Oil Briefs - January 25, 2003

www.gulf-news.com | | 25-01-2003

Jakarta seeks partner for LNG plant Jakarta - Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina said yesterday it needed to find a partner soon to build another liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in East Kalimantan or it would risk losing market share. "We have to start building a new plant this year to fill market (requirements) in 2005.

Therefore, we are seeking a partner," Pertamina downstream director Muchsin Bahar told reporters. "We need around $600 million to build one LNG plant. If we do not build now we will lose market (share) in 2005," he added.

Pertamina announced its plan for the new plant last September, saying its capacity would be around 3 million tonnes. Pertamina has eight LNG plants in the East Kalimantan city of Bontang and four in Arun in northwestern Aceh province with a combined total annual capacity of around 26 million tonnes.

Gazprom sees rise in gas prices Brussels - Russian gas giant Gazprom said yesterday it foresaw gas prices in western Europe increasing in the next few months as a result of continued rises in the world crude oil market.

"Everything leads us to believe that prices will increase," Gazprom's Chief Executive Alexei Miller told reporters after a meeting with a senior official of the EU's transport department, pointing to high oil prices to which gas prices are linked. Miller was in Brussels to discuss possible European investment in a Baltic pipeline project to export Russian gas to the EU.

BPCL profit soars threefold Mumbai - Bharat Petroleum Corp. said third-quarter net income surged threefold per cent after India's third-biggest oil refiner benefited from selling diesel and gasoline at higher prices. Profit in the three months ended September increased to Rs2.33 billion ($49 million) from Rs719 million in the year- ago period.

Bharat Petroleum and other Indian refiners raised fuel rates twice in the quarter to reflect an increase in international crude oil prices. Refiners revise prices twice a month to keep them in line with international crude oil rates. Bharat Petroleum was paid past dues by the government for subsidising cooking fuel, boosting profit. India's oil refiners were forced to sell kerosene and cooking gas at below world prices to the country's poor until March 31. 

IBP three-month profit dives Mumbai - IBP Co, an Indian fuel retailer, said its profit in the three months ended December 31 fell 98 per cent to Rs13.2 million ($275,000). Sales rose 0.7 per cent to Rs21.53 billion. The shares fell Rs15.75, or 6.4 per cent, to Rs232.1 on the Mumbai Stock Exchange.

Kochi Refineries profit rises 65pc Mumbai - Kochi Refineries Ltd, a refinery based in south India, said its profit in the three months ended December 31 rose 65 per cent to Rs269.5 million ($5.6 million). Sales rose 32.7 per cent to Rs21.17 billion. Kochi Refineries shares rose 0.55 paisa, or 1.1 per cent, to Rs49 at 1:02 p.m. India time on the Mumbai Stock Exchange.

ENI begins production at Bhit field Milan - ENI SpA started production at the $236 million Bhit gas field in Pakistan as Europe's fourth- biggest oil company expands in the Asian country following two acquisitions. The field has proven and probable reserves equivalent to 172 million barrels of oil while output is expected to rise to as much as 40,000 barrels a day, ENI said in an e-mailed statement.

ENI, which operates the field, has a 40 per cent stake in it while Royal Dutch/Shell Group holds 28 per cent. Rome-based ENI entered Pakistan through its purchase of two UK rivals, British Borneo Oil & Gas Plc in 2000 and Lasmo Plc a year later. The state-controlled company expects production in the country - including two other gas fields already in production and two being developed - to exceed 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent in 2004, up from 10,000 last year.

PGS sells Atlantis unit for $105m Oslo - Norwegian oilfield services group Petroleum Geo-Services said yesterday it had agreed a long-delayed deal to sell its Atlantis oil unit to Chinese oil trader Sinochem for up to $105 million. Shares in the heavily indebted PGS, hit by weak global demand which has cut into oil drilling, climbed 8.5 per cent to 2.8 Norwegian crowns ($0.404) at 0907 GMT over a flat Oslo benchmark index on relief the deal was finally agreed.

Failure to close the Atlantis sale last year as planned had been a major reason behind the July 2002 collapse of merger talks with U.S. competitor Veritas DGC Inc. PGS said it expected the deal with oil trader China National Chemicals Import & Export Corporation (Sinochem), which had once been estimated to be worth about $200 million, to be finalised by February 20.

Venezuelan exports surge 62pc Caracas - Venezuelan oil exports jumped 62 per cent in the week yesterday to 688,000 bpd, or 25 per cent of capacity, as the government struggled to break a strike in the world's fifth largest exporter, shipping data showed yesterday. The recovery in exports adds weight to reports of rising flows at the wellhead in the Opec member, where a bitter political conflict is being played out in the oil industry, a key supplier to the U.S.

Oil exports stood at 688,000 bpd, up from 424,000 bpd in the previous week, according to information from ship agents and port authorities. Venezuela exported 2.7 million bpd before the strike and exports have averaged 519,000 bpd over the past four weeks.       · Opec can do no more to ease prices · Soaring Asia prices draw supplies from Europe · U.S. cash crudes mixed · Oil Briefs - January 25, 2003 · Asia crude premiums rise