London |<a href=www.gulf-news.com>Gulf News-Reuters | 19-04-2003

Algeria's prolific Hassi Berkine oil basin may further boost production growth this year as leading foreign investor Anadarko expands infrastructure beyond initial plans, a top manager said.

While the Ourhoud mega-find in the Sahara Desert will stay at a plateau 230,000 barrels per day (bpd), on target for next month, the Hassi Berkine South (HBNS) facility capacity may be pushed over 300,000 bpd, Anadarko's Algerian manager Rex Alman said.

"We think we can handle more there with some de-bottlenecking. We could bring on stream the new discoveries within the year," he said.

Anadarko, Algeria's leading foreign investor, has made two new finds this year near the HBNS centre, which was commissioned last year and has already reached capacity.

Alman declined to say how much additional capacity could be added at the facility.

Anadarko is also planning another or four exploration wells in Block 404, in which the foreign investor group it leads holds 49 per cent. Its partners are Italy's ENI and Danish Maersk, each with a quarter of the Anadarko Algeria Comp.

Sonatrach holds 51 per cent of the block's equity. "This is our backyard now, it's a core area," Alman said.

HBNS and Ourhoud are tied into Algeria's trunkline with a 30-inch pipeline, indicating capacity of 600,000 bpd up to 750,000 bpd, more than sufficient for the estimated 530,000 bpd plateau output from the two facilities.

Other export bottlenecks are being unclogged by Sonatrach, which is commissioning a new pumping station to help boost flows from the Berkine basin, Alman said. They are also in the process of constructing a new export pipeline from Haoud el Hamra to the port of Arzew.

Alman said there had been some production constraints earlier this year due to infrastructure improvement and a more than week-long bout of bad weather on the Mediterranean coast.

But the main obstacle for Algeria is not infrastructure but politics - the north African nation is pumping nearly 50 per cent over its official 782,000 bpd Opec limit.

Most of that capacity is less than a year old, as Algeria's own production of some 700,000-800,000 bpd had plateaued until the HBNS and Ourhoud fields came onstream.

So far the extra oil has not been a major issue - between Venezuela's strike last year and the stoppage of Iraqi oil last month, Opec has been pumping practically at will. But an attempt to rein in production is expected at next week's group meeting.

Alman would not be drawn to comment on whether Sonatrach or the foreign partners would be required to take the brunt of cutbacks that most analysts now believe are necessary.

Algeria's low cost of development for the massive, on-shore Saharan fields should help ease the pain of any constraints on production, he said.

Alman said the Ourhoud field, where the last of three trains came onstream in February, should reach capacity over the next month or so. Ourhoud has an estimated 2.3 billion barrels of oil in place, with more than half recoverable.

The field, covering three blocks, has been monatised between the three joint-venture groups: Anadarko 37.5 per cent, Cepsa 56.8 per cent, Burlington 5.7 per cent.

Anadarko's next major development is set for Block 208, to the south of the current facilities, which is expected to produce around 100,000 bpd no sooner than 2007, Alman said.

And exploration activities are set to continue in two other recently acquired blocks - 406B and 403 - at the end of this year and later next year, respectively.       · Exxon quits Saudi Arabia gas initiative · U.S. benefited from Iraq-Syria pipeline · Petrobras plans $34b investment · Yukos and Sibneft 'may merge soon' · New Algeria oil finds may boost output - Anadarko · Gulf crude prices firm · Oil Briefs - April 19, 2003

Forbes.com-Reuters, 04.14.03, 8:20 AM ET By Jonathan Leff

LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - Nigeria, battling for a bigger share of OPEC's output, has pushed capacity to over 2.5 million barrels per day -- and may use it all next month despite an expected cartel move to cut production.

Oil companies fearing more pre-election strife ahead of a presidential poll in Nigeria next week may be slow to resume full production after ethnic violence shut in over a third of the African country's output for half of March, analysts said.

But new developments have added more than 200,000 bpd of capacity this year, a figure that should double by late summer -- all from offshore fields removed from the west Niger Delta violence that closed some 800,000 bpd of production.

"Nigeria is going to be at absolutely full throttle," said one Western industry source familiar with production levels. "We're looking at 2.5 million bpd."

The International Energy Agency, the Paris-based advisory group to 26 industrialised nations, estimated Nigeria's sustainable production capacity in March at 2.44 million bpd. Nigeria has targeted year-end capacity of three million bpd.

Since mid-March, Nigerian produced well below its previous 2.3 million bpd level due to violence around ChevronTexaco's Escravos output and Royal Dutch/Shell's Forcados, costing a total of over 10 million barrels of output.

Production is slowly recovering to nearly three-quarters of normal levels, but the companies indicate a return to full production appears unlikely before May.

That may be as much for political reasons as practical ones as Nigeria braced for its second democratic vote since military rule ended in 1999.

"It's less a question of what's possible and more what is happening politically," said Gary Still, executive director of African energy consultancy CITAC. "Elections are coming, I think it's probably unlikely the (production) situation will get much better before there's some clarity on the political situation."

TotalfinaElf, which has only the small 7,500 bpd Upomami field on-shore Nigeria, has more or less written off trying to restart production before the election cycle ends.

And oil companies who buy the crude -- many of them U.S. refiners who put a premium on Nigerian crude's low-sulphur, gasoline-rich qualities ahead of the summer driving season -- say they have made other arrangements for the rest of April. Some are even shying away from May barrels, traders say.

Parliamentary elections at the weekend were more peaceful than many had feared, with only 10 deaths reported so far.

President Olusegun Obasanjo faces his vote on April 19. Since independence, Nigeria has never had a successful transition from one civilian administration to another.

OPEC BIND

Nigeria's production woes last month could not have come at a worse time. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was then turning a blind eye to massive quota cheating in order to avoid a price spike after Iraq's output shut down.

The situation now is quite different.

Prices have fallen by a third and a move to crack down on overproduction during the weak second quarter is afoot.

"The question is, if there's a shortfall this month, does Nigeria get an exemption from OPEC to allow them to make up this shortfall?" said one industry consultant, who asked not to be named. "I'm sure they will be producing well in excess of their allowance over the next few months."

But OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah has said the cartel traditionally does not compensate members for unexpected losses, citing recent cases in Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq and Iran.

If output tops 2.5 million bpd, that will put the country some 25 percent over its official OPEC quota.

Nigeria could make up its estimated 20 million barrels of lost production by pumping an extra 330,000 bpd for two months or an additional 220,000 bpd over three months.

Expectations that Nigeria would maximise production from unaffected fields to compensate the outages appear to be unfounded, according to oil traders who track exports.

OFFSHORE UPS OUTPUT

The rapid expansion of production from Africa's most populous country comes courtesy of foreign investment in expensive deepwater developments -- money oil majors will want to recoup as quickly as possible with maximum output.

Exxon Mobil's offshore Yoho platform has scheduled nearly four cargoes in May, implying production of nearly 120,000 bpd after it started up in January, market sources say. Shell's EA, which came onstream in February, will produce nearly 80,000 bpd.

Agip started up its offshore Abo field in April, targetting 30,000 bpd in a few months time.

The tipping point is likely to be TotalfinaElf's Amenam development, which is scheduled to start up in the middle of the year, eventually pumping some 125,000 bpd, analysts say.

Shell's massive Bonga deepwater development will add over 200,000 bpd early next year, the company says.

Source By Ikenna Emewu

Following the claim Wed-nesday by Information and National Orientation Mini-ster, Prof. Jerry Gana that the energy crisis that has been crippling the nation since February is the handiwork of saboteurs, the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) has accused Gana and President Olusegun Obasanjo of being the real sabotuers. According to a press statement issued by the Buhari-Okadigbo campaign organisation, "the only reason our people don't have fuel is because the nation's refineries are not working. The refineries have been left to rot because Obasanjo prefers to continue to service his government's famous corruption through the lucrative fuel importation business which has long become a scam". The statement signed by Deputy Director-General of the campaign organisation, Sam Nda-Isaiah accused Gana of "lying shamelessly and engaging in cheap and insensitive talks, even in the face of excruciating suffering of the masses of the nation". The group lamented that "today it takes N10,000 to fill the tank of a car that used to take about N1,500 previously, and the Nigerian people are going through this gnashing hardship because they have been saddled with a government that is incompetent, insensitive, irresponsible, mean and corrupt without apologies". ANPP further alleged that "fuel importation is a lucrative venture that keeps the Obasanjo's government's corruption machine alive and well. The refineries will not be repaired as long as Obasanjo remains in power. The statement lampooned the Obasanjo government for cashing in on flimpsy reasons to justify the crisis, sneering that "first they said it was as a result of strike in far away Venezuela, then another said it was a technical fault. The party Chairman later said it was because of the war in Iraq, and now the tale is about saboteurs". "Obasanjo, Gana and and other members of the PDP gang are the real saboteurs of Nigeria. They are the ones who have held Nigeria on the jugular in the last four years," ANPP further submitted.

Source By Ikenna Emewu

Following the claim Wed-nesday by Information and National Orientation Mini-ster, Prof. Jerry Gana that the energy crisis that has been crippling the nation since February is the handiwork of saboteurs, the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) has accused Gana and President Olusegun Obasanjo of being the real sabotuers. According to a press statement issued by the Buhari-Okadigbo campaign organisation, "the only reason our people don't have fuel is because the nation's refineries are not working. The refineries have been left to rot because Obasanjo prefers to continue to service his government's famous corruption through the lucrative fuel importation business which has long become a scam". The statement signed by Deputy Director-General of the campaign organisation, Sam Nda-Isaiah accused Gana of "lying shamelessly and engaging in cheap and insensitive talks, even in the face of excruciating suffering of the masses of the nation". The group lamented that "today it takes N10,000 to fill the tank of a car that used to take about N1,500 previously, and the Nigerian people are going through this gnashing hardship because they have been saddled with a government that is incompetent, insensitive, irresponsible, mean and corrupt without apologies". ANPP further alleged that "fuel importation is a lucrative venture that keeps the Obasanjo's government's corruption machine alive and well. The refineries will not be repaired as long as Obasanjo remains in power. The statement lampooned the Obasanjo government for cashing in on flimpsy reasons to justify the crisis, sneering that "first they said it was as a result of strike in far away Venezuela, then another said it was a technical fault. The party Chairman later said it was because of the war in Iraq, and now the tale is about saboteurs". "Obasanjo, Gana and and other members of the PDP gang are the real saboteurs of Nigeria. They are the ones who have held Nigeria on the jugular in the last four years," ANPP further submitted.

The Post (Lusaka) April 3, 2003 Posted to the web April 4, 2003 Larry Moonze And Brighton Phiri Lusaka

THE Iraq war is not far from Africa, Women for Change (WfC) executive director Emily Sikazwe has warned.

Condemning the United States led war on Iraq, Sikazwe wondered what would stop British Prime Minister Tony Blair from asking for assistance from US President George W. Bush in dealing with the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.

"We must not remain in silence again when women, men, youths and children are being denied the right to life due to selfish motives of George W. Bush and his allies," Sikazwe said. "The war on Iraq is a precedence based on the disregard of the legitimate processes of the international community.

It is clear that USA is a double speaker and playing double standards when it comes to adhering to international covenants on war." Sikazwe said the WfC was in support of a Croatian non-governmental organisation's cancelling of a grant contract which it received from the American government in solidarity with the people that were dying as a result of the uncalled for war. She said that was the spirit needed to show the American government that they were not above other states and the UN.

Sikazwe said the war was merely on economic interests by the American government to control the natural resources of Iraq. She said it was a well known fact that the USA government financed and supported most evil regimes that perpetuated conflict in some countries such as the Taliban (Afghanistan), Jonas Savimbi (Angola), Augusto Pinochet (Chile) and Mobutu Seseseko in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). She said the USA made economic gain from sale of arms at the expense of millions of lives that have been lost as a result of these wars. "The invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies Britain and Australia, without the UN Security Council approval clearly demonstrates that the USA and its allies have contravened and usurped the authority and mandate of the United Nations with impunity believing that money power will buy us all into submission," Sikazwe said. "The world watched in silence when Adolf Hitler of German massacred millions of Jews and watched in silence when there was a genocide in Rwanda." Sikazwe said the British and Australian governments' decision to send troops to Iraq was irresponsible and most unfortunate as it was against the will of the people. "Let us learn to dialogue, war will lead us to no- where," Sikazwe said. "We want no war. The British, American and Australian people have said no to war against Iraq yet the governments of these people went ahead against the wishes of the people." Sikazwe said to understand why Bush was attacking Iraq again, one must know that the main suppliers of oil in the middle east is Saudi Arabia. She said the rapture of their relationship could not be mended because Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian was allegedly involved in the terrorist movement and because the international public opinion was against Saudi Arabia due to lack of respect for human rights. Sikazwe said to find an alternative, the easiest way was war on Iraq because Iraq cannot defend itself, it offered an easy excuse to justify the attack to the international community that knew nothing about oil deposits and until now Iraq did not have the support of a powerful nation that would be in a position to withstand the American threat.

She said in the last three years, a social revolution had taken place in Venezuela, the greatest supplier of oil for USA, following USA government's failed attempt to topple the government. Sikazwe said the Bush administration had to find an alternative supplier to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela hence fell on Iraq.

"We want peace, we say no to war. Our hearts go to the people of Iraq whose children are being slaughtered everyday.

Our hearts go to the young men and women of the allied forces who are being exposed to danger in the name of Bush and his allies," said Sikazwe. And UNIP national secretary for youth affairs Frank Musonda has called on the International Court of Justice and War Crimes Tribunal to cite Bush and Blair for war crimes.

Musonda said Bush and Blair should be held responsible for the loss of life, displacement of people, destruction of Iraq's infrastructure and using weapons of mass destruction on an independent state.

"The UN must be democratised and reformed, equality in relations between member countries must be improved, veto power and double standards must be rejected," he said. Musonda said imperialism was becoming more aggressive with the US and its allies acting as special police who intervened in internal affairs of weaker countries.

He said policies of imperialists had dominated, especially after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and socio-economic and political changes in Eastern European countries. He said it was sad that the UN was now being controlled by the US and its allies.

Musonda said the new world order and implementation of neo-liberal policies had negatively affected the lives of majority of people in the world.