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Gold/Mining/Energy : Steppe Gold (SPE:V) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RMF who wrote (617)	2/13/1998 4:05:00 PM
From: Robert Dydo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1248

Couple of days ago I watched "Air Force 1". No wonder about opinions! It may seem funny and out of place, but long time ago while "Forest Gump" was grossing millions in box office, 40% of audience thought it was a documentary picture. Regards Robert

To: RMF who wrote (617)	2/18/1998 8:00:00 PM
From: John Menzies	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1248

An interesting acticle on investment in Kazakstan * LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Oil giants Royal Dutch/Shell <RD.AS><SHEL.L> and Chevron Corp <CHV.N> said on Monday they had agreed to jointly develop large energy projects in the hydrocarbon-rich Caspian region. The two companies said in a joint statement that they would seek out "various upstream opportunities" and work on linking vast landlocked oil and gas fields to world markets. "We envision projects of a scale that would generate significant value for the people of the region," said Chevron chairman Ken Derr. Analysts said the deal made long-term strategic sense by combining Shell's strong political connections in Russia and its skills in transporting oil and gas with the U.S. oil major's already strong production base in Kazakhstan. "Chevron has got the lion's share in the biggest existing development and Shell has got very good future potential," said Stephen O'Sullivan, oil and gas analyst at M.C. Securities. "The deal seems to be a good match of money now and healthy earnings prospects in the future." Monday's accord adds another thread to the tangled web of alliances and joint ventures developing the vast hydrocarbon provinces in and around the Caspian and searching for ways to bring oil and gas to customers. Chevron was in the vanguard when the former Soviet Union opened to foreign oil investors at the start of the 1990s, moving quickly to secure a large share in Kazakhstan's Tengiz field. After much frustration the field came on stream and now produces around 185,000 barrels per day. But its potential is severely limited by the lack of export routes, a problem that plagues other oil-rich states on the Caspian littoral. Tengiz oil currently has to be shipped by barge across the Caspian and then moved by rail to the tanker port. Chevron has a 15 percent stake, the largest, in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which is to spend $2 billion to build a 1,600km (1000 mile) pipeline across a swathe of Russian territory to a Black Sea oil export terminal. Through an alliance with Russian oil firm Rosneft <PFGS.RTS>, Shell holds a 7.5 percent stake in the CPC, which is key to unlocking Kazakhstan's oil wealth. Chevron hopes for the go-ahead from Russia to build the link by the third quarter 1998. Shell's other interests in the Caspian, where it was slow to develop projects, include a leading role in a six-company production sharing agreement signed last November to produce oil from Caspian waters off Kazakhstan. Last year Shell bought a 60 percent stake in the Temir block in western Kazakhstan and was due to begin an exploration drilling programme. It has also begun a study on the feasibility of taking Turkmen gas to Turkey either via Iran or underneath the Caspian. A Chevron spokesman said the accord with Shell looked beyond the CPC project. "It's a wonderful oil province but to realise that we have to solve the transportation problems and infrastructure issues," he said. The deal with Shell, which has announced a major tie-up with the politically well-connected Russian energy conglomerate RAO Gazprom <GAZPq.L>, should give Chevron protection from criticism that their Tengiz deal was slow in bearing fruit. "It's risk-sharing and diversifying," said O'Sullivan. "It makes a lot of sense, particularly for Chevron." Shell, the world's second largest natural gas producer after Gazprom, would also be positioning itself in the long-term to exploit both Turkmen and Kazakh gas resources, said Ruslan Nickolov, energy analyst at Nomura International. "By combining its efforts with Chevron, Shell will increase its stake in the region and gain influence over gas development," said Nickolov. Britain's BG plc<BG.L>, Italy's Agip SpA 1/8AGIS.CN] and Russian oil company LUKoil<LKOH.RTS> have signed an agreement to develop Kazakhstan's mammoth Karachaganak field, which has reserves estimated at 2.4 billion barrels of crude and 16 trillion cubic feet of gas. But it too has as yet no means of exporting production, since Gazprom refuses to transport rival Kazakh gas through Russia. 14:15 02-16-98 Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.