UPI Energy Watch

Reliance mulls selling fuel in U.S., Europe

India's Reliance Industries is exploring options of marketing fuel in the United States and Europe on its own from the existing Jamnagar refinery and a new unit to be commissioned next year, Asia Pulse reported.

Reliance is exploring options of direct entry into the U.S. and European markets either by selling fuel directly to retailers or setting up its own retail chain.

"All options are being explored. Nothing has been finalized as yet," company said.

Currently, Reliance exports 80 percent of the fuel from its existing 6,60,000 barrels per day refinery to traders, who in turn sell the fuel to different markets in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. About 4 million to 5 million tons of petrol and a small quantity of aviation turbine fuel finds it way to the United States, it said.

The company's new export-oriented 580,000 barrels per day refinery, in which Chevron has a 5-percent stake, is to be commissioned by end-2008. Reliance Petroleum, a subsidiary of RIL, is setting up the refinery adjacent to the existing unit.

LUKoil's impasse with Turkmenistan on Caspian

LUKoil jointly with U.S. partner ConocoPhillips continues to hold talks with Turkmen officials on entry into a number of oil and gas projects in the Central Asian republic, the company said in a statement.

So far no agreements have been reached, a LUKoil official said.

Last Wednesday Lukoil board member Richard Matske told reporters that LUKoil had signed a preliminary agreement with Turkmenistan on development of three blocks on the Caspian shelf.

In September LUKoil President Vagit Alekperov expressed the hope that contracts on development of three promising hydrocarbon blocks on the Turkmen shelf would be signed before the end of the year.

In November LUKoil Vice President Leonid Fedun told the journal Expert: "I hope that in the next few days we will announce the signing of a production-sharing agreement on one of those projects."

It is anticipated that LUKoil and ConocoPhillips will participate in the Turkmen shelf projects on a parity basis.

Gazprom buys share in a fourth North Sea block

ZMB GmbH, the operating company of Gazprom's European holding, GAZPROM Germania GmbH, has purchased a 25 percent interest in the 44/19c license block in the U.K. sector of the North Sea, according to information from the British Department of Trade and Industry.

The property is Gazprom's fourth in North Sea exploration projects (Germany's Wintershall is the operator of all of them). The concern also has a 25 percent interest in block 44/19a, 20 percent in block 44.24b and 25 percent in the Norwegian sector of the sea.

The makeup of the participants at 44/19a and 44/19c is identical: Wintershall Noordzee (40 percent), Noble Energy (Europe) Limited (25 percent) and EWE Oil & Gas Limited (10 percent) and ZMB (25 percent). At Middelie, Wintershall, ZMB, and Dyas are participating.

Gazprom has so far made no announcement of any commercial reserves in the blocks.

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Closing oil prices, Dec. 14, 3 p.m. London

Brent crude oil: $92.38

West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $91.43

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(e-mail: energy@upi.com)