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

To: articwarrior who wrote (31243)	10/29/1998 9:23:00 AM
From: marc chatman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

arctic, I have a vague recollection that a substantial portion of the build last week was due to an importing error of some sort by one of the major oil companies. I don't know if this is relevant, and I don't recall which major. I'll post it if I come across the article.

To: articwarrior who wrote (31243)	10/29/1998 9:26:00 AM
From: Captain James T. Kirk	Respond to of 95453

Oil market awaits Hurricane Mitch's next move By Timna Tanners MEXICO CITY, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Although Hurricane Mitch has forced the suspension of most of Mexico's oil exports and shut in 830,000 barrels per day (bpd) of production, analysts said on Wednesday they were more concerned about the mighty storm's next move. Mitch -- one of the strongest storms this century -- was still hovering along Honduras' Caribbean coast late Wednesday, but if it veers westward toward Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and stays in Mexico through Monday, it could cut Mexico's oil output significantly, analysts say. On Wednesday, Mitch's winds dropped to 120 mph (190 kph) from a previous peak of 180 mph (295 kph). But the hurricane still packed enough punch to punish nearby Honduras on Wednesday, causing flash floods and mudslides that killed at least 13 people along that country's rain-soaked Caribbean coast. Death toll so far from Mitch's four-day rampage through the region totaled 19 by late Wednesday. Top officials from oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) met early on Wednesday to decide how to prepare for the possible threat from Mitch of sustained winds of 122 mph (195 kph). In October 1995, Hurricane Roxanne battered the Gulf of Mexico and forced the state-run oil giant to stop virtually all its drilling activity for eight days. Mexico's oil exports account for a third of its government revenue. And 79 percent of those exports go to the U.S. This week, Pemex shut down two of its shipping ports in the Gulf of Mexico -- Dos Bocas and Cayo Arcas -- suspending exports of about 1.246 million barrels per day (bpd) for as long as poor weather threatens the region. Exports from the ports are mostly of heavy Maya crude. Mexico has fixed exports through the end of the year at 1.64 million barrels per day (bpd). At Pajaritos oil port in Veracruz state, oil shipments were normal, an official there said. Analysts said oil markets were not very worried about Mitch, but were keeping an eye on the storm to see where it moves next or how long it batters the region. ''I think it's largely been ignored by the market right now, but I think its a concern,'' Prudential Securities oil analyst Richard Redash said. ''Duration is an issue and so is the impact,'' Redash continued. ''It's going to take barrels away from the market. But the longer it sits there, the more barrels it takes away... so prices go higher.'' Pemex said late on Tuesday it had shut in 830,000 bpd of crude from the Campeche Sound, where production on average this year has been 2.2 million bpd. Mexico's total oil output is about 3.2 million bpd. The energy monopoly also stopped producing 812 million cubic feet per day (cfd) of natural gas output, out of a total of 1.618 billion cfd produced in the region. But analysts said the oil markets will only focus on Pemex's lost production if the hurricane stayed through the weekend. If the hurricane were to stay through Monday, nearly five million barrels would be shut in, noted Rafael Quijano, managing partner at Latin America Petroleum Services, an energy consulting group in Washington, D.C. ''There won't be a significant loss of oil on the market unless the hurricane moves more up the coast, then the accumulated effect could grow,'' Quijano said. Hurricane Mitch hovered stubbornly off the northern coast of Honduras on Wednesday, although forecasters have said it could still shift toward the Yucatan peninsula before striking land later in the week. But meteorologists are still reluctant to forecast where the storm could move. ''The threat to the producing areas on the Gulf is somewhat reduced, but there could be danger, if Mitch hits water and gathers strength again,'' one NYMEX trader said. Quijano added that Pemex's oil port capacity was limited and canceled exports would not be loaded and shipped right away. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------