Russia to lower oil cess: Russia is considering a cut in oil production excise duties to an average of 45 roubles per tonne from 55 roubles until the end of 1998, a senior government source said last Friday. "Excise duties may be lowered until December 31 by 10roubles to 45 roubles," the source, who declined to be named, told Reuters. "It is not yet clear from what time (this will be introduced)." Moscow excise duties are a major cost for Russian oil producers, and the heads of the country's biggest oil companies have lobbied the government hard for a tax break to help them ride out the slump in world crude oil prices.Ventspils diesel cut in contract row: Key Latvian oil terminal company Ventspils Nafta said last Friday that Russian partner Transnefteprodukt had halted supplies of diesel through Latvia on April 2 in a dispute over contracts and business partnerships. Ventspils said in a statement that Transnefteprodukt, a partner with Ventspils in a pipeline firm called LatRosTrans,stopped diesel supplies after it said there was a lack of contracts between Transnefteprodukt and LatRosTrans. However, Ventspils said the Russian firm was using the diesel cut as a lever to boost its role in the transport and transit sector in Latvia.
IPE gas oil to open steady: IPE May gas oil was expected to open unchanged last Friday with June Brent called up 3-5 cents but the overall tendency was for further pre-weekend gains, brokers said. May gas oil ended on a strong note on Thursday, up $3.75 at $138 a tonne while June Brent settled up some 43 cents at $14.64 a barrel. Prompt Brent was untraded on SIMEX with best bid/offer at $14.60/70 a barrel. On ACCESS May crude last moved up four cents at $15.94 a barrel. "We are expecting a quiet start in a fairly rangebound market," one broker said. "The Iraqis should come out with some statement and that will drive the market higher but the start will be slow with little direction," another said.
Mexico, Venezuela in oil pact: The presidentsof Venezuela and Mexico congratulated themselves last Wednesday for masterminding last month's ground-breaking oil price rescue package but stopped short of any new joint efforts in the energy sector. The presidents of the two biggest oil exporters in the Americas met in Caracas on Wednesday to sign an extradition treaty and a good will statement. The energy document, a draft of which has been obtained by Reuters, is bland when compared to the surprise oil rescue deal negotiated by Venezuela, Mexico and Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on March 22. That secret meeting laid the groundwork for oil production cuts from 17 countries and lifted oil prices by about 20 per cent.
PTTEP in gas sale agreement: Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Plc said last Thursday that it had signed an agreement for gas deliveries from the Thai-Malaysian joint development area scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2002. In a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand PTTEP said it had reached agreement with itsdevelopment partner in blocks B-17 and C-19 of the joint development area to sell gas to Thailand's state owned Petroleum Authority of Thailand and Malaysia's National oil company Petronas. Production in the blocks is controlled by PTTEP and Petronas Carigali which each have a 50 per cent share. The statement added that the first gas delivery under the agreement was expected in the third quarter of 2002 and at a rate of 125 million cubic feet per day (MMSCFD). That would increase to 250 MMSCFD within six months and could rise further if known reserves increase.
Asia fuel oil steady: The Singapore fuel oil prices rose only slightly last Thursday despite a strong rally on crude as concerns grew over the potential shipment of over 800,000 tonnes of Middle East supplies to this region, traders said. Traders said the cargoes which were held under receivership, were in the final stages of negotiations and could be released as early as end April. They said out of the 800,000 tonnes, the fate of about200,000 tonnes has not been decided due to disputes over cargo specifications and other logistical matters.
US westcoast heavy crude jumps: US westcoast heavy crude rose after traders reported higher-priced deals last Wednesday. One refiner sold heavy-grade crude at 0.30 cents a barrel under postings. That followed a string of sales late last week at the same price, oil dealers said. Crude traders and analysts said rising gasoline production has trimmed the excess inventories that pressured prices beginning last autumn. The deals represented a sharp rise for heavy crude, which had been priced at discounts of $1.00 a barrel under WTI earlier this spring.
Polish refiner to cut diesel prices: Poland's second largest refinery, Rafineria Gdanska SA, will lower as of Friday its diesel fuel prices by 30 zlotys per tonne to 1150 zlotys, for delivery by train, the company said in a statement last Thursday. Gdansk said it had no immediate plans to cut its petrol fuel prices.
Ahmadi shutdown toend in April: Kuwait Mina al-Ahmadi's 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude distillation unit (CDU) is due to come back on stream by the end of April, industry officials said last week. Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) Ahmadi refinery, with a sustainable production capacity of 420,000 bpd, had started a 45-day shutdown and maintenance on the CDU in mid-March. Ahmadi is the largest of KNPC's three domestic refineries which have recently raised their total capacity to about 920,000 bpd as part of a plan to reach one million bpd, officialssaid. Shuaiba refinery has in recent weeks returned to its pre-1991 Gulf War production capacity of about 195,000 bpd, the officials added.
Iraq oil exports up in April: Iraq's oil exports under the current United Nations "oil-for-food" deal are scheduled to rise by 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April to 1.58 million bpd, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) reported last week. This would lift Iraq's total oil output to 2.18 million bpd this month comparedwith 1.82 million bpd in March, MEES said. Actual export liftings under the third phase of the deal did not begin until January 15 because of delays in approving the renewal of the UN plan. Iraqi exports during the 16 days in January averaged 900,000 bpd, increasing to 1.12 million bpd in February and 1.22 million bpd in March, MEES reported.
World drug sales up 6 per cent: Pharmaceutical sales in the world's leading markets rose by six per cent in the 12 months to the end of January 1998 to $181 billion, market researcher IMS Global Services said on last Tuesday. North America again led the expansion, rising at 11 per cent to $71 billion, while growth across the main European markets was at four percent in local currencies. Japan continued to decline, with a drop of two per cent in local currency terms. For the first time, the IMS data included figures from three South American states -- Brazil, Argentina and Mexico -- and from Australia and New Zealand.
Crude output starts at SE Gobe:Crude oil production has started at the South East Gobe oil field in Papua New Guinea and should reach an initial production rate of 10,000 barrels a day by mid-May, one of the partners said last Friday. By July, daily output is expected to reach maximum production of 25,000 barrels, the partner, Cue Energy Resources NL, which holds a 2.44 percent stake, said. The SE Gobe oil field lies some 80 km southeast of the existing Kutubu oil fields and straddles two licences, PDL 3 and PDL 4 in PNG's first unitised development.
BHP coal output rises 10 per cent: The Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd said last Friday its coal production in Queensland rose to 21 million tonnes in the 10 months to March, up 10 percent from the same period a year earlier. It said Queensland coal output for the month totalled 2.3 million tonnes, up 17 percent, from 1.97 million a year ago.
(Reuters and agencies)
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
