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Politics : High Tolerance Plasticity -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Razorbak who wrote (1955)	3/19/2001 4:38:20 PM
From: excardog	Respond to of 23153

Oil market today: DJ Nymex Close -2: Price Chart NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude oil futures fell sharply at the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, as fears over a slowing economy outweighed an agreement by producing countries to cut output 1 million barrels a day. The petroleum complex briefly rose from its lows in late trade, bouncing off support levels, as bargain hunters picked up values and shorts were covered. Traders say the complex may be due for a bounce Tuesday as part of a correction, and as the focus shifts from OPEC to the Fed. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates 50 to 75 basis points. Trading for crude futures is also seen volatile as the April contract expires. OPEC announced Saturday it would slash its output ceiling by 4% beginning April 1 to stem a price crash. The move came against the backdrop of a seasonal decline in oil demand and a slowing global economy. "The present, weaker world economy and the traditional sharp downturn in demand associated with the second quarter both clearly point to the need for a correction in oil supply, and the conference has taken the decision to stabilize the oil market," OPEC said in a statement. Analysts said the perception in the market seems to be that the economy is in worse shape than people thought. "That perception seems to be stronger than the OPEC cut," an analyst said. OPEC ministers agreed to meet again June 5 and June 6 to review market conditions, and said they may roll back some of the cuts ahead of the summer driving season. "It's the economy and (OPEC) talking the market lower," said Ed Silliere, vice president risk management at Energy Merchant. "Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said he wanted the basket at $24 to $26." The output cut agreement lowers OPEC's output quotas to 24.2 million barrels a day. OPEC pumps about 40% of the world's crude oil. Analysts said the cartel's tendency to overproduce means the actual output will decline far less than 1 million barrels a day. OPEC has said it is overproducing its current quotas by 600,000 barrels a day. And non-OPEC producers Angola, Mexico, Russia and Oman, who have pledged to support OPEC with about 200,000 b/d in cuts, to contribute little to actual output reductions. Some analysts viewed non-OPEC cutbacks as critical in supporting prices, which isn't likely to materialize. U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said Monday "it's too early" to judge the impact of OPEC's cuts. He added that it was also too early to predict whether gasoline prices will rise this summer. But an official from the Energy Information Administration, which is the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, said Monday consumers could pay up to 20 cents more for gasoline at the pump as a result of OPEC's cut. Abraham also blamed the administration of former U.S. President Bill Clinton for the national energy crisis that, he said, could threaten U.S. economic prosperity and national security. Now analysts are looking to a cut of a different sort: an interest-rate cut by the Federal Open Market Committee Tuesday that would seek to stimulate the economy, and especially equities markets. That is also seen stimulating consumer spending and demand for petroleum products. "Fifty basis points would be upsetting to the stock market and I expect that to keep the pressure on crude furthering forecasts of declining demand," said John Kilduff, senior vice president at Fimat USA Inc. "A hundred basis points could do a lot to jump start the stock market, which should help the wealth effect, consumer confidence, and gasoline demand." Kilduff said a 75-basis-points cut may have as much of a bullish effect as 100 basis points, only without a sense of panic about the economy that 100 points could trigger. Other analysts say interest-rate cuts by the Fed won't have an immediate effect on consumer confidence, discretionary spending, or demand for petroleum products, and that it will be months before the petroleum complex benefits. In any case, the medium-term outlook for oil prices remains bearish, as the weight of ample physical supplies, and the slowing of the global economy, especially the downturn in the U.S., the world's largest oil consumer. (MORE) Dow Jones Newswires 19-03-01 2045GMT Price Chart Following are prices for selected Nymex contracts and their comparison with values at the prior day's settlement. Highs and lows include levels reached during open outcry, which only occurs during the pit session. Prices for crude oil are in dollars a barrel and changes are in cents; prices for products are in cents a gallon and changes are in points. Contract Settle Change Vs Low High Friday Apr crude oil 26.15 -59 26.10 26.55 May crude oil 26.46 -46 26.35 26.70 Apr heating oil 67.82 -256 67.70 69.80 May heating oil 66.69 -216 66.50 68.20 Apr gasoline 86.03 -140 85.10 86.40 May gasoline 85.61 -119 84.80 85.80 -By Marie Sanchez, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2062; Marie.C.Sanchez@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 19-03-01

To: Razorbak who wrote (1955)	3/19/2001 4:44:03 PM
From: Wowzer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23153

Don't remind me about ARAKIS, never made money on that dog either (ggg). But sure was a fun message board and my first exposure to oil. Thanks for the info on LOILY, I will just throw it in the corner and forget it for awhile. Just hate it when most of the thread is positive on a illiquid stock and it does nothing but go down. Reminds me of a stock called MEXP back in its hey day.

To: Razorbak who wrote (1955)	3/19/2001 5:43:15 PM
From: Henrik	Respond to of 23153

Lundin chief executive officer Ian H. Lundin described the discovery as a significant and exciting event for the Swedish oil company. Petronas and partners strike oil in Sudan's Thar Jath site Business Times (Malaysia); Mar 19, 2001 BY KAMARUL YUNUS A CONSORTIUM in which Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is a partner has struck oil at a new concession site designated Block 5A onshore Sudan that flows at more than 4,000 barrels per day (bpd). The national oil corporation's partners in the consortium are OMV (Sudan) Exploration GmbH of Austria, Lundin Oil AB of Sweden and Sudan's own Sudapet Ltd. The consortium would conduct seismic surveys and drill other wells before deciding whether to develop the oilfield whose reserves have yet to be determined. Lundin said on its website that the Thar Jath discovery well was drilled to a depth of 1,820 metres and encountered 63 metres of net pay over two sandstone reservoirs, the Bentiu and the Aradeiba. According to the company, the well flowed at a cumulative rate of 4,260 bpd, from three drill stem tests in both zones. Reservoir quality is excellent with high porosity and permeability. Appraisal drilling is due to start after the completion of another exploration well - the Jarayan. The company said Thar Jath has the prospect of matching the Heglig, Unity and other prolific oilfields operated by Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co (GNPOC), a consortium that includes Petronas, Talisman, China National Petroleum Corp and Sudapet. Production from these fields now exceeds 200,000 bpd. The Sudanese Government estimates reserves in the Heglig and Unity fields at between 650 million and 800 million barrels. Any oil flowing from Block 5A is likely to be delivered into the existing 1,540km export pipeline to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The pipeline was completed by GNPOC in August 1999 and has a capacity to transport 250,000 bpd. Construction of new pump stations could expand this to 450,000 bpd as and when new production capacity becomes available. "Any production from Block 5A is likely to be tied to the existing pipeline infrastructure with the addition of more pump station facilities," a Lundin official noted. Lundin chief executive officer Ian H. Lundin described the discovery as a significant and exciting event for the Swedish oil company. "We have confirmed that the trend of prolific oilfields as seen in Blocks 1, 2 and 4 operated by the GNPOC consortium, extend into our block. "The drill rig is currently being mobilised to the Jarayan-1 well location, about 12km south-east of the Thar Jath-1 discovery. "Upon completion of Jarayan-1 well, the rig will move back to Thar Jath in order to drill the Thar Jath-2 appraisal well," he said. At the same time, an extensive seismic campaign will be conducted. Lundin Sudan Ltd is the lead-operator of Block 5A with a 40.4 per cent interest, followed by Petronas Carigali (28.5 per cent), OMV Exploration (26.1 per cent) and Sudapet (5 per cent). The oil find is an indication that the operations of foreign oil companies in the country are not affected by recent activities of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). It was reported in January that the SPLA had destroyed three oil wells and killed dozens of government troops in an attack on the country's southern oil fields. Sudanese officials denied the reports saying the attack was "far away from the oil fields", and was a desperate attempt by the SPLA to raise the morale of its forces. globalarchive.ft.com Copyright © Asia Intelligence Wire