Oil Briefs

Abu Dhabi, Qatar offer full volume
Singapore - Middle East producers Abu Dhabi and Qatar have granted South Korean buyers full crude volumes for lifting in November, traders said yesterday, reports Reuters. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) told buyers they would receive full contract volumes next month, scrapping cuts of five to seven per cent on Umm Shaiff and Upper Zakum crudes, respectively, in October, traders said.

There would be no reductions to Murban and Lower Zakum deliveries, unchanged from October, they said. Japanese lifters also received notice of full November crude supplies from the two producers on Tuesday. "We were not expecting this.

They have given us no explanation," one buyer in South Korea said. The extra barrels came as the Asian crude market remained weighed down by plentiful supplies and waning demand. Many spot crude cargoes have had trouble finding homes, including many Abu Dhabi grades. Qatar has been supplying full volumes to Korean buyers since August. Abu Dhabi, through the UAE, and Qatar are members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), which has been reining in production for most of the year to bolster oil prices.

Cosmo plans to pare throughput
Tokyo. - Japan's Cosmo Oil Co Ltd said yesterday it planned to cut crude throughput in the October-March period by four per cent from the same period a year earlier, reports Reuters. Cosmo Oil, Japan's third-largest oil refiner by domestic sales, does not disclose details of the volume of crude it processes. Cosmo said on Wednesday that crude output in the October-December period would be around the same level from last year.
However, output in the fourth quarter of last year was already especially low due to maintenance closures. Other major Japanese refiners have also announced plans to cut crude throughput for the rest of the year citing poor market conditions and weak demand for petroleum products.

PTTEP finds gas in Arthit blocks
Bangkok - Thai upstream oil and gas firm PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) said yesterday it had found gas in three of its concession blocks in the Gulf of Thailand's Arthit field, reports Reuters.

PTTEP said its first drilling campaign in seven exploratory wells, indicated a possible total gas flow rate of 114 million cubic feet per day and condensate of 1677 barrels per day. "These successful discoveries have proven the petroleum potential for this area," PTTEP said in a note to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

"Thus, PTTEP will plan for additional drilling activities after completing the second drilling campaign in order to further evaluate the prospect of Arthit," the note said. PTTEP only gave drilling results for five wells — Arthit 16-2X, 16-3X, 14-1X, 14-2x and 14-3X. The firm declared Arthit 14-2X non-commercial. PTTEP has an 80 per cent interest in the Arthit Project, while Unocal Thailand has a 16 per cent interest and Mitsui Oil exploration has a four per cent interest.

BP to pay $36m to settle dispute
Los Angeles - BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc has agreed to pay $36 million to settle a dispute over income taxes the state of Alaska claimed was owed by Arco Alaska Inc, Governor Tony Knowles said on Wednesday, reports Reuters. The disputed taxes are for the years 1994 through 1998, Knowles said.

BP acquired Atlantic Richfield, Arco Alaska's parent company, last year. As part of that deal, BP sold Arco's Alaska assets to Phillips Petroleum but agreed to resolve outstanding Alaska income tax liabilities. Terms of the settlement were confidential, in keeping with Alaska law, officials said. "I appreciate BP's willingness to come to the table to resolve this matter and I am pleased with the terms of this settlement," Knowles said in a news release. BP agreed to pay the $36 million by Wednesday, Knowles said.

BP reformer in Yorktown down
New York - A BP reformer that processes high octane gasolines at its 56,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Yorktown, Virginia, is down, a company source said yesterday, reports Reuters. "It's just the reformer," the source said, denying market rumours that the entire refinery would be down until Monday for unknown reasons. No further information was available. The refinery has a reforming capacity of 10,800 bpd, and the plant has been troubled by unplanned mechanical problems after a fire in early June. A BP official said the company does not comment on day-to-day operations.

GdF arm plans big in E. Germany
Frankfurt - The German subsidiary of Gaz de France (GdF) plans to bolster its activities in the eastern German region by transferring a newly acquired majority share in a local firm to its Berlin-based partner Gasag.

A Gaz de France spokeswoman in Berlin told Reuters yesterday that GdF was preparing to complete the transfer of its stake in gas company EMB (just under 80 per cent) to Gasag early next year. "Through the move, we plan to build up Gasag as our main partner in the region," GdF spokeswoman Irina Thiele said from Berlin. "Gasag will become the main bridgehead for our gas activities in eastern Germany."

Gasag, where Gaz de France in 1998 bought a 31.57 per cent stake, with its 700,000 retail customers and roughly one billion marks of annual turnover, is Germany's biggest municipal gas distributor. Gaining control of Potsdam-based EMB through GdF — a move which is still subject to regulatory approval — would be Gasag's first major venture outside Berlin.

Enap to focus on South America
Santiago - Chile's state-owned oil company Enap, a net importer of crude, said it aims to concentrate its operations in South America in order to guarantee a steady supply for its domestic refining capacity.

"To achieve that goal, we need to keep investing. That is why we have petroleum explorations in Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Egypt," Enap Chief Executive Officer Daniel Fernandez told Reuters in an interview. Chile, which imports 85 per cent of its annual fuel needs, is vulnerable to oil price fluctuations in world markets which are transferred directly to consumers.

Enap took a step closer to its goal Tuesday when it bought a large share in Argentine oil company Pecom Energia as well as its 13.79 per cent stake in port terminal Terminales Maritimas Patagonicas for a total of $125 million. "This is the second major move we've made in Argentina this year, after we started operations on a Repsol-YPF platform," Fernandez said, adding, "the Pecom Energia move is meant to consolidate our position in Argentina."