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France is one of the world's largest nuclear power producers
France is a founding member of the European Union (EU) and one of Europe's most important economies. In 2004, France's gross domestic product (GDP) stood at $2.01 trillion, the second-largest in the EU. Economic growth, though, has been unremarkable in recent years, with real GDP growth of only 2.1% in 2004. The lack of significant economic growth has strained France's public finances, and for the fourth consecutive year, France's budget deficit will exceed the limits of the EU Growth and Stability Pact.
French economy has the third-lowest carbon intensity in the OECD.
France emitted 407 million metric tons (Mmt) of Carbon dioxide in 2002, the fourth-most in Europe. It also consumed 11.0 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of total energy, the second-largest amount in Europe. On the other hand, the energy intensity of France's economy in 2002 was Well below the average for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Further, the carbon dioxide intensity of the French economy in 2002 was the third-lowest in the OECD, behind only Switzerland and Sweden, an indication of France's reliance upon nuclear energy.
France imported 97% of its natural gas needs in 2003
At the beginning of 2005, France had about 450 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of proven Natural Gas reserves. France has very little domestic natural gas production; in 2003, the country consumed 1.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), with only 3% of that demand met from domestic sources. The most important sources of France's natural gas imports are Norway, Russia, and Algeria. Natural gas is a small component of France's energy mix, representing only 15% of total energy consumption in 2002.
France has natural gas pipeline connections to Norway, Spain, Russia, Netherlands. GdF operates the vast majority of France's domestic Pipeline system. The company operates over 19,000 miles of Natural Gas pipelines in France, with an overall system capacity of 5.9 Bcf/d. The GdF systems covers the entire country, with main trunk lines connecting population centers to the import entry points of Dunkerque, Montoir-de-Bretagne, Fos-Cavaou, Cerville-Velaine, and Taisnieres. GdF also maintains 0.28 Bcf of natural gas storage facilities at strategic locations in the transmission network.
Because of its dependence on natural gas imports, France has extensive pipeline connections with its neighbors. The Franpipe, completed in 1998, links Norway's Draupner platform in the North Sea to the French port of Dunkerque. The 521-mile-long, 1.4-Bcf/d Franpipe was the first pipeline to directly link France with a natural gas field in a foreign country. Analysts predict that Franpipe will eventually supply one-third of France's total natural gas consumption. The Trans-Pyrenean natural gas pipeline, linking Calahorra, Spain to Lacq, France began operations in 1993. The 330-million-cubic-feet-per-day (Mmcf/d) connection allows Spain to import natural gas via France from Norway. France also imports natural gas from Russia through the Cerville-Velaine distribution center in northeast France and from the Netherlands through the Taisnieres entry point.
Introduction
Owned by the French government, Gaz de France (GdF) dominates all Natural Gas activities in the country. Prior to recent reforms (see below), GdF had a legal monopoly on the production, distribution, transportation, and importation of natural gas in the country. In recent years, EU directives have forced member countries to open their natural gas sectors to foreign investors, and GdF has taken advantage of this openness to enter the domestic natural gas markets of other EU countries. As a result, almost one-third of GdF's 15 million customers are outside France. However, because France has been one of the slowest EU countries to open its own markets, there has been some backlash to GdF's foreign ventures, especially from the governments of Italy and Spain.
Gaz de France Profile
An integrated energy utility, present throughout the gas supply chain from exploration and production to customer services, pursuing its growth in Europe.
As Europe's regulatory framework is going through a profound change and energy markets are opening up to competition, Gaz de France has decided to operate as an integrated energy utility, present throughout the gas supply chain from exploration and production to customer services, and to pursue its growth in Europe.
This choice, which is compatible with the new market development conditions, will allow the Group to implement its strategy while complying with European directives.
Gaz de France offers multi-energy packages, and a large gamut of associated services (activities described in �Energy Supply and Services�), while managing and developing its natural gas transmission, storage and distribution infrastructures (activities described in �Infrastructures�).
Committed to sustainable development, Gaz de France is seeking to achieve corporate growth while maintaining its commitment to public service
Gaz de France Key Data
The Group's consolidated net sales totalled 18.13 billion euros, up 8.9% from 2003.
International business accounted for 29% of the Group's total net sales.
Net income Group share reached 1046 millions euros.
Total investements amounted to 1,76 billion euros.
Gaz sales amounted to 66.4 billion cubic meters.
The Group employed a workforce of 38 251 people.
Canada is the United States� most important trading partner, with over $450 billion worth of goods, services, investments, and financial transfers exchanged between the two countries in 2004. Canada and the U.S. also enjoy an interdependent energy relationship, trading Oil, Natural Gas, Coal, and electricity.
Canada has experienced sustained economic growth during the past several years; its real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a rate of 2.9 percent in 2005, the same as in 2004. Continuing economic recovery in the United States and higher prices for Canada�s natural resource exports have driven Canada�s economic growth in recent years.
Canada�s total Oil production (including all liquids) was 3.1 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2005, while the country consumed 2.3 million bbl/d that year. The country's oil production has been increasing since 1999, as new oil sands and offshore projects have come on-stream to replace aging fields in the western provinces.
Overall, analysts predict that oil sands production will increase significantly in coming years and offset the decline in Canada�s conventional Crude Oil production.
Canada has a privatized Oil sector that has witnessed considerable consolidation in recent years. The largest integrated Operator in the country is Imperial Oil, majority owned by ExxonMobil. In 2002, Alberta Energy Company and PanCanadian Energy merged to create EnCana, Canada�s largest independent Upstream operator.
Other significant oil producers in Canada include Talisman Energy, Suncor, EOG Resources, Husky Energy, and Apache Canada. U.S. companies maintain a sizable presence in the Canadian oil industry.
The Canadian government formed Petro-Canada in 1975 in an effort to reduce the dominance of U.S. companies in Canada�s oil industry. The company received considerable initial resources from the Canadian government in its early years, though critics accused Petro-Canada of inefficiently deploying those resources and interfering with the operations of private companies. In 1991, the Canadian government began to privatize Petro-Canada, and in late 2004, the government sold its remaining 20 percent stake in the company.
If you have never considered trading energy markets then think again - Because they can yield fantastic profits as the recent bull move in crude oil has shown.
Here we will go through the basics and show you how to trade energy markets for maximum profit potential.
The worlds most actively traded commodity group
The energy markets are the world’s largest traded commodity group as they are literally the fuel of the global economy and are always volatile and offering opportunities for profit.
Standardized Contracts
Contacts are standard size and the main market is NYMEX in New York.
You can go both long and short as well giving you constant opportunities for profit and price information is freely available on the net.
Looking for opportunities
As they are always trending - The best way to trade them is via technical analysis and look for the long term trends not the short term noise of the market.
Focus on these trends and you can pile up huge profits if you catch them!
Each energy market has its own unique trading personality and a seasonal tendency. These seasonal tendencies make a great filter for trades as in many contracts their highly reliable.
For example, unleaded gasoline is used for cars and peak demand is the summer driving season on the other hand heating oil is needed to heat homes and demand is strongest in the winter.
Trading these spreads adds an extra dimension to trading to pinpointing low risk high reward trades.
There are many more and the really give you an edge when trading.
Intra commodity spreads
To cut risk even further you can trade these spreads.
These are simply the difference in prices of two different contracts, of the same commodity i.e August and October natural gas
The trick is to pick the contract that is expected to move the most and lay off some of the risk.
For instance, in energies it’s normally the nearby contract that moves the most, so you buy the near contract and sell the deferred – This is known as a bull spread and is used by the real pro traders.
When using spreads its always important to take into consideration the general trend and price pattern of the spread before trading – There great way to limit risk and maximize profits and that’s what we all want.
Vehicles
With futures you can also trade options to and these are great way to trade a volatile market as they offer unlimited profit potential linked to limited risk.
When buying options though make sure (and this applies to any market) you buy options that are at or near the money with plenty of time to expiry.
You get staying power and that’s a major bonus, in a volatile market like energies.
Instead of getting stopped out by the market “noise” you can remain in on the trade. Getting stopped out by volatility is a major reason traders lose – They get the direction right but get hit on the stop.
Why energies are such a good market
They trend well (and are suitable for any long term trading methodology) they fuel the world economy so we know there is always going to movement and trends but you get something extra when trading:
1. Highly reliable seasonal spreads
2. The opportunity to trade intra spreads for better risk reward
Combine this with options and you will get the best risk reward with staying power to take advantage of these moves.
A word of caution
Don’t trade energies short term – They are highly volatile and short term price spikes that will kill you – You need top focus on the long term trends only.
Another important point is these markets have an ability to wrong foot the experts so don’t focus on the news – Focus on what the charts are telling you.
You are looking for long term trends and the big trends only come a few times a year so you won’t be trading frequently. If you want to always be in on the action forget you will lose.
rude Oil Weekly Trading Signal – Explained
Crude Oil Weekly Trading Strategy Chart
Crude Oil Daily Trading Signals Chart
Commodities so far this week have not changed much. But I can point out a few things for us to watch Thursday and Friday.
Precious Metals – Gold GLD fund – Silver SLV Fund – PM Stocks GDX Fund
We could start to see a shift between the price relationship between gold and the broad market. I pointed this out last week mentioning that gold and silver are starting to hold up in value while stocks sell off on big days. For example, Wednesday’s sell-off in equities did not have much effect on precious metals. This is what we want to see. It means money is moving out of stocks and into gold and silver bullion as a safe haven.
These three charts of GLD, SLV and GDX show Wednesday’s price action as gold and silver moved higher while precious metal stocks sold down with the rest of the market. This is generally a bearish indicator for gold and silver but because I am starting to see this happen more often and traders are ready for the market to top any day, I am seeing this as a bullish indicator. If the market starts to slide I have a feeling investors will be dumping a lot more money into gold and silver.
We are seeing a similar pattern in the energy sector. Oil had a nice move higher today while energy stocks sold off. Stocks are starting to fall out of favor.
Natural gas is still in a bear market and trading under a major resistance trend line. This commodity could go either way so I am going to wait for the odds to be more on my side before jumping on board with a long or a short trade.
The market is starting to look and feel top heavy with many indicators and price action patterns giving cross signals. While the market could continue to rocket higher with new money getting dumped in from average investors because of solid 3rd quarter earnings, we must be cautious by tightening our stops and take some profits off the table. Until we get a short term oversold market condition I am trading very conservatively.
The past week in gold, silver, oil, natural gas and the broad market wasn’t anything to write home about. We are seeing controlled profit taking which is making the market choppy. Many traders are getting very bearish on the market which is a good thing in my opinion. According to my market internals, sentiment and volume analysis we should get a shake out (sharp dip) which would make traders exit their positions before the market continues higher.
Some trader’s say we are in a bull market, others say we are in a major bear market. Either way the trend is up on the daily and weekly charts and companies are making money. Buying on over sold dips has been very profitable this year. Until I see things drastically change, this is my strategy for the broad market.
Lets take a look at the commodity sector.
HUI – Gold Stocks Index
Recently we have seen money move out of gold stocks but with the majority of them trading at support trend line we could see some fireworks this week.
Gold has been trading sideways as investors and traders digest the previous rally higher. The recent price action looks similar to the September rally and consolidation. Lets hope for a another move higher without getting shaken out of our positon.
Silver is in much of the same situation as gold. We are waiting to see what happens here at these support levels.
Oil has been making a strong rally after breaking out of is multi month consolidation pattern. We are now looking for some type of pullback or test of breakout for another low risk entry point.
Natural gas is having some trouble breaking out above the multi month resistance trend line. Buying here is a 50/50 bet and I will wait for another entry point before putting our money to work.
Overall, the market feels ready for quick snapback to shake traders out of profitable positions. I expect a resumption of the up trend as the market slowly creeps higher at a steady pace digesting each rally with sideways movement.
Commodities and stocks almost look ready for a rally or at least a relief bounce. The market is down over 5% and the normal pullback this year has been 4%. Using technical analysis and inter-market analysis we can see that the market is reaching extreme lows and this usually means we are only a couple days away from a rally.
I work with several market technicians as we all analyze the market a different way and share our work with each other to gain maximum insight on the broad market moves. We analyze momentum cycles, magnetic cycles, volatility levels, support & resistance levels, volume analysis and inter-market analysis.
Each of us has found a formula which works for our individual style of trading. And by combining our work we have found that we can collectively produce some very exciting trading signals for the broad market. We focus on leveraged index funds in order to take advantage of our insights. While nothing in trading is ever perfect, the analysis for timing the broad market is very exciting.
Here are some quick charts on where the market is trading.
US Dollar – Daily Dollar Price Chart
This chart is a no brainer. The trend is down and trading at resistance. If the US dollar reverses back down we will see stocks and commodities move higher.
Again, overall the trend is down and trading at resistance. As the saying goes “When the VIX is high its time to buy”. Just to be clear, the VIX is low compared to the previous highs set back in 2008 which was around the 80 level. But, if we want to keep things simple for the current trend then the VIX is high for our current market condition. The VIX moves in the opposite direction of the equities market.
Here is the Dow Jones index fund and it clearly shows that when investors are selling out of their positions and getting scared of a market collapse, volume rockets higher. When we see the price pullback to possible support levels and volume increases that is a time when we should be looking to scale into a long position for a bounce, such as now.
You can see that the energy sector is very close to a support level and volume is high. With the US dollar about to reverse back down it will help boost this sector as it is tied in with commodity prices which rise with a falling dollar. I expect we will see a price gap lower and fill this area before moving higher.
This chart has not changed much from last weeks report. We are getting the drop as expected this week. We could see the gap fill from early October before gold stabilizes.
Silver is in the same situation. Gold and silver move in tandem so we are waiting for a bottom before looking for a low risk entry point.
To keep things short and to the point, I am seeing momentum cycle lows as of today, magnetic wave lows today, and most commodities and indexes trading at support. These observations, coupled with the US dollar at a possible resistance level and market volatility spiking to an extreme high, lead me think a bounce is in the cards.
Gold GLD ETF – Gold Pivot Trading Low – Daily Chart
As you can see from the chart below we appear to be in the middle of a pivot low correction which can make for some great entry points. The trend is up, gold is oversold and it looks like we had a reversal low last week.
This is a chart I posted a couple months ago and so far silver has traded within the trend lines and support & resistance levels I pointed out in early August. Silver still looks bullish as it is trading at a pivot low.
Gold mining stocks appear to be trading near the bottom of the trend channel. The odds are still pointing to higher prices.
This chart of USO is also from a recent post in early October. USO broke out and is now trading at our support trend lines. There was a nice reversal candle last week but the heavy selling across the entire market pulled oil back down.
Pivot trading low could be close for UNG. The daily chart is telling me we saw the bottom in natural gas back in September as prices collapsed washing out most long (bullish) traders. I figure we will see prices trade between $9-12 for several months as the commodity forms a base.
The broad market looks and feels oversold. This chart uses Andrews Pitchfork analysis to show where short term pullbacks to the middle trend line (middle of trading range) have been a buying opportunity. Deeper corrections drop to the bottom support trend channel. These corrections sometimes form a lower low and lower high that scares traders and inestors out of the market before heading higher.
This chart shows the performance for each month over the past 37 years. Simple analysis shows selling pressure in Sept and Oct as mutual funds sell positions to lock in gains for their books each year. This move is generally compounded because seasoned traders know about this seasonal movement and also sell positions and even short the market to take advantage of this at times.
I think we are inline for a perfect storm going into year end. The market is trading at a pivot low from many different analysis theories. This forms a high probability trading opportunity in the next 2 months if we see prices reverse and start heading higher this month.
A lot of stocks have taken a real beating this past month as sell orders flooded the trading desks last week. Technology, financials and small cap stocks took is the worst. The sharp drop is not really what we wanted to see but it makes good sense. With those groups posting the largest gains since March it is only normal that money will be coming out of those stocks to lock in gains.
Many traders are starting to panic about another possible market melt down. This negative sentiment is a bullish indicator for higher prices. If everyone is scared and exiting their positions then we must be close to trading a pivot low.
Germany has several large Pipeline systems that deliver crude Oil from import terminals along its northern coastline to inland refineries. The 440-mile Minveraloelverbungleitung (MVL) connects the cities of Rostock, Schwedt, and Spergau in eastern Germany.
Majority-owned by France�s Total, MVL supplies oil refineries in Schwedt and Spergau with Crude Oil from an oil terminal at Rostock, with a capacity of 380,000 bbl/d. MVL also connects with the Druzhba crude oil pipeline from Russia at the Poland-Germany border, near Schwedt.
The Norddeutsche Oelleitung (NDO) crude oil pipeline in northern Germany connects an oil terminal and refinery in Hamburg with an oil terminal in Wilhelmshaven. The 90-mile NDO has a capacity of 150,000 bbl/d. Another crude oil pipeline, the 240-mile, 300,000-bbl/d Nord-West Oelleitung (NWO), connects Wilhelmshaven with Wesseling, near Cologne, supplying oil refineries in the area.
According to Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), Germany has 9.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven Natural Gas reserves, the third largest in the EU, after the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Almost all of Germany�s natural gas reserves and production occur in the northwestern state of Niedersachsen, between the Wesser and Elbe rivers.
Germany�s sector of the North Sea also contains sizable natural gas reserves, currently supporting the A6-B4 production project (see below). However, environmental regulations have curtailed the complete exploration of the area.
Germany began to liberalize its natural gas sector in the late 1990s in order to comply with EU directives. Unlike other EU countries, though, Germany did not establish a national regulator for the liberalized natural gas sector. Rather, it relied upon negotiated access between suppliers, distributors, and transmission companies.
Without transparent open access to the system, several large companies came to dominate the sector. In July 2005, Germany approved a new energy bill that vested regulatory oversight of the natural gas sector with the Bundesnetzagentur (BNA), an existing agency that also regulated the telecommunications and the postal system.
Private operators control Germany�s natural gas production. BEB, jointly owned by Royal Dutch Shell and Esso (a subsidiary of ExxonMobil), controls about half of domestic natural gas production. Other important players include Mobil Erdgas-Erdoel (also a subsidiary of ExxonMobil), RWE, and Wintershall.
The largest wholesale distribution company in Germany is E.ON Ruhrgas, controlling about one-half of that market. Germany�s wholesale distributors also control most of the national natural gas transport network. Finally, there are thousands of small, independent companies active in the retail distribution sector, many wholly- or partly-owned by municipal governments.
Germany has one of the largest economies in the world, with a 2004 nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.7 trillion. However, in recent years, a combination of high unemployment and sluggish domestic demand has dampened German economic growth. The country posted real GDP growth of 1.6 percent in 2004, after GDP contracted by 0.7 percent in 2003.
In 2003, Germany produced 780 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of Natural Gas. The country is the third largest producer in the EU, behind the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Production has risen slightly since 1991, but the lack of new discoveries in the country could hinder future production growth.
Over 90 percent of Germany�s natural gas production occurs in Niedersachsen. Germany also operates a single offshore natural gas field, A6-B4, located in the North Sea. Operated by Wintershall, A6-B4 came onstream in September 2000, and the project currently produces about 46.8 Bcf of natural gas per year.
In 2003, Germany produced 780 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas. The country is the third largest producer in the EU, behind the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Production has risen slightly since 1991, but the lack of new discoveries in the country could hinder future production growth.
Over 90 percent of Germany�s natural gas production occurs in Niedersachsen. Germany also operates a single offshore natural gas field, A6-B4, located in the North Sea. Operated by Wintershall, A6-B4 came onstream in September 2000, and the project currently produces about 46.8 Bcf of natural gas per year.
Germany�s domestic Natural Gas transmission network facilitates the movement of natural gas from import terminals to its interior consumption centers. Wingas operates the 440-mile Mitte-Deutschland-Anbindungs-Leitung (MIDAL) system, which runs the length of the entire country and connects the North Sea coast with Kahrlsruhe.
With a capacity of 1.2 Bcf per day (Bcf/d), MIDAL allows Germany to import natural gas from Norway through receiving terminals in Emden and Dornum. Also linking the North Sea coast with the interior is the Norddeutsche Erdgas Transversale (NETRA), a 210-mile, 2.1 Bcf/d system operated by a consortium led by E.ON Ruhrgas. NETRA links the Emden and Dornum receiving terminals with eastern Germany.
As of 2003, Germany had 7.4 billion short tons (Bst) of recoverable Coal reserves. Over 97 percent of these coal reserves are lignite (brown coal), with the remainder composed of bituminous and anthracite (hard coal). Brown coal is Germany�s most important domestic energy source. According to Statistik der Kohlenwirtschaft, a German coal industry association, brown coal production represents over 40 percent of Germany�s total domestic energy production.
Coal is an important part of Germany�s energy consumption mix, meeting 24 percent of Germany�s total energy needs in 2003.
Labels: Environment and Pollution
At the present time, Iran continues to maintain that regional treaties signed in 1921 and 1940 between Iran and the former Soviet Union, which call for joint sharing of the Caspian's resources between the two countries, remain valid. Iran has rejected as invalid all unilateral and bilateral agreements on the utilization of the Sea. As such, Iran is insisting that either the Sea should be used in common, or its floor and water basin should be divided into equal (20 percent) shares. Under the so-called "condominium" approach, the development of the Caspian Sea would be undertaken jointly by all of the littoral states. However, using the equidistant method of dividing the seabed on which Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Russia have agreed, Iran would only receive about 12-13 percent of the Sea.
As of early December 2005, no agreement has been reached among Caspian Sea region states on this matter. In March 2003, Iran and Turkmenistan had noted "the need to achieve a consensus between the five [littoral] countries," while the two countries reportedly moved ahead in charting their common border in the Sea.
One area considered to have potential is located near the Strait of Hormuz. Another interesting area is offshore near Bushehr, where Iran claimed in July 2003 to have discovered three fields with potentially huge - 38 billion barrels oil reserves. In May 2004, Brazil's Petrobras signed a 3-year, $32-$34 million deal to develop the Tousan fields of the Persian Gulf.
In late 2001 and early 2002, Shell brought part of the $800 million Soroush-Nowruz development online, with production reaching 190,000 bbl/d in June 2005. The two fields are located offshore, about 50 miles west of Kharg Island, and contain estimated recoverable reserves of around 1 billion barrels of heavy oil (20° API). The heaviness and high sulfur content (3 percent) of the oil has made marketing Soroush-Nowruz oil difficult; in September 2005, Iran reportedly diverted Soroush-Nowruz production into storage rather than try to sell it at a steep discount. In addition, there were reports in early October 2005 of technical difficulties at the oil fields, reducing production to 100,000 bbl/d for a time.
In March 2004, the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) awarded a $1.26 billion contract for recovery of NGLs and Natural Gas from Soroush, Nowruz, Foroozan, and Abuzar to Japan's JGC Corporation. Ethane from the gas will feed an ethylene complex at the Kharg petrochemical complex. Iran reportedly hopes to become a major Petrochemicals producer within 10 years.
The buyback system has drawbacks for both sides: by offering a fixed rate of return (usually around 15-18 percent), NIOC bears all the risk of low Oil prices. If prices drop, NIOC has to sell more oil or Natural Gas to meet the compensation figure. At the same time, companies have no guarantee that they will be permitted to develop their discoveries, let alone operate them. Finally, companies do not like the short terms of buyback contracts. In response, Iran has considered revisions to buyback terms (e.g., extending the length of contracts, allowing for continued involvement of oil companies after the field is handed over to NIOC), but these have been controversial and generally have not moved forward. In early December 2005, acting Iranian oil minister, Kazem Vaziri, questioned the future of buyback contracts but emphasized that Iran would continue to seek foreign investors in the energy sector.
In March 1999, France's Elf Aquitaine and Italy's Eni/Agip were awarded a $1 billion contract for a secondary recovery program at the offshore, 1.5-billion-Barrel Doroud oil and natural gas field located near Kharg Island. The program is intended to boost production from around 136,000 bbl/d to as high as 205,000 bbl/d. Total is Operator of the project, with a 55 percent share, while Eni holds the other 45 percent.
In April 1999, Iran awarded Elf (46.75 percent share), along with Canada's Bow Valley Energy (15 percent share), a buyback contract to develop the offshore Balal field. Eni is also involved, with a 38.25 percent stake. The field, which contains some 80 million barrels of reserves, started producing at a 20,000-bbl/d rate in early 2003, and reportedly reached 40,000 bbl/d in February 2004.
Iran exports around 2.7 million bbl/d, with major customers including Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Europe. Iran's main export blends include Iranian Light (34.6° API, 1.4 percent sulphur); Iranian Heavy (31° API, 1.7 percent sulphur); Lavan Blend (34°-35° API, 1.8-2 percent sulphur); and Foroozan Blend/Sirri (29-31° API). Iran's domestic oil consumption, 1.5 million bbl/d in 2005, is increasing rapidly as the economy and population grow. As mentioned above, Iran subsidizes the price of oil products heavily, resulting in a large amount of waste and inefficiency in oil consumption.
State-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)'s onshore field development work is concentrated mainly on sustaining output levels from large, aging fields. Consequently, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) programs, including Natural Gas injection, are underway at a number of fields, including Marun and Karanj. Overall, Iran's oil sector is considered old and inefficient, needing thorough revamping, advanced technology, and foreign investment.
In February 2004, a Japanese consortium led by Inpex signed a final agreement on the $2 billion Azadegan oilfield development project. Azadegan was discovered in 1999, representing Iran's largest oil discovery in 30 years, and is located onshore in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, a few miles east of the border with Iraq. Reportedly, Azadegan contains proven crude oil reserves of 26 billion barrels, but the field is also considered to be geologically complex, making the oil more challenging and more expensive to extract. In January 2001, the Majlis approved development of Azadegan by foreign investors using the so-called "buyback" model (see below).
Inpex, which has no Upstream experience of its own, hopes to bring in an international partner - possibly Total, Statoil, Sinopec, or Lukoil (Shell has indicated that it is not interested) - as the field's Operator. Initial production of medium-Sour Crude oil from Azadegan could come in 2007, ramping up to 260,000 bbl/d by 2012. At its peak, Azadegan production could account for as much as 6 percent of Japan's oil imports. However, as of early December 2005, little forward progress had been made on Azadegan, including the lack of an operating agreement with NIOC, possibly due to financial and/or political issues (e.g., US sanctions against Iran, the absence of an Iranian oil minister). In September 2005, Iran sharply criticized Japan for the slow progress.
Since August 1996, the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) has imposed mandatory and discretionary sanctions on non-U.S. companies that invest more than $20 million annually (lowered in August 1997 from $40 million) in the Iranian Oil and Natural Gas sectors. On August 3, 2001, President Bush signed into law the ILSA Extension Act of 2001.
This provided for a 5-year extension of ILSA with amendments that affect certain of the investment provisions. In addition, the United States has maintained various sanctions against Iran since 1979, following the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran on November 4 of that year. In 1995, President Clinton signed two Executive Orders prohibiting U.S. companies and their foreign subsidiaries from conducting business with Iran.
Executive Order 12957 specifically banned any "contract for the financing of the development of Petroleum resources located in Iran." On March 10, 2005, President Bush extended sanctions for another year, citing Iran's "continued support for terrorism, its efforts to undermine the Middle East peace process and its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction."
In April 2004, the United States removed Libya from the ILSA sanctions, following fulfillment of that country's commitments to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction and to renounce terrorism. On September 20, 2004, the President signed an executive order terminating the national emergency (declared in Executive Order 12543 of January 7, 1986), with respect to the policies and actions of the Government of Libya, revoking Executive Order 12544 of January 8, 1986 and Executive Order 12801 of April 15, 1992, all of which imposed sanctions against Libya in response to the national emergency.
The new September 2004 executive order also revokes Executive Order 12538 of November 15, 1985, which prohibited the importation into the United States of petroleum products refined in Libya. This lifting of sanctions has opened the door to a potential return of U.S. oil companies to Libya for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Besides Iran, the United States maintains sanctions on two other oil producing nations - Sudan and Syria. For more information on these sanctions, please see EIA's Global Energy Sanctions report.
n the Persian Gulf, Iraq has three tanker terminals: Basra port (formerly known as Mina al-Bakr), Khor al-Amaya, and Khor az-Zubair (which mainly handles dry goods and minimal Oil volumes, plus Natural Gas liquids and liquefied Petroleum gas). Basra is Iraq's largest oil terminal, with two pipelines (48-inch and 41-inch), plus four 400,000-bbl/d capacity berths capable of handling very large crude carriers (VLCCs).
Gulf War damage to Basra appears to have been repaired in large part and the terminal reportedly was handling around 1.6 million bbl/d in mid-October 2004. Basra's nameplate loading capacity is 85,000 barrels per hour (around 2 million bbl/d), which is significantly above current capacity of about 50,000 barrels per hour (around 1.2 million bbl/d), suggesting that potentially higher volumes of oil than the nameplate capacity could be shipped out of the port.
On April 24, 2004, a suicide attack against Basra port damaged one tanker berth in the first such attack on Iraq's Persian Gulf export terminals since the onset of war in March 2003. On September 22, 2004, the Iraqi Oil Ministry signed a $15 million contract with Sinopec to build eight oil storage tanks, with a total capacity of 350,000 barrels, on the Faw Peninsula in southern Iraq.
Iraq's Khor al-Amaya terminal was heavily damaged by Iranian commandos during the Iran-Iraq War and also during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. In early March 2004, Khor al-Amaya reopened for oil exports, with initial capacity of 12,000 barrels per hour (300,000-400,000 bbl/d). Upon full completion of repairs, Iraq projects Khor al-Amaya's capacity is expected to reach 1.2 million bbl/d.
The subsea segment of the oil and gas industry is the by far the fastest growing industry in the world today. The global turnover is expected to grow by 30% from today towards 2011. This creates opportunites for companies that are not part of this booming oil anmd gas industry today..
Gold futures quotations showed a small upturn on Monday with the support from other raw goods and stock indexes prices, however, the market trading volume was low.
December Gold futures in followup of COMEX trading up by 2,50 dollars to 994,10 dollars per ounce.
The deals were rather calm and low-key due to Iom-Kipur holiday. The Gold was supported by purchases amid the stock indexes uprise, as well as purchases of other raw goods after the copper price surge from the minimums. The yellow metal was also backed up by the oil price tick up.
Crude oil futures rose on Monday following the stock indexes. Thus, considerable strengthening of the American stock indexes eased concerns for a while regarding growing oil and fuel reserves.
According to the trading results of the New York Commodity Exchange, the November sweet crude oil futures ticked up by 82 cents or by 1,2% to 66,84 dollars per barrel. Brent oil futures price jumped by 43 cents or by 0,7% to 65,54 dollars per barrel.
The oil prices climbed when the US stock indexes started the trade in a positive territory, recovering the interrelation, which has been unstable for about a couple of weeks.
The oil futures has been fluctuating around 70 dollars/brl for several months already, while the traders are waiting for the global economy to use surplus oil and fuel inventories accumulated during the downturn. The reserves contraction is slower than it was expected. This promtes corrections from time to time, similar to that was seen in the last week when the oil price fell by 8% amid unexpected growth of crude oil inventories in the USA.
The oil market participants also keep watch over the actions of Iran waiting for «G6» negotiations which are due on Thursday in Geneva. On Monday, Iran tested the long-range rocket able to reach Israel. The USA and its confederates stand for new sanctions introduction after the information emerged last week concerning the establishment of the second uranium enrichment plant in Iran, raising concerns about that Teheran is to develop the nuclear weapon.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Energy Insights, an IDC company, announced today that it now offers research coverage dedicated to helping utilities and technology providers understand the complex dynamics of the rapidly evolving intelligent grid market. The Intelligent Grid Strategies research and advisory service will explore the business and regulatory impacts of emerging intelligent grid technologies and provide innovative strategies such as distributed energy resources. Technologies covered will include sensors, smart metering, network automation and control, analytics, and communications
Kuwait's finance minister said on Thursday the US dollar will remain the currency of oil trading because there was no problem in using the US currency.
The remarks follow a host of denials this week of a British newspaper report that Gulf Arab states were in secret talks with Russia, China, Japan and France to replace the dollar with a basket of currencies in trading oil.
"This is not on the cards," said Mustapha Al Shamali on a visit to London, when he was asked if there was a chance of replacing the dollar.
If we carefully look at the present business scenario then we could easily see that in recent time futures trading are gaining its world-wide popularity. In fact it is the most common trading found on many markets these days. As per the latest definitions- it is more like a trading of contracts called futures contracts, which facilitates the owner with power to trade the basic commodity at somewhere in the future for a fixed rate. Moreover, like stocks and options trading, futures trades are done in precise centralized futures commodity trading markets. However, depending upon the type of futures contracts, it can be broadly classified as commodity futures contracts and financial futures contracts.
In commodity futures contracts, trading of contracts end with a physical delivery. They may include agricultural commodity futures like sugar, oats, wheat, rice etc OR energy commodity futures such as crude oil, natural gas, etc; metals & stones like gold, silver, diamond etc. This means that if a trader is holding a futures contract and the time come when it expires, the appropriate payment will be made by the buyer, and the basic commodity (agricultural or energy) will be delivered by the seller. Whereas in financial futures contracts, trading of contracts end with a cash settlement and it include futures for treasury notes, bonds, mutual funds etc.
The futures contract trading can be executed electronically on electronic trading platforms linked to the major commodity exchanges or by the traditional open outcry method on the floor of the exchange. However, the basic form of futures contract is that it must state a location and date for physical delivery of the particular commodity. There are times when delivery arrangements are also specified by the exchange. This is particularly important for commodities that require high transportation costs, which in turn may affect the delivery place.
All those who are involved in commodity future trading must understand that for most commodity futures contracts, daily price movement limits are specified by the exchange. A limit movement is nothing but a move of price that can shift in either direction equal to the daily price limit. If the price moves down by an amount equal to the daily price limit, the contract is said to be limit down. And if the price moves up by the limit then it is said to be limit up. Price limits and positions limits generally aim to avoid large price movements deriving from excessive speculation. However, at times they act as an artificial barrier to trading when the price of the underlying commodity increases or decreases swiftly.
Overall, trading with commodity futures is definitely a good way to make handsome money but there are some essential factors that one has to take care. It is highly volatile in nature and more likely to remain unpredictable mainly because of several factors like geopolitical concerns, contracted demand-supply fundamentals, growth and inflation pressures that put pressure on the global commodity market. It is a most interesting market environment but also a dangerous one as many wars have been fought and many nations & leading companies compete for scarce natural resources and food supplies.
It is available in 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 ounces of gold, carrying denominations of $5, $10, $25 and $50, respectively. It is specified by law that the American Eagle Gold Coin must be produced by gold from sources exclusively found here in the United States.
In addition to being produced with an alloy of silver and copper in order to create a more wear-resistant composition, each coin contains 91.67% of gold (22 karat), 3% silver and 5.33% copper, no matter what the denomination may be.
The American Eagle Gold Coin features breathtaking artistry depicted on both sides. On the obverse side, there is Lady Liberty, full length, with flowing hair and holding a touch in her right hand and olive branch in her left. This is a depiction of the past designs of Lady Liberty created by Augustus Saint Gaudens, famous sculptor and friend of former President Theodore Roosevelt. Additionally, the Capitol building is featured in the background, off to the left. The opposing side has a male eagle with an olive branch in his beak, soaring above a female eagle and her hatchlings in a nest.
Gold Eagles provide an added value for your investment dollar in that they may also be utilized as government approved IRA (Individual Retirement Accounts) investments. As the U.S. government also provides the guarantee of each coins weight and precious metal content, American Gold Eagles provide a relatively safe and stable long-term investment strategy to a diversified portfolio of IRA assets.
The assets that are included in a tax-sheltered IRA plan do need to be held in trust by an authorized Trustee or Custodian, a third-party who would be authorized to accept these contributions in a secure, authorized depository such as an FDIC insured bank vault. Not all Custodians or Trustees are approved or authorized to store gold bullions coins,as outlined under government regulations, so you it is important to take care in choosing a responsible organization to hold your assets if you do wish to include physical gold coins in your IRA investment strategy.
The majority of American Eagle Gold Coins are produced from the West Point Mint in New York and therefore bear the mint's "W" marking. With the current state of the American economy, the price of gold has become more valuable than ever before. Due to this fact, while the coins have nominal face values of $5, $10, $25 and $50, these coins are currently selling for a great deal more. At this time, the American Gold Eagle Coin are sold for approximately $130, $275, $500 and $1,000 respectively, as gold prices continue to drive the prices even higher.
As the growth of traditional stocks and bonds has slowed considerably the past few years, investors have turned to gold bullion as a reliable source of portfolio diversification and hedge against a weakened dollar. Typically speaking, the price of gold flows in a direction that is opposite that of dollar values. Simply put, gold prices trend upwards as the dollar falls.
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