LUKoil eyes Iraqi oil
Top energy officials from Iraq and Russia met in Moscow Wednesday to hold talks on the new terms for Russian companies seeking to operate in Iraq.
Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko led officials from a consortium of three Russian companies -- LUKoil, Zarubezhneft and Mashinoimport -- to meet with Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani in a bid to regain access to the country's oil fields, the Moscow Times reported.
Moscow is looking to revive a $4 billion deal to develop the 600,000 barrel-per-day West Qurna field, which was scrapped by Saddam Hussein shortly before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
"Iraq will cooperate with those companies that will propose the best conditions for Iraq, regardless of what countries these companies come from," Shahristani was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
Shahristani said no country would receive preferential treatment in the competition for Iraqi oil assets.
"There will be no privileges for any country or any company," Shahristani said. "LUKoil will be competing with other firms on equal terms in accordance with the new oil laws."
Shahristani said Iraq will consider contracts from LUKoil if it proposes projects that are competitive enough.
CNPC bids $2B for Devon's African assets
China National Petroleum Corp. placed a $2 billion bid for the West African oil and gas assets of U.S.-based Devon Energy Corp., Chinese media reports said.
According to the South China Morning Post, India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. also placed a bid. CNPC, parent of Hong Kong-listed PetroChina, said it had no knowledge of the deal.
"CNPC does not yet have any Nigerian exposure and, given the success of CNOOC's partnership with France's Total, it's good to see CNPC trying to set up a project there," Gordon Kwan, an analyst, was quoted as saying. "More of a Chinese presence there will bring economies of scale between the two companies and there's technology transfer and knowledge to leverage (on)."
Last year, China National Offshore Oil Corp. acquired a 40 percent stake in an oil and gas deposit off the Nigerian coast called OML 130. Total holds 30 percent, while Nigeria's state oil firm owns the rest.
S. Korea to boost oil, gas reserves
South Korea plans to increase its oil and gas output to 28 percent within the next nine years by expanding offshore production, the government said.
The plan calls for the government to raise its mid-term production capacity goal of all gas and crude to 20 percent from 18 percent by 2013, while boosting its self-sufficiency rate to 50 percent for soft coal and 30 percent for iron ore, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said.
The Korea Herald reported the government outlined its goals Tuesday as it seeks to become more self-sufficient.
Until last year, the country's self-sufficiency rate stood at 3.2 percent. It produced 34 million barrels of oil and gas at its overseas facilities, compared with imports of 1.09 billion barrels.
Vice Energy Minister Lee Jae hoon said the government will invest to improve technological capabilities at the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. in order to achieve this goal.
"At present, the KNOC's technical levels are rated as being 50 to 60 percent of what major multinational oil companies are capable of," Lee said. "The state-run company is thought to be outside the global top 100 in terms of overall size and capability."
The government said it will also invest more in training experts in energy exploration and development. Korea has about 540 specialists, much lower than the average 3,300 people that an oil company ranking among the world's top 50 employs, Lee was cited as saying by the Korea Herald.
--
Closing oil prices, Aug. 9, 3 p.m. London
Brent crude oil: $71.13
West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $72.15
--
(e-mail: [email protected])
