Oil & gas news

Ernst & Young clinches Oil Fund audit

(AssA-Irada, May 1) - Ernst & Young has completed auditing the financial performance of the Azerbaijan State Oil Fund, as it reported no irregularities. The oil fund is $500 million rich at present, but its expenses made up $34,461,000 last year.

Revenues of the fund are estimated to be $181,593,000 this year, while the outlays will reportedly constitute $31,572,000.

Int'l oil, oil products quoting

(AssA-Irada, May 3) - Platt's European Marketscan has issued FOB MED (Italy) quoting of oil products on international markets. Under the quoting, a metric ton of non-ethyl gasoline reported $254.51, raw gasoline - $213.95, aviation fuel - $207.71, diesel fuel - $193.60, and sulphurous heating oil - $134.50.

A barrel of Brent oil represented $25.65 and Ural (MED) $23.91 in Platt's Oil Marketwire.

New well on Hovsan-2

(AssA-Irada, May 6) - New well #1851 has been commissioned on the Hovsan-2 field, yielding an oil gusher of 45 tons a day from the depth of 4203-4218 meters in the Kalin Suite. The onshore well is perched outside Hovsan settlement of Baku, according to SOCAR. The commissioning has enhanced daily output volume of Gum Adasi production unit by 10%

The well had been out of drilling for over 40 years. Geologists predict that the field's eastern wing contain oil in other reservoirs that will be developed by Azeri oilmen.

Another well #1852 is being bored on the field.

Russian gas supplies to be suspended in mid-May

(AssA-Irada, May 1) - The planned weeklong suspension of Russian gas supplies to Azerbaijan is not expected to affect energy provision of the country, Azerenergy joint stock company quoted its Central Dispatcher Department as saying.

The gas supplies will be switched off to Azerbaijan on May 12-19 due to repair and maintenance work in Russia's gas pipelines in what is said to be a provisional suspension. Getting earlier warning, Azerenergy is taking measures to preclude a critical situation in the energy sector. Thus, the power stations in Azerbaijan will temporarily work on heating oil, the JSC reported.

Azeri power plants shifted to operation on heating oil on April 8-15, when Russian gas imports were suspended for prophylactic work. Then, it didn't inflict any impact on the country's energy provision.

Azerneftyag exports 98,434 tons of oil products

(AssA-Irada, May 2) - Azerneftyag state-run production association exported 98,434 tons of oil products totaling $13.5 million in April. These were 52,436 tons of diesel fuel, 596 tons of bitumen, 419 tons of Oka-15 oil, and 983 tons of heating oil. Azerneftyag exported 202,405 tons of diesel fuel, 168 tons of motor oil, 1227 tons of bitumen, 837 tons of Oka-15 oil, 109 tons of M14V2 oil, and 301,188 tons of heating oil in the four months of 2002. A total of 505,935 tons of oil products worth $58 million were exported in January-April.

SOCAR fulfills April's oil plan, fails gas

(AssA-Irada, May 2) - SOCAR produced 733,000 tons of oil instead of the planned 726,700 tons in April of 2002, fulfilling the projection by 100.9%. It extracted 604,500 tons of oil offshore (100% of the plan) and 65,700 tons onshore (103.8%).

But, the state oil company failed April's gas plan, producing 418,400,0 cubic meters against the plan of 426,100,000 cubic meters (98.2%). 326,500,000 cubic meters of gas were extracted offshore (97.4%) and 12,100,000 onshore (102.5%).

The AIOC produced 71,800,000 cubic meters of gas (98.2% of the plan).

In April, joint ventures extracted 62,800 tons of oil and 8,000,000 cubic meters of gas onshore.

BUE Engineering, KNF Shipyard upgrading derrick barge

(AssA-Irada, May 4) - BUE Engineering in alliance with KNF Shipyard is currently working on the upgrade of the Azerbaijan derrick barge for Saipem as part of the AIOC Full Field Development project. The personnel of the two companies have been awarded with Outstanding Safety Performance certificates. The project is scheduled to be completed around the end of May. BUE Engineering and KNF Shipyard are also carrying out the dry-dock works on the Husseinov pipelay barge for McDermotts.

93,000 tons of oil products exported in April

(AssA-Irada, May 1) - 1,137,000 tons of crude was dispatched to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in the first four months of 2002 and 269,000 tons in April, according to the SOCAR foreign economic relations department.

The department exported 284,000 tons of oil products in January-April and 93,000 tons in April of this year. Among the oil products were 12,000 tons of automobile gasoline, 40,000 tons of diesel fuel, 32,000 tons of aviation kerosene, 201 tons of butane, and 7,000 tons of coke.

Shell profits almost halved

(BBC, May 2) - Oil giant Shell has seen a big dip in its profits in the first three months of the financial year.

But even though its adjusted net earnings fell by 48%, the group still managed to make a profit of $2bn (Ј1.3bn). The company blamed the drop in earnings on lower oil and gas prices and weak demand.

The oil products part of the business, which includes the petrol forecourts, saw the sharpest fall.

Prices rising

Shell reported profits of $441m (Ј301m) compared to $958m (Ј654m) for the same period last year.

The economic slowdown in the United States has had a marked effect on demand. And oil prices have been rising as tensions in the Middle East have escalated.

Shell said: "The outlook for oil prices is dependent on the speed of economic recovery in the USA and developments in the Middle East".

Dismal figures

The City was relieved that Shell had managed to produce profits close to analysts' highest predictions and the share price immediately rose.

Last week Shell's rival BP reported that its profits had plunged by more than half to $1.58bn (Ј1.1bn).

Just as with Shell, those figures were marginally better than expected, prompting investors to snap up BP shares. London's City had expected poor results from the two oil giants after the world's largest oil firm, US-based ExxonMobil, reported some dismal figures.

Shell shares closed up 3.6% higher at 498 pence.

Iraq to resume oil exports

(BBC, May 5) - Iraq has said it will resume oil exports this week, ending its one-month protest against Israel's recent offensive in Palestinian areas.

The country's cabinet announced it would begin exporting oil again at midnight on 7 May - 30 days after it had urged other oil-rich Arab states to join its protest.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had called on Arab oil-producers to cut output by 50% and cease all exports to the United States and Israel. Baghdad had stopped its oil exports - about 2 million barrels per day - on April 8, but no other countries followed suit.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil producer, said it had ruled out using its oil exports as a weapon in the Middle East conflict.

Iran and Libya had expressed support for the idea, but neither country agreed to cut its exports.

In a statement shown Sunday on state-run Iraqi TV, the country's cabinet acknowledged that "brotherly Arab oil producers did not respond to the Iraqi initiative by taking similar steps such that everyone would succeed."

Baghdad still faces international economic sanctions for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, but is allowed to export oil under a UN humanitarian food-for-oil program. When Iraq announced its export ban in April, it said it would last until Israel pulled out of the Palestinian territories.

Although the Israeli army has since withdrawn from some areas, it remains in Bethlehem and incursions continue in other areas of the West Bank.

Onshore oil production 6% below 2001

(AssA-Irada, May 7) - Oil and gas producing units have decreased onshore oil production by 6% over four months of this year to first two months in 2001, as slide was observed in all units. The lowest production occurs on the Siyazanoil with 79.5 % to last year, Amirov unit with 84.9 % and Surakhanyoil with 85.4 %. This year the Balakhanyoil unit showed the highest production level, yielding 73,482,377 tons or 98.1 % of last year's mark, making up 28 % of all onshore oil output. Also making progress is the Bibiheybatoil with 41,736,471 tons or 90.6 %, 16 % of all onshore production.