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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tomas who wrote (1730)	6/24/2000 11:46:00 AM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

Canada oil patch poised for profit gusher - analysts By Jeffrey Jones CALGARY, June 23 (Reuters) - Surging oil and natural gas prices are setting the stage for the richest financial results from Canadian oil companies in at least a decade, analysts' reports said on Friday. The trick seems to be getting investors excited about it. In its newest report on the industry's exploration, development and acquisition costs, FirstEnergy Capital Corp. predicted earnings, cash flow and return on equity in 2000 would beat 1999's results by ``a country mile.'' The Calgary-based brokerage said it expected earnings to average more than C$5 a barrel of oil equivalent, triple the figure in 1999; cash flow to be over C$13.50 a barrel, up 57 percent; and return on average book equity to top 12 percent, up 140 percent from last year. The calculations were based on a mix of actual oil and gas prices plus the futures-market forward strips, which were higher than FirstEnergy's own price forecasts. ``That's has never happened, not simultaneously,'' said analyst Martin Molyneaux, who co-wrote the report. ``I've been there regularly with one or the other, but never both.'' Despite this week's deal among OPEC members to lift oil supplies, West Texas intermediate crude closed closer to decade highs again Friday, up 6 cents a barrel to $32.25. Canadian spot natural gas, meanwhile, traded at C$5.04 per thousand cubic feet, off as much as 75 Canadian cents on the day but still up 70 percent from a year ago. Gas prices have soared in recent months due to rising demand, especially in the U.S., and fears of tight supplies this winter. This week, brokerage Peters & Co. Ltd. raised its price forecasts for 2000 to $26 a barrel for U.S. oil and C$4.25 per thousand cubic feet for Canadian gas. Peter Linder, an analyst with Harris partners, said in a report on Friday he raised his expectations for average corporate gas prices by C$4.50 per thousand cubic feet this year and C$5 next year, and said he believed the Toronto Stock Exchange's oil and gas subindex would keep rising between now and September 2001. The index of exploration and production companies, led by such firms as Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. (Toronto:AEC.TO - news) and Anderson Exploration Ltd. (Toronto:AXL.TO - news), has climbed 37 percent this year, reaching 6638.38 points on Friday. But it is still 10 percent below its high in October 1997 when the commodities were not as dear. Before the boom in technology stocks that started last year, the oils made up a larger portion of the TSE's stocks, so big institutional investors were convinced they needed a similar weighting in their portfolios, Molyneaux said. Such is not the case today, he said. The lower stock prices, based on multiples of expected cash flow per share, have fuelled the recent round of takeovers, such as Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s (Toronto:CNQ.TO - news) purchase of Ranger Oil Ltd. (Toronto:RGO.TO - news) and the just-announced acquisition of Renaissance Energy Ltd. (Toronto:RES.TO - news) by Husky Oil Ltd., analysts have said. Molyneaux said he expected the embarrassment of oil riches to carry with it higher corporate taxes and costs for oil field services as well as the prospect of too much capital chasing too few exploration and production projects in Canada. ``The debt levels as we churned through these companies when we were revising our forecast just cratered,'' he said. ``And I can't think of very many companies who will have spent their cash flow in the second quarter, and a lot of companies didn't in the first quarter.'' Surprisingly, few if any firms at this week's key Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers investment symposium announced they were upping capital spending. That could mean more consolidation, as well as stock buybacks, could be in the offing, Molyneaux said. ($1 equals $1.48 Canadian) biz.yahoo.com

To: Tomas who wrote (1730)	6/24/2000 12:49:00 PM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

UN Security Council Considering Lifting Sanctions On Sudan BBC Monitoring International Reports Text of report by Sudanese TV on 23rd June During its session yesterday, the UN Security Council discussed the question of lifting the sanctions imposed on Sudan. The coordinator of the Non-Aligned Movement [NAM] group, Mali, presented a draft resolution on behalf of the group, proposing to lift the sanctions. During the session, brief interjections were exchanged by member states, at the end of which the chairman of the council decided that the matter required continued consultation among member states, with the aim of reaching a resolution on the question. The council has thereby officially begun looking into the question of lifting the sanctions, and is awaiting consultations among member states in the next few days, in order to clear up positions and distinguish between those who support the resolution, and those who oppose it. The NAM group held a meeting before the Security Council session, during which it was briefed by Sudan's permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador al-Fatih Urwah, who said Sudan was proud of the support it was getting from its sisters and friends in the various groups, especially the NAM group, the African group and Arab group. He said this principled stand proved that Sudan's case was a just one. He clarified that Sudan had fulfilled all its obligations as contained in the Security Council resolutions and that it does not see any justification the continued imposition of sanctions. Source: Sudan TV, Omdurman, in Arabic 1300 gmt 23 Jun 00

To: Tomas who wrote (1730)	6/25/2000 5:43:00 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2742

Dialogue with the US - Sudan accepts possible delay of debate to lift sanctions KHARTOUM, June 25 (AFP) - Sudan accepted Sunday a possible postponement of UN Security Council talks to end sanctions imposed on Sudan in 1996, seeing the delay as a chance for further dialogue with the United States. "Another postponement is likely and is acceptable as our continued dialogue with the US may lead to a flexibility in the US position towards the sanctions," Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters Monday. Members of the UN Security Council began examining a draft resolution on Friday to remove the sanctions imposed on Sudan in 1996 after an attempt on the life of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Diplomats said only the United States appeared to have qualms about removing the sanctions. "Our ultimate aim is the lifting of the sanctions and averting a veto," said Ismail, adding, "we are maintaining dialogue with the US and we look forward to reaching a position that serves the interests of both sides." "We are concerned with Sudan's interests and do not want to get involved in a confrontation or altercation with the US unless we are forced to," he said, hoping that the US would address the issue through dialogue. Sanctions were imposed to force Sudan to extradite three people suspected of trying to kill Mubarak as he arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for a summit of the Organisation of African Unity on June 26, 1995. The sanctions included a ban on flights by Sudan Airways and restrictions on the movement of Sudanese diplomats abroad. In a letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on June 1, the Sudanese foreign minister said inquiries by authorities in his country "show that no trace has been found of the three suspects in the Sudan." Ismail said his government's future dialogue with the US would be based "on our set policies, including our relationship with Israel", adding "the normalisation of relations with Israel is out of question and can only be considered if a just peace in the Middle East that secures the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to a statehood, is reached." 'Before that occurs there will be no talk about normalisation with Israel," he said. sudan.net