COMFORTABLE SUPPLIES: Despite apparent sabotage of an Iraqi oil pipeline and chaos in Venezuela and Nigeria, big oil-consumers seem to have plenty of gas

Taipei Times-REUTERS Sunday, Jun 15, 2003,Page 10

A US Army truck passes by a burning oil pipeline in Iraq's northern oilfield in Makoul, Friday, after what residents said were twin bomb attacks aimed at sabotaging deliveries which the US-led coalition is poised to resume. The pipeline is 18km from the key refinery town of Baiji.

Oil prices fell nearly 4 percent on Friday after the International Energy Agency said big consuming countries were more comfortably supplied than it previously thought.

US light crude tumbled US$1.18 to US$30.33 a barrel, extending Thursday's sharp losses and pulling prices back from recent 12-week highs above US$32. London August Brent crude fell US$0.87 to US$26.35 a barrel.

Prices fell as the Paris-based IEA, energy adviser to 26 industrialized nations, said its previous estimate of oil stock levels was 79 million barrels too low.

The agency's revised estimate put oil stocks in the industrialized world for the end of April at 2.439 billion barrels,

"Stocks are still below normal and can absorb some surplus in the third quarter, but I think we have entered a stage when more supply is coming on the market and will impact prices," said Geoff Pyne, oil market consultant to Sempra Energy Trading.

The IEA said the revision did not change its view that global markets were tight. Stocks are still 157 million barrels, or 6.5 percent, below last year.

"The market is obviously better supplied than we thought as little as two weeks ago, but stocks are still low and fundamentals are still tight, so we need to build more stocks," said Klaus Rehaag, editor of the IEA monthly oil market report.

"The increase in crude stocks may, however, signal some relief for an otherwise tighter heating oil situation later this year," he added

Oil stocks have been drawn down this year by a harsh northern winter and supply disruptions from a strike in Venezuela, ethnic strife in Nigeria and the war in Iraq.

Iraq on Thursday sold its first oil since the US-led invasion nearly three months ago, but looting and sabotage at oil facilities are expected to keep Iraq's exports well below prewar levels for several months.

The delays in Iraq's postwar export resumption enabled the OPEC producer cartel to postpone fresh supply cuts at Wednesday's meeting in Qatar.

OPEC, which controls about half the world's oil exports, decided to meet again in just seven weeks, on July 31, in case the return of Iraqi shipments undermines high prices.

OPEC sets a US$22 to US$28 target range for its basket of seven grades of crude oil. The basket was last valued at US$27.48.

The Gregorian 06/15/03 ROBERT LANDAUER

Energy controversies are about to gush across the foreign- and domestic-policy landscape like uncapped oil wells.

Directly affecting Oregon, Washington and other coastal states, the Senate on June 11 defeated an energy bill amendment that would have retained protections against invasive oil and natural gas explorations on the Outer Continental Shelf. If the action is not corrected, sensitive coastal environments, including marine sanctuaries, now excluded from preleasing and leasing activities would be added to the "inventory" area.

A five-year planning process already shows reserves at hand. So, the move to allow invasive surveys is a threatening precedent to allow drilling for actual exploration and extraction.

Many states whose economies depend heavily on fisheries, shipping and tourism don't want to bear risks of even one spill or accident. All senators from Oregon, Washington and California voted last week to keep protections that have been in place since 1982.

They lost this round, but their united stand offers hope. When a House appropriations subcommittee voted in 1995 to reinstate offshore oil leasing programs, Northwest senators and representatives of both parties rallied to reverse the threat to their region's coast. In that instance, they presented a convincing argument that even if every drop of oil off the coasts of Oregon and Washington was tapped, U.S. consumers would exhaust the resource in about eight days. Nothing has changed to make such a skimpy prize worth the risk of poisoning Northwest waters and shorelines with oil spills.

The 44 senators who voted to preserve coastal protections still can be a bipartisan coalition strong enough to win the fight. With more than 300 energy bill amendments yet to be acted on, they have time and maneuvering room in the Senate.

The fight could be carried to another ring. The House stripped a similar provision from its comprehensive energy legislation. So, a showdown could be orchestrated during conference if the Senate energy bill passes.

Also, a public outcry could be decisive. Loud opposition might make President Bush conclude, as his father did in 1990, that the political price of backing the oil industry is too costly.

A n energy bill vote last week showed how much senators hate to get on the wrong side of public opinion. President Bush and his allies have been preoccupied with energy production; conservation has been a low priority. So a bill requiring the president to produce a policy that would cut U.S. energy consumption 1 million barrels a day by 2013 was considered a dicey affair.

The vote: 99-1, a landslide win.

How come? When it was clear the issue would pass, senators stampeded to get on the side that wouldn't require public explanations, apologies or election campaign defenses.

A caution: This is modest progress. The United States consumes about 20 million barrels of petroleum products a day now and is expected to require 24 million barrels daily in 2013 -- even if we conserve an extra million barrels a day. And we'll likely rely on imports for about 63 percent of what we use, up from 55 percent now.

So, with 3 percent of global proven oil reserves, the United States is a petro-glutton. Its security and economic stability rely on energy from increasingly unstable regions like the Middle East (Arab oil accounted for 28 percent of U.S. petro-imports in 2002), Venezuela and Nigeria.

All of which adds to heated worry around the world whether the Bush team really means to reconstitute Iraq's oil industry (11 percent of proven global reserves, second to Saudi Arabia) as an independent player or remake it as a pawn of U.S. companies.

The survival of foreign governments and the shape of pro- and anti-U.S. alliances surely depend on the answer. Power applied recklessly would rebound dangerously and destructively. Reach Robert Landauer, editorial columnist, at 503-221-8157, or 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201 or robertlandauer@news.oregonian.com

June 14, 2003, 3:50PM Houston Chronicle-Reuters News Service

LONDON -- The West's energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency, made its largest revision to oil inventory data ever late last week, adding 79 million barrels to its estimate of oil stored in the industrialized world in March.

The healthier supply picture knocked world oil prices lower, and analysts said the appearance of such a large volume of oil backed up OPEC concerns of oversupply in the third quarter.

The agency said the timing of the unprecedented revision was unfortunate, given that the world market was seeking direction after the U.S.-led war on Iraq, but that it did not change its view that global markets were tight, especially for gasoline.

"The market is obviously better supplied than we thought as little as two weeks ago, but stocks are still low and fundamentals are still tight, so we need to build more stocks," said Klaus Rehaag, editor of the agency monthly oil market report.

Geoff Pyne, oil market consultant to Sempra Energy Trading, said the revision showed OPEC, which stayed its hand on output cuts earlier this week, was right to be concerned by surplus supply.

"All the signs from OPEC were that they knew that U.S. oil prices should not be at $31 a barrel. I thoroughly agree," Pyne said. "Stocks are still below normal and can absorb some surplus in the third quarter, but I think we have entered a stage when more supply is coming on the market and will impact prices."

After the revision, the energy agency said commercial inventories in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development stood at 2.417 billion barrels at the end of March.

Stocks fell at a rate of 570,000 barrels per day on average in the first three months of the year but switched to a rising trend in April, building by an average 720,000 barrels per day in that month.

The agency said industry stocks in the industrialized world at the end of April at 2.439 billion barrels were still 157 million barrels below the previous year.

Analysts have been waiting for extra supplies from OPEC to turn up in stock data for several months. Until the revision, some had been scratching their heads about "missing barrels," which appeared in production data but never showed up in consumer stocks.

"Some people didn't believe there were missing barrels, but the IEA has now produced half of them," Pyne said. "The other half do exist, possibly in oil at sea or in Caribbean storage, and will be used by the market."

OPEC crude output in May rose by 220,000 barrels per day, to 26.4 million barrels per day, the agency said, because of a recovery in Venezuela and Nigeria, where production was crippled earlier this year by strikes and ethnic clashes. Iraqi output was also rising.

OPEC ministers at Wednesday's meeting in Qatar agreed to leave their output ceiling of 25.4 million barrels per day unchanged.

<a href=www.newindpress.com>newindpress.comSunday June 15 2003 00:00 IST KOCHI: Stevia Rebaudiana, a South American medicinal herb known for its sweetness excelling that of sugar and saccharine, is slowly making a foray into the Kerala market. Stevia is considered to be diabetic-safe and a remedy for a number of diseases. Stevia, native to Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Paraguay, has several sweet-sounding names: Sweet Leaf of Paraguay, Honey Leaf and Candy Leaf in addition to a number of local names. A perennial shrub belonging to the Chrysanthemum family, the American Indians used `Caa-ehe,' as Stevia was called by them, for over 1500 years to sweeten unpalatable medicinal concoctions. The herb is sweeter than sugar and diabetic-safe,'' says Babu C J, proprietor of Kerala Herbal Nursery, the Thrissur-based private firm which has now started sales of Stevia Rebaudiana, though in a small way. The herb made its entry into India via Australia roughly a year ago, says Babu. An agency in Hyderabad started small-scale cultivation of the herb. Babu imported 5000 saplings into the State from Bangalore a week ago. The climate of Kerala is conducive for the cultivation of Stevia. The herb needs sunlight and water,'' he says. In its natural form, Stevia is approximately 10 to 15 times sweeter than sugar. The white powder extracted by drying the leaves is rated at 70 to 400 times sweeter than sugar. The herb is similar to the tulasi and grows to a height of two feet. The leaf of the plant is dried and powdered to use as a sweetener,'' Babu, who is based at Poothole at Thrissur. A Stevia sapling cost him Rs 35. Stevia has been used in the US and Japan as a popular alternative to sugar as it is considered diabetic-safe and calorie-free. In fact, Stevia accounts for 40 percent of Japan's sweetener market. Other medicinal uses include treatment of high blood pressure, obesity, tobacco and alcohol addiction, indigestion and fungal infections. The herb has also had its share of controversies. In the 1980s, the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) slapped a ban on the herb, allegedly under pressure from firms promoting artificial sweeteners which sensed competition. Eight years ago, the ban was lifted in the US with the implementation of the Health Freedom Act which approved Stevia for use as a sweetener. In Kerala, there is little information available on the medicinal properties of Stevia. Articles on Stevia describe it as a sweetener and safe for diabetic patients. However, there is little information on the herb in India at present. It is believed to be cultivated in one or two parts of the country though not in Kerala,'' according to Baby Joseph, head of the Department of Agriculture, Nagarjuna ayurveda pharmacy.

<a href=www.canada.com>Calgary Herald - Reuters Saturday, June 14, 2003

Oil prices fell nearly 3 per cent Friday after the International Energy Agency said big consuming countries were more comfortably supplied than it had previously thought.

U.S. light crude tumbled 86 cents to $30.65 a barrel, extending Thursday's sharp losses and pulling prices back from recent 12-week highs above $32.

London August Brent crude fell 83 cents to $26.39 a barrel.

Prices fell as the Paris-based IEA, energy adviser to 26 industrialized nations, said its previous estimate of oil stock levels was 79 million barrels too low. The agency's revised estimate put oil stocks in the industrialized world for the end of April at 2.439 billion barrels,

"Stocks are still below normal and can absorb some surplus in the third quarter, but I think we have entered a stage when more supply is coming on the market and will impact prices," said Geoff Pyne, oil market consultant to Sempra Energy Trading.

The IEA said the revision did not change its view that global markets were tight. Stocks are still 157 million barrels, or 6.5 per cent, below 2002.

"The market is obviously better supplied than we thought as little as two weeks ago, but stocks are still low and fundamentals are still tight, so we need to build more stocks," said Klaus Rehaag, editor of the IEA monthly oil market report.

"The increase in crude stocks may, however, signal some relief for an otherwise tighter heating oil situation later this year," he added.

Oil stocks have been drawn down this year by a harsh northern winter and supply disruptions from a strike in Venezuela, ethnic strife in Nigeria and the war in Iraq.

Iraq on Thursday sold its first oil since the U.S.-led invasion nearly three months ago, but looting and sabotage at oil facilities are expected to keep Iraq's exports well below prewar levels for several months.

The delays in Iraq's postwar export resumption enabled the OPEC producer cartel to postpone fresh supply cuts at Wednesday's meeting in Qatar.

OPEC, which controls about half the world's oil exports, decided to meet again in just seven weeks, on July 31, in case the return of Iraqi shipments undermines high prices.