Oil&Gas Eurasia Blog

Everyone around me has that glum, questioning look on their face. I can’t stand it.

Chicken Little once thought the sky was falling and it wasn’t. It was merely the axe swinging down to prepare him for my dinner. THAT’s what happens to those who sit around worrying about the future instead of planning for it.

Before I get to my point, I will share one more little story. I had a dream the other night in which I was at a fashionable So-Ho cocktail party with friends. There was a lovely spiral staircase, which spanned about 6 floors. Naturally, I fell over the banister, but managed to catch myself with my legs. So there I was, hanging upside down in mid-air, calling out for help and everyone just stood and gave restained giggles and continued their conversations. What choice did I have? None. I just pulled myself up and over the banister and got myself a new drink. End of story.

If you think about it, it’s one of the best dreams a person can have because it’s the inner voice telling us that we can do it! Only you can make it happen. The world is not going to do it for you! And last but not the least of my favorite cliches — success is never found on the well-paved road.

The world is whining and searching for their magic rattles. Salvation is out there somewhere! The government will take care of us! UGH! UGH! UGH! Why can’t the world be like an oil company?

OK, maybe they are a bit red in the face over the latest pricing correction, which was well overdue in my humble opinion, but they are finding their boot straps. Every day I search the headlines and am never disappointed. Someone is always buying someone, expanding, and investing in R&D to protect their future.

China’s CNPC just signed a $2.9 billion deal to develop half of an Iraqi field. CNPC is also looking for a partner to buy up Australia’s Santos Ltd. And CNOOC is eyeballing Brazil’s Petrobras for some mouthwatering, multi-billion dollar sub-salt fun.

Brazil could care less about oil prices right now that they have the massive subsalt region to explore. And a new pre-salt find at Espirito Santo, of between 1.5 and 2 billion (BOE) will keep them smiling for some time as well.

LUKoil is working hard to chomp a 30% stake in Repsol, but will leave room for dessert, which might be a 49% stake of ISAB refiniery in Sicily. If that all fails to satisfy them they can have that nice $555 Turkish Akpet chain deal with their espresso.

And then there is my beloved Gazprom. Nothing stops them. No country will stand in their way to export their gas. Nice try kids…their pipelines are the best replacement for the middle finger that I can think of. Only surpassed by their latest deal, which is to build the largest gas resevoir in Europe in the Netherlands at Bergermeer Field. They will start passing it on through Germany and expand their routes accordingly. Though not cheap to build, they can at least route around any countries that get in their way, a land pipeline is not the same thing as a canal connecting oceans. Shifting it is not the same thing as being re-directed around Cape Horn. It’s a bit surprising to see them looking at foreign partners for the Yamal Peninsula and Prirazlomnoye developments, but it’s darn smart. Why let $10 worth of pride stand in the way of $10 billion dollars worth of success?

The deal lists are still shakin kids. The world will keep turning and those who sit around waiting for the worst of it to come, will find themselves sitting in the middle of it. So, look for those opportunities when your competitors aren’t and seize them!!! Just don’t come crawlin to me if you don’t.