Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : The Naked Truth - Big Kahuna a Myth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: NickSE who wrote (76518)	11/21/1999 7:25:00 PM
From: flatsville	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86076

Nick--FWIW greenspun.com Get set for oil market FIREWORKS. Iraq rejects terms for further oil sales. ----------- Oil prices are gonna be up through the roof tonight on NYMEX Access and in the regular trading session tomorrow. Because the UN Sec Council was unable to come to terms with the French and the Russians on putting a lid on the rollover of the 6 month Iraqi oil for food deal, a stop gap two week Iraqi oil sale deal was approved on Friday. On Sat Iraq rejected this deal and said they're gonna stop loading tankers as soon as those currently in port are done. (Could someone link in the appropriate stories. Por favor.) So a big Bravo for our resident oilmeister - Gordo Gecko. His contentions that Hussein is taking big Brent positions and then is gonna capitalize on all this y2k mess by throwing a monkey wrench into the UN oil for food deal just took on increased credibility. This is the first time in three years the Iraqi oil export program is gonna be seriously suspended. Hussein knows a monkey wrench in oil markets right now will extend to a big disruption of our stock markets and western economies. Considering how tight oil markets are, rachet y2k related chaos up another few knotches. Things are gonna get real interesting. If we lose Iraq's 3 million barrels a day we'll be up through $30 by the end of the week. Sell the SUV and get the ol' bike out. Got length (oil market)? Got shorts (stock market)? -- Downstreamer (downstream@bigfoot.com), November 21, 1999 news.excite.com This could get interesting sooner rather than later, eh?

To: NickSE who wrote (76518)	11/21/1999 7:29:00 PM
From: accountclosed	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 86076

ummm countdown grub.

To: NickSE who wrote (76518)	11/22/1999 12:23:00 PM
From: flatsville	Respond to of 86076

Nick--FYI Fair Use/etc... Gulf Oil Giants Brace for Y2K Showdown Updated 9:20 AM ET November 22, 1999 Michael Georgy DUBAI (Reuters) - Giant Gulf oil producers are scrambling to exterminate the Year 2000 millennium bug with no guarantees that they will be able to thwart the potential computer glitch from sabotaging millions of dollars in exports. From Saudi Arabia -- the world's biggest exporter -- to smaller Gulf oil countries like Oman, state firms seem confident they will keep the oil flowing. But experts say Gulf states, which sit on nearly half of the world's oil reserves, cannot afford to let their guard down in the countdown to 2000. Industries around the globe are bracing for a potential coding glitch that could cause computers and embedded chips to misread 2000 for 1900, threatening economic chaos. SAUDI ARABIA BEST PREPARED A U.S. Senate report on the Y2K status of oil imports based on data from information technology research firm Gartner Group (IT.N) put Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the "high risk of disruption" category. It left a question mark over Iraq. But experts say OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia appears to be in the strongest position to combat the bug in the region. The kingdom has turned to the Internet to highlight efforts to keep its crude moving, detailing everything from contingency plans to external and third party interface strategy. "Saudi Aramco acknowledges that there remains a risk of Year 2000 associated business interruptions. To meet this challenge, the company must be prepared to manage the risk," the state oil firm said on its regularly updated Y2K Web site. Oil experts said Saudi Arabia could always draw on its vast worldwide oil resources to cope with any Y2K problems. "The Saudis have got so much excess capacity that even if there were some problems I can't see anything but a temporary problem," said Mehdi Varzi of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. "They have got tens of millions of barrels stored outside Saudi Arabia. This tends to minimize fears," he added. IRAQI OIL INDUSTRY EXPOSED Kuwait has said it conducted successful tests for the smooth running of oil exports but diplomats have said its Y2K compliance program appeared to face delays earlier this year. The picture is not so reassuring elsewhere in the Gulf. Iraq, currently the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) third largest producer, may be forced to shut down production because it is not prepared to deal with Y2K. An industry source in Baghdad has said Iraqi oil officials wanted to avoid the heavy cost of tackling the Y2K problem. That could mean fresh pressure on Iraq's oil industry, which is cranking up output despite eight years of crippling U.N. sanctions imposed after Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait in 1990. Major importers like the United States, dependent on Gulf oil, are not taking any chances. They are expected to stock up on supplies ahead of the New Year. U.S. oil companies that have made fortunes in the Gulf have spent years and millions of dollars preparing for Y2K. "We conducted tests in our operations in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar and we are in good shape," said a Chevron Corp (CHV.N) official based in the Gulf. SMALL PRODUCERS HIT Y2K BATTLEFIELD The region's smaller oil producers have also enlisted in the fight against the millennium bug. OPEC's smallest producer Qatar, which sits on the world's third largest gas reserves, said it is Y2K ready. "All systems and equipment have been made Y2K compliant and now the certification process is on," said a Qatar General Petroleum Corp official. Non-OPEC medium producer Oman has turned to Royal Dutch/Shell (RD.AS) (SHEL.L) to spearhead its Y2K program. "We are faced by the challenge of interrupted production and exports of Oman's crude oil in the face of the millennium bug. The whole economy of the country could be in a shamble if we don't get it right," said Lot Bouma, Petroleum Development Oman's Computing and Communications Director. Hard facts on exactly what preparations have been made and how much money has been spent on Y2K compliance efforts in the Gulf is difficult to obtain. Iran is one of the world's biggest producers but its computer systems are old, raising questions about how vulnerable OPEC's second largest producer will be to the millennium bug. The head of the country's Y2K compliance program has said Iran's two newest refineries at Bandar Abbas and Arak face possible disruptions but other complexes are not vulnerable because they do not have date-embedded computer systems. "It's so difficult to know the honest answer. My only view on the Iranian side is that not all the industry has been fully computerized, only in the past year or two," said Dresdner Kleinwort Benson's Varzi. "Until now a lot of the oil well logging is done by hand. I don't think Iran has too much to worry about also because it has 30 million odd barrels stored in Gulf tankers ready to go." Some Middle East oil veterans are playing down the computer glitch issue. "These countries have an amazing ability to fix things when they go wrong. It could cause some hiccups but I am sure they will take care of it," said a U.S. oil executive.