Yogi,
Nice link. I used it to screen some of my current investments. I might think about dumping some of them as a result.
Interesting news story.
NW
U.S. Oil Wants Saudi Presence
.c The Associated Press
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Energy Secretary Bill Richardson headed Thursday for Saudi Arabia, where he hopes to advance talks on getting U.S. oil companies back into the kingdom.
Richardson said one priority of his three-day visit will be to boost the idea of American companies again becoming involved in Saudi Arabia's energy exploration and production.
''If my trip moves the process forward, it will be a successful trip,'' Richardson told reporters before departing.
Facing economic pressures because of low oil prices, the Saudi government last September began discussing with seven U.S. oil companies the possibility of renewed American involvement in the kingdom's oil and gas exploration and development. No U.S. company has been involved in such activities since the kingdom nationalized its oil industry in 1973.
Richardson will be the first energy secretary to visit Saudi Arabia since 1990, a fact he has characterized as unusual since the kingdom has the world's largest oil reserves and is the No. 2 exporter of oil to the United States. Venezuela exports the most oil to the United States.
The secretary said he will discuss ''a broad range of bilateral interests'' with Saudi Petroleum Minister Ali al-Naimi. ''These discussions underscore the importance of the kingdom and our bilateral relationship to energy security and stability worldwide.''
Richardson met with al-Naimi and with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah last September in Washington.
During that visit, the crown prince quietly met with executives from seven major U.S. oil companies to explore ways the Americans might invest in the kingdom's oil industry. Industry experts expect these discussions to continue for a year or more.
The Saudi overture caught many in the U.S. oil industry by surprise.
Saudi Arabia has been hit hard by the free fall of worldwide oil prices and the drop in demand from Asia because of that region's economic downturn. With declining oil revenues, the kingdom's budget was expected to report as much as a $15 billion deficit for 1998, some analysts say.
As a result, the Saudis for the first time are considering long-term capital investment by American oil companies in the kingdom's oil industry.
Those who met with Abdullah last September included senior executives from Mobil Corp., Exxon Corp., Texaco Inc., Chevron Corp., Atlantic Richfield Co., Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Co.
AP-NY-02-04-99 1542EST |
