Recommended by "Lel Bruce Peto" 2000 oil chronology reading

Recommended by "Lel Bruce Peto" 2000 oil chronology reading..


 Oil & Gas Chronology :  Year 2000, partial.



May 2000

May 2 ExxonMobil signs a production-sharing agreement with Qatar General 
Petroleum Corporation (QGPC) for the development of natural gas from 
Qatar's offshore North Field. The project is expected to eventually 
produce 1.75 billion cubic feet per day, much of which will be exported to 
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of the Dolphin Project, a series of 
pipelines linking the gas grids of Qatar, the UAE, and Oman. 

May 5 Indonesia's central government proposes three management options to 
the government of Riau province for the Penkanbaru field, Indonesia's 
largest. The options include the possibility of Riau taking over state oil 
company Pertamina's stake in the field. The move is part of an effort by 
the government of President Wahid to distribute oil and gas revenues more 
fairly among Indonesia's regions. 

May 10 BP Amoco reports the discovery of a major natural gas field off the 
coast of Trinidad, which may hold 2 trillion cubic feet of gas. BP Amoco 
recently announced a planned expansion of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) 
facility in Trinidad, which will triple its capacity by 2003. 

May 16 Several sources, including the Washington Post, report a major oil 
find at the Kashagan field offshore from Kazakhstan, with reserves 
reportedly greater than 8 billion barrels. If these early reserve 
estimates prove correct, the additional production volumes could boost 
chances for construction of the proposed Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. 

May 16 Senate majority leader Trent Lott and other Republicans introduce 
legislation intended to boost United States domestic oil production. Among 
other actions, the bill would provide a tax credit of up to $3 per barrel 
for production from marginal wells during periods of low oil prices and 
open up the coastal portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) 
to oil exploration. 

May 17 Chevron announces that it is to acquire an additional 5 percent 
stake in Tengizchevroil, the firm which operates the Tengiz field in 
Kazakhstan, in a deal valued at $450 million. The Kazakh government share 
in the field will fall to 20 percent. 

May 17 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally proposes a rule 
which, if finalized, would reduce allowable sulfur levels in diesel fuel 
by 97 percent over the next five years. The move is opposed by major 
refiners. 

May 19 BP Amoco receives approval from the European Union for its 
acquisition of Burmah Castrol, for $4.7 billion. After the purchase, BP 
Amoco will hold a 15 percent market share for automotive lubricants in 
Europe, comparable to TotalFinaElf and ExxonMobil. 

May 19 A federal appeals court denies a petition by six major oil 
companies to rehear a decision upholding a Unocal patent for phase two 
reformulated gasoline. Uncertainty over Unocal's patent rights has led 
some refiners to stay out of the market for reformulated gasoline, fearing 
that they may infringe on one of Unocal's five patents related to 
reformulated gasoline. 

May 21 Russian President Vladimir Putin appoints Alexander Gavrin as 
Minister of Energy. Gavrin, a former Lukoil executive, replaces Victor 
Kalyuzhny. Putin also abolishes Russia's State Committee on the 
Environment, transferring its functions to the Ministry of Natural 
Resources, which licenses oil and gas development. 

May 23 The Energy Information Administration releases a study of oil 
reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which currently is 
off-limits to oil exploration. The study estimates that there are between 
5.7 and 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the ANWR. 

May 24 BP Amoco agrees to purchase the 18.1 percent of Houston-based 
upstream oil and gas producer Vastar Resources which it does not already 
own. The deal is valued at $1.6 billion. 

May 26 Devon Energy agrees to acquire Santa Fe Snyder Corporation for 
$2.35 billion in stock, plus the assumption of about $1 billion in debt. 
The deal will put Devon Energy among the largest independent oil and gas 
producers in the United States. 

May 29 According to the Energy Information Administration, retail gasoline 
prices in the United States reach their highest level ever, with an 
average price of $1.538 per gallon. The previous peak was $1.529 per 
gallon, on March 20, 2000. These figures are not adjusted for inflation. 

May 31 Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rashid states that Iraq does not 
intend to cooperate with the United Nations Monitoring, Verification, and 
Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), the new body created to verify Iraq's 
destruction of prohibited weapons. In other comments, he also states that 
Iraq does not intend to sign more contracts with foreign oil companies to 
develop its oilfields until contracts previously awarded are implemented. 

May 31 TransCanada Pipelines agrees to sell its stakes in several natural 
gas transmission assets in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile to TotalFinaElf 
for $440 million. The sales come as part of TransCanada's drive to divest 
non-core assets, which the company expects to result in revenues of $3 
billion.