All Gulf oil output shut down

The Minerals Management Service reports that all oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has temporarily ceased. M-M-S says its survey indicated that 100 percent of oil production in the Gulf is shut down as well as more than 80 percent of natural gas production.

The Gulf supplies 29 percent of the nation's oil and 21 percent of the gas.

British economic growth rate slumps to 12-year low

channelnewsasia.com :

The British economy grew at its slowest annual rate since 1993 during the second quarter of the year. Gross domestic product growth on a 12-month basis was revised sharply downwards to 1.5 percent during the second quarter, from a previous estimate of 1.8 percent. The adjustment pushed the annual GDP growth rate to its lowest since the first quarter of 1993, when it stood at 1.4 percent.

Economic growth would not be as strong as predicted, due to unforeseen spiralling oil prices and a sluggish global economy. Analysts said that the flagging retail sector played a key part in lower economic growth. The Confederation of British Industry said retail sales slumped to their worst ever performance in September.

- Being deep in the throes of oil depletion probably doesn't help either. See my earlier comments on 10 Jun 2005 : "A 17% decline rate for an oil field is a huge loss. The UK economy faces dire consequences."

ASEAN, China, Japan, South Korea mull oil stockpile

channelnewsasia.com :

Ministers from 13 east Asian countries pledged to shore up energy security in the wake of record oil prices and said they would work towards sealing a world free trade agreement in Hong Kong later this year.

The trade and economic ministers from the 10-nation ASEAN block plus China, Japan and South Korea also raised the prospect of an East Asian oil stockpile as a means of combating future oil price shocks. "The ministers shared a common concern at the soaring oil price on the recovering Asian economy and its negative effects on economic growth," they said in a statement.

Japan, the only country in the region to already have its own oil stockpile, said it was taking seriously the threat posed to energy security by record costs and potential supply disruptions.

Oil and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference to be held in Hong Kong this December dominated talks with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its three, economically powerful, northern neighbours. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and is aiming to create a fully integrated economic community by 2020.

- Having a strategic petroleum reserve like the USA's one is a good idea; always good to have some reserves you can call upon. They ought to have done this a lot earlier though, before oil shot up to the $60-$70 levels nowadays - it's gonna be rather expensive to start accumulating hundreds of millions of barrels at these prices. Still, as the cliche goes, better late than never.

(2005-09-29 22:49:34 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Singapore electricity rates go up (again)

channelnewsasia.com :

Electricity tariffs will be increased by about 1.31 cents per kilowatt for the next three months (October to December 2005). SP Services says this is due to higher fuel oil prices.

The tariffs are reviewed every three months. The next review will be in January next year.

(2005-09-29 22:32:50 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Gazprom buys Sibneft in Russia's biggest takeover

reuters.com :

Gas giant Gazprom signed Russia's biggest-ever takeover on Wednesday, buying control of oil firm Sibneft for $13.1 billion from Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich. Abramovich, Russia's richest man, will be cashing in on a bargain buy made in the chaotic mid-1990s, making a windfall big enough to buy Chelsea's most expensive player, Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien, nearly 300 times over.

Gazprom will acquire 72.7 percent of Russia's No. 5 oil company - and with it 660,000 barrels per day in oil output - taking the world's largest gas firm a step closer to its goal of becoming a global energy super-major. The state-controlled gas monopoly will raise its total holding to 75.7 percent of Sibneft and thus ensure outright strategic control.

It will also secure the Kremlin control over a third of Russian oil, enabling Putin to use energy policy to project power and reassert some of the world influence Moscow lost after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

DaimlerChrysler cuts 8500 jobs at Mercedes

news.yahoo.com -> reuters.com :

DaimlerChrysler on Wednesday offered staff at its premium Mercedes Car Group division voluntary redundancy packages that aim to cut 8,500 jobs in Germany over 12 months. The Mercedes division employed around 105,000 staff at the end of last year, of which some 94,000 were in Germany.

The jobs move underscores German carmakers' attempts to cut manufacturing costs and boost profitability while paying the highest labor costs in the global auto industry. Mercedes profits have collapsed this year due to model changeovers, the strong euro, hefty losses at minicar brand Smart and spending to fix quality problems at crown jewel Mercedes-Benz.

- Now that is news indeed. American carmakers being in trouble, we can understand why ("trucks, SUV's & gas prices"), but Mercedes? What happened there? A quick search turns up the following :

In the past 12 months, the automaker has had three CEOs ... the situation deteriorated when Mercedes reported a $1.2 billion loss in the first quarter - and only $15 million in profits during the second. The automaker has been struggling to improve vehicle reliability and announced its largest ever recall - 1.3 million vehicles - in April.

(2005-09-29 00:31:12 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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