Processing 2000 P

07/19/2000 -- Group warns against ETBE ban
The Clean Fuels Development Coalition Wednesday warned that ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) should not be included in any ban against the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in US reformulated gasoline.
07/19/2000 -- Tyumen Oil, Slavneft clash in control struggle
What started as a struggle for supremacy between two Russian oil companies is now escalating toward an out-and-out war. Slavneft has officially announced plans to acquire stakes in subsidiaries of Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK). The move confirms that the company is struggling to ward off a hostile takeover bid by TNK. TNK has stated that it recently acquired blocking stakes in Slavneft's main subsidiaries and now says that it intends to buy the state-owned holding itself when it is tendered.
07/18/2000 -- OPEC output boost in limbo
Plans announced yesterday by OPEC to boost production by a total 500,000 b/d by the end of July appear to be in limbo after the price of its basket of crudes dropped below $28/bbl, the level OPEC said would have to be held for 20 days to trigger a rise in output. Iran, the second most influential OPEC member, was reported to have voiced the opinion that a drop below $28/bbl, no matter how brief, was grounds to set aside the rise in output proposed by OPEC Pres. Al�odr�ez Araque.
07/18/2000 -- Russia proposes new stage in oil industry carve-up
The Russian Ministry of Property Relations has submitted draft resolutions to the government on the sale of 19.68% of the shares in the Slavneft oil company and 85% of Onako in what could herald a new phase in the carve-up of the Russian oil industry (OGJ, July 3, 2000, p. 30). The government has long been mulling the idea of amalgamating Slavneft, Rosneft, and Onako as a state oil company but has now decided to privatize Onako and Slavneft separately.
07/18/2000 -- BP Australia to cut refinery workforce
BP Australia Ltd. is to halve its workforce at the Kwinana refinery, south of Perth in Western Australia. Staff at the refinery will be cut to 200 people from the current 400. This represents a severe drop from the 1,000 employees working at the refinery in the mid-1990s. The move is part of an Australian downstream restructuring strategy aimed at keeping pace with the substantial cost improvements made by competing refineries in Southeast Asia.
07/17/2000 -- Pipe leak spills oil in Brazil's Iguacu River
An estimated 4 million l. of crude oil leaked from an oil pipeline at Petroleo Brasileiro SA's refinery at Araucaria, near Curitiba, the capital of Parana state. The spill began Sunday afternoon and polluted the Iguacu river.
07/17/2000 -- AES to buy IPALCO in $2.15 billion deal
Indiana utility, IPALCO Enterprises Inc.'s, long search to become a growth company ended Monday. But IPALCO is not buying another utility as it tried to do years before. It�s being bought by much bigger independent power producer AES Corp. IPALCO, an electric utility holding company, will be acquired by AES in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at about $2.15 billion, plus assumption of $890 million of debt.
07/17/2000 -- AltaGas acquires TransCanada gas plant, pipeline interests
AltaGas Services Inc., Calgary, is acquiring key natural gas gathering and processing facilities assets in southern Alberta from TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., Calgary, for $14.6 million (Can.). The assets include working interests of 65% in the Parkland gas plant, 70% in the Mosquito Creek gas plant, and 5% in the Vulcan gas plant.
07/17/2000 -- Indian refinery upgrade planned
Owners of Madras Refineries Ltd. plan to spend 23.6 billion rupees ($528 million) to modernize the refinery and expand its capacity to 9.5 million tonnes/year from 6.5 million tonnes/year. The project is scheduled to be completed in 36 months. Partners in the project are the Indian government and the National Iranian Oil Co.
07/14/2000 -- Enron retail energy partnership files IPO
TNPC Inc., the partnership formed by Enron Corp., IBM, and American Online Inc., to sell electricity and gas retail nationwide filed Friday for an initial public offering. The company, formed in mid-May, estimates the value of the offering will be about $400 million.
07/14/2000 -- ExxonMobil to begin Skene development
ExxonMobil Corp. has received permission from the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to begin its planned $400 million development of Skene field in the UK North Sea.
07/14/2000 -- Tosco to buy Alliance refinery from BP Amoco
Major independent refiner Tosco Corp., Stamford, Conn., unveiled plans Thursday to buy the Alliance Refinery in Belle Chasse, La., from BP Amoco PLC for $660 million plus hydrocarbon inventories. The acquisition will make Tosco the largest refiner in the US with 1.35 million b/d of wholly owned refining capacity, said Tosco.
07/14/2000 -- Chevron focuses on North American production
Over the past decade, Chevron Corp. has focused its production growth efforts mainly on its international operations, but the firm now must turn its attention to North America if it is to meet its goal of worldwide production growth averaging 4.0-4.5%/year, George Kirkland, president of Chevron's North American upstream operations, told an oil industry gathering in Houston Wednesday.
07/12/2000 -- InterGen, AEP complete Mexican power plant financing
InterGen, a Shell-Bechtel joint venture, and AEP Resources, a subsidiary of American Electric Power Co. Inc., Wednesday reported closing on $435 million in credit facilities for the Bajio power plant, a 600 Mw, natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power facility under construction near San Luis de la Paz.
07/12/2000 -- Japanese refiners to rationalize lubes facilities
Three of Japan's largest oil refiners�Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp., Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd., and Japan Energy Corp.�separately have announced plans to reduce their facilities for refining and distributing lubricants in an effort to further reduce operating costs.
07/12/2000 -- Dow to build Gulf Coast POSM plant
Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., on Tuesday announced it will build a propylene oxide and styrene monomer (POSM) facility at one of its fully integrated sites on the US Gulf Coast. The new plant is scheduled for completion in mid-2004.
07/12/2000 -- Report: Eastern Europe cogeneration market to grow
Deregulation of gas and electricity market is projected to boost demand for cogeneration facilities in the relatively unsaturated markets of central and eastern Europe markets, predict industry experts. Frost & Sullivan estimates the market for cogeneration equipment in eastern Europe could rise to $700 million in 2006 from $380 million in 1999.
07/11/2000 -- General interest news briefs, July 11
US Energy Information Administration � Formosa Petrochemical Corp. �Chinese Petroleum Corp. � PDVSA Bitor
07/11/2000 -- Private petrochemical firm launched in Saudi Arabia
A new private Saudi Arabian petrochemical firm called Saudi International Petrochemical Co. has let contract to Fluor Daniel, Aliso Viejo, Calif., for overall project management of its first petrochemical complex, to be built at Al Jubail. The SIPC complex will produce methanol, maleic anhydride, butanediol, acetic acid, and vinyl acetate monomer.
07/11/2000 -- Market watch: July 11
Continued worries about increased OPEC production drove down world oil prices Monday, while the unexpected shutdown of a Pennsylvania refinery boosted gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange as traders shadow-boxed their various fears.

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