The Oil Daily back issues from February 2000:
Administration Explores SPR Release Plan.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000; ... The Clinton administration is exploring a proposal to release Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) crude onto the market through a swap program, while runaway heating oil prices in New England are reviving calls for the creation of a strategic heating oil reserve. An ...
Maligned Lukens Booted by Baker Hughes.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000; ... If it keeps on raining, the levee is going to break, as the 1970s rock song says, and it keeps raining on Baker Hughes Chairman and Chief Executive Max Lukens, as the struggling oil service giant announced a management change that left him and another senior officer without a chair to sit ...
Chevron, Petronas Preparing to Replace Shell, Elf in Chad Cameroon Pipe Project.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000; ... Chevron and Malaysia's Petronas are poised to rescue the controversial $3.5 billion Chad Cameroon Pipeline project, with plans to buy 60% of the equity from Royal Dutch/Shell and France's Elf Aquitaine, sources in Chad's capital, N'djamena, and Europe have confirmed. The deal, ...
Ecopetrol Extends Deadline on Licensing, Separates Projects.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000; ... Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol has extended by one month, to the end of February, the deadline for expressing an interest in its latest upstream licensing round. At the request of private companies considering participation, Ecopetrol also has separated the exploration ...
Chevron, Shell Agree To Share Drilling Rigs, Drill 2 Deepwater Wells.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000; ... Chevron USA Production and Shell Exploration & Production on Monday said the companies will share drilling rigs and jointly drill two wells in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Shell will use the Transocean Marianas rig, already under contract, to drill the initial well on ...
El Paso Opens Its Checkbook Again to Buy Pair of PG&E Subsidiaries for $840 Million.
Feb 01, 2000; ... Nothing seems to stop El Paso Energy from adding to its natural gas pipeline system, even when it already has another multibillion-dollar transaction pending. On Monday, El Paso confirmed that it is acquiring two subsidiaries of PG&E Corp. - PG&E Gas Transmission-Texas and PG&E ...
Crude Oil Breaks Losing Streak, Gains 42[cent].(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000; ... Last week's steady decline in crude prices was halted Monday in New York as crude jumped higher amid support from refined products contracts. The March light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) rose 42[cent] to close at $27.64/bbl as short-covering ...
Environmental Correctness Gets Strongest Backing To Date From Shell Chief.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000; ... In one of the oil industry's strongest endorsements to date of the necessity of "environmentally correct" operating and fiscal policies, Royal Dutch/Shell Chairman Mark Moody- Stuart told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, over the weekend that concerns about climate change ...
Ecopetrol's Chevron Deal Likely to Indicate How It Will Ease Out of 1970s Contracts.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000; ... Even as Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol signed up 12 new association contracts with private companies in the first weeks of the new year, it is trying to come up with a graceful and efficient way to end the old contracts signed in the 1970s as they begin to expire. ...
AOC-Saudi Talks Still Hold Some Hope; International Oil Firms Watch With Interest.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000; ... Unless there is a significant backing off by Riyadh or a change of heart in Tokyo, it looks like the end of the road for Arabian Oil Co. (AOC) in the Neutral Zone - and international oil companies are watching with great interest. Neither possibility is completely ruled out, ...
Ecuadorean Indians Get New Life in Texaco Suit.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Rainforest Indians of Ecuador and Peru who have sued Texaco for allegedly contaminating their water and land were granted a new opportunity Monday to convince a federal court to let the case remain in the US. US District Judge Jed Rakoff said he had been leaning toward ...
New England Prices Jump 46%.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 01, 2000 ... The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Monday that New England residential home heating oil prices averaged $1.721/gallon on Jan. 24, up from $1.182/gallon a week earlier - a 46% increase. Maine saw the biggest increase, 55%, to $1.758/gallon from $1.134 a week ...
Albright to Discuss TNK Loans.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during a three-day trip to Russia that began Monday will discuss a stalled plan to offer $500 million in credit to Russian oil company Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK). Albright will discuss a range of bilateral issues with acting President Vladimir ...
Arco Gets OK for NPR-A Drilling.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Arco has been granted permits to drill exploratory wells on tracts it leased in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) on Alaska's North Slope, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said last week. Arco was authorized to drill up to eight exploratory wells in the NPR-A ...
Texaco: Internet Will Cut Costs.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Texaco is planning to undertake most of its future cost- cutting moves through the Internet, Chairman and Chief Executive Peter Bijur said Monday. "We won't have any specific types of cost-cutting nor will we be cutting costs in the same magnitude as in the past; we've already ...
Dreyfus Reports Drilling Results.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas on Monday reported that during 1999 it drilled 229 wells, completing 210 as productive wells for an overall success rate of 92%. Dreyfus also reported an 88% success rate on 16 exploration wells drilled. Proven reserve additions from ...
Millennium's Profit Wiped Out.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Millennium Chemicals said Monday that its fourth-quarter profits were wiped out by a special pretax charge of $639 million related to its investment in Equistar Chemicals, a joint venture with Lyondell Chemical and Occidental Petroleum. Millennium said it had offered to sell ...
Spinnaker Reports Gas Find.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Spinnaker Exploration announced Monday a natural gas discovery in North Padre Island Block No. 883, located in Texas state waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The discovery well is about 40 miles south-southeast of Corpus Christi in 80 feet of water. The well confirmed a ...
Beta Reports Texas Discoveries.(Beta Oil and Gas)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Beta Oil and Gas and its partners on Monday announced two new successful wells in the expanded Yegua/Frio trend in Jackson County, Texas. Both discoveries are in the BWC project area, with the BWC F-10 flowing 1.1 million cubic feet of per day on an 11/64- inch choke with ...
Shell Eyes Cogeneration Plan.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Shell Australia said Monday that it will look at cogeneration at its Geelong refinery as part of a new group pilot emissions trading scheme introduced by parent company Royal Dutch/Shell. Shell is introducing permits, each worth 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide or its methane ...
Norway Round Draws 14 Firms.(14 firms apply for exploration licenses)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Fourteen oil and gas companies have applied for exploration licenses under Norway's 16th round, the Oil and Energy Ministry said Monday. In all, 38 applications were received for the 48 blocks or parts of blocks that were announced in September 1999, the ministry said. The ...
Lukoil Wants Equity in Refiner.(seeks stake in Mazeikiu Nafta)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Russian major Lukoil is still pushing for equity in Lithuania's Mazeikiu Nafta oil concern, despite losing out in the firm's privatization last year to US company Williams, an industry source said Monday. The source, close to talks over a long-term crude-supply agreement ...
Chevron Ups Stake in India.(Chevron Chemical Co. increases its share in Indian Additives)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... The chemicals unit of Chevron has increased to 50% its stake in its Indian lubricants and additives joint venture with state-run Madras Refineries Ltd. (MRL), officials said Monday. Chevron Chemical had held 40% of the venture, MRL Chairman and Managing Director S ....
Fishermen Protest Oil Spill.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Fishermen outraged at a major oil spill two weeks ago that destroyed their livelihood blockaded the entrance to Rio de Janeiro's bay on Monday in an hourlong protest that halted all boat traffic heading to the city. The fishermen, in brightly painted trawlers stretched in a ...
Repairs Completed on Ocensa.
Feb 01, 2000 ... The operator of Ocensa, Colombia's largest oil pipeline, said Friday that it had finished repairs to the line following a rebel attack last week and that neither oil production nor exports had been affected. No communities were affected by the attack, which occurred in the city ...
Petrobras, Repsol Continue Talks.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2000 ... Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said Monday in a note to the local Bovespa stock exchange that talks are continuing with Spanish-Argentine oil group Repsol-YPF about a possible swap of assets, but that it's ...
Nova Completes Shell Deal.
Feb 01, 2000 ... Nova Chemicals said Monday that it has completed the acquisition of Royal Dutch/Shell's European solid polystyrene and expandable polystyrene business for $185 million, plus working capital of about $25.6 million. The acquisition more than ...
National Oilwell Buys Republic.
Feb 01, 2000 ... National Oilwell on Monday announced that it has acquired certain assets and the US-based operations of Republic Supply. Republic operated about 20 distribution locations throughout the oil- and gas-producing regions ...
Shell to Lift Force Majeure.
Feb 01, 2000 ... Royal Dutch/Shell's four-week force majeure on crude oil liftings from Nigeria's Forcados will expire as scheduled today, a company spokes woman said Monday. On Jan. 3, Shell declared force majeure for the rest of the month on Forcados exports - meaning it could ...
MMS OKs Additional Rerouting.
Feb 01, 2000 ... The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS) has approved Equilon Pipeline's request to reroute another 87,000 barrels per day of crude oil that normally runs on its Poseidon pipeline offshore the Gulf of Mexico, the company said Monday. The 200,000 b/d pipeline ...
Shiha Pipeline Gets NEB OK.
Feb 01, 2000 ... Canada's National Energy Board (NEB) last week approved the construction of the Shiha Pipeline project in the Fort Liard area of the Northwest Territories and northeastern British Columbia. Shiha Energy Transmission applied to NEB on July 30, 1999, for permission to construct ...
40 Years Ago Today in The Oil Daily.
Feb 01, 2000 ... * What promises to be a lengthy legal battle began unfolding in Tulsa today in US district court where about 80 lawyers representing 29 indicted oil companies are on hand as a team of six US attorneys opens the government's case alleging conspiracy among the companies to raise prices of ...
Daily Oil & Gas Price Review.
Feb 01, 2000 ... <Pre> DAILY OIL & GAS PRICE REVIEW Prices for Monday, January 31, 2000 Nymex Light Sweet Futures - Prompt Month ($/barrel) Change 1st Month 5-Day Avg. 2nd Month3rd Month Nymex Light Sweet +0.42 27.6427.66 26.72 ...
Stock Market Scorecard.
Feb 01, 2000 ... <Pre> STOCK MARKET SCORECARD Integrated CloseChange from % ChangeChange Majors1/31 Previous Day 10 Days ExxonMobil 83.31 +4.31 5.17%-0.380 Marathon 25.69 +1.31 5.10%+0.060 Royal Dutch 55.06 ...
Merger & Acquisition Filings.
Feb 01, 2000 ... <Pre> MERGER & ACQUISITION FILINGS ---Ownership --- Company Ticker Filing PartyType Amd.# %Held %Change Shares 13D Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P.ENPKinder Morgan Inc. 13D 18.00%0.00% ...
Earnings Announcements.(World Fuel Services Corp.)(Weatherford International Inc.)(Black Hills Corp.)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 01, 2000 ... <Pre> EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS ---Current--- ---Prior--- Company Ticker Exch Qtr Income $EPS Income $EPS For Year Ended 12/31/99 Black Hills Corp....
Dividends Declared.(St. Mary Land & Exploration Co., CMS Energy Corp.)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 01, 2000 ... <Pre> DIVIDENDS DECLARED Company Ticker ExchAnnouncedRec-Date Pay DateAmountType CMS Energy Corp.CMSNYSE 1/31/00 2/8/00 2/22/00$0.365 Quarterly St. Mary Land & ...
Oil Shares Head South in Falling Market.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000; ... January effect? What January effect? Shares of major oil companies plummeted in line with broader equity market indices in January, a period when investors typically show their optimism for the new year by sending stocks higher. Oil Daily sister publication ...
Argentina Eyes Subsidies to Boost Competition.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000; ... The Argentine government is considering a plan to subsidize gasoline and diesel imports in a bid to increase competition in the retail sector and reduce the dominance of Repsol-YPF, Royal Dutch/Shell, and Exxon Mobil subsidiary Esso over the downstream. The three companies ...
Colonial to Expand Capacity on Distillate Line.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000; ... Colonial Pipeline announced on Tuesday that it plans to expand mainline shipping capacity 6% through an expansion project that will increase its ability to ship middle distillate. Under the plan, Colonial will increase the shipping capacity on its Line 2 by 144,000 barrels per ...
Cheney Named Chairman.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Halliburton announced that Dick Cheney has resumed the role of chairman of the board, effective Tuesday, and will continue in his current position as chief executive of the company. Cheney was chairman of Halliburton ...
Heating Oil Price Gouging Probed; Crude Futures Pass $28/bbl.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000; ... As state officials in the Northeast begin to probe allegations of price gouging for heating oil, crude oil prices passed $28/barrel in New York on Tuesday. March light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) rose 58[cent] to $28.22/bbl as the market brushed off ...
Mobil's Aviation Fuel Fiasco in Australia Portends Further Trouble.
Feb 02, 2000; ... The sale of contaminated aviation fuel from Mobil's Australian subsidiary raises a broader issue about the global oil industry's ability to delivery quality products safely and cleanly to consumers in this age of extreme cost-cutting in the interests of shareholder value. It ...
While Privatization Prospers, California Breeds New Utility Trend.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000; ... Just north of Sacramento, California, is Lincoln, a small city that is expected to see huge population gains in the next decade - and where city officials are considering building a city-run electric utility to boost revenues. The trend toward municipalization is at best a ...
BP Amoco, Arco Brace for Vote.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000 ... The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is poised for a crucial vote today on whether to challenge BP Amoco's takeover of Arco amid strong signs that the UK company has failed in a last-ditch attempt to head off this decision. BP Chief Executive John Browne made a personal appeal ...
Arco Wins Price-Fixing Suit.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000 ... A California appeals court on Monday unanimously ruled that Arco and eight other oil companies are entitled to summary judgment in a price-fixing suit because "there is no evidence of an agreement among them" to fix prices or limit the supply of cleaner-burning gasoline mandated by ...
Lott Says Superfund Bill Unlikely.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said Tuesday that Congress is unlikely to take final action this year on legislation to overhaul the Superfund toxic waste removal and brownfields cleanup programs. "I'm always hopeful, but it's not something that I see as likely ...
English, Dodd Address Prices.(Rep. Philip English and Sen. Christopher Dodd on heating oil prices)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Rep. Philip English (R-Pa.) asked President Clinton on Tuesday to sell 20 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to lower home heating oil prices. English joins the chorus of lawmakers that have urged the administration to tap the ...
Barniol to Lead Petroecuador.(Rodolfo Barniol)(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Rodolfo Barniol has been named as the third president of state oil company Petroecuador in less than three months, government officials confirmed Tuesday. Barniol is an engineer and shrimp farmer and exporter from the coastal city Guayaquil, also the hometown of new Ecuadorean ...
CMS Starts Restructuring Plan.(CMS Energy)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 02, 2000 ... CMS Energy is initiating a financial restructuring aimed at converting the company from a yield-oriented utility to an energy services growth stock. The company said Tuesday that it plans an initial public offering of about $600 million in tracking stock representing 20% of the ...
Frontier Expects Quarterly Loss.(Frontier Oil's financial results for fourth quarter of 1999)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Frontier Oil said Tuesday that it expects worsening industry conditions in December to lead to a larger-than- expected fourth-quarter loss. The consensus of analysts' estimates compiled by First Call/Thomson Financial projects a fourth-quarter loss of 10[cent]/share. ...
Noble Increases Oil Reserves.(Noble Affiliates )(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Noble Affiliates said Tuesday that its proven oil reserves increased 4.7% in 1999 and that its natural gas reserves were little changed. The company also said it budgeted $459.9 million in exploration and development spending for this year. The budget includes $72.6 million ...
Tengasco's Reserves Climb.(natural gas)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Tengasco said Tuesday that its year-end 1999 volumes of proven reserves in the Swan Creek field had increased 56% to 92 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (Bcfe) from the 59 Bcfe estimated on June 30, 1999. Tengasco said the increase reflects the results of additional ...
Oil, Gas Search Engine Debuts.(RigMatch Information Services launches web site)(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000 ... RigMatch Information Services unveiled Tuesday the first search engine dedicated to the oil and gas industry. The website, www.rigmatch.com, works as a traditional search engine such as Yahoo! and Infoseek but concentrates on a carefully chosen list of energy industry sites ...
CSC Wins Big Contract.(Computer Sciences Corp.'s contract with petroleum firms)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) on Tuesday announced an outsourcing pact with a consortium of oil companies representing the largest gasoline retail and refinery operation in the US. The contract calls for CSC to support the information technology operations of Equilon ...
TransCanada Profit Falls 20%.(fourth quarter of 1999)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 02, 2000 ... TransCanada PipeLines, the country's top pipeline operator, said Tuesday that its profit fell 20% in the fourth quarter before unusual items because of lower natural gas demand and the sale of its interest in a gas pipeline. Calgary-based TransCanada has been selling off its ...
Exxon Toughens Tanker Policy.(Exxon Mobil )
Feb 02, 2000 ... Exxon Mobil has toughened its policy on using tankers more than 20 years old, shipbrokers said Tuesday. The company has adopted a policy of only accepting 20-year- old-plus vessels on a case-by-case basis after senior chartering managers' approval, brokers said. ...
Chevron Clarifies Genesis Output.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Chevron on Tuesday clarified the production rate for Genesis, a deepwater project in the Gulf of Mexico, which was reported in the company's quarterly earnings release issued Jan. 25. The 1999 year-end gross oil-equivalent production from Genesis was 47,000 barrels per day; the ...
Pertamina Seeks Government Help.(Company Business and Marketing)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina said Tuesday that it will ask the government to rule on a disagreement with Caltex Pacific Indonesia over dividing the shareholding in the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru (CPP) oil field. "Pertamina cannot agree with Caltex's demand for a 50% stake ...
Sonatrach Eyes Sale of Shares.
Feb 02, 2000 ... Algeria's state oil and gas company Sonatrach may sell an unspecified number of shares to private investors to finance expansion plans, Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khalil said Tuesday. "If Sonatrach finds that it needs money and considers that money useful to, for example, ...
UK to Boost Role of Renewables.(Government Activity)
Feb 02, 2000 ... The UK government Tuesday said it will force electricity suppliers to provide an increasing share of their output from renewable sources. A spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry said the government is likely to specify statutory minimum levels of renewable power ...
Chevron Venture Opens Plant.(Saudi Chevron Petrochemical)(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Saudi Chevron Petrochemical on Tuesday celebrated the opening of the joint venture's $650 million plant to produce benzene and cyclohexane. The petrochemical complex, a 50-50 joint venture of Chevron Chemical and the Saudi Industrial Venture Capital Group, was delivered under ...
Santa Fe Snyder to Begin Study.
Feb 02, 2000 ... Santa Fe Snyder is expected to begin a joint development study of its recent oil discovery in China with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) this year, Chinese industry sources said Tuesday. The US oil firm, represented by its Chinese arm Santa Fe Energy Resources of ...
Shipments Through Canal Fall.
Feb 02, 2000 ... A decline in shipments of oil and grain through the Panama Canal helped push cargo tonnage down 8.2% in the third quarter of 1999, the canal's administering body said Tuesday. Grain shipments were down 23.4% and ...
Dynegy Sells Assets to Oneok.(Brief Article)
Feb 02, 2000 ... Dynegy has sold its Midcontinent midstream natural gas assets to Oneok for $307.7 million. Oneok said Tuesday that it is buying eight gas processing plants, plus interests in two others, and about 7,000 miles of gas gathering and transmission lines in Oklahoma, Kansas, and the ...