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To: James Cherney who wrote (39253)	3/8/1999 12:19:00 PM
From: Platter	Respond to of 95453

NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Shares of large and small oil companies rose on Monday after talks over the weekend between Saudi Arabia and Iran lead to speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may strike a deal to cut output at its March 23 meeting. By 1140 EST, the West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures contract for April delivery was trading $0.40 higher at $13.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, off its intraday high of $14.03 a barrel. Oil shares were also strong, with the exploration and production sector, which is most exposed to oil price rises and declines, showing the biggest gains. The Standard & Poor's Oil & Gas Index <.SPOILP>, which tracks the performance of independent oil and natural gas producers with large market capitalizations, was up 4.21 percent on Monday to 47.13. Gains among the bigger integrated stocks were more muted after they posted strong rises last week, with the Standard & Poor's Oil International Index <.SPOILI> up 1.07 percent at 819.72. However, analysts cautioned that those who believe the rise in oil prices and shares of major oil companies may reflect a permanent return to higher values were mistaken. "I learned long ago not to allow stock price moves to dictate my investment conclusions," said Deutsche Bank Securities analyst Michael Young. Exxon Corp. <XON.N> shares rose 1 to 70-11/16, Mobil Corp. <MOB.N> was up 1-1/8 to 88-3/4, Chevron Corp. <CHV.N> gained 1/2 to 81-13/16, and Texaco Inc. <TX.N> added 3/16 to 50-7/8, all in composite New York Stock Exchange trading. Since plunging to the lowest levels in 12 years in 1998, oil prices have remained mired in a weak trading range in the first quarter of 1999. The prospect that Saudi Arabia and Iran could approve a new base level for measuring Iranian output has led some comentators to believe that OPEC could succeed in adding to its current 2.6 million barrels per day of output cuts when it meets in late March. However, those hopes were given a sharp blow almost as soon as they were out of analysts' mouths after Venezuelan Oil Minister Ali Rodriguez told union members at the state oil company that Venezuela would not accept any more cuts in oil output at OPEC's March 23 meeting. Venezuela was OPEC's third-largest producer in February. "There had been a lot of short covering going into OPEC, both on the commodity and in the stocks, and I can understand the traders' reluctance to be short going in to March 23, but it is a classic dead cat bounce," said Young. Young said the supply and demand fundamentals of oil have not changed, adding that talk of a sharp rise in U.S. gasoline prices is massively overdone as inventories are still way above normal levels.

To: James Cherney who wrote (39253)	3/8/1999 12:20:00 PM
From: Platter	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

Its the unions, not the Gov't.......LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Oil prices were spurred to an eight-week high on Monday as talks between OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran reignited hopes that the cartel might reach a consensus on more oil output cuts. But comments from officials of the main oil union in Venezuela undercut the rally which at one point added 58 cents a barrel to lowly prices. A top official of the country's main oil union Fedepetrol said Oil Minister Ali Rodriguez had promised he would not accept more production cuts at an OPEC meeting later in March. "Venezuela will not accept more cuts. It will comply with what is already proposed, but it will not accept new cuts. That's what he said," said Fedepetrol's Bladimiro Blanco after a meeting with Rodriguez. Brent lost some of its gains to stand 36 cents higher at $11.92 a barrel by 1646 GMT but dealers said they would continue to hedge against the possibility of new curbs on supply. Prices had opened higher on Monday in the wake of a meeting on Sunday in Riyadh between Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and his Iranian counterpart Bijan Zanganeh. The discussions were the latest in a series of contacts between Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries producers and came just two weeks before the group meets in Vienna to decide output policy. Iran and Saudi Arabia have been trying to resolve a dispute over the issue of how to measure the baseline for Iranian output cuts, agreed last year under a 2.6 million barrel a day OPEC supply reduction. The issue has blocked progress toward the further cuts OPEC members already agree are necessary to lift oil prices from last year's 22-year lows. Naimi and Zanganeh met hot on the heels of talks in Riyadh last week between Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and Saudi leaders. Iranian President Mohammad Khatami described the negotiations as "positive" and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah pointed to unspecified "agreements" between the two sides. "I think from an historic point of view a fair amount of diplomatic prepositioning involving heads of state before an OPEC meeting is meaningful," said Peter Gignoux of Salomon Smith Barney. "It's another OPEC cliffhanger." However, it remained unclear whether the troublesome Iranian baseline dispute had finally been put to bed at Sunday's meeting. "We made progress on a number of issues," was all a Gulf source familiar with Saudi policy would say. Traders will now be watching the visit of Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazzi to fellow OPEC producer Venezuela in a week's time. Gulf Arab oil ministers may also meet on Wednesday to prepare for the March 23 OPEC gathering. Analysts have said that the oil group needs to slice at least another million barrels per day (bpd) on top of existing cuts. Non-OPEC producers like Mexico and Norway are likely to be asked to chip in again. Oil prices at about $11 a barrel on average so far this year are running even lower than last year's $13.30, itself a six dollar decline from prices in 1997. Prices in dollars per barrel: Mar 8 Mar 5 (1646 GMT) (close) IPE April Brent $11.92 $11.56 NYMEX April light crude $13.72 $13.30

To: James Cherney who wrote (39253)	3/8/1999 12:23:00 PM
From: Platter	Respond to of 95453

CL'J - Transaction Log 12:19:40 13.80 12:19:20 13.80 12:19:11 13.79 12:19:10 13.78 12:18:59 13.78 12:18:56 13.79 12:18:44 13.79 12:18:40 13.80 12:18:39 13.79 12:18:16 13.78 12:18:04 13.78 12:18:01 13.78 12:17:56 13.77 12:17:47 13.78 12:17:41 L 13.41 12:17:41 H 14.03 12:17:41 T 13.77 12:17:28 13.77 12:17:25 13.77 12:17:18 13.79 OSX - Transaction Log 12:20:11 X 56.26 +2.58 12:19:56 X 56.27 +2.59 12:19:44 X 56.25 +2.57 12:19:29 X 56.25 +2.57 12:19:17 X 56.23 +2.55 12:19:03 X 56.24 +2.56 12:18:46 X 56.23 +2.55 12:18:29 X 56.24 +2.56 12:18:17 X 56.24 +2.56 12:18:01 X 56.23 +2.55 12:17:45 X 56.23 +2.55 12:17:32 X 56.23 +2.55 12:17:16 X 56.23 +2.55 12:16:57 X 56.23 +2.55 12:16:41 X 56.23 +2.55 12:16:28 X 56.25 +2.57 12:16:11 X 56.24 +2.56 12:15:59 X 56.24 +2.56 12:15:50 X 56.23 +2.55 12:15:29 X 56.21 +2.53 12:15:16 X 56.16 +2.48

To: James Cherney who wrote (39253)	3/8/1999 12:30:00 PM
From: Platter	Respond to of 95453

CL'J - Transaction Log 12:24:41 13.83 12:24:41 13.82 12:24:41 13.83 12:24:38 13.81 12:24:31 13.82 12:24:06 13.82 12:23:15 13.82 12:23:13 13.80 12:22:48 13.82 12:22:40 13.81 12:21:52 13.83 12:21:31 13.82 12:21:20 13.82 12:21:17 13.82 12:21:09 13.82 12:21:04 13.81 12:20:28 13.80 12:20:28 13.80 12:20:17 13.80 12:20:16 13.80 OSX - Transaction Log 12:27:12 X 56.19 +2.51 12:27:01 X 56.19 +2.51 12:26:41 X 56.20 +2.52 12:26:34 X 56.19 +2.51 12:26:10 X 56.21 +2.53 12:26:02 X 56.21 +2.53 12:25:44 X 56.21 +2.53 12:25:32 X 56.21 +2.53 12:25:17 X 56.20 +2.52 12:25:04 X 56.21 +2.53 12:24:48 X 56.21 +2.53 12:24:30 X 56.21 +2.53 12:24:11 X 56.24 +2.56 12:24:01 X 56.24 +2.56 12:23:41 X 56.24 +2.56 12:23:33 X 56.25 +2.57 12:23:17 X 56.25 +2.57 12:23:02 X 56.24 +2.56 12:22:40 X 56.22 +2.54 12:22:28 X 56.19 +2.51

To: James Cherney who wrote (39253)	3/8/1999 12:34:00 PM
From: Platter	Respond to of 95453

Oil price history on cl'j contract up to 10/2/98:::: CL'J close high low vol 3/05/99 13.30 13.50 13.26 104796 3/04/99 13.35 13.50 12.78 104796 3/03/99 12.93 12.99 12.54 48377 3/02/99 12.51 12.55 12.18 1956 3/01/99 12.24 12.55 12.18 43553 2/26/99 12.27 12.73 12.24 64878 2/25/99 12.68 12.80 12.41 67581 2/24/99 12.61 12.74 12.26 65511 2/23/99 12.48 12.57 12.12 82882 2/22/99 12.07 12.18 11.86 53321 2/19/99 11.90 12.19 11.88 56625 2/18/99 12.17 12.33 11.53 69434 2/17/99 11.63 11.74 11.34 43187 2/16/99 11.48 12.03 11.46 53278 2/12/99 11.96 12.12 11.95 26772 2/11/99 11.93 12.04 11.80 47773 2/10/99 11.87 12.05 11.76 32600 2/09/99 11.82 11.90 11.70 26856 2/08/99 11.82 12.08 11.74 30318 2/05/99 11.95 12.24 11.85 40016 2/04/99 12.18 12.53 12.15 25304 CL'J close high low vol 2/03/99 12.49 12.78 12.25 20624 2/02/99 12.41 12.45 12.25 20624 2/01/99 12.46 12.95 12.43 19655 1/29/99 12.79 12.82 12.44 17464 1/28/99 12.49 12.51 12.28 12458 1/27/99 12.37 12.48 12.37 19085 1/26/99 12.10 12.51 12.04 19643 1/25/99 12.45 12.71 12.39 11820 1/22/99 12.67 12.79 12.20 23441 1/21/99 12.47 12.55 11.98 13157 1/20/99 11.98 12.29 11.95 13157 1/19/99 12.28 12.63 12.25 11190 1/15/99 12.30 12.48 12.25 6647 1/14/99 12.32 12.67 12.27 13393 1/13/99 12.48 13.04 12.33 18304 1/12/99 13.03 13.44 13.00 14346 1/11/99 13.48 13.48 13.42 7498 1/08/99 13.17 13.29 12.96 12388 1/07/99 13.22 13.29 12.75 15139 1/06/99 13.00 13.04 12.98 0 1/05/99 12.31 12.72 12.29 11249 CL'J close high low vol 1/04/99 12.63 12.67 12.49 2992 12/31/98 12.40 12.46 12.15 5121 12/30/98 12.15 12.18 11.93 122 12/29/98 12.12 12.15 11.88 2047 12/28/98 11.92 11.96 11.76 1354 12/24/98 11.73 11.85 11.72 1354 12/23/98 11.81 11.97 11.78 5457 12/22/98 11.69 11.78 11.61 5374 12/21/98 11.61 11.90 11.35 5918 12/18/98 11.84 12.09 11.75 3150 12/17/98 11.93 13.38 11.85 5100 12/16/98 13.19 13.37 12.55 7896 12/15/98 12.51 12.58 12.32 6623 12/14/98 12.37 12.38 12.05 4232 12/11/98 12.01 12.15 11.88 4769 12/10/98 11.92 12.15 11.88 1308 12/09/98 12.22 12.42 12.18 1308 12/08/98 12.29 12.68 12.29 5852 12/07/98 12.45 12.45 12.08 3676 12/04/98 12.24 12.38 12.24 1636 12/03/98 12.29 12.65 12.29 5494 CL'J close high low vol 12/02/98 12.39 12.51 12.26 2378 12/01/98 12.38 12.65 12.38 4716 11/30/98 12.53 12.94 12.30 5341 11/25/98 13.02 13.42 12.85 1134 11/24/98 13.18 13.64 13.15 1713 11/23/98 13.54 14.08 13.54 4743 11/20/98 13.96 13.97 13.70 3099 11/19/98 13.78 13.91 13.73 4740 11/18/98 13.75 13.91 13.49 4690 11/17/98 13.66 13.97 13.66 3698 11/16/98 13.89 14.36 13.89 5804 11/13/98 14.35 14.87 14.35 4467 11/12/98 14.66 14.70 14.46 1773 11/11/98 14.40 14.55 14.40 1591 11/10/98 14.38 14.40 14.26 1009 11/09/98 14.43 14.55 14.15 431 11/06/98 14.66 14.72 14.63 766 11/05/98 14.70 14.80 14.70 1583 11/04/98 14.84 14.87 14.76 2801 11/03/98 14.91 14.91 14.85 434 11/02/98 15.00 15.16 14.95 261 CL'J close high low vol 10/30/98 15.12 15.15 14.72 2546 10/29/98 14.92 14.93 14.87 1399 10/28/98 14.94 14.94 14.69 1473 10/27/98 14.75 15.11 14.75 1176 10/26/98 14.85 15.04 14.82 4740 10/23/98 14.74 14.81 14.73 479 10/22/98 14.69 14.80 14.69 1431 10/21/98 14.81 14.95 14.50 3592 10/20/98 14.40 14.50 14.25 2892 10/19/98 14.36 14.67 14.36 949 10/16/98 15.10 15.16 15.06 364 10/15/98 15.03 15.05 14.95 1370 10/14/98 15.00 15.22 15.00 361 10/13/98 15.15 15.42 15.15 572 10/12/98 15.32 15.51 15.30 1318 10/09/98 15.44 15.44 15.15 891 10/08/98 15.31 16.08 15.31 137 10/07/98 15.82 16.08 15.82 1817 10/06/98 16.12 16.12 15.90 1091 10/05/98 16.03 16.03 15.89 396 10/02/98 16.17 16.17 15.85 444