Resent articles by the "APS Review Gas Market Trends" from The Free Libraryhttp://www.thefreelibrary.comen-usFarlex, Inc.Wed, 6 Jan 2010 06:43:22 GMT360http://www.thefreelibrary.comhttp://www.thefreelibrary.com/_/static/TFLbyFarlex.gif17565Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Saudi+Firm+In+Russian+Infrastructure+JV.-a0215406887
Prince Saud ibn Mansour al-Saud, a businessman member of the royal family, is investing in a project in the Russian Urals focusing on transport and power generation. His Dubai-based Novaar Capital Management will invest through a JV with the state-owned Ural Industrial-Ural Polar. The projects are in an area which produces two-thirds of Russia's crude oil and almost half its metals....]]>Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Saudi-China+Business+Partnership.-a0215406886
It was not until a few years ago that Saudi Arabia put China high on the list of its preferred trading partners. Today, with China consuming almost 8m b/d of crude oil - second only to the US - the business partnership between Riyadh and Beijing is among the top three in the world for Saudi Arabia. It will not take long for China to become Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner. The...]]>Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Saudi+Aramco+Shifts+To+Integrated+Downstream+JVs+%26+Diverse+Feedstock...-a0215406885
November 2009 marked a milestone in Saudi Aramco's evolution from an E&P giant to a fully integrated oil, gas and petrochemicals group. On Nov. 8, the inauguration of PetroRabigh - one of several integrated refining and petrochemicals JVs Saudi Aramco is developing - was a key moment in its ambitions to extend its downstream activities beyond oil refining.

Along-side...]]>Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+Saudi+Liquidity+Was+Boosted.-a0215406884
Riyadh, however, has been warned that its full compliance with an OPEC-set crude oil production quota of 8m b/d will result in under-performing domestic growth in 2010. With its economy still almost entirely dependent on oil for revenues, the kingdom was never going to avoid the effects of the global recession.

At its height, in February 2009, oil-dependent economies such as...]]>Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Kuwait+Is+Behind+In+Production+Of+Non-Associated+Gas.-a0215068319
Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC), the local E&P armed of the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) is 18 months behind schedule in its development of the Sabriya and Umm Niqa fields of non-associated gas, which was supposed to produce 1,000 MCF/ day of gas and over 300,000 b/d of condensate. Now, these fields are only producing 175 MCF/day of gas and 50,000 b/d of condensate.

The...]]>Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Saudi+Arabia+Leads+A+GCC+Focus+On+Gas+E%26P+Amid+Mounting+Domestic...-a0215068318
*** Kuwait Production Of Non-Associated Gas From Sabriya And Umm Niqa is 18 Months Behind Schedule, And The Output Is Limited To 175 MCF/Day Because Of Engineering Problems At The Processing Plant *** But The Cost Of Development Project, To Produce 1,000 MCF Per Day, Has Fallen From $8Bn In Fiscal 2007/08 To About $6Bn

*** Saudi Production Of Petrochemicals Will Rise From 60M...]]>Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Qatar's+Focus+On+China.-a0214471241
In November 2009, QP announced that it and its foreign partners had signed a term deal to export 5m t/y of LNG with two state-owned Chinese firms: 3m t/y to China National Offshore Oil Co (CNOOC) from 2013 and boost sales to PetroChina by 2m t/y in the first half of the next decade. The deals were in addition to a contract signed in 2008 between QatarGas and CNOOC for 2m t/y over 25...]]>Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hamad+Tells+GECF+Conf+He+Wants+The+LNG%2fOil+Price+Link+To+Become...-a0214471240
Opening the 9th ministerial conference of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in his capital, Doha, Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa on Dec. 9 said the link of gas prices to those of crude oil was loosened in late 2008 as a US financial melt-down turned into a global recession.

The gist of his address was that the link must be made structural and he wants the GECF to...]]>Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Qatar+Navigates+Through+An+LNG+Glut+With+Increased+Sales+%26+Marketing...-a0214471239
*** Repsol/YPF's CEO Antonio Brufau Says World LNG Supplies Will Out-Strip Demand Until 2013, Adding: Primary Gas Consumption's Share In The Energy Matrix Is Expected To Be Stable Or Rising In The Next 25 Years, At Around 22%; Historically That Share In The Matrix Has Never Stopped Rising'; The Global Economic Crisis Has Temporarily Depressed World Use Of Natural Gas At A Time...]]>Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+The+Political+Leadership.-a0214471211
President Chavez remains popular among the poor and the Marxist revolutionaries and keeps winning enemies among the middle and upper classes and the educated people, not only in Venezuela but throughout the Latin American world. But the gap between his image as a Bolivarian hero and that of his authoritarian style of rule in Venezuela, which narrowed considerably during the oil boom in...]]>Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Felix+Rodriguez.-a0214471210
In the January 2005 boardroom reshuffle, Rodriguez was removed as PDVSA vice president for E&P - a post then given to Luis Vierma). Because of his loyalty to President Chavez, Rodriguez was given the post of president of Citgo, where he succeeded Luis Marin, who had held that job since mid-2003.

As PDVSA vice president for E&P, Rodriguez had been blamed for delays...]]>Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Alejandro+Granado.-a0214471209
The President and CEO of Citgo Petroleum Corp (Citgo) since early 2008, Granado took up this post from Felix Rodriguez. Until then, Granado was PDVSA's vice-president in charge of refining; and as such in 2007 he managed to get a major financial allocation to fund a further upgrading of the country's oil refineries. Among other projects in the PDVSA system in Venezuela ordered...]]>Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Bernard+Mommer.-a0214471208
Venezuela's OPEC governor since early September 2008, Mommer was until then vice-minister for petroleum and external director on PDVSA's board. Mommer is one of the architects of the nationalisations. In 1999 he played a key role in the measures which led to the dismantling of the 1990s "aperture" (E&P opening to IOCs).

Mommer holds a masters degree in mathematics and a...]]>Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Ivan+Orellana.-a0214471207
A long-serving executive in the petroleum industry, Orellana is deputy minister for hydrocarbons at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. He took up this post in early September 2008. Until then, he was Venezuela's OPEC governor, a post assumed by Bernard Mommer (see below).

Orellana is also an external director on PDVSA's board. From 2005 to 2007, he was director-general...]]>Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Asdrubal+Chavez.-a0214471206
PDVSA's vice-president for refining, marketing and supply/sales, and related logistics including maritime shipping, Asdrubal is a cousin of President Chavez. He has been retained in this key position and on PDVSA's board since 2005.

Asdrubal graduated as a chemical engineer from Venezuela's Universidad de Los Andes in 1979. He joined the petroleum industry in 1979 at...]]>Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Venezuelan+Decision+Makers+-+Eulogio+Del+Pino.-a0214471205
PDVSA's Vice-President for E&P and the second ranking member of PDVSA's board, Del Pino is also president of Corporacion Venezolana de Petroleo (CVP) - the PDVSA unit which holds the state's assets in all upstream petroleum JVs in which foreign and private companies are involved as partners. He had been president of CVP before he was promoted to the post of vice-president...]]>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/LNG+Export+Projects+-+Chevron%2c+ENI+%26+Gazprom%2c+Qatari%2c+Japanese+%26...-a0212699235
PDVSA in October 2009 said it had signed JV accords with IOCs since 2008 for three LNG trains, each with a capacity of 4.7m t/y, at the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho industrial complex (Cigma) in the eastern state of Sucre. It said all three trains were scheduled for commissioning by 2014.

However, Petroleum Argus on Oct. 26, 2009, reported that development of essential...]]>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Brazil+Deals.-a0212699234
Presidents Lula and Chavez on Jan. 18, 2007, signed a protocol covering the planned pipeline. They signed protocols covering a heavy oil project in Venezuela's Orinoco Basin and the offshore Mariscal Sucre Gas Project, which was to involve the state-run Petrobras. The accords were signed in Rio de Janeiro after a meeting between the two presidents. They were participating in a...]]>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Algeria%2fVenezuela+LNG+%26+Pipeline+Ideas.-a0212699233
Sonatrach CEO Mohamed Meziane in October 2009 said the Algerian state energy group was in talks with PDVSA over a JV in two LNG projects and plans to boost expansion abroad. He added: "We reformulated the question of our participation in these projects. During his last visit to Algeria, Chavez said he wanted to see Sonatrach participate in the Venezuelan gas sector'"....]]>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+World+Gas+Grouping.-a0212699232
Inter Press Service (IPS) on Aug. 1, 2007, quoted former PDVSA head Luis Giusti as saying a cartel of gas producers like OPEC, an idea floated by Algeria, Iran, Russia, Venezuela and others, remained a distant possibility due to the nature of the market. He said: "It's not at all feasible this decade or the next; perhaps in the distant future, but even then only for liquefied...]]>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/1st+South+American+Energy+Summit.-a0212699231
Chavez hosted the first South American Energy Summit, which ended on April 17, 2007, with agreements to create a regional energy council and to re-baptise a fledgling effort at continental integration, with the Latin American gas pipeline proposed by Caracas to be a key part of this. But the event ended without a final declaration which, traditional at high-level conclaves.

...]]>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/TransCaribbean+Gas+P%2fL+Now+Idle.-a0212699230
Presidents Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, Chavez, and Rafael Correa of Ecuador in October 2007 inaugurated the 215-km initial phase of the TransCaribbean gas pipeline in Ballenas (Colombia). By 2011 this was to be reversed to pump Venezuelan gas to Columbia.

All three presidents then took turns to open the filling valve of the Antonio Ricaurte phase of the pipeline which...]]>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Chavez+Gas+Revolution+Is+Still+Pending.-a0212699229
In one of his Sunday TV and radio shows, Alo Presidente, Chavez on Sept. 16, 2007, announced plans for a "Natural Gas Revolution" as part of a national development strategy for national development. But not much has happened since then, with the country's current energy crisis badly affecting its industries. The plan was to consist of ten major industrial projects across Venezuela to...]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Belorusneft.-a0212227798
The Energy and Petroleum Ministry in 2007 extended the oil exploitation agreement with Byelorussia through their Bielovenezolana JV of PDVSA and state-owned Belorusneft. It said Bielovenezolana was to be allocated new exploitation blocks and will operate the Oritupano Norte oilfields, which include an area of 209.60 sq km between Pedro Maria Freites in Anzoategui state and...]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Gazprom+Operations.-a0212227797
In early 2009, Gazprom and PDVSA signed an agreement for the Russian giant to explore the offshore Blanquilla Oeste y Tortuga block, which is said to be rich in natural gas. On Oct. 2, 2008, it was reported that PDVSA had offered Gazprom the Ballena field in Plataforma Deltana's Block-4 as well as the development of Block-5 in the same region.

In September 2008, a Gazprom...]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+PetroVietnam.-a0212227796
CVP in May 2009 said it had received permission to set up a JV with the state-owned PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corp to explore and exploit the 248 sq km block called Junin-2 in the Orinoco Belt. Under a decree published in the Venezuelan official gazette on May 21, the JV named PetroMacareo SA, is also allowed to process heavy and extra heavy crude oil to be pumped...]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+PetroCumarebo+Gas+JV.-a0212227795
PetroFalcon Corp in August 2007 announced its 40%-owned JV, PetroCumarebo, had begun gas production from the La Vela field in the East Falcon Block. In early 2008, PetroCumarebo began producing gas from a nearby field, Cumarebo.

PetroCumarebo now is delivering about 35 MCF/d into PDVSA's Inter-connection Centro Occidente (ICO) pipeline, which transports the natural gas to...]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Japanese+Operations.-a0212227794
Teikoku Oil of Japan in 2006 converted two oil projects to gas - Gas Guarico and Petroguarico. Now Teikoku Oil is part of Inpex Corp, the largest E&P company in Japan. Unlike private oil operations, granted by a business-friendly government in the 1990s in a process which Chavez claims broke the law, the government in 1999 opened the gas industry to private investment in a campaign...]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Chevron+Operations.-a0212227793
Chevron produces 60,000 b/d of crude oil, down from more than 100,000 b/d in 2005, as the operator of the Boscan and LL-652 oilfields. Both are in western Venezuela. Chevron is one of the first IOCs to have agreed to convert its OSA for these fields to JVs. Chevron has made a major gas find in the gas-rich Plataforma Deltana, an offshore area adjacent to the border with Trinidad...]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Venezuela+-+Total+Operations.-a0212227792
Total, an oil producer in Venezuela, together with Repsol/YPF and their partners in the Yucal-Placer fields, produces about 200 MCF/d. Yucal-Placer's production began in late 2003. Total leads a consortium for Yucal-Placer, but Repsol has played a key role in the pricing negotiations with PDVSA in view of its strong position in Venezuela. Located in the central state of Guarico, 100...]]>