day, or 0.7 per cent, from 74.4 million to 73.9 million barrels a day. OPEC daily oil production fell to 28.2 million barrels a day, a drop of 1.87 million barrels a day (6.4 per cent). The steep fall resulted from a number of unplanned disruptions and because some OPEC producers, primarily Saudi Arabia, curtailed production in response to weak demand and to a significant 1.45 million barrel per day increase in non-OPEC oil output. Large daily production increases occurred in Russia (640,000 barrels), Kazakhstan (150,000 barrels), Canada (170,000 barrels), Angola (160,000 barrels) and Brazil (160,000 barrels).

Gas - World consumption of natural gas increased in 2002 by a relatively strong 2.8 per cent on the strength of a 3.9 per cent increase in US consumption and a 7 per cent increase in non-OECD Asia Pacific consumption. Growth in natural gas consumption outpaced growth in world primary energy and its share of total energy consumption is now roughly equal to coal at 24 per cent.

Global natural gas production increased 1.4 per cent, from 2,493 billion cubic metres to 2,527 billion cubic metres. North America was the only region to experience a production decline, falling 1.8 per cent from 779 to 766 billion cubic metres. A price-driven drop in drilling activity explains some of the production decrease, but the maturity of US and Canadian gas producing basins was also a factor.

Coal, nuclear and hydroelectric - Coal was the fastest growing fuel in 2002 with coal consumption increasing 6.9 per cent in 2002 on the strength of an extraordinary reported increase in China of 27.9 per cent. Excluding China, world consumption increased just 0.6 per cent.

Consumption of nuclear power increased 1.5 per cent, with most of the increase coming in Asia. World consumption of hydroelectric power increased 1.3 per cent from 2001 but was still less than in 2000. Nuclear and hydroelectric power each account for about 6 per cent of total world energy consumption.

Note to Editors:

This is the 52nd edition of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

The BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2003 is published on the internet at www.bp.com/centres/energy where data can be viewed and downloaded.

Press copies of the Review are available from the BP press office (tel: 44 (0)20 7496 4076).

This material has been produced by Bp. It is delivered by Pressi.com in its original form.

Copyright © 2003 Pressi.com. Terms of use. Send feedback to Pressi.com. Privacy policy. 0.23.

<a href=www.aidsmap.com>AidsMap 10 June 2003     Julian Meldrum

Ten Latin American countries meeting last weekend in Lima, Peru, have signed a letter of intent with a number of pharmaceutical companies which opens the way to lower prices for antiretroviral drugs, HIV diagnostic and monitoring tests. While full details have not yet been released, the effect should be substantial: the cost of first-line triple therapy is reduced by between 30 and 92% from the best prices previously available and second-line treatments are also included. The overall impact could be to allow 150,000 more people with HIV to receive treatment in the region without increasing current levels of spending on ARV drugs, according to REDLA+, the Latin American network for positive people and others close to the negotiations.

The process, chaired by Peru's Health Minister and facilitated by WHO's regional office, the Pan-American Health Organisation, had the goal of securing lower prices for the customers in return for access for the suppliers to a larger and more predictable market. The health ministers heard from individual companies privately on the prices they could offer for particular drugs, and then set a "reference price" as a maximum figure for future purchases of each product. Companies are free to offer lower prices, although there is no expectation that there will be further discounts for bulk orders, etc.

The agreement includes conditions on quality control and bio-equivalence studies for generic companies supplying ARVs in the Latin American market, which implies coordination among drug regulators in the region to simplify their procedures and speed product registration without risking patients’ welfare.

This agreement was jointly negotiated between the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela and a number of pharmaceutical companies. Of the major international pharmaceutical companies, only Abbott (supplier of diagnostics as well as ARVs) has signed up, alongside the "generic" companies Cipla (India), Combino Pharm (Spain), Filaxis (Argentina), Ranbaxy (India), Refasa (Peru), Richmond (Argentina) and Rontag (Argentina).

Of these companies, four - Abbott, Cipla, Combino Pharm and Ranbaxy - now have ARVs "pre-qualified" for international purchase under the UNAIDS/WHO pilot scheme to assess compliance with good manufacturing practice. Full implementation of this agreement appears to depend on WHO examination of the manufacturing processes and product quality offered by all of the companies involved.

BMS, GSK, Merck and Roche declined to participate in the bidding process as they were unwilling to offer a single regional price. Effectively, the agreement now means they must match the prices of the generic companies where there is direct competition, or their products will not be purchased.

Gilead Sciences (makers of tenofovir) have also signalled their readiness to offer reduced prices in Latin America although no announcement on this has yet been made.

Similar negotiations have recently taken place between groups of pharmaceutical companies and groups of companies in the Caribbean and Central America, but until now the big international pharmaceutical companies have succeeded in excluding generic suppliers from the process.

Brazil famously secured large discounts on ARV prices through actual or threatened generic competition, as well as through bulk purchasing. Clearly, Brazil has now become the model for other states to follow. The key question will now be whether other countries will match Brazil's commitment to providing healthcare and treatment, as well as its readiness to stand up to political pressure from the USA and multinational companies.

Recent news Protection of UK blood supply from HIV, HBV, HCV: infected donations rarely enter supply Diet changes successfully reduce cholesterol in HAART-treated patients Do cholesterol rises in HAART-treated men reflect normalisation, or treatment side-effect? HIV-positive men at increased risk of testicular cancer Adherence in Cape Town poor just as good as US and Europe Novel antibody enters trials as HIV treatment To receive a weekly email update from aidsmap, featuring the latest news and additions to the site, click here.

<a href=www.directionsmag.com>Directions, Press Releases Company: Definiens Imaging GmbH Jun 10, 2003

Munich, Germany– Guadalajara, Mexico, --Definiens Imaging GmbH, Munich, Germany and GTT NetCorp have signed an agreement, which allows GTT NetCorp to distribute Definiens’ innovative object-oriented image analysis and feature extraction software eCognition to the Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean markets.

GTT NetCorp's President & CEO, J. Armando Guevara expressed, "Given the innovative nature and leadership of Definiens Imaging's eCognition software technology, this agreement is a very valuable addition to the key alliances that GTT NetCorp has to deliver it's clients leading-edge, practical and cost-effective spatially enabled information solutions. eCognition will be at the core of the Virtual Satellite System® supporting in an innovative way the integration, analysis and delivery of information extracted from imagery".

A first joint marketing campaign was already done in December last year, when Ursula Benz, Definiens Imaging's Director of Professional Services visited key clients together with GTT NetCorp in Mexico. “The very professional organization of these demonstrations and the high level of the clients we visited, confirms that we have an excellent partner who understands the requirements of his customers and the capabilities of our solutions”, she expressed.

About GTT NetCorp Founded in 1994 in Tampa-Florida, GTT NetCorp is a leading provider of high-resolution satellite and airborne imagery and associated solutions. With headquarters in Guadalajara-Mexico and offices in Venezuela, Central America, Colombia and the Caribbean, the GTT NetCorp staff has over 20 years experience in Latin America in the design, development and implementation of leading-edge solutions that integrate geospatial, information and communications technology aimed at optimizing process work flows, improve the decision making process and reduce operating costs in an innovative way. This integration process GTT NetCorp defines as the “spatial enabling of information®”.

Further information about the company and its products is available on the Internet at www.gttnetcorp.com

About eCognition: eCognition products are designed to make image classification more intelligently, more accurately, and more efficiently. Our award winning software offers a completey new, unique approach to image classification: Object oriented image analysis.

eCognition professional: Our advanced system for power users, production departments, and remote sensing experts with demanding remote sensing requirements. eCognition elements: Our entry-level system for general users and remote sensing novices. eCognition was awarded the European Information Society Technology prize in 2001, was evaluated by the NIMA pathfinder process in the same year, and is globally available through international distributors, resellers and system integrators.

About Definiens Imaging GmbH: Definiens Imaging was formed in 2001 as a spin-off from the Geomatics and Earth Observation Division of Definiens AG, Germany. Definiens Imaging is based in Munich, home to Germany’s most significant cluster of geomatics companies and organizations. Definiens AG was founded in 1994 by Professor Dr. Gerd Binnig, Nobel-laureate for physics in 1986 and science journalist Dieter Herold. Today, Definiens Imaging is focussing on intelligent solutions and technology for the geomatics and earth observation market, comprising software and consultancy. For detailed product information, or to learn about how Definiens Imaging Professional Services can add value to your organization, visit our website at www.definiens-imaging.com

Definiens Imaging GmbH Markus Heynen Trappentreustr. 1 80339 München Germany Tel. +49-89-23118045 email: mheynen@definiens.com

Copyright © 2000-2003 Definiens Imaging GmbH all rights reserved.

<a href=www.prnewswire.com>PRNewsWires

Delivers Intelligent Routing and Performance Guarantees Across More Than150 Local Broadband Providers to Enable Seamless DSL-Based Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

Key Benefits:

• Single point of contact and integrated bill for DSL services in more than 75 countries
• Fully managed DSL price points starting at $39.95
• An array of broadband access alternatives, such as wireless and cable, where DSL is not yet available

DENVER, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Virtela Communications Inc., a leader in providing global managed IP virtual private network (VPN) services, today announced that the company is delivering managed global DSL connectivity to its private network through relationships with more than 150 access providers, achieving an unparalleled industry footprint of more than 75 countries. Virtela has already provisioned and provides ongoing management of business-class DSL services for customers in more than 15 countries, from Malaysia to Ireland, Australia and the United Kingdom, and offers service in all 50 U.S. states.

Virtela today also announced that Documentum (Nasdaq: DCTM), the leading provider of Enterprise Content Management (ECM), is using Virtela's managed private networking services for its 39-site worldwide enterprise network and also leveraging Virtela's global DSL services to provide automatic failover.

Virtela's global DSL services enable enterprises to inexpensively provide always-on connections for remote locations and employees to corporate wide area networks while leaving the complexities of procuring and managing the access to Virtela's experts. Virtela offers a single point of contact for global DSL ordering, provisioning, 24x7 Network Operations Center support, billing and customer care. Virtela selects the best provider on a price and performance basis per customer location, and can integrate with existing Internet access where desired. Customers can expect to save up to 80% or more compared to existing Frame Relay networks.

"Many enterprises have smaller sites that don't necessitate the expense of frame relay based connectivity or need an attractively priced back-up solution -- both requirements are perfectly suited to DSL-based VPN solutions at a fraction of the cost," said Virtela Chairman and CEO Vab Goel.

"Virtela's advanced network management systems enable us to monitor the real- time performance of these connections across multiple carriers, which results in our ability to offer strong service level agreements for broadband connections."

Virtela's DSL pre-qualification rates average more than 90% domestically and 80% internationally, with pre-qualification availability turnaround in 24 hours or less.

A key strategic advantage in Virtela's ability to rapidly pre-qualify and deploy DSL based VPN services is the company's Global DSL command center and related systems. A dedicated Virtela team equipped with a proprietary unified data warehouse enables Virtela to easily track DSL availability via a dynamically updated carrier footprint. Post qualification, Virtela's innovative systems integrate and accelerate service delivery and assurance -- from coordination of local loop provisioning and equipment delivery, to user and identity authentication.

Customers benefit from Virtela's unique IP Service Fabric (IPSF(SM)) that optimally routes traffic across best-in-class carrier networks with guaranteed end-to-end performance. In the event of network congestion or failure on the primary carrier network, Virtela's proprietary algorithms dynamically route traffic onto an alternate network with no impact to customers. This greater service reliability enables Virtela to offer options with leading end-to-end performance guarantees including availability options up to 99.9%, less than 15-minute outage notification, and 4-hour Mean Time to Restore (MTTR).

Customers can leverage Virtela's web-based customer portal, VirtelaView(SM), to monitor real-time and historical performance of their connections worldwide, as well as track security performance, order services, view integrated bills, administer users and policies and open and track trouble tickets.

Virtela's global DSL-based VPN services are part of the company's portfolio of broadband access solutions, which also include cable, wireless, always-on ISDN, and broadband T-1 options.

"DSL and VPNs are a natural technology match, but many large organizations have had trouble rolling DSL VPNs out because of the headaches associated with global DSL acquisition and provisioning," said Jeff Wilson, executive director at Infonetics Research Inc. "Until now, service providers have not addressed that pain point. Virtela has solved this problem, and with this announcement adds global DSL access to a long list of innovative Virtela VPN solutions."

Pricing and Availability Virtela's global DSL VPN services -- which include ADSL, SDSL and IDSL -- range from $39.95 per month to $750 per month, depending on bandwidth and location. Broadband speeds range from 128Kbps up to 5Mbps.

Virtela's can provide DSL-based VPN services in more than 75 countries, and is currently serving customers with Virtela managed DSL VPN services in more than 15 countries: the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the U.K., France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Singapore and Venezuela.

Virtela VPN is the foundation on which Virtela delivers its comprehensive suite of network, security and application solutions. Key to its service- oriented and consultative approach, Virtela augments its core offerings with value-added capabilities such as network architecture and security policy consulting, design and implementation, including provisioning and on-site installation. Ongoing, Virtela delivers 24x7 proactive monitoring, management and support, customer control via web portal, 4-hour hardware replacement worldwide and stringent service level agreements.

About Virtela Virtela Communications, Inc. delivers managed private networking solutions designed to meet the specific needs of enterprises with multiple locations.

Currently serving customers with locations in more than 35 countries, Virtela connects businesses with their branch offices, remote workers and corporate partners worldwide, regardless of network access method. The Denver-based company's award-winning services suite includes IP-based virtual private networks (VPNs), TV-quality videoconferencing and business-class enterprise voice services. Virtela is a privately held company funded by investors including Norwest Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Palomar Ventures, RSA Security Inc. (Nasdaq: RSAS), Symantec Corp., and Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR). For more information, please call (720) 475-4000 or visit www.virtela.net

RTE 10/06/2003

An RTÉ True Lives documentary about an attempted coup in Venezuela has been judged the "best television programme in the world this year". 'Chavez - Inside the Coup', shown on RTE earlier this year, was awarded the prestigious Global Television Grand Prize at the Banff Rockie Awards in Canada. The documentary, depicted the attempted overthrow of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, defeated competition that included US series 'The West Wing'. The programme's directors, Kim Bartley and Donncha Ó Briain of independent production company Power Productions, were with President Chavez in Caracas last year when the attempted coup took place. Kevin Dawson, Commissioning Editor of Factual Programmes for RTÉ, said the award was "a wonderful achievement for the film" and called the programme "one of the most memorable documentary films of recent times". Power Productions' latest work in the True Lives series, a behind-the-scenes looks at the work of wedding planners, is being shown on RTÉ One tonight at 10pm.