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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Warpfactor who wrote (75208)	9/30/2000 11:08:27 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Oil summit's rare insight on strange bedfellows Financial Times, September 30 If music does indeed draw out the inner man, then the closing session of this week's summit meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Caracas offered a rare insight into the leaders of perhaps the world's most disparate collection of countries. As a Venezuelan folk band belted out compulsive Latin rhythms, the summit's genial host, President Hugo Chavez, the paratrooper turned imprisoned failed coup leader turned populist politician and by far the most charismatic Opec leader, could hardly contain his enthusiasm. His street-wise political instinct to break into song - something he does regularly as part of his popular weekly radio programme - was only just held in check by an equally strong gut instinct to retain a semblance of statesman-like decorum. Elsewhere around the table the reactions ranged from the dreamy swaying of Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesia's president, to the serious but nonetheless out-of-sync finger tapping exercise indulged in by Saud Nasser Al-Sabah, the senior Kuwaiti representative. That Opec leaders should react so differently to something as simple as a catchy tune is perhaps not so surprising, given the sheer diversity of the group. It is often said that it is God's little joke that he put the vast bulk of the world's oil reserves in the most desolate, out-of the-way - not to say strange and frustratingly complex - countries. So perhaps it is not so surprising that oil politics should also bring together strange and complex bedfellows, bound only by their financial dependence on the black stuff. And it is also often said that Opec's greatest achievement is its very existence. The fact that this week's summit was only the second in its 40-year history and the first for 25 years is a reflection on the cartel's inherent volatility. That volatility is reflected in Opec protocol, a nightmare for organisers. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia may occasionally see eye to eye on oil policy, but looking each other in the eye over dinner is another matter. On Wednesday the Saudis complained that the Iraqis were seated just a little too close for comfort. The same dinner disclosed other potential faultlines. The Venezuelan hosts decided to ban alcohol at the dinner in deference to the religious sensitivities of some of their Middle Eastern guests. But that did little to endear the organisation in the eyes of Angola, a newly emerging oil giant that Opec is courting. Their delegates were said to have been less than amused at the absence of a cold beer, and were heard to utter words to the effect that if they wanted passion fruit and papaya juice, they could just as easily have stayed at home. This week Mr Chavez took full advantage of the summit's bully pulpit to warn about the growing divide between the industrialised world and debt-saddled developing countries. If the G8 leaders wanted to talk to their Opec counterparts about oil prices, he said, then they would also have to engage in a wider debate on issues such as globalisation and indebtedness. But Opec has its own yawning gap when it comes to economic justice. Take the story making the rounds in Caracas about the Gulf Arab delegation which went in search of a single hotel to house their entourage. When told that no such facility existed, they simply bought one. Stories also circulated this week of Dollars 400 tips for bell-hops and the liberal distribution to some hotel staff of Rolex watches, again by some Gulf Arab delegations. But one need look no further than other hotel workers in Caracas to see the other side of the Opec coin. "I'm Venezuelan and I've never seen any oil," said one desk clerk, "and I've sure never seen any money from the oil." But such jarring notes of reality did little to disrupt the theatrical atmosphere of Opec's second summit. Even the sole serious security disruption had an appropriate theatrical flourish to it. Yesterday, two foreign women who threw eggs at an Iranian minister were ordered to be deported by Mr Chavez's secret police chief, a former male stripper. Politics does make strange bedfellows, but oil politics are stranger still.

To: Warpfactor who wrote (75208)	10/1/2000 9:18:07 PM
From: Razorbak	Respond to of 95453

Warp, Re: UCL Unocal has been working for several years to transform itself from an integrated major into a pure-play, independent E&P company. Below is a clip about their latest move in this direction. Razor "Unocal Completes Sale of Agricultural Products Business To Agrium" Friday September 29, 8:41 pm Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Unocal Corporation EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Unocal Corporation (NYSE: UCL - news) today completed the sale of its agricultural products business to Calgary-based Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU; Toronto) for approximately US$321 million and possible future consideration. The sale is effective at 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sept. 30. The sale included Unocal's Prodica LLC and Alaska Nitrogen Products LLC (ANP) subsidiaries. Unocal received approximately US$246 million in cash ($250 million adjusted for working capital and other changes) plus US$50 million principal amount of Agrium 6% convertible securities and approximately 2.6 million shares of Agrium common stock. The securities are convertible into approximately 4.2 million additional Agrium common shares. Unocal could also receive participation payments over the next six years related to future ammonia and urea prices. ``The sale is the latest step in the ongoing transformation of Unocal into a significant upstream E&P company,'' said Roger C. Beach, Unocal chairman and chief executive officer. ``As we divest our non-core businesses, we are able to focus on exploiting upstream opportunities, which historically has been the highest-return segment of the oil and gas industry.'' Unocal expects to use the cash proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes, which may include debt reduction or possible acquisitions. Unocal has the right to have the Agrium convertible securities and common shares registered for resale. The proceeds from any resales would be used in like fashion. Beach added that the company has received or expects to receive bids for Unocal's carbon and graphite businesses. The company anticipates negotiating sales agreements on those businesses later this year. Unocal's Alaska oil and gas business unit will continue to supply natural gas to ANP from certain Cook Inlet fields and other sources pursuant to a 1998 agreement between Unocal and ANP that expires in 2009. About Unocal Corporation Unocal is one of the world's leading independent natural gas and crude oil exploration and production companies. At year-end 1999, Unocal had worldwide natural gas reserves of 6.6 trillion cubic feet, representing two-thirds of the company's overall hydrocarbon reserves. In the second quarter 2000, Unocal's net worldwide natural gas production averaged about 2 billion cubic feet per day. This included about 1 billion cubic feet per day in North America, where Unocal is one of the largest independent natural gas producers. About Prodica and ANP Prodica provides nitrogen and sulfur products to agricultural and industrial customers throughout the western United States and northern Mexico. ANP manufactures ammonia and urea at its Nikiski, Alaska, plants for agricultural and industrial customers in the Pacific Region. Prodica and ANP have approximately 525 employees. Approximately 88 percent of the employees have been hired by Agrium. Another 40 employees will be part of the transition team and remain with Unocal for up to six months. Agrium is a leading global producer and marketer of fertilizer and a major retail supplier of agricultural products and services in both North America and Argentina. This news release contains certain forward-looking statements about Unocal's possible receipt of participation payments, use of cash for debt reduction or other purposes, possible future asset sales, natural gas reserves and gas deliveries and prices. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. The statements are based upon Unocal's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward looking statements. Actual results could differ materially as a result of various factors, including certain of those discussed in Unocal's 1999 Form 10-K report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of the company's SEC filings are available from the company by calling 800-252-2233. The reports are also available on the Unocal web site, www.unocal.com. SOURCE: Unocal Corporation biz.yahoo.com

To: Warpfactor who wrote (75208)	10/2/2000 2:28:39 AM
From: Douglas V. Fant	Respond to of 95453

Warpfactor, BP has the highest oil & gas production growth rates amongst majors and plans to "lighten up" on refining assets...a smart idea as refining is usually just a capital sink with not much return. In terms of advanced business models for majors I'd suggest considering Duke (DUK) or Enron (ENE)- Both are experimenting "at the cutting edge" in terms of business models, or slip over into power gen side of the business and look at Calpine (CPN) or AES, when they eventually pullback.... CPN humorously "cornered" the new generator market by taking options on a lot of GE's capacity, and has big exposure to Cal power markets-You want that for the next few years. AES meanwhile announced that their earnings would grow (conservatively) at a 27% annual rate for the next three years. Otherwise stay down in the small/mid-cap E&P's or second tier service companies that have not moved as much as prominent service providers...Just IMO...