Chevron Confirms Interest in Yukos Assets
American oil company Chevron expressed interest in bidding for Yukos assets in a move seen as a part of their ongoing exploration of opportunities in Russian energy market. "Our company continues to study opportunities of long-term investment in Russian energy sector," Chevron spokeswoman Irina Rybalchenko told OGE.
Lukoil Signs Memorandum with Qatar Petroleum
Russia’s largest oil producer LUKOIL signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Qatar Petroleum, aiming to expand its presence in the middle eastern market in a move seen as a step forward in Russia’s economical partnership with the leading energy producers in the region. The memorandum, which was signed by the President of LUKOIL Vagit Alekperov and the Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum His Excellency Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah identifies exploration of mutually acceptable participation in oil and gas projects within the territory of Qatar, as the main purpose of the cooperation between the two companies.
HP and Lukoil-Inform Announce ITSM Project of the Year
HP and Lukoil-Inform held a press conference on Wednesday announcing the completion of a joint IT Service Management project which is a major step forward in the relations between the world’s leading IT solutions provider and Russia’s largest oil companies. The project got off to its start in 2005 aiming to optimize the process of providing IT solutions for all member organizations of the LUKOIL group. All the decisions concerning the ITSM processes were being made within Lukloil-Inform under the supervision and with direct participation of HP consultants. The project was named the ITSM project of the year by HP.
Transneft President Responds to Tariff Increase
Belarus’ decision to increase transit tariff for Russian oil by 30% is a "minor raise" for Semyon Vainshtok’s Transneft, yet a major setback to Russian-Belorussian relations. "We’re talking about an additional expense of $50 mil per year," said Vainshtok on the Russian TV channel NTV. "This isn’t that much considering that this is the first time the tariffs have been raised since 1996."
BP to Turn Kovykta Over to Gazprom
British Petroleum announced it is ready to hand over the controlling share of Kovykta gas condensate field project to Gazprom. This news comes after Russian gas monopoly’s demand to give it a 75% interest in the field, which is estimated to possess over 2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. TNK-BP failed to meet the gas extraction requirement of the license agreement, which was set at 9 billion cubic meters for 2007, as reported by the Finansovye Izvestia newspaper. TNK-BP is only capable of recovering up to 2.5 billion cubic meters per year, which is not enough to fulfill the obligation of covering Irkutsk region’s demand for gas.
Yukos Assets to go on Auction in March
Yukos creditor committee published a statement in Rossiiskaya Gazeta announcing the first auction to sell Yukos’ stakes in Gazprom Neft and Rosneft is to be held in March. The statement did not disclose any other decisions regarding the principles of the auction process made at the creditors’ meeting on Tuesday. Reuters reports the first assets to go on auction could be Yukos’ minor stakes in Rosneft and Gazprom-Neft with the starting price being slightly below that of the market level.
EU Antitrust Watchdog OKs Lukoil’s Deal
European Commission cleared Russia’s largest private oil company Lukoil’s purchase of a chain of gas stations from ConocoPhillips on Wednesday bringing the deal worth $400 mil closer to being sealed. The deal has cleared the biggest hurdle in passing the antitrust requirements and now only needs the EU’s regulatory approval. The purchase is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2007.
Gazprom to Cooperate with Brazilian Oil and Gas Giant
World’s largest gas company Gazprom solidified presence in South American market by singing a Memorandum of understanding with Brazilian company Petrobras, one of the largest gas producers in the region and the owner of the local oil and gas transportation systems. The Memorandum was signed in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. The document puts emphasis on technological cooperation as well as on collaborative efforts in offshore field development and liquefied natural gas production. The companies also aim to launch mutually beneficial projects in hydrocarbon exploration, production and transmission in South America.
Russia and Japan to strengthen partnership in energy sector
Japanese authorities expressed their interest in buying pipeline gas from Sakhalin-1 energy project on Monday during Russian Government’s delegation’s official visit to Tokyo as a part of the ongoing discussion on a broad range of energy issues. Foreign minister Taro Aso told Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko Japan would also look into the possibility of acquiring LNG from Sakhalin-1 project, reports Reuters. The agency stated the project is under pressure to switch to LNG, natural gas chilled to liquid state for transportation, as Asian end users often lack facilities to accept natural gas.
Russia and Japan to strengthen partnership in energy sector
Japanese authorities expressed their interest in buying pipeline gas from Sakhalin-1 energy project on Monday during Russian Government’s delegation’s official visit to Tokyo as a part of the ongoing discussion on a broad range of energy issues. Foreign minister Taro Aso told Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko Japan would also look into the possibility of acquiring LNG from Sakhalin-1 project, reports Reuters. The agency stated the project is under pressure to switch to LNG, natural gas chilled to liquid state for transportation, as Asian end users often lack facilities to accept natural gas.
