User:Charlie Huggard/sandbox/WOMT/2000s

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Contents 1 2000 1.1 Sources 2 2001 2.1 Sources 3 2002 3.1 Sources 4 2003 4.1 Sources 5 2004 5.1 Sources 6 2005 7 2006

This article chronicles events affecting the World Energy Markets in the 2000s, specifically those of the petroleum industry. The contents of this article (and others in the series) were taken from documents compiled by the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy unless otherwise noted

[edit] 2000

• January 1: Energy companies and countries around the world report that they have passed into the year 2000 without significant problems from the "Y2K Bug." There was concern that the inability of some computers and embedded control systems to recognize the year 2000 could create serious problems. (DJ, WP)
• January 26: The United Nations Security Council reaches agreement on the appointment of Hans Blix of Sweden, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to lead the new United Nations weapons inspection organization for Iraq. Iraq has indicated that it does not intend to accept the new Security Council resolution. (DJ)
• February 2: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) acts to block the proposed merger between BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield, saying the merger would unduly restrict competition along the West coast of the United States. (WSJ, WP)
• February 9: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issues a group of policy changes which extend the deregulation of the interstate natural gas pipeline system begun under Order 636 in 1992. Among the changes is a lifting, for a trial period of 30 months, of the price ceiling on secondary market exchanges of short-term gas pipeline capacity. FERC's lifting of the ceiling is meant in part to encourage gas shippers to use longer-term contracts which would promote market stability. (DJ)
• March 6: The United States Supreme Court overturns the State of Washington's law establishing state regulation of oil tankers, ruling unanimously that federal laws take precedence. The attempt to impose tougher regulatory standards came in the wake of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska. (WP, NYT)
• March 7: New York Mercantile Exchange front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures contract closes at $34.13 per barrel, the highest level in nine years. (WSJ)
• March 15: Phillips Petroleum announces that it has agreed to purchase Atlantic Richfield's assets in Alaska for $6.5 billion. The sale is being made in an effort to secure approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the merger of Atlantic Richfield with BP Amoco. Earlier the same day, the FTC announced that it had suspended its antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the merger, citing progress in talks with the companies involved. (DJ, NYT, WSJ)
• March 20: EPA Administrator Carol Browner announces that the Clinton Administration intends to push for a phase out of the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as a gasoline additive. The administration wants Congress to pass legislation which would end the requirement for the use of MTBE in gasoline sold in some smog-prone urban areas, and instead require nationwide use of ethanol. (DJ)
• March 26: Vladimir Putin is elected president of Russia on the first ballot, winning 53 percent of the popular vote. Putin took office as acting president in December 1999 after the resignation of Boris Yeltsin. (DJ)
• March 28: After two days of meetings, OPEC oil ministers agree on an increase in oil production of 1.452 million barrels per day by its members, excluding Iran and Iraq. Iraq, has not been subject to OPEC production agreements while under U.N. Security Council sanctions. Iran, though not formally signing on to the agreement, stated its intention to raise its production in order to avoid loss of its market share. This would represent about a 1.7 million barrel per day increase in OPEC production targets, if Iran was included. Several major non-OPEC producers, including Mexico and Norway, also have indicated an intention to raise production. (DJ)
• April 12: Several Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of major United States oil companies meet with senior Saudi Arabian officials to discuss possible investments in natural gas and petrochemical projects. The firms represented at the meetings include Chevron, Conoco, ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Phillips Petroleum, and Texaco. The Saudi government announces, in conjunction with the meetings, a package of legal changes that will make Saudi Arabia more open to foreign investors. Complete foreign ownership will be allowed for some types of projects, and the maximum corporate tax rate for foreign enterprises will be reduced to 15 percent. (WP)
• April 14: BP Amoco receives approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its $28 billion takeover of Atlantic Richfield Corporation (ARCO). As part of the approval, ARCO has agreed to sell its crude oil production operations in Alaska to Phillips Petroleum in a deal valued at $6.5 billion. (WP, WSJ)
• 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. (WP, DJ)
• 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. (DJ)
• May 17: 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. (WSJ)
• June 6: The World Bank executive board votes to approve a loan of $193 million to support a project to build a crude oil pipeline from Chad to the coast of Cameroon. The countries will collect an estimated $2 billion in revenues from the project over a period of 25 years. (DJ)
• June 8: The Brazilian government conducts an auction of oil exploration and production concessions covering a total of 21 blocks, both onshore and offshore. The auction represents an important step in the opening of Brazil's oil industry to international competition and investment. (NYT)
• June 9: The United States and Mexico sign a treaty resolving the issue of economic rights over the deepwater "doughnut hole" area in the Gulf of Mexico between the two countries. The agreement is based on measuring distances from each country's coast, and gives the United States rights to 38 percent of the area. (DJ)
• June 15: The German government announces an agreement with utilities for the complete phaseout of nuclear power. Nuclear power plants will be closed after a lifespan of 32 years. Nuclear power supplies about one-third of Germany's electricity, and the phaseout plan may complicate Germany's plans to reduce fossil fuel consumption to curb greenhouse gas emissions. (DJ)
• June 19: The Energy Information Administration reports a one-week rise of five cents in the average price of regular gasoline, to $1.681. This is the seventh straight week of increasing prices. Gasoline prices in the Midwest are the nation's highest, at $1.874. (DJ)
• June 21: OPEC oil ministers, meeting in Vienna, agree to raise crude oil production quotas by a total of 708,000 barrels per day. OPEC's total production quota (excluding Iraq) will rise to 25.4 million barrels per day as of July 1, 2000. The next day, crude oil futures rise, with the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) August West Texas Intermediate contract closing June 22 at $32.19. (DJ)
• July 12: The Kuwaiti parliament ratifies a treaty with Saudi Arabia resolving competing claims to offshore mineral rights. The two countries will share revenues from the Khafji, Dorra, and Hout oil and gas fields. The treaty will allow the two governments to begin negotiations with Iran to settle conflicting claims, which have again surfaced as Iran has begun drilling in the Dorra offshore gas field. (DJ)
• July 27: Italy's Eni signs a deal with Iran worth $3.8 billion for the development of the country's South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf. The project will take five years to become operational, and will eventually produce 530 million cubic feet of gas per day. (DJ)
• July 30: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wins reelection with 60% of the popular vote. His Patriotic Pole party also wins a controlling majority in the country's new unicameral legislature. (DJ)
• August 10: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez meets with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad as part of a tour of OPEC member states. Chavez is the first head of state to visit Saddam Hussein since the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. (NYT, WP)
• August 23: The Energy Information Administration reports that crude oil stock levels in the United States have fallen to their lowest level since 1976. Crude oil for October delivery closes at $32.02 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), up 80 cents. (DJ)
• August 30: The Department of Energy awards contracts to create a two-million-barrel reserve of heating oil. The oil will be stored in privately owned facilities in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and New Haven, Connecticut. (DJ)
• September 8: Truck drivers in Britain begin a blockade of oil refineries to protest high fuel prices. The blockade follows a similar protest in France. (DJ)
• September 10: At a meeting in Vienna, OPEC agrees to raise production quotas by 800,000 barrels per day (to 26.2 million barrels per day, not counting Iraq) in an attempt to push crude oil prices back under $28 per barrel. The quota increases become effective October 1. (DJ)
• September 20: Oil prices close at $37.20 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), after trading as high as $37.80 during the day's trading session. The price spike comes amid an increase in tensions between Iraq and Kuwait. This level sets a new ten-year high for NYMEX crude oil. (DJ)
• September 22: President Clinton authorizes the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over 30 days to bolster oil supplies, particularly heating oil in the Northeast. The release will take the form of a "swap," in which crude oil volumes drawn from the SPR will be replaced by the recipients at a later date. Crude oil for November delivery falls four percent, to $32.68, on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). (DJ)
• September 26: A summit of OPEC heads of government opens in Caracas, Venezuela. The summit is only the second OPEC meeting held at that level. The summit ends on a conciliatory note, with the communique calling for increased dialogue between OPEC and consuming nations. (DJ)
• September 28: The United Nations Compensation Commission, which handles claims for reparations arising from Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, approves by consensus a $15.9 billion claim by Kuwait for compensation for lost oil production and damage to oil reserves and equipment. The proportion of revenues from Iraqi oil sales under the "oil for food" program which are used for payment of claims is reduced from 30 percent to 25 percent. Iraq condemns the decision, but states that it will not call a halt to oil exports, as had earlier been feared. (DJ)
• October 12: Oil prices rise sharply on news of a terrorist attack on an American warship, the USS Cole, in the Yemeni port of Aden, as well as escalating violence between Palestinians and Israeli security forces. November crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rises $2.81 to close at $36.06 per barrel. Prices for Henry Hub natural gas hit a record high of $5.78 per million British thermal units (BTU) before falling back slightly to close at $5.63 per million BTU. (WSJ)
• October 15: Chevron agrees to purchase Texaco for $35.1 billion in stock. The deal would create the fourth largest oil and gas company in the world, and follows a general trend toward consolidation among the major oil companies over the last two years. Analysts expect the merger, like other recent mergers, to face intensive antitrust scrutiny, especially as a combined ChevronTexaco would have a heavy share of both refining capacity and retail outlets on the west coast of the United States. (WSJ)
• October 30: The president OPEC, Venezuelan oil minister Ali Rodriguez, announces that the cartel will raise production quotas by 500,000 barrels per day, beginning November 1st. OPEC's action comes as a result of its "price band" mechanism, which triggers an increase in production quotas when the price of the OPEC Basket of crude oils closes over $28 per barrel for twenty consecutive trading days. Many analysts voice doubt as to whether the OPEC quota increase will lead to an actual increase in production of that magnitude, given the lack of spare production capacity of most OPEC members. (DJ, WP, WSJ)
• October 31: The United Nations Sanctions Committee approves an Iraqi request to be paid in Euros, rather than United States dollars, for oil exported under the "oil for food" program, which is part of the sanctions regime stemming from Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. (DJ)
• November 3: Russia's Lukoil announces that it will purchase Getty Petroleum Marketing of the United States for $71 million. Lukoil eventually intends to switch Getty's 1,300 retail outlets in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic states to the Lukoil brand name. The purchase represents the first takeover of a publicly traded American company by a Russian firm. (DJ)
• November 12: OPEC oil ministers, meeting in Vienna, announce a decision to put any further production increases on hold until their next meeting scheduled for January 17, 2001. The move effectively ends OPEC's "price band" mechanism, which called for automatic increases in production quotas of 500,000 barrels per day when the price of the OPEC Basket of crude oils remained over $28 per barrel for 20 consecutive trading days. OPEC also selects the Venezuelan oil minister, Ali Rodriguez, as its new Secretary General. He will formally take over from Nigeria's Rilwanu Lukman on January 1, 2001. (NYT, WSJ)
• November 16: Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) demands that companies lifting cargoes of Iraqi crude oil begin paying a fifty cent per barrel surcharge starting on December 1, 2000. The surcharge would be paid directly to the Iraqi government rather than being channeled into the account administered by the United Nations under the Oil-for-Food Programme, and would constitute clear violation of sanctions. The Iraqi move leads to concerns over a possible Iraqi cutoff of oil supplies beginning December 1. (DJ)
• November 26: The sixth Conference of Parties (COP-6) of the Kyoto Protocol in The Hague ends without an agreement between member states on implementing cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases. One of the main issues under negotiation at the conference was the possibility that member states could claim credit for "carbon sink," forests and farmland which absorb carbon dioxide, as part of their overall commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Another main issue was "emissions trading," which would allow member states to purchase "emissions credits" from other member states whose carbon dioxide emissions were below their targets. (WP, WSJ, NYT)
• December 1: Vicente Fox is inaugurated as Mexico's president. Ernesto Martens takes office as the new Minister of Petroleum. (DJ)
• December 4: California utilities are forced to cut off electricity supplies to some "interruptable" customers due to a supply shortage. California has suffered shortages and high wholesale electricity prices since May 2000. The immediate shortage stems, in part, from a reduction in electricity imports from the Pacific Northwest as a result of cold weather in the area. Other problems include: gas supply problems, low availability of hydroelectric and nuclear generating capacity, and high power demand. (DJ)
• December 5: The United Nations Security Council approves a six month extension to the Iraq "oil for food" program. (DJ)
• December 16: Ukraine permanently shuts down the last reactor at its Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which gained notoriety for a major accident and radiation leak in 1986. The facility will still be the location of a major cleanup effort, as Ukraine tries to contain continuing radiation leakage from the containment structures around the reactors damaged in the accident. (DJ)
• December 21: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces new regulations which will drastically reduce the allowable sulfur content in diesel fuel in the United States. The new diesel sulfur standard will be 15 parts per million (PPM). Oil industry trade groups oppose the new standard. (DJ)
• December 27: Natural gas prices in the United States surge above $10 per million British Thermal Units (BTUs) first time ever in response to cold weather and stockdraws reported by the American Gas Association (AGA). Henry Hub natural gas closes at $9.978, after falling slightly from its intraday peak price. (DJ)
• December 27: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appoints Alvaro Silva Calderon to replace Ali Rodriguez as Minister of Petroleum. Calderon had previously served as a deputy minister. Rodriguez had recently been chosen as the new OPEC Secretary General. Both will assume their new posts effective January 5, 2001. (DJ)
• December 31: Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi says that OPEC will cut production when ministers meet in Vienna on January 17, 2001. Oil prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks, with the OPEC basket reaching $21.50 per barrel on December 25th, down one-third from highs reached in October 2000. Despite the recent decline, average oil prices for 2000 were the highest (not adjusted for inflation) in seventeen years. (DJ)

[edit] Sources

• Energy Information Administration: Chronology of World Oil Market Events
• Commodity Research Bureau. The CRB Commodity Yearbook 2000, 2000.

Other sources include: Dow Jones (DJ), New York Times (NYT), Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and the Washington Post (WP).

[edit] 2001

• January 10: The White House announces that President Clinton will not designate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as a national monument prior to his departure from office. Environmentalist groups had been pressing for national monument status for the ANWR to prevent oil drilling. (DJ)
• January 12: California narrowly avoids rolling blackouts as its power crisis again reaches a "Stage 3" alert. The state Department of Water Resources steps in to purchase power from suppliers in the Pacific Northwest, who had become unwilling to sell to the California Independent System Operator (ISO) due to its unstable financial condition. (WSJ)
• January 15: Schneider Electric of France announces that it will take over another French utility, Legrand SA, in a deal valued at $6.85 billion. The move reflects a trend toward consolidation and cost-cutting as utilities in Europe prepare for competition. (WSJ)
• January 17: OPEC agrees, at a meeting of ministers in Vienna, to reduce members' production quotas by 1.5 million barrels per day. The move comes in response to OPEC members' concerns about declining prices. Analysts expect the actual production cuts to total somewhat less than 1.5 million barrels per day, as some OPEC members had quotas above their actual production capacity. (NYT, WP)
• January 17: California utilities impose rolling blackouts on large portions of the State as demand for electricity exceeds available supplies. The blackouts, which generally last one hour, are imposed to prevent an uncontrolled collapse of the electricity distribution system. (DJ, LAT, WSJ)
• January 20: George W. Bush is sworn into office as the President of the United States. Later in the day, the Senate votes to confirm Spencer Abraham as the new Secretary of Energy. (WP)
• January 21: A small tanker carrying diesel fuel runs aground in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands and begins to leak, threatening an environmental disaster. This is later averted as winds push much of the oil slick out to sea. (NYT)
• January 29: Natural gas prices fall 13% in a single day, on unseasonably warm temperatures in key urban markets. February Henry Hub natural gas closes at $6.293 per million British thermal units (Btu), down 96.3 cents. It had reached a high of $10.10 per million Btu on December 27, 2000. (DJ)
• January 31: Taiwan's legislature passes, by a 134 to 70 majority, a resolution calling for the resumption of work to complete the nation's fourth nuclear power plant. Construction on the $5.4-billion plant was halted in October 2000 after a new government under President Chen Shui-bian took office earlier in the year, promising to end the expansion of nuclear power. Earlier in the month, Taiwan's highest court ruled that the government's action in terminating construction had been legally improper. The Taiwanese government officially orders construction to resume on February 13. (DJ)
• February 12: Indonesia signs a $9-billion deal with Singapore to supply natural gas to the island nation over the next 20 years. The deal is to lead to the construction of a pipeline from gas deposits on the Indonesian island of Sumatra to Singapore, with supplies beginning in 2003. Indonesia already sells gas to Singapore from its offshore Natuna field, which flows through a separate pipeline. (DJ)
• February 13: Italy's ENI is chosen as the operator of Kazakhstan's giant offshore Kashagan oilfield, beating out ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and TotalFinaElf. The decision comes one week after TotalFinaElf's purchase of BP's stake in the field for $400 million. (DJ, WSJ)
• February 20: The United States Supreme Court declines to consider an appeal by five major oil companies against Unocal's patent on production of cleaner "reformulated" gasoline sold in California, allowing a lower court ruling in favor of Unocal to stand. The ruling may eventually have effects beyond the California market, as tighter environmental standards for fuels take effect across much of the country. (DJ, WSJ)
• February 23: Petroecuador declares force majeure on the shipment of 1.8 million barrels of oil, due to continuing protests in its inland oil-producing region. Local residents in the area began takeovers of the oilfields earlier in the week in order to press the Ecuadorean government for funding for local infrastructure and services. (DJ)
• February 26: Enron signs a $1.3-billion energy management contract with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. Enron will provide and manage the supply of electricity and natural gas at Eli Lilly facilities, as well as maintain energy assets and related infrastructure. (DJ)
• February 27: Shares of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company produces the majority of China's offshore oil. (DJ, NYT)
• February 27 The United States Supreme Court rejects a challenge to the regulatory authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act. In a unanimous opinion, the Court rules that the EPA must consider only public health and safety in its decisions on acceptable levels of pollutant emissions, and is not required to conduct an analysis of financial costs and benefits. (NYT, WP)
• February 28: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces that it intends to proceed with implementation of tighter restrictions on sulfur content in diesel fuel, which were proposed by the Clinton administration. The rule, which will require a reduction of 97% in sulfur content by 2006, has been opposed by many in the refining industry. (DJ)
• February 28: Calpine Corporation signs two contracts valued at up to $8.3 billion to sell electricity to the California Department of Water Resources, which was empowered to purchase power on the wholesale market due to the financial difficulties of the state's two largest investor-owned utilities. Deliveries of power under the contracts will begin July 1, 2001. (DJ)
• March 2: California's largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, secures a $1 billion loan to pay its creditors and avoid bankruptcy. (LAT)
• March 4: Tests in recent days confirm the world's largest oil find in three decades in the Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea. Kashagan is a single reservoir at least 25 miles across, and two-and-a-half times the size of the nearby Tengiz field. (WSJ)
• March 5: Governor Gray Davis of California announces that the state has reached forty separate deals worth $40 billion to buy power over the next ten years. This would provide an additional capacity of 8,886 megawatts. (WSJ)
• March 6: United States Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham formally establishes the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, a two million barrel government-owned reserve to be used in emergency circumstances. (DOE)
• March 12: Russian President Vladimir Putin formally agrees to resume conventional arms sales to Iran and to complete a delayed nuclear power plant. These agreements also set out general principles for the Russia-Iran military relationship and principles for resolving competing claims over oil and gas deposits in the Caspian Sea. (NYT & LAT)
• March 12: Turkey signs a natural gas purchase deal with Azerbaijan that will deliver 233 billion cubic feet over 15 years. This adds momentum to United States and Turkish-backed pipeline plans from Baku to Ceyhan, Turkey. (WSJ)
• March 13: United States President George W. Bush, in a policy reversal, declares that his administration will not seek to regulate power plants' emissions of carbon dioxide, citing an Energy Department study that regulating these emissions could result in higher electricity prices. (NYT)
• March 15: The world's largest oil rig, located 80 miles offshore Brazil and operated by the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras, suffers three explosions. This one platform accounted for more than 5% of Petrobras' total production. On March 20 Petrobras' Platform-36 sinks with 400,000 gallons of fuel and crude oil aboard.(WSJ)
• March 17: OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) decides to cut output by 4% or 1 million barrels per day, effective April 1. The cut is aimed at preventing a price collapse in a time of weakening demand. (NYT)
• March 19: About 800,000 customers in California experience rolling blackouts in the wake of unseasonably warm weather that raised demand. The next day, 550,000 customers also experience blackouts. (WP)
• March 21: BP and ENI of Italy agree to build a $2.5 billion gas liquefaction plant in Egypt with Egyptian Petroleum Corp. The facility will be built at Damietta on the Mediterranean with initial exports targeted to Southern Europe. (WSJ)
• March 22: Mexican state oil company Pemex unveils a restructuring plan involving $3 billion in cuts for the company and possibly large job reductions. (LAT)
• March 26: Kazakhstan's Prime Minister opens an oil pipeline from the giant Tengiz field to the Russian port of Novorossiisk on Monday, giving the Central Asian producer its first direct link to international markets. The 900-mile pipeline will carry 600,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of the year, and eventually 1.5 million barrels per day. (NYT)
• March 27: California regulators (State Public Utilities Commission) approve a 40%-46% rise in electricity prices. The panel defends this action by stating that it is the only way to avoid blackouts. (LAT, NYT, WP)
• March 27: The Bush administration declares that it has no interest in implementing or ratifying the international climate treaty negotiated in Kyoto in 1997. (NYT)
• March 28: Oil workers in Venezuela, the world's third largest oil exporter, begin a strike but the state-run oil company PdVSA says vital operations continue under a contingency plan. The strike lasts two days before clashes with the Venezuelan National Guard and weak support among workers end the strike. (Reuters)
• March 30: The Western Hemisphere climate conference, a gathering of environment ministers in Montreal, ends with the United States declining to go along with a Latin American plan for industrialized countries to reduce their emissions. (NYT)
• April 1: Qatar's Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co. Ltd (RasGas II) signs an agreement with a consortium comprising Chiyoda Corp, Mitsui & Co. and Snamprogetti SpA to set up a third natural gas train at the RasGas plant. This sets in motion the largest-ever liquefied natural gas (LNG) export deal, with India to purchase 7.5 million tons per year for 25 years through PetroNet LNG. (WMO)
• April 6: California's largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, formally files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The utility is attempting to get relief from $9 billion in debt. (NYT)
• April 9: U.S. President George W. Bush's budget for the Department of Energy is released. It calls for a 50% or $190 million cut in research programs for renewable energy sources. However, it adds $51 million for research on the use of hydrogen gas as an energy source and on advancing power transmission technology. (WP)
• April 10: E.ON AG of Germany announces plans to take over Powergen PLC of the United Kingdom in a $7.4-billion deal that would create the world's second largest electricity provider. E.ON is a conglomerate that derives half its market capitalization from non-utility businesses. Ownership of Powergen will give E. ON access to the U.S. market. (WSJ)
• April 12: ExxonMobil Corp. announces that it has made a major oil discovery in Indonesia. Its Mobil Cepu Ltd. unit made the discovery at the Banyu Urip No. 3 well, an onshore tract in the Central and East Java provinces, with estimated recoverable reserves in excess of 250 million barrels of crude oil. (DJ)
• April 12: Two studies are released by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Oceanographic Data Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography that show a direct connection between rising ocean temperatures and emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. (WP)
• April 16: Conoco's Killingholme refinery in the UK suffers an explosion, shutting down the refinery and killing two workers. The plant processes some 230,000 barrels of crude oil and other feedstocks per day, and its shutdown boosts NYMEX crude oil futures. (Reuters)
• April 17: A letter from U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Gale Norton to Florida Governor Jeb Bush is released, stating that the Bush administration has decided to go ahead with plans to auction six million acres of potentially oil-and-gas-rich seabed in the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Department of the Interior estimates that the area contains 396 million barrels of oil and 2.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. (USAT)
• April 18: A study is released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicting that, without strong government action, the emission of greenhouse gases will jump by one third in the next twenty years. (DJ)
• April 23: The Australian Government rejects Royal Dutch/Shell Group's planned takeover of Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Australia's largest energy company. Australia invokes a rarely-used national interest veto and asserts that the government is ensuring development of the North West Shelf gas field, Australia's largest single ongoing natural resource development project. (WSJ)
• April 23: U.S. major oil companies ExxonMobil and Conoco release earnings figures showing profits for the first quarter of 2001 of $5 billion and $616 million respectively. These figures represent more than a 50% increase over the same period a year ago. Overall, companies in the Standard & Poor's energy sector are expected to post a 54% increase in profits for the first quarter. (WP)
• April 24: Venezuela calls upon foreign companies operating in the country to cut their crude oil output in order for the country to meet its OPEC production quota. Most OPEC countries rely upon cuts in their own state-owned company's production to comply with quotas. (WMO)
• April 27: Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Ali al-Naimi meets with a number of senior US officials, including Vice-President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. Al-Naimi, in a statement before the meetings, says leading oil producers would not allow record-high gasoline prices to spin out of control. (WMO, Reuters)
• May 7: Valero Energy announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire Ultramar Diamond Shamrock for $6 billion. If approved by shareholders and regulators, the new company would be the second-largest petroleum refiner in the United States, with a refining of capacity slightly under 2 million barrels per day. (NYT, WMO)
• May 9: Four people are killed in the Aceh region of Indonesia when two bombs explode, damaging a natural gas pipeline and pumping station owned by ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil suspended on-shore operations, including shipments from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Arun, on March 9, 2001, due to the possibility of violence. This has reduced Indonesia's export earnings from LNG. (WMO)
• May 17: President George W. Bush issues the administration's new energy policy. Among the plan's 105 specific recommendations are calls for reduced regulations to encourage more oil, gas, and nuclear production, tax incentives to boost coal output, and other tax incentives to promote conservation and alternative fuels. The plan also calls for increasing energy assistance to low-income households and for making the electricity grid more interconnected, both domestically and with Mexico and Canada. (LAT, WP, WSJ)
• May 17: BP and Shell say that they will build a $150 million, 100-mile natural gas pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico. The Okeanos pipeline will have the capacity to move as much as one billion cubic feet of gas per day from offshore production fields in ultradeep waters. (WSJ)
• May 18: Saudi Arabia selects the eight foreign companies to take part in its "Gas Initiative," three core venture gas projects that have an anticipated worth of $25 billion. They are: Core Venture 1: ExxonMobil (lead), Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and Phillips; Venture 2: ExxonMobil (lead), Occidental and Enron (a joint bid); Venture 3: Shell (lead), TotalFinaElf, and Conoco. The Gas Initiative is the first major reopening of Saudi Arabia's upstream hydrocarbon sector since nationalization in the 1970s. (WMO)
• May 21 The price of Brent crude oil futures for delivery in early June peaks at $29.68 per barrel, the highest level in a year. This comes as concern increases over U.S. gasoline supplies, heightening Israeli-Palestinian tensions, a possible Iraqi halt in oil exports, and OPEC statements to the effect that a production quota increase in June is unlikely. (WMO)
• May 21 Enron Corporation's power generating venture in India, the Dabhol Power Company, serves formal notice that it will terminate its power supply contract and pull out. The $2.9 billion Dabhol project represents the single largest foreign investment in India. The gas-fired plant already had a generating capacity of 740 megawatts and another 1,444 megawatts was scheduled to go on line in June.
• May 23 Philippine Energy Secretary Jose Camacho announces that the country's power sector would require investments of around 382 billion pesos ($7.59 billion) for the next 10 years or an average of 38 billion pesos a year to ensure adequate power supply. According to many foreign investors, obtaining such a level of investment requires passage of the power reform bill before the Philippine Congress. The reform bill is aimed at privatizing debt-laden National Power Corp. (Napocor) and restructuring the industry to bring down power rates. Napocor's debt represents over 12% of the Philippines' national debt. (Reuters)
• May 29 California Governor Gray Davis meets with President Bush and informs him that he plans to file a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to force the federal government to impose price controls on wholesale electricity in California. President Bush reiterates his opposition to price caps. California has been the victim of massive energy price raises and power shortages. (Reuters)
• May 29 Natural gas futures plunge 6% to a 10-month low on speculation that growing U.S. inventories will help power plants meet summer demand for air-conditioning. The price for June delivery fell 23.5 cents, to $3.738 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). (LAT)
• May 31 The United States and Britain win United Nations Security Council approval of a one-month extension of the United Nations oil-for-food program. A vote on the new "smart sanctions" on Iraq proposed by the United States and Britain is delayed at least one month. Iraq demands the usual six-month extension, and says that it will cut off oil exports in response. (WSJ)
• June 3 Iraq announces that it will halt crude oil exports in response to a United Nations Security Council resolution that extends the oil-for-food program by only one month, instead of the normal six-month period. The oil-for-food program affects revenues from Iraqi sales of about 2.1 million barrels per day. However, it has been reported Iraq will continue to sell several hundred thousand barrels per day to its neighbors through sales that are outside of the oil-for-food program. OPEC announces that, if need be, it will make up for lost Iraqi production. Oil prices do not change greatly in response to either announcement. (NYT)
• June 3 The eight energy companies selected by Saudi Arabia on May 18 to take part in its Gas Initiative formally sign agreements to develop the projects. It is expected that the conversion of Saudi Arabia's power plants from oil to natural gas, which is part of the deal, will free up more crude oil for export. (LAT, WP)
• June 5 OPEC ministers agree to leave the cartel's oil production quotas unchanged for at least a month, until a scheduled emergency meeting July 3. OPEC had been expected to leave the quotas unchanged until September, but Iraq's suspension of oil exports on June 3 created uncertainty. (LAT)
• June 5 Egypt and Jordan sign a 30-year agreement to export Egyptian natural gas to Jordan through a pipeline. The pipeline will have an initial capacity of 35.3 billion cubic feet per year, and the 156-mile pipeline will go from the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El-Arish to the Jordanian Red Sea coastal town of Aqaba. Construction is expected to take 18 months. (DJ)
• June 6 A report from the National Academy of Sciences on global warming that had been requested by the Bush Administration is released. The report affirms the view that global warming is a real problem, i.e., that greenhouse gases are accumulating in the earth's atmosphere, and that air and ocean temperatures are rising. (NYT)
• June 11 German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and leading energy companies sign an agreement that will shut down 19 nuclear power plants in Germany. The agreement limits nuclear plants to 32 years of operation, meaning that all nuclear plants in Germany could be shut down by 2021. (DJ)
• June 11 Saudi Arabia announces that it has seized ownership, effective June 7, of the 1.6-million barrel-per-day IPSA pipeline that had carried Iraqi crude oil to the Saudi Red Sea port of Mu'jiz prior to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The seizure includes pumping stations, storage tanks, and the maritime terminal. Saudi Arabia claims that the asset was confiscated as a result of aggressive Iraqi actions. Iraq insists that it still owns the pipeline. (DJ)
• June 14 The California Supreme Court rejects allegations that nine of the largest oil companies in the United States conspired to fix gasoline prices in California. This ruling may affect the California attorney general's ability to bring charges of antitrust behavior in the State's wholesale power market. (DJ)
• June 15 ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum sign a letter of intent for a natural gas to liquids (GTL) project that would be the largest in the world. The plant would have a production capacity of 80,000 to 90,000 barrels per day, and would use about 640 million to 720 million cubic feet of natural gas per day as feedstock. The project is expected to cost between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion to construct. (OD)
• June 16 The Iraqi Trade Minister, Mohammed Mehdi Saleh, states that Iraqi crude oil exports will not resume as long as the U.S.-British changes to the memorandum governing the oil-for-food program (i.e. "smart sanctions") are being considered. (AP)
• June 19 Administrative workers for Shell Nigeria go on strike, shutting down administrative offices and flow stations, with a production loss of 100,000 barrels per day, according to Shell. Downstream Shell workers will make a decision whether to strike on June 28. (Reuters)
• June 22 Electricity prices in the western United States fall to their lowest level in over a year in the wake of federal price controls and declining natural gas prices. The price for a megawatt-hour at the Palo Verde, Arizona transmission hub fell to $92, compared to $160 just before the FERC ruling of June 18. (WSJ)
• June 28 The U.S. House of Representatives approves a measure banning new offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in the Great Lakes. (WP)
• June 30 ENI of Italy signs a $550 million contract to develop Iran's Darquain (Darkhovin) field, with expected production of 160,000 barrels per day. This deal may be seen as a test of the U.S. government's resolve to enforce sanctions against foreign companies investing in Iran's energy sector. (LAT)
• July 2 The United Nations (U.N.) Security Council, facing an almost certain Russian veto, agrees to postpone indefinitely a vote on the U.S.-led "smart sanctions" package for Iraq, despite support by the four other council members. Instead, it will extend, most likely through the end of the year, the program that allows Iraq to export oil and import food and other commodities under U.N. supervision. (WSJ)
• July 3 At a meeting of its oil ministers, OPEC agrees to maintain current production quotas. Ministers indicate that, if Iraqi oil returns to the market, they may cut production in response to maintain their desired level of prices. (WP)
• July 10: Amerada Hess agrees to acquire Triton Energy for $2.7 billion in cash. Both companies' boards have approved the transaction. Triton Energy is an international exploration and production company with major oil and natural gas assets in West Africa and Latin America. Triton's total proved reserves are estimated at 293.5 million barrels of oil equivalent. Amerada Hess' total proved reserves are estimated at 1.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. (DJ)
• July 11: Iraq resumes oil exports, ending a 5-week halt in protest of a U.S. and British-sponsored United Nations (U.N.) Security Council resolution that would have overhauled U.N. sanctions, after this resolution did not come to a vote (see July 2). The oil-for-food program will be extended for five months. (NYT)
• July 12: A bomb attack shuts down pumping at Colombia's Cano Limon Pipeline, the country's second-largest crude oil export pipeline, just 19 hours after it had been returned to service after an earlier bombing. The 485-mile pipeline, which can transport 120,000 barrels per day to the port of Covenas, has been bombed over 100 times in 2001. In the previous week, the 110,000-barrel-per-day Colombia Pipeline was also bombed, shutting down production there. For the year-to-date, Colombia's oil exports have fallen 28.7% compared to the previous year. (OD, DJ)
• July 16: BP agrees to buy a 51% stake in German energy conglomerate E.On's Veba Oel petroleum station and oil unit in a deal valuing the business at about $5.56 billion. BP has the option to acquire the remaining 49%. The deal would make BP the market leader in retail fuel sales in Germany. (DJ)
• July 18: Crude oil futures fall to their lowest levels in 14 months after data from the Energy Information Administration and the American Petroleum Institute show a larger-than-expected build in crude oil stocks. Crude oil for August delivery falls 68 cents per barrel to $24.89 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). (DJ)
• July 23: Following days of intense negotiations at the CoP-6 meeting in Bonn, an agreement is reached by 178 countries that would require industrialized countries to cut emissions of gases linked to global warming. The final product is a modified version of the Kyoto Protocol. The United States declines to participate in the agreement. (NYT)
• July 25: Faced with declining oil prices, ministers of OPEC agree to cut crude oil production quotas by about 4%, or one million barrels per day. The cut will take effect September 1, and is aimed at maintaining the price of the OPEC basket of crude oils at around $25 per barrel. Crude oil futures for September delivery climbed 47 cents per barrel, to $26.78, on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) after the announcement. (DJ)

• July 26: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christie Whitman proposes significant changes in the regulation of power plant pollution. Five specific programs would be replaced with a single, flexible approach that includes expanded pollution credit trading. (LAT)

• July 30: The flow of natural gas from Iran to Turkey through the Tabriz-Ankara pipeline, completed on July 26, is delayed. Turkey states that its state gas company, Botas, wants to conduct additional tests on the pipeline. The National Iranian Gas Company claims that the delays are a tactic by Turkey to avoid paying compensation to Iran for not being technically prepared on the agreed start-date for exports. Under the 23-year deal signed in 1996, Iran was to have begun exporting 106-billion cubic feet per day, increasing to 353-billion cubic feet per day from 2007 onward. (AP)

August 2001

• August 1: A Phillips Petroleum-led coalition announces that it is postponing its investment commitment for the Bayu-Undan project, which involves construction of a $500 million pipeline to transport natural gas from the offshore field in the Timor Sea to Darwin, Australia for processing into liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Bayu-Undan field contains an estimated 3.4 trillion cubic feet of gas. The reason for the postponement reportedly concerns taxation uncertainties after oil and gas reserves in the Timor Gap were redistributed between Australia and East Timor. (OD, DJ)

• August 1: The U.S. House of Representatives votes to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It also votes to reject a proposal to substantially boost the gasoline mileage of sport-utility vehicles. (WP)

• August 2: U.S. President George Bush signs an executive order calling on the federal government to purchase products that consume no more than 1 watt of electricity in their standby mode. (WMO)

• August 2: A three-day strike costing $1 million per day at Venezuela's Sincor Heavy Oil project ends. Sincor is a joint venture of TotalFinaElf, Statoil, and PdVSA that will convert the heavy oil into 31 to 32 degree API Zuata Sweet crude oil. (WMO)

• August 2: Crude oil futures prices for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rise $0.94 to $27.71 per barrel, their highest level in six weeks. This comes after a July 31 report by the American Petroleum Institute showing a decline in U.S. petroleum inventories for the first time in more than a month. (WSJ)

• August 3: U.S. President George Bush signs into law the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) Extension Act of 2001. This Act provides for a 5-year extension of ILSA with amendments that affect certain of the investment provisions. ILSA sanctions foreign companies that provide new investments of over $40 million for the development of petroleum resources in Iran or Libya, or that violate existing United Nations prohibitions against trade with Libya. The law allows the president to waive sanctions against a foreign company if doing so is deemed to be in the U.S. national interest. U.S. companies are prohibited by U.S. law from engaging in any commercial or financial transactions with Iran or Libya.

• August 7: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announces that Venezuela will have a new hydrocarbons law by mid-November. He states that the new law will promote the participation of domestic companies in the oil sector. The bill is expected to include taxation and royalty reforms. (WMO)

• August 8: The Energy Information Administration announces that petroleum demand in July averaged 19.7 million barrels per day, up from 19.3 million barrels per day in June, for the second-highest July figure ever recorded. Gasoline demand averaged 9 million barrels per day for July an all-time high. (DJ)

• August 8: U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announces that four programs to encourage the development of low-generation-cost fuel cells will receive $270 million in subsidies from the Department of Energy. (WMO)

• August 10: The United States and Great Britain reject a proposal by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to permit the Iraqi government to use $1 billion per year to fund infrastructure improvements and to increase oil production capacity. It has been suggested that without infrastructure investment, Iraq's production could fall significantly over the next few years. (WMO)

• August 10: The State of California files a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over federal requirements that expensive anti-pollution additives be added to gasoline in the State. The additives raise the cost of gasoline by 3 to 5 cents per gallon, and California maintains that these additives are not necessary to maintain clean air standards. (LAT)

• August 13: Iraqi Vice-President Ramadan announces that Syria will soon hire contractors to build a new oil pipeline stretching from the Iraqi border to Syria. The pipeline would replace an old one that was shut down in 1982, but is reported to be operating. (DJ)

• August 13: An electricity interconnection between Venezuela and Brazil is inaugurated today by the presidents of the two countries at Santa Elena de Uairen, Venezuela. The transmission line will link this city to Boa Vista in Brazil. The power is generated by the 12,500-megawatt Guri hydroelectric plant in Venezuela. (WMO)

• August 13: BP signs an agreement with Algerian state oil and gas company Sonatrach for the development of the 7.1-trillion-cubic-foot in Salah natural gas field. The $2.5 billion project will split development costs 65/35. Production is expected to come on stream in 2004, and will peak at 141 billion cubic feet per year. (WMO)

• August 14: Devon Energy buys Mitchell Energy for $3.1 billion in cash and stock. The transaction, which was approved by the boards of trustees of both companies, also involves the assumption by Devon of $400 million of Mitchell's debt. This deal makes Devon the second-largest independent producer of natural gas in the United States. (WSJ, DJ)

• August 14: The Environmental Protection Agency announces that it will not issue a reassessment of an air pollution rule affecting coal-fired power plants by August 17, as originally announced in the President's energy policy plan speech in May. Instead, the decision, which is part of a plan to ease the regulatory burden on the energy industry without having an environmental rollback, will be delayed until September in order to be part of a more comprehensive set of policy options. (NYT, WP)

• August 14: President Bush names Pat Wood III to be the new chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, effective September 1, to succeed Curtis Hebert, who announced his resignation on August 6. (WSJ)

• August 15: Rebels in southern Sudan attack oil field operations for the first time since operations there restarted two years ago. Oil production was interrupted for only 12 hours, according to Sudanese officials. Production from these fields is about 200,000 barrels per day. (WP)

• August 20: A Superior Court Judge in San Jose, California signs a settlement agreement between the environmental group Communities for a Better Environment and five large oil companies (Shell, Chevron, Texaco, Equilon Enterprises, and Unocal) that will force the companies to clean up their sites that have been contaminated with the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). Arco, Tosco, and ExxonMobil are still in litigation. (DJ)

• August 24: The United States decides to support a modified British proposal to tighten procedures for pricing Iraqi crude oil. According to reports, Iraq is attempting to price its oil at artificially low levels, and favoring buyers willing to pay surcharges to secret accounts, thereby circumventing United Nations (U.N.) control over Iraqi oil revenue. Britain had proposed that the U.N. and Iraq set prices every 10 days, instead of the current 30 days, to make it more difficult for Iraq to exploit fluctuations in the market. The United States and Britain today agreed to 15 days instead of 10. (WP)

• August 24: The retail price of gasoline in the United States is found to have risen by 6.25 cents per gallon nationwide over the previous two weeks, according the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 stations. This is the first reported rise in national average retail gasoline prices since May 18. (DJ)

• August 24: Iranian President Khatemi and Turkmen President Niyazov call for a suspension of oilfield development in disputed sectors of the Caspian Sea. Both countries claim areas being developed by Azerbaijan. The unresolved legal status of claims by the five littoral States (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan) to the Caspian is an impediment to hydrocarbon development in some areas. (WMO)

• August 27: Several dozen oil workers, including eight foreigners, are released by militants after being taken hostage during a raid on a drilling rig off the coast of Nigeria on August 23. The militants release the hostages and evacuate the rig after negotiations with company officials. Work was suspended on the rig, which is now being guarded by a security force. (DJ)

• August 28: The European Commission approves the $5.3 billion takeover of Italian power company Montedison by Italenergia, a holding company led by the Fiat Group. However, the Commission warns that, if Electricite de France, a minority stakeholder in Italenergia, were to gain control of Italenergia, the case would be open to reexamination. (NYT)

• August 28: National Grid PLC of the United Kingdom announces that it is the managing member of a new electricity-transmission alliance that will manage the electric-transmission systems of 10 companies in 11 American states. The new regional transmission organization (RTO) will be called Alliance Transco, and will have a gross book value of $12 billion. The RTO plans to start operating December 15, 2001. (DJ)

September 2001

• September 3: Santa Fe International agrees to buy rival oil and natural gas driller Global Marine for $3 billion in stock. Santa Fe is the smaller company, but is paying a 17% premium for shares in Global Marine. The deal, which has been approved by both boards of directors, creates one of the world's largest drilling companies, GlobalSantaFe Corporation, from two mid-sized companies. (DJ)

• September 3: Libya's Foreign Minister announces that U.S. companies will be given one year to resume oil operations in the country before Libya decides whether their licenses should be revoked and given to other firms. Current U.S. sanctions forbid companies from operating in Libya due to previous Libyan involvement in terrorist acts against the United States and other people. (Reuters)

• September 4: Devon Energy agrees to buy natural gas-producer Anderson Exploration of Canada for $3.4 billion. Under the merger plan, Devon will commence a tender offer for at least two-thirds of Anderson's outstanding shares while Anderson agrees not to solicit further offers while also paying a $135 million breakup fee. The deal gives Devon access to large undeveloped gas reserves in Canada. The transaction will increase Devon's proven reserves by 35%, to about 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Natural gas production will rise to 2.2 billion cubic feet per day, making Devon the largest independent producer of natural gas in North America. (DJ)

• September 5: The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) begins trading of 15-day Brent futures contracts, which had previously been traded only on the International Petroleum Exchange in London. The price of Brent crude oil is an important international benchmark used in pricing formulas for up to two-thirds of the world's crude oil. (DJ)

• September 5: Enron Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Lay announces that the company will divest itself of $4-$5 billion in assets in the next two years. Enron, one of the world's largest energy companies, is restructuring itself and placing more emphasis on its trading operations. (DJ)

• September 6: Twelve crude-oil pipelines at China's largest refinery, Maoming, explode. About 20,000 people are evacuated and six workers are injured. The refinery's output is lowered by 73,000 barrels per day. Maoming is a unit of the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec). The oil pipelines begin functioning at a reduced capacity on September 16. (DJ)

• September 7: BP decides to withdraw from negotiations with PetroChina for a stake in the construction of PetroChina's planned $4.8-billion, 2,485-mile natural gas pipeline from Xinjiang to Shanghai. ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, and Gazprom are still in negotiations with PetroChina. (DJ)

• September 7: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approves Chevron's bid to buy Texaco. Texaco must sell its Equilon Enterprises and Motiva Enterprises units in order to complete the $39-billion deal. The new company, ChevronTexaco, will have a market value of over $100 billion, assets of $83 billion, net proven reserves of 11.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), and daily production of 2.7 million boe. (DJ)

• September 10: Dominion Resources announces that it has agreed to buy Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas for $1.8 billion in cash and stock. Dominion Resources is a natural gas and electricity concern with 2.8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas reserves and 4 million electricity customers. Louis Dreyfus is an independent natural gas exploration and production company operating primarily in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, with proven reserves of 1.8 Tcf of natural gas equivalent. (WSJ)

• September 11: The largest terrorist attack in world history occurs as 2 hijacked airplanes crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one hijacked plane crashes into the U.S. Department of Defense's Pentagon headquarters, and another hijacked plane crashes into a rural part of Pennsylvania. The World Trade Center is destroyed, and the Pentagon is heavily damaged. Almost 3,000 people die and economic damage is estimated to be in the billions. Aviation is halted in the United States and all major trading markets (including energy) are closed for the remainder of the week. The U.S. government blames the attack on Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network.

• September 13: Relative calm returns to world oil markets as U.S. retail gasoline prices return to normal levels and Brent crude oil futures fall back to $28.02 per barrel for October delivery after spiking to above $31.00 in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Also, energy trading by Houston energy companies resumes and limited commercial aviation starts. (WMO)

• September 16: The California State Legislature ends its session without a bailout for Southern California Edison, as Governor Gray Davis had requested. A bill that would have let Southern California Edison issue $2.9 billion in bonds was not allowed to come to a vote in the Senate. Southern California Edison, with 4.3 million customers, acquired a debt of $3.9 billion during the California power crisis in the winter of 2001. (NYT)

• September 17: Phillips completes its $7.36-billion stock acquisition of Tosco, after getting approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. This makes Phillips the second-largest oil refiner in the United States, with a capacity to refine 1.7 million barrels per day. (WSJ, LAT)

• September 17: Major trading markets in the United States, including the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), reopen for the first time since September 11.

• September 19: Enron invokes a clause in its Dabhol power plant contract, claiming that because the Maharashtra State Electricity Board has violated its power purchase agreement, the Maharashtra state government and the government of India are liable for $5 billion. India could avoid facing liabilities that could total $5 billion by choosing to settle the dispute by paying offshore sponsors and foreign lenders, according to Enron's Dabhol unit. (Reuters)

• September 19: BP and Methanex of Canada conclude a deal to construct the world's largest methanol plant, in central Trinidad. The $400-million plant would begin production in 2003 and have a capacity to produce 5,000 metric tons (5,500 short tons) per day. (DJ)

• September 20: Iraq accuses Kuwait of excessive extraction of the joint al-Ratqa border oilfield. Iraq's foreign minister requests compensation from Kuwait. (Reuters)

• September 20: PG&E, California's largest utility, files its bankruptcy plans. PG&E argues that it should reorganize into two utility companies because this would put it in a better position to borrow the money needed to pay off $13.2 billion in debt. Some consumer groups object to the plan, contending that it could lead to higher electricity rates because of reduced State oversight. (NYT)

• September 20: Duke Energy agrees to pay $3.5 billion in cash and stock and to assume $4-$5 billion in debt in acquiring Canadian Westcoast Energy. Duke Energy is the largest U.S. utility owner, and the deal will add U.S. and Canadian natural gas pipelines to its portfolio. The companies' combined natural gas assets will include 18,900 miles of transmission pipes, 58,700 miles of gathering pipeline, 16,500 miles of distribution pipes, 241 billion cubic feet of storage, and 84 processing facilities. (LAT)

• September 24: Crude oil and petroleum products futures fall to their lowest levels in nearly two years amid fears that a recession will reduce energy demand. At the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), crude oil set for October delivery falls $3.96 to $22.01 per barrel, and crude oil for November delivery falls $3.82 to $22.44 per barrel. Over the past six trading sessions crude oil and gasoline futures have fallen more than 26% and heating oil futures have fallen nearly 29%. (DJ, NYT)

• September 25: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Richard A. Meserve announces that a comprehensive review of nuclear plant security is underway in light of the September 11 terrorist attacks. One concern is that a fully-fueled airliner could penetrate the concrete dome enclosing nuclear reactors. (WP)

• September 25: An explosion at the deepest coal mine in the United States, at Brookwood, Alabama, kills thirteen miners in the deadliest domestic mining accident since 1984. The blast occurs at Blue Creek Mine No. 5 when the ceiling in a shaft falls in over a battery charger, sparking naturally occurring methane. It could be weeks or months before production at the mine can resume, as fires continue to rage and the mine is being flooded by water in an effort to extinguish the fires. (NYT)

• September 26: Reliant Energy agrees to buy Orion Power Holdings for $2.9 billion in cash in addition to assuming about $1.8 billion of Orion's debt. Reliant has 20,000 megawatts of capacity in the United States and nearly 3,500 in Europe. Reliant expects the acquisition of Orion will enhance its position as a provider of wholesale power, natural gas, and energy services. (DJ)

• September 26: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Pat Wood III proposes that electric utilities that refuse to join multi-state regional power grids by December 15 would lose the ability to charge market-based rates and face delays in merger approvals. FERC is pressing for the creation of four super-regional grids to minimize the market power of dominant utilities (See July 11 entry). (WP)

• September 27: At its two-day meeting in Vienna the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decides to keep its production quotas unchanged at 23.2 million barrels per day, despite crude oil being at its lowest price levels since 1999. (NYT)

October 2001

• October 2: The California Public Utilities Commission approves a plan that saves Southern California Edison from bankruptcy by allowing the utility to pay off $3.3 billion in debt and eventually to resume normal operations. The plan would keep the current high rates in place for several years. The utility and its shareholders would pay off slightly less than half of the cost of retiring the debt, and the utility's customers would pay off the remainder under the plan. The plan is temporarily blocked for two weeks on October 30, pending a civil suit. (LAT, NYT)

• October 4: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) releases its Winter Fuels Outlook 2001/2002, which predicts lower gasoline, heating fuel, and electricity costs for this winter as compared with the previous one. The main reasons are adequate inventories and declining energy demand because of the slow economy. (NYT)

• October 4: Japan's National Police Agency tightens security around 34 nuclear plants, government buildings, and U.S. facilities in Japan in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. (AP)

• October 7: Crude oil resumes flowing through the trans-Alaska pipeline after workers welded shut a bullet hole that caused 260,000 gallons of oil to spill out. The pipeline, which carries about 17% of the United States' oil production, had been shut down on October 4 after being pierced with a bullet in an apparent act of criminal mischief. (DJ)

• October 7: Air raids by the United States and its coalition partner, Great Britain, begin against Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan, after the Taliban refuse to hand over alleged terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden and his associates. The raids are intended to "…disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime," according to U.S. President George Bush. (Reuters)

• October 8: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders four companies-Dynegy, Mirant, Williams, and Reliant Energy-to give refunds because the prices they charged for electricity in July exceeded federal limits. The amounts were not specified, but the order comes after FERC set price ceilings in June for ten western states that the companies did not abide by (see June 18 entry). (LAT)

• October 8: Burlington Resources agrees to purchase Canadian Hunter Exploration for $2.08 billion. Canadian Hunter Exploration has estimated proven reserves, 90% of which are in Canada, of 1.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas and 6.2 million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids. Canadian Hunter Exploration also has two million acres that are undeveloped. This deal expands Burlington Resources' reserve base by 12%, to 11.5 Tcf of natural gas equivalent. (WSJ)

• October 8: Enron agrees to sell its Portland General Electric Utility to Northwest Natural Gas for $1.88 billion in cash and stock. Northwest Natural Gas also is expected to assume $1.1 billion in debt. Northwest Natural Gas will now have assets of $5 billion, more than 1.25 million customers, 2,000 megawatts of generation capacity, 26,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines, and 12,000 miles of natural gas distribution lines. (DJ)

• October 9: Royal Dutch/Shell announces that it will acquire Texaco's interests in two U.S. refining ventures, Motiva Enterprises and Equilon Enterprises, for $2.1 billion in cash, $1.4 billion in debt, and $300 million in pension liabilities. Texaco agreed to sell the companies as part of an agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in order to complete its merger with Chevron. Motiva will be wholly owned by Shell, and Equilon will be majority owned by Shell and minority owned by Saudi Refining. Motiva and Equilon own over 20,000 gasoline stations and eight refineries in the U.S. (DJ)

• October 9: The U.S. House of Representatives pass a measure urging the Bush administration to pump more oil into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The resolution, which is not legally binding, urges that the emergency stockpile be expanded to its full capacity of 1 billion barrels. (AP)

• October 11: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approves a plan to reopen the Cove Point, Maryland liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal by April, 2002. The facility had been closed in the 1980s, as it was then uneconomic, but it may now serve as an alternative to Boston's Everett terminal (see October 16) and El Paso Energy will most likely make use of the facility (see October 18). The Cove Point terminal has connections to a number of important east coast pipelines. (WMO)

• October 15: The first tanker loading of the new $2.5-billion Kazakh-Russia Pipeline takes place. This is a trial run that informally inaugurates the pipeline. Initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to be 28.2 million metric tons per year (around 560,000 barrels per day). The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), led by ChevronTexaco, runs the pipeline. (Reuters)

• October 16: The U.S. Coast Guard lifts a ban on liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers entering Boston Harbor to makes deliveries to Distrigas' Everett LNG terminal that had been imposed on September 26 in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11. LNG regasified at the Everett terminal normally provides 15%-20% of the natural gas that heats homes and businesses in New England, with the percentage rising to 35% on the coldest days. On October 26, the Mayor of Boston asks a federal court to prevent tankers from entering because he claims there are inadequate disaster response plans. (Reuters)

• October 17: Norway's Labor Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg announces that he will resign effective October 19, so that a new coalition government, headed by Kjell Magne Bondevik and consisting of the Conservative Party and the Christian People's Party, can take power. The incoming government has promised to cut taxes, rationalize state ownership, and boost privatization. (Reuters)

• October 17: Venezuela's state-owned natural gas entity, Enagas, announces that it will increase its share of the $2.2-billion Cristobal LNG project from 30% to 60%, sharply reducing the shares of its partners ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, and Mitsubishi. It is feared that this may jeopardize the future of the project. (Oil Daily)

• October 18: Crude Oil for November delivery falls to its lowest level since August 1999 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Light, sweet crude falls 50 cents per barrel to settle at $21.31 per barrel. Brent crude for December delivery closed at $20.36 at London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), down 37 cents per barrel. Poor economic prospects in the next few months, and OPEC's inability to respond so far are seen as factors contributing to the sliding prices of crude oil. (Oil Daily)

• October 18: El Paso Corporation announces that it will buy 1.8 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Norway's Snohvit LNG project, led by Statoil, in what will be Norway's first LNG project. Deliveries will begin in 2006 to Williams' Companies' Cove Point, Maryland terminal, though El Paso may make use of other terminals as well. (Oil Daily)

• October 22: OPEC announces that its 10 members with output restrictions implemented only 539,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of a promised one million bbl/d cut in September. (Reuters)

• October 22: The natural gas transportation unit of Brazilian state energy company Petrobras invites private firms to submit requests for the expansion of the BrazBol imports route, a key move toward free access to the pipeline between Brazil and Bolivia. Moreover, Petrobras will not be able to acquire more than a 40% share of new capacities under the rules recently imposed by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP). The Brazilian part of the pipeline is operated by TBG. (Reuters)

• October 25: Some 34,000 Brazilian oil workers go on strike against Petrobras, dramatically reducing oil production and refining. Crude oil production falls by 60%-70% and natural gas production by 34%. Eight of eleven refineries cease or reduce operations. Workers claim that Petrobras' $2 billion in profits in the first half of 2001 should be used to raise salaries. Workers end the strike October 29 after accepting a smaller wage hike proposal than they had demanded. (Reuters, Oil Daily)

• October 28: Mexican President Vicente Fox states that Mexico, despite pressure from OPEC to help reverse lower oil prices, would not cut or freeze Pemex's crude output for now. This will make it more difficult for OPEC's production quota cuts to have a lasting effect on world oil prices. (Reuters)

• October 29: ExxonMobil announces that a consortium it leads will spend $4 billion over 5 years to develop large offshore oil and natural gas fields in Russia's far eastern Sakhalin region. The fields are estimated to contain 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. ExxonMobil will be the operator and own a 30% interest in the fields. Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development of Japan will own 30%, ONGC Videsh of India 20%, Sakhalinmorneftegas-Shelf of Russia 11.5%, and RN-Astra of Russia 8.5%. The total investment could grow to $12 billion over the 30-40 year project life. This is the single largest foreign investment in Russia, as Russia continues to undertake market reforms. (WSJ, NYT)

• October 29: Experts from OPEC member countries and from non-OPEC from non-OPEC countries Russia, Egypt, Norway, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and Angola, meet in Vienna to discuss the outlook for oil markets, but no recommendations for production cuts are made. Few details of the meeting are released. (DJ)

• October 30: U.S. retail gasoline prices fall to $1.27 per gallon, a drop of 26 cents per gallon since mid-September, and the lowest level since early-January 2000. This is despite the fact that gasoline demand is up 1.7% for the past four weeks, to 8.6 million barrels per day compared to the same period a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (DJ)

• October 30: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) releases a statement banning aircraft flying under 18,000 feet within a radius of 10 nautical miles of 86 sensitive nuclear sites. This follows a general terrorist threat warning issued by the FBI, in response to which Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge urges U.S. energy companies to be on high alert. (WMO)

• October 31: The U.S. Department of Commerce releases data that shows that the U.S. economy declined by 0.4% for the quarter ending in September. This is the first contraction since the first quarter of 1993. (Reuters)

• October 31: OPEC President (and Algerian Oil Minister) Chakib Khelil states that OPEC oil producers are prepared to cut supply to get weak oil prices back up to the group's $25-per-barrel target price. OPEC member Kuwait states that it will support any move that OPEC makes. (Reuters)

November 2001

• November 2: The United States recalls its ambassador to Venezuela for consultations, following comments made recently by Venezuelan President Chavez about the United States war on terrorism. (AP)

• November 2: Crude oil production begins at BP's Northstar field located off Alaska's north shore. Production of 65,000 barrels per day is expected by next quarter. Northstar is the first field to be successfully developed in federal waters off Alaska's North Slope, coming online 18 years after it was initially discovered. The Northstar production module is the largest ever built in Alaska, with 22 wells planned. Recoverable crude oil reserves are estimated at 175 million barrels. (OD)

• November 6: Crude oil for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) falls to a two-year low after members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) warn that a downward price spiral could occur if major non-OPEC oil exporters do not reduce oil production. The NYMEX price settles at $19.92 per barrel, down 10 cents per barrel from the low of November 5, and the first time it has been under $20 per barrel since mid-1999. (NYT)

• November 6: ChevronTexaco signs an exploration and production sharing agreement with Bahrain. ChevronTexaco expects to drill its first well by the end of 2002. Bahrain recently gained sovereignty over the Hawar Islands through an International Court of Justice decision in March 2001, opening a formerly disputed area of the Persian Gulf to exploration. (OD)

• November 7: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders California's electric grid operator (ISO) to begin sending utility bills to the State, rather than to utility companies, for more than $1.6 billion of power used to stabilize the electric system since the State's power crisis last year. California assumed payment responsibility for the State's cash-strapped utilities in January. (WSJ)

• November 7: A U.S. Federal Appeals Court rules that a $5 billion punitive damage judgment against ExxonMobil stemming from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska is excessive. However, the court rejects ExxonMobil's claims that the plaintiffs are entitled to no punitive damages. Instead, the case returns to federal trial court to have the award reduced. (LAT)

• November 8: Brunei announces the creation of a national oil company. According to an official statement, the company will "consolidate and mobilize the petroleum industry of Brunei." Brunei is the third-largest oil producer and the fourth-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer in Southeast Asia. Royal Dutch/Shell and TotalFinaElf are active in Brunei. (DJ)

• November 9: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose 3.1% in the year 2000, and have risen 14% since 1990. EIA reports that the emissions increase between 1999 and 2000 was a result of strong economic growth and more use of fossil fuels due to cold weather and a drought that reduced hydroelectric power generation. (LAT)

• November 9: Enron, the world's largest electricity and natural gas trading company, agrees to an all-stock takeover by former competitor Dynegy. ChevronTexaco, a 27% stakeholder in Dynegy, will immediately inject $1.5 billion cash into Enron, and an additional $1 billion into the combined entity. The merged company will be called Dynegy Inc., and Dynegy executives will occupy all top positions. The deal is expected to take at least six months to close. (WMO)

• November 10: An agreement is reached at talks in Marrakech, Morocco, on rules for implementation of the Kyoto climate change treaty. Rules for joint implementation projects, the Clean Development Mechanism, and funding for less developed countries are elaborated. The United States does not participate actively in negotiations or agree to the rules. (OD)

• November 13: U.S. President George W. Bush orders that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve be filled to capacity over the next few years. The reserve has a capacity of about 700 million barrels of oil, and now contains about 545 million barrels of oil. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is intended, in the short run, to smooth out price spikes and shortages caused by a supply disruption. (NYT)

• November 13: President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela announces new hydrocarbon laws that will increase production royalty payments to the government by as much as 80%. These laws also reverse the policy of allowing foreign oil companies to hold majority partnerships with the state oil company PDVSA. There are concerns that these laws may reduce foreign investment in Venezuela's hydrocarbons sector. (WSJ)

• November 14: At its meeting in Vienna, Austria, OPEC announces that it intends to cut its crude oil output quotas by 1.5 million barrels per day effective January 1, but only if non-OPEC producers cut their output by 500,000 barrels per day as well. The production cuts are an effort to steady or raise world oil prices, which have fallen markedly since September. (DJ)

• November 14: Mexico pledges to cut its crude oil exports by 100,000 barrels per day as of January 1, 2002, in order to strengthen world oil prices in concert with OPEC actions. Mexico is the world's seventh-largest crude oil producer and exported 1.6 million barrels per day in September 2001. (Reuters)

• November 15: The NYMEX crude oil price for December delivery falls 11.6% to $17.45 per barrel, after Russia appeared to reject OPEC's proposal to cut oil production. Over the last week the December delivery price has fallen 21%. Oil prices have not been this low in over two years. (NYT)

• November 18: Phillips Petroleum and Conoco agree to merge into a new company to be called ConocoPhillips, which would be the third-largest oil and natural gas company in the United States, and the sixth-largest in the world, in terms of production. The company also would be the largest gasoline retailer in the United States and the fifth-largest refiner in the world. Combined total reserves of the new company would be 8.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent, and production would be 1.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The new company expects to be able to compete more effectively with its larger rivals and to achieve significant cost savings. The new company will be based in Houston, Texas. (NYT)

• November 20: Non-OPEC oil exporter Oman indicates that it will cut production by about 3% or 25,000 barrels per day, in order to reduce oil supply and cooperate with OPEC's contingent cuts. (Reuters)

• November 22: Norway's Oil and Energy Minister announces that he has a mandate to reduce the country's current crude oil production of about 3.2 million barrels per day by as much as 200,000 barrels per day. The cut would be pro rata, meaning that all companies will have to participate in the output cut. The timing and extent of the actual cut will depend on the overall package of supply reduction agreed upon by OPEC and other large non-OPEC producers. Brent crude oil at the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) rises $1.17 per barrel to $19.02 per barrel, on the news. (WSJ)

• November 26: The European Commission approves German utility E. On's $13.5 billion takeover of U.K. utility Powergen (which also owns LG&E of the United States), creating one of the world's largest electric utilities. The takeover had previously been approved by American and British regulators. (OD)

• November 26: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports in its Weekly Survey of Gasoline Prices that U.S. gasoline prices have fallen to their lowest levels since July 1999, the result of a supply glut. The average price for regular unleaded gasoline fell 4 cents per gallon over the last week to $1.127 per gallon, down 38 cents per gallon from a year ago and the lowest level for any week since early July 1999. (Reuters)

• November 27: Iraq rejects a call by U.S. President George W. Bush to let United Nations weapons inspectors back into the country to determine whether it is building weapons of mass destruction. An Iraqi spokesman states that, before asking Iraq to allow weapons inspectors to return, the United Nations should lift the 11-year-old sanctions on Iraq and the West should abolish the no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq. (Reuters)

• November 28: Dynegy withdraws from its merger offer with Enron. Without an infusion of capital from a merger or other source, it will be difficult for Enron to continue payments to its creditors in light of the downgrade of Enron's debt rating to single-B-minus earlier in the day by Standard & Poor's. If Enron is unable to repay or refinance its debt, the company, formerly one of the largest energy companies in the world, may have to declare bankruptcy. (DJ)

• November 29: The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution extending the Oil-for-Food program in Iraq for another six-month period. This resolution allows Iraq to sell unlimited quantities of oil on the condition that the proceeds are used to buy food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods, and to pay war reparations. This resolution also calls on members of the Security Council to agree by May 31, 2002, on a list of "dual use" items that would require United Nations approval before Iraq could import them through the program. (WP, DJ)

December 2001

• December 2: Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York for 14 affiliated entities, including Enron, Enron North America, Enron Energy Services, Enron Transportation Services, Enron Broadband Services, and Enron Metals & Commodity Corporation. Enron was formerly the world's largest electricity and natural gas trading company, and the seventh-largest publicly-traded energy company in the world. Enron also files a $10 billion lawsuit against Dynegy, alleging breach of contract, in connection with Dynegy's November 28 termination of its proposed merger with Enron. (DJ)

• December 3: Iran condemns a November 30 agreement between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on sharing the resources of the Caspian Sea, labeling it "provocative." Iran believes that only a comprehensive agreement involving all five states bordering the Caspian Sea should be negotiated. (AP)

• December 5: Sempra Energy announces that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with a consortium led by Repsol, BP, BG Group, and Brindas of Argentina to bring up to 800 million cubic feet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per day from Bolivia to Sempra's proposed Baja California LNG terminal where it would be regasified. The natural gas would then be piped to its final destinations in California and various areas of Mexico. (LAT)

• December 5: Bolivia gives authorization to Sociedad Transierra, an international consortium of energy companies, to build a 280-mile pipeline to Brazil. Sociedad Transierra is comprised of Brazil's state energy company Petrobras, Spain's Repsol-YPF, and France's TotalFinaElf. Construction of the pipeline is set to begin in mid-January and will transport 777 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to Brazil. (Reuters)

• December 6: The High Court of Bangladesh blocks for at least three months a government move to export natural gas to India through a pipeline. Bangladesh has proven reserves of more than 12 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to cover domestic requirements for 15 years, according to an unofficial estimate. But the country's opposition parties, including former Prime Minister Hasina's Awami League, and some local experts are opposed to the export of gas unless there is a surplus after estimated domestic needs for the next 50 years have been met. (Reuters)

• December 6: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that, for the first time since 1991, U.S. petroleum demand will decline year on year. For 2001, EIA expects U.S. petroleum demand to average 19.69 million barrels per day, down 10,000 barrels per day from 2000. The decline in demand, especially for jet fuel since the September 11 attacks, has contributed to a buildup of U.S. oil inventories and has helped keep crude oil and petroleum product prices relatively low. (Reuters)

• December 7: The California State Government makes its first payment of $404.8 million to the State's non-profit grid operator following an order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on November 7 that sent the grid operator's power bills to the State rather than to utilities. In January 2001, the State of California bought power on behalf of PG&E and Southern California Edison after the two companies had trouble meeting their fiscal obligations, but the State has since then been reluctant to pay the high rates charged by generators in that period. (DJ)

• December 10: In Venezuela, a nationwide, 12-hour strike takes place during which thousands of businesses close and millions of Venezuelans stay home in order to protest the economic policies of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The strike is led by Fedecamaras, Venezuela's largest private business chamber. (DJ)

• December 12: The state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) announces that the company plans to explore for oil in the Kurdish-controlled area of Northern Iraq. On December 14, TPAO announces that it has signed a deal with the Iraqi Oil Ministry to drill 20 wells at the Khurmala field near Kirkuk, just south of Kurdish-controlled areas. Later in the month, TPAO denies having plans to explore Kurdish-controlled areas, but claims the contract with the Iraqi Oil Ministry's North Oil Company is UN-approved. A UN spokesman later denies this. (NYT, Reuters, OD)

• December 14: The U.S. Government announces that 2.9 million barrels of crude oil are scheduled to be added to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in December, and a further 5.6 million barrels in January. This nearly triples the amounts scheduled in mid-November. (OD)

• December 14: A new rule from the U.S. Department of Energy takes effect such that the U.S. government no longer must prove that the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage facility in Nevada would prevent radioactive contamination of the environment through its underground rock formations. Rather, a combination of advanced storage containers and natural geological barriers would be able to satisfy environmental standards for protecting the ground water and atmosphere from the release of radioactive materials. (WP)

• December 17: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the average U.S. retail price of unleaded regular gasoline fell 3.6 cents per gallon over the last week to $1.059 per gallon, the cheapest level since mid-March 1999. The price is down 36 cents per gallon from a year ago and is at the lowest level since the week of March 22, 1999, according to EIA's weekly survey of more than 800 service stations. (Reuters)

• December 18: Royal Dutch Shell announces that it has completed the first successful production tests in a Brazilian offshore oil field in deep waters. Shell said a short-term production test at the BS-4 block in the Santos basin, some 124 miles off the Rio de Janeiro state coast, showed "favorable (crude) flow" and indicated estimated reserves of 300-500 million barrels, although the company said the commercial viability still had to be confirmed. This is the first significant result by an international operator since the opening of the oil production and exploration sector in Brazil. (Reuters)

• December 19: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) outlines its schedule for a proposed rulemaking to set national standards for competitive power markets. FERC also unveils a staff paper with a proposal for a standardized market design in preparation for the formal launching of the rulemaking process in March. FERC also announces that it would delay, possibly for several months, a strict new market power rule that could limit a utility's electricity rates if it controls too much generation in a given area. (DJ, Reuters)

• December 19: A 30-year, $6 billion deal between Venezuela and China for the export of 6 million tons per year of the Orimulsion boiler fuel is concluded. China's state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation(CNPC) and Venezuela's Orimulsion boiler fuel producer Bitumes de Orinoco, or Bitor, will build a 6.5-million-metric ton, $300 million Orimulsion plant in Venezuela. Most of the plant's production will be exported to China. The plant is scheduled to come online by early 2004. CNPC has a 70% stake in the venture and Bitor, which is owned by Petroleos de Venezuela, has the remaining 30%, but Bitor has a "golden share" giving it decision-making power. (AP)

• December 20: Iraq announces that it will renew its oil export agreement with Jordan. Iraq will supply Jordan with around 110,000 barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products next year. Jordan's oil purchases from Iraq are exempted from United Nations sanctions. The deal is worth about $700 million. (Reuters, OD)

• December 21: The Indian Oil Minister announces that India will build a strategic reserve of crude oil and petroleum products. When India had previously considered building a strategic reserve in 1995, the plans sought to build tanks to stock 12.55 million metric tons of petroleum products, and also proposed facilities to store 4.25 million metric tons of imported crude oil. (Reuters)

• December 23: Qatar's state oil company signs a $3.5 billion deal with Dolphin Energy for the construction and development of a natural gas pipeline from Qatar's offshore reserves to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Dolphin Gas Project plans to pump 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Khuff reserves in Qatar's North Field to the gas gathering and processing plant at Ras Laffan, and then to a 275-mile subsea pipeline to Tawilah in Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali in Dubai. Dolphin is owned by the UAE's state-owned Offsets Group (70%) and by TotalFinaElf (30%). (AP)

• December 26: Phillips Petroleum states that the government of East Timor has agreed on tax rates and other conditions, thereby allowing work to proceed on the $1.6 billion Bayu-Undan natural gas project in the Timor Sea off northern Australia. It had been delayed on August 1, 2001 because of taxation uncertainties between Phillips and East Timor. Phillips will make additional on-shore infrastructure and community investments in East Timor. (OD)
• December 26: Crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) record one of their largest one-day jumps of the year as traders become convinced that OPEC will follow through on production cuts. Prices per barrel for February delivery settle at $20.27 per barrel, an increase of $1.65, or 8.4% higher than the December 21 closing price (the last day of trading before the holiday weekend). Also contributing to the price increase was the return of cold weather to the northeastern United States and forecasts that show that the cold weather pattern may continue. Nevertheless, prices are still considerably lower than one year ago. (NYT)

• December 28: OPEC oil ministers meeting in Cairo agree to reduce their crude oil output quotas by a combined 1.5 million barrels per day (about 6.5%) for a six-month period beginning January 1, 2002. OPEC ministers also announce that they will meet again in March. OPEC received commitments for 462,500 barrels per day of the 500,000 barrels per day in cuts that it had requested from non-OPEC exporters, close enough to the target for OPEC to go ahead and implement its concomitant cuts. This month, Russia announced an export cut of 150,000 barrels per day on December 5. Oman announced a cut of 25,000 barrels per day on December 11, and raised it to 40,000 barrels per day on December 20. Angola announced a cut of 22,500 barrels per day on December 14. Norway announced a cut of 150,000 barrels per day on December 17. Mexico had already announced an export cut of 100,000 barrels per day in November. (DJ, Reuters)

• December 31: Leaders of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) sign an agreement at the end of a two-day annual summit in Oman to move forward the setting up of a customs union to 2003 from 2005 and to establish a single currency by 2010 - part of a planned joint trade zone. (Reuters)

[edit] Sources

• Energy Information Administration: Chronology of World Oil Market Events
• Commodity Research Bureau. The CRB Commodity Yearbook 2001, 2001.

Sources include: Associated Press (AP), Dow Jones (DJ), The Los Angeles Times (LAT), The New York Times (NYT), Oil Daily (OD), Reuters, USA Today (USAT), The Washington Post (WP), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and World Markets Online (WMO).

[edit] 2002

• January 1: The OPEC crude oil production quota cuts of 1.5 million barrels per day, announced on December 28, officially go into effect for six months. Crude oil production or export cuts of 462,500 barrels per day by five non-OPEC oil exporters also go into effect. (Reuters)
• January 9: U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announces that the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles program, started in 1993 in an effort to develop mass-produced vehicles that would get 80 miles per gallon of gasoline by 2004, will be replaced by a new program called Freedom Car. The Freedom Car program will emphasize developing fuel-cell vehicles, powered by oxygen and hydrogen, by an unspecified later date.(WP, NYT)
• January 22: The U.S. Department of Energy opens the bidding process for oil companies to deliver 22 million barrels of crude oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve instead of making cash royalty payments. The royalty-in-kind oil is the first phase of the Bush administration's plan, announced last November, to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its capacity of 700 million barrels. (Reuters)
• January 29: U.S. President George W. Bush delivers his State of the Union address. In his speech he identifies Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as part of an “axis of evil” that supports terrorism. President Bush also states, “The United States of America will not permit the world’s most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world’s most destructive weapons.” (NYT)
• February 13: Iraq says that it will not allow United Nations (U.N.) arms inspectors to return to Iraq. Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan states, "There is no need for the spies of the [U.N.] inspection teams to return to Iraq since Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction." The United States has hinted that actions may be taken against the Iraqi government if U.N. arms inspectors are not allowed to return. (Reuters)
• March 6: At a joint news conference, oil ministers of major non-OPEC oil exporters Mexico and Norway announce that they plan to maintain their respective export and production cuts through the end of the second quarter of 2002. This same day, non-OPEC Persian Gulf exporter Oman announces that it is willing to maintain its relatively small production cut through the end of the year. (Reuters)
• March 7: Light, sweet crude oil for April delivery on the NYMEX closes at $23.71, the highest price since September 21, 2001, when oil prices had temporarily spiked because of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Oil prices have been on the rise because of OPEC and non-OPEC production cuts, an improving U.S. economy, and concern over U.S. intentions toward Iraq. (OD)
• March 12: Shareholders of Conoco and Phillips Petroleum approve a proposed $15.6-billion merger of the two major oil companies. The new company would be the third-largest oil company in the United States and the sixth-largest investor-owned oil company in the world. The company would also be the largest oil refiner in the United States. Joint reserves of the two companies are about 8.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent. (AP)
• March 15: OPEC oil ministers meeting in Vienna decide to maintain their quota restrictions, established January 1, 2002, through the end of the second quarter of the year. On January 1, 2002, OPEC cut its crude oil production quotas by an aggregate 1.5 million barrels per day. (NYT)
• March 20: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov announces that Russia will extend its voluntary crude oil export cuts of 150,000 barrels per day through the end of the second quarter of 2002. Russia, the biggest non-OPEC oil exporter, had agreed to implement the cuts beginning on January 1, 2002 as a cooperative move with OPEC. Many analysts question whether Russia has complied at all with its pledged cuts, and some data actually points to Russian exports rising since the beginning of January. (NYT)
• April 1: India liberalizes its oil and natural gas sector by putting in place a series of market reforms, including: the end of government-fixed prices for gasoline and diesel; the end of subsidized cooking gas and kerosene prices; market competition for state-run downstream companies; and assigning the Oil Ministry the role of energy watchdog. (Reuters)
• April 2: Royal Dutch Shell agrees to buy Enterprise Oil for $5 billion in cash. This will increase Royal Dutch/Shell's production in the North Sea by 30% and overall production by 6%, according to the company. The acquisition will also add 1.5 billion barrels of oil to Royal Dutch/Shell's reserves. The company is also assuming $1.15 billion in Enterprise's debt. (NYT)
• April 3: Venezuela sends out its first commercial shipment of 550,000 barrels of synthetic crude to a U.S. Gulf Coast refinery. Venezuela's Sincor heavy crude upgrade plant, which was inaugurated last month, refines ultra-heavy crude oil into 32 degree API syncrude. (Reuters)
• April 4: The Angolan army signs a ceasefire accord with rebels of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita). The agreement includes amnesty for former Unita soldiers and their demobilization and reintegration into society. The civil war, which began in 1975, has killed thousands of Angolans and taken much of the government's revenues from Angola's substantial oil production and exports. (NYT)
• April 5: Thousands of workers at Venezuelan state oil company PdVSA stay home, close gates of facilities, and engage in protests. This is the largest disruption of PdVSA's operations in 2002, though it is not a full-blown strike by all PdVSA workers. Oil production and refining slows, and two of Venezuela's five main oil export terminals are unable to operate. The government of President Hugo Chávez threatens to militarize PdVSA's operations. (AP)
• April 8: Iraq announces that it will halt its "oil-for-food" exports for 30 days as a "gesture of support" for the Palestinians' struggle with Israel. Iraq also requests that other OPEC countries do not raise production to make up for lost Iraqi exports. Iraqi "oil-for-food" exports had averaged about 1.7 million barrels per day to date in 2002. Major Arab OPEC exporters Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar have expressed unwillingness to join in any embargo. (WSJ)
• April 9: A general strike begins in Venezuela, shutting down many stores and factories and nearly halting oil production, refining, and export terminals. On April 12, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is ousted by the country's military after three consecutive days of general strikes during which oil production, refining, and exports-the mainstays of the Venezuelan economy-were seriously affected. Pedro Carmona is named interim President of Venezuela by the military high command. PdVSA operations that had been halted start up again, but rioting begins again the following day. On April 14, Interim President Carmona announces that he has resigned following large, and sometimes violent, pro-Chávez protests and a lack of support among many military officers. Several hours later, Hugo Chávez returns to power in Caracas and states that he never resigned the presidency. (WP, WSJ, Reuters, AP)
• April 24: A summit of the leaders of the five littoral states of the Caspian Sea ends without an agreement on how to divide the Caspian's resources among the five countries. (Reuters)
• May 8: Iraq starts pumping crude oil to its export terminals, following the country's announcement on May 5 that it would end its oil export embargo after one month, i.e., May 8. Iraq also submits price proposals for May crude oil loadings to the United Nations for approval. (Reuters)
• May 14: The United Nations (U.N.) Security Council approves an overhaul of the oil-for-food program for Iraq that makes use of an extensive list of "dual-use" goods (goods that could have a military as well as civilian use). Iraq will be able to use its oil revenues, which go into a U.N. escrow account out of which suppliers exporting products to Baghdad are paid, in order to purchase items not on the list. The resolution renews the U.N. program until November 25, 2002. On May 16, official Iraqi news agency INA announces that it will comply with the new six-month tranche of the "oil-for-food" program voted by the U.N. Security Council on May 14, despite condemning the Security Council resolution in the same statement. Iraq officially accepts the U.N. proposal on May 29. (Reuters)
• May 17: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov announces that Russia will not extend its 150,000-barrel-per-day crude oil export cut, agreed to with OPEC, into the third quarter of 2002 and furthermore, that Russia will gradually phase out the export cut in the remainder of the second quarter of 2002. Russia is the world's second-largest oil exporter. (WMRC)
• May 24: U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin agree to a major new energy partnership that will entail more investment from the United States in Russia's oil and natural gas sector. The leaders also agree to joint efforts to improve ports, pipelines, and refineries in order to expedite export flow. This could mean more Russian hydrocarbon exports to North America. (NYT)
• May 28: The U.S. government decides to buy back leases for oil and natural gas drilling on the Florida coast and in the Everglades for $235 million because of environmental concerns. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton has asserted that there are only 40 million barrels of oil equivalent in the area to be protected, about two days' worth of U.S. consumption. (OD)
• June 20: Norway's Oil and Energy Ministry states that, "The Norwegian government has decided not to extend the restriction on oil production into the second half of 2002." Norway had agreed with OPEC to reduce its crude oil production by 150,000 barrels per day for the first two quarters of 2002. (Reuters)
• June 25: Russia formally announces that it will raise its crude oil exports by 150,000 barrels per day in the third quarter of 2002 and thereby, end its agreement with OPEC to limit crude oil exports by 150,000 barrels per day for the first and second quarter of 2002. Many analysts believe that Russia has already been exporting near capacity for some months. (Reuters)
• June 26: OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna decide to leave their combined output quota, excluding Iraq, unchanged at 21.7 million barrels per day for the third quarter of 2002. It is estimated that OPEC-10 countries (i.e. excluding Iraq) are producing between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day above the quota agreement. OPEC members also agree to appoint Venezuelan Oil Minister Alvaro Silva as the cartel's new secretary general, replacing Ali Rodriguez, who will now head Venezuelan state oil company PdVSA. At the meeting, Algeria requests a larger share of OPEC's total quota, but the issue will not be taken up until the OPEC Board of Governors meeting in August. (NYT, DJ)
• June 27: Mexico announces that it will continue its agreement with OPEC to limit crude oil exports to 1.66 million barrels per day into the third quarter of 2002. A statement from the Energy Ministry said that the decision was "based on national interests and conditioned upon the future conduct of the world oil market." Mexico is among the five largest oil exporters to the United States. (Reuters)
• June 29: An official at Oman's Oil and Gas Ministry announces that the non-OPEC country will continue its 40,000-barrel-per-day production cut into the third quarter of 2002. Oman had agreed with OPEC to cut production 40,000 barrels in the first and second quarters of 2002. (Reuters)
• July 1: The California State Legislature passes a bill that limits vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide, the first such bill to pass a state legislature. The specific regulations, to be developed by 2005, would take effect on 2009 model-year vehicles. The limits, enacted because of carbon dioxide's putative effect on global climate change, are likely to have significant repercussions beyond California because the State represents some 10% of the U.S. automobile market. Governor Gray Davis signs the bill into law on July 22. (LAT)
• July 3: The supertanker Astro Lupus arrives offshore of the Port of Houston, carrying the first direct shipment of Russian crude oil to the United States. The oil, about 2 million barrels of Urals Blend, was exported by Yukos, Russia's second-largest producer and destined for two ExxonMobil refineries in Texas. Yukos hopes to make six such shipments this year. (NYT, WMRC, OD)
• July 26: The U.S. Department of Energy announces that it intends to increase the rate at which the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is filled by increasing the "royalty-in-kind" exchange program by 40,000 barrels per day. Under the "royalty-in-kind" program, oil companies deposit oil that is produced on federal leases in the SPR as a form of payment for those leases. (OD)
• July 31: ChevronTexaco announces the resumption of crude oil exports from Nigeria after protests and a fire caused the company to declare force majeure on its exports for a ten-day period. Between 300,000 and 400,000 barrels per day were temporarily halted. ChevronTexaco has not fully resolved the issues between the company and protestors who disrupt operations. Before the fire, about 110,000 barrels per day were interrupted at times by protestors. Nigeria's army moved in to prevent protestors from damaging equipment, but declined to remove the protestors from the facilities. (DJ)
• August 2: The U.S. Office of Management and Budget approves U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations that authorize new penalties for manufacturers of diesel engines that exceed various pollutant levels, to take effect October 1, 2002. The new rules are part of long-term plan, begun in the previous administration, to require diesel trucks and buses to reduce emissions by 90% by 2007. (NYT)
• August 7: Mexican Energy Minister Ernesto Martens announces that Mexico will continue to limit its crude oil exports to 1.66 million barrels per day, in coordination with OPEC, although Mexico is not a member of the cartel. Mexico is the only major non-OPEC exporter cooperating with the cartel, after Norway and Russia ended their cooperation earlier in the year. (Reuters)
• August 20: The NYMEX near-month crude oil futures price closes above $30 per barrel for the first time since February 2001. Concern over possible conflict in Iraq, OPEC quotas, and declining crude oil and product stocks are among the factors leading to a nine-straight-session rise in NYMEX prices. (Reuters)
• August 29: U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney states that a new round of U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq is likely to be insufficient to guarantee that Iraq has ended its biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons programs. That same day, Iraqi Vice President Ramadan declares that future inspections by the United Nations are a "waste of time," as the U.S. administration has already decided upon "changing the regime by force." (WP)
• September 11: The International Energy Agency's (IEA) monthly oil market report notes that global oil stock levels have fallen to "uncomfortably low" levels that could lead to higher prices and more price volatility in the coming months. According to the IEA, OECD crude oil inventories fell by 790,000 barrels per day in August compared with July. (DJ)
• September 11: The European Union (EU) releases a plan for coordination of member countries' crude oil reserves, including raising the minimum level of national oil stocks to 120 days of consumption from 90 days and putting one third of reserves into a stockpile which could be drawn on in times of crisis. The European Commission would have the power to release oil from the stockpile onto the market if prices rose to a level that, if sustained for a year, would raise the EU's external oil bill by an amount equal to 0.5% of its gross domestic product. Energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio predicts that the new system will be in place in 2007. (Reuters)
• September 12: U.S. President George W. Bush addresses the United Nations. President Bush declares in regard to Iraq that "The Security Council resolutions will be enforced -- the just demands of peace and security will be met -- or action will be unavoidable…and a regime that has lost its legitimacy will also lose its power." (Reuters)
• September 13: The World Bank approves lending for a controversial oil pipeline between Chad and Cameroon. The bank is funding $140 million of the $4 billion project to develop the oil fields of Doba in southern Chad and construct a 665-mile pipeline to an offshore oil-loading facility on Cameroon's Atlantic coast. (Reuters)
• September 18: Work begins on the $2.9 billion Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline, which will transport oil from the landlocked Caspian Sea to Turkey's Mediterranean coast. The BP-led pipeline will be 1,110 miles long when completed in 2005. Work begins on the Turkish section on September 26. (Reuters)
• September 18: According to United Nations officials and representatives of the oil industry, Iraq has stopped attempting to impose illegal surcharges on oil it sells through the United Nations' Oil-for-Food program. Though the surcharges have provided funds to the regime, Iraq may be attempting to cooperate more closely with U.N. resolutions in the face of increased scrutiny by the United States and Britain. (DJ)
• September 19: OPEC, meeting in Osaka, Japan, decides that its ten members subject to quotas (i.e. excluding Iraq) will not raise their current 21.7-million-barrel-per-day production ceiling. However, OPEC's communiqué states that OPEC is committed "to taking any further measures, including convening extraordinary meetings when deemed necessary…to maintain prices [OPEC basket price] within the range of $22-$28 [per barrel]." Also at the meeting, Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah is appointed as the new OPEC President, replacing Rilwanu Lukman of Nigeria. (DJ)
• October 3: Hurricane Lili makes landfall on the U.S. Gulf coast after passing through offshore hydrocarbon production areas and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP). Nearly all offshore production (about 1.5 million barrels per day of oil production), as well as some onshore refineries, the LOOP and the Capline crude oil pipeline are shut down. Refineries and offshore operations begin to come back on line on October 4, with most operations fully online by the second half of the month. There is little permanent damage. Hurricane Lili struck the U.S. Gulf coast only one week after Hurricane Isidore temporarily shut down the LOOP on September 24. (Reuters)
• October 6: A French oil tanker chartered by Malaysian state oil company Petronas is attacked off the coast of Yemen, seriously damaging the ship and killing one crew member. The VLCC, with about 400,000 barrels of oil aboard, catches fire. The tanker does not sink, and is towed to port. Later, investigators determine that a terrorist suicide attack by a small boat is the cause of the explosion. The tanker was on its way to load additional oil in Yemen when attacked. (Reuters, DJ)
• October 9: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) releases data showing that crude oil stocks in the previous week fell to their lowest levels (270.5 million barrels) since the agency began keeping weekly records over 20 years ago. Crude oil stocks have fallen by over 50 million barrels since February of this year and are now 39 million barrels below the year ago level and only 0.5 million above the EIA's "Lower Operational Inventory." While not implying shortages, operational problems, or price increases, the Lower Operational Inventory means that supply flexibility could be constrained. (Reuters)
• October 11: The U.S. Senate votes to give President George Bush the authority to use force, if necessary, to persuade Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to abandon programs for the development of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a similar measure the previous day. This moves the focus of debate to the U.N. Security Council. (Reuters)
• November 1: Greece, Bulgaria, and Russia agree to equal stakes in the $699 million Trans-Balkan Pipeline. The 159-mile pipeline will bypass the Bosphorus Strait in order to bring Russian oil from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas to the Greek Mediterranean port of Alexandroupolis. The pipeline will be able to carry about 697,000 barrels per day. (Reuters)
• November 8: The United Nations (UN) Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1441, that Iraq must accept or reject within seven days, giving United Nations inspectors the unconditional right to search anywhere in Iraq for banned weapons. Furthermore, Iraq will have to make an "accurate full and complete" declaration of its nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic weapons and related materials used in civilian industries within 30 days. The resolution requires violations to be reported back to the Security Council by inspectors before any actions could be taken against Iraq for violating weapons bans. (Reuters)
• November 13: In a letter to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan, Iraq accepts UN Security Council resolution 1441 of November 8, granting UN inspectors the right to conduct unfettered inspections in Iraq, "despite its bad contents." In the letter, Iraq also denies that it possesses any weapons of mass destruction. (AP)
• November 14: The TengizChevroil consortium, a consortium of companies led by operator ChevronTexaco that is developing the estimated 2.7-billion-barrel Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan, announces that the consortium has decided to indefinitely suspend investment in the second phase of the project. Production from the first phase was about 12.5 million metric tons in 2001 (about 249,000 barrels per day). The second phase would require about $3 billion of investment in order to boost the project's output by about 3 million metric tons per year (about 60,000 barrels per day). (WMRC)
• November 15: The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency crude oil stockpile administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, reaches 592 million barrels, the largest amount in the reserve since it was initiated in 1977. (Reuters)
• November 18: The tanker Prestige, loaded with 24 million gallons of Russian fuel oil, splits in two and sinks 155 miles off the coast of northwest Spain. The tanker, flying a Bahamian flag and owned by a Liberian company based in Athens, Greece, spills about 2.5 million gallons of the fuel oil from a crack before sinking, polluting beaches in the region and harming marine life. Fuel oil may continue leaking from the sunken ship. (WSJ, WP)
• November 26: Murphy Oil of the United States announces the discovery of 400-700 million barrels of oil in the Kikeh field off the coast of Malaysia's Sabah region on the island of Borneo. This is one of the largest discoveries in Southeast Asia in recent years. (WMRC)
• November 27: Officials of four of Russia's largest oil companies, Lukoil, Yukos, Sibneft, and Tyumen, announce a preliminary agreement for a joint project to build a $1.5 billion dollar Arctic oil port near the town of Murmansk. This would enable Russia to expand ocean-going tanker exports. (WSJ)
• December 2: Business and labor groups in Venezuela, including employees of state-oil company PdVSA, begin a strike in order to obtain an early referendum on the rule of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. The strike has little effect on its first day, but as the strike continues through the end of the month, oil production, refinery runs, and crude oil and refined petroleum product exports fall dramatically. Several refineries in the Caribbean dependent on Venezuelan crude are also adversely affected. This has a serious impact on the Venezuelan economy, but no agreement between President Chávez and the opposition forces leading the strike is reached by the end of the month. (Reuters)
• December 4: The United Nations (U.N.) Oil-for-Food program is unanimously renewed by the Security Council for another six months, and shortly thereafter accepted by the Iraqi government. The Oil-for-Food program allows Iraq to sell unlimited quantities of oil, with revenues going into a U.N. account that pays vendors for approved goods that Iraq orders. (Reuters)
• December 12: The government of Iraq cancels a $3.8 billion contract with three Russian companies-Lukoil, Zarubezhnest, and Machinoimport-to develop the very large West Qurna oilfield. Although the reasoning for the decision is not made clear by Iraq, it is thought that it is in response to Russian political decisions regarding United Nations inspections and the Oil-for-Food program. (NYT)
• December 12: OPEC oil ministers, meeting in Vienna, decide to raise OPEC-10's (i.e. excluding Iraq) total production quota from 21.7 million barrels per day to 23 million barrels per day. OPEC ministers also urge strict compliance with the new quotas in an effort to cut back production, as OPEC-10 production is widely regarded to be exceeding even the new production quota of 23 million barrels per day. (LAT)
• December 16: The near-month crude oil futures price on the NYMEX tops $30 per barrel for the first time since October 2, as the general strike in Venezuela impacts the world oil market. Later in the month, on December 27, the near-month crude oil futures price rises to $32.72 per barrel, the highest price since November 2000. (WSJ, AP)
• December 17: The U.S. Department of Energy allows several oil companies to postpone delivery of an additional 430,000 barrels of crude oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an attempt to keep more oil in the market during the strike in Venezuela. The oil companies will have to deliver the oil at a later date. (Reuters)
• December 19: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell declares that Iraq is in "material breach" of United Nations resolutions after reviewing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction declaration released December 7 to the United Nations. States Powell: "Our [U.S.] experts have found it to be anything but currently accurate, full or complete. The Iraqi declaration ... totally fails to meet the resolution's requirements." (Reuters)
• December 28: A tanker with 22 million gallons of gasoline arrives in Venezuela from Brazil, providing crucial supplies to the country, as the strike by employees of state-oil company PdVSA has meant severe reductions in refinery runs in that country. Crude oil production, that was in excess of 3 million barrels per day before the strike, is less than 500,000 barrels per day for many days in December. (WSJ)

[edit] Sources

• Energy Information Administration: Chronology of World Oil Market Events
• Commodity Research Bureau. The CRB Commodity Yearbook 2002, 2002.
• Other sources include: Associated Press (AP), Dow Jones (DJ), Los Angeles Times (LAT), New York Times (NYT), Oil Daily (OD), USA Today (USAT), Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Washington Post (WP), World Markets Research Center (WMRC).

[edit] 2003

• January 6: Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Mines Rafael Ramírez announces that the Venezuelan government plans to split state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PdVSA) into two separate entities as part of a large-scale restructuring of the company, most of whose 40,000 workers are currently on strike. Such a decentralization could limit the power of Caracas-based executives who have joined in the strike, which began on December 2, 2002. (NYT)
• January 12: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), meeting in Vienna, agrees to raise the aggregate production quota of its members (excluding Iraq) to 24.5 million barrels per day, up from the current 23 million barrels per day, effective February 1. Each member will receive a proportionately higher share of the quota, about a 6.5% increase. (NYT)
• January 16: Fourteen U.S. corporations or subsidiaries launch the Chicago Climate Exchange, a trading program wherein companies would be able to earn redeemable credits for exceeding emissions reductions goals of 4% of 1998-2001 average emissions over the next four years. Companies unable to meet the goals would buy the credits. The Exchange intends to create means to verify that actual reductions in emissions have taken place. (WP)
• January 21: The near-month crude oil futures price on the NYMEX settles at $34.61 per barrel, the highest price since November 29, 2000. The market is experiencing a variety of higher price pressures, including the strike in Venezuela, fears of a conflict in Iraq, a cold winter in the United States, and low commercial oil stock levels in the United States. (USAT)
• January 28: The U.S. Department of Energy approves oil company requests to delay delivery of March shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The announcement will allow 4.4 million barrels of crude oil designated for storage in the SPR, to be marketed to domestic refineries instead. (Reuters)
• January 29: Striking managers at Venezuelan state oil company PdVSA confirm that oil production has surpassed 1 million barrels per day once again, after falling to as low as 200,000 barrels per day during the strike that began on December 2. On January 31, PdVSA President Ali Rodriguez announces that production is at 1.5 million barrels per day and that 5,300 striking workers have been fired. Opposition estimates of production are much lower at around 1.05 million barrels per day. (NYT, Reuters)
• January 29: During his State of the Union address, President Bush proposes $1.2 billion in funding to support the research and development of hydrogen-powered vehicles. (Reuters)
• February 3: Indian Petroleum Minister Ram Naik announces that the government of India plans to boost the country's strategic crude oil reserves to 45 days from 15 days at an estimated cost of 43.50 billion rupees ($910 million). (Reuters)
• February 6: Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh announces that phases two and three of the South Pars natural gas field are now on-line. These phases represent additional production of about 55 million cubic meters (1.9 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas per year, 85,000 barrels per day of condensate, and 1 million metric tons (11.6 million barrels) of liquefied petroleum gas per year. The two phases are officially inaugurated on February 15. (DJ)
• February 11: BP invests $6.75 billion in Russia by creating a new joint venture company with TNK (Russia's fourth largest oil company) and Sidanco, of which BP already held a 25% stake. BP will have a 50% stake in the new company. TNK's shareholders, investment groups Alfa Group and Access-Renova, will hold the other 50% stake of the new firm, and board control will be balanced equally. The investment by BP is equivalent to almost 10% of Russian foreign exchange reserves and around 1.5% of Russian gross domestic product (GDP). (Reuters)
• February 12: Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that U.S. commercial crude oil stocks have fallen to 269.8 million barrels for the week ending February 7, 2003. This is the lowest commercial crude oil stock level since 1975, and just slightly below the lower operational inventory level of 270 million barrels. The lower operational inventory level, while not implying shortages, operational problems, or price increases, is indicative of a situation where inventory-related supply flexibility could be constrained or nonexistent. (Reuters)
• February 18: Exxon Mobil begins construction of the $3 billion Kizomba B offshore development project in Angolan waters. The project, when completed, is expected to produce 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day, beginning in 2006, with total production over the life of the field estimated to be about 1 billion barrels. Besides Exxon Mobil, which has a 40% stake, the other stakeholders are BP (26.67%), Eni (20%), and Statoil (13.33%). The concessionaire is Angolan state oil company Sonangol. (Reuters)
• February 28: The NYMEX near-month heating oil futures price settles at an all-time high of 125.59 cents per gallon, as many of the same market forces affecting the crude oil market also have driven up the price of heating oil, especially increased demand from the cold winter. High sulfur distillate fuel inventories (also referred to as heating oil) plunged more than 15% over the most recent four-week period to end the week of February 28, at 35.6 million barrels, 32% below the level for the same period last year. (Reuters)
• March 5: Some 500,000 bbl/d of Venezuelan production in the eastern region begins to come back on-line. It was shut off at the wellhead for a week because of bottlenecks at export terminals as Venezuelan state oil company PdVSA encountered problems in returning loading at terminals to pre-strike levels. The Venezuelan government claims that oil production is over 2 million barrels per day, while fired PdVSA workers claim production is at 1.1 million barrels per day. (Reuters)
• March 6: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announces that force majeure is henceforth lifted on Venezuelan oil exports. Venezuela had declared force majeure on its oil exports shortly after the national strike began on December 2, 2002. It is later revealed that this lifting does not apply to certain petroleum products. President Chavez also refuses to consider rehiring any of the over 15,000 fired PdVSA workers. (Reuters)
• March 7: The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) puts into effect expanded price limits on its energy contracts and reduces to five minutes the time trading is halted when those limits are reached. Under the revised rules, the initial price limits for light, sweet crude oil futures will be expanded to $10 per barrel in all months from the current $7.50 in the first two months and $3.00 in all other months. The initial Henry Hub natural gas futures limits will expand to $3.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in all months from $1 in all months. The initial limits on heating oil, gasoline and propane futures will increase to 25 cents per gallon in all months from 20 cents in the first two months and 6 cents in all other months. (Reuters)
• March 7: Officials in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announce that new clean water regulations for smaller sites, to take effect March 10, will not apply to the petroleum and natural gas industries. Rather, these two industries will have a two-year exemption, because, according to the EPA, further study of the effects of these regulations upon these two industries is needed. (NYT)
• March 11: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meets in Vienna and decides to maintain crude oil production quotas for its member countries (excluding Iraq) at 24.5 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister, Ali al-Naimi says, "There will be no shortage of oil. The test is, when the need is there, whether we will use the capacity or not and I can assure you we will. Most analysts, including EIA, believe that OPEC-10's (excluding Iraq) actual production is higher than the quota amount. (NYT, Reuters)
• March 12: The near-month (April) crude oil futures price at the NYMEX settles at $37.83 per barrel, the highest near-month settlement price (in nominal terms) since October 1990. This comes as EIA reports today that commercial crude oil inventories for the previous week declined by 3.8 million barrels to 269 million barrels. This is below the 270 million barrel lower operational inventory level, which, while not implying shortages, operational problems, or price increases, is indicative of a situation where inventory-related supply flexibility could be constrained or nonexistent. This heightens supply concerns before an impending war in Iraq. (WSJ)
• March 19: Military action in Iraq commences with a bombing raid and missile attack on targets in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad (March 20 Baghdad time) by Coalition forces, given Saddam Hussein and his regime's rejection of U.S. President George Bush's March 17 ultimatum. Iraq launches several conventional missiles at Kuwait, but this has no effect on Kuwaiti oil production. However, the Kuwait Petroleum Company does implement an emergency plan to protect its workers and facilities. (Reuters)
• March 23: Outbreaks of violence between soldiers and militants of various ethnic groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria prompt three major oil companies operating in the region - ChevronTexaco, Royal Dutch/Shell, and TotalFinaElf - to shut in operations in the area, totaling about 800,000 barrels per day. This represents about 40% of Nigeria's total production, including about 768,000 barrels per day in the West Niger Delta (all operations there for the three companies) and 50,000 barrels per day of Shell production in the East Niger Delta. Employees of ChevronTexaco, which had declared force majeure on its Escravos River crude oil terminal three days earlier, return to Nigeria on April 4 to begin a gradual resumption of production. Force majeure is lifted on April 24, 2003. (NYT, Reuters)
• March 24: After Coalition forces have pushed further into Iraq securing most of the southern oilfields over the weekend, Kuwaiti fire fighters are able to enter Iraq and are able to extinguish one of the wellhead fires. Iraq's southern fields represent about 40% of the country's output. Damage is assessed to be relatively minimal. Some pockets or Iraqi resistance in the southern oilfields remain, however. Furthermore, heavy Iraqi resistance in some parts of Iraq gives rise to market speculation that the war could last longer than initially thought. The NYMEX near-month crude oil price rises 6.5%, to settle at $28.66 per barrel, as the war in Iraq as well as the situation in Nigeria have traders concerned. (Reuters, DJ)
• April 4: Coalition forces continue to make progress against the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, with the U.S. military capturing Baghdad's main international airport. Also, according to the U.S. military, 80%-90% of Iraq's southern oilfield production is under coalition control, as well as all related export facilities, as of this date. (Reuters)
• April 4: Royal Dutch/Shell restarts production and development work at the Soroosh and Nowrooz fields offshore southwestern Iran, after shutting down work at the two fields on March 19 because of fears that staff could be vulnerable to intentional or accidental attack, given the fields' proximity to the border with Iraq. Soroosh produces about 60,000 barrels per day, and the shut down has delayed the coming on line of the Nowrooz field, scheduled for later this year. (DJ, Reuters) )
• April 8: Syrian state oil company Sytrol informs customers that it will cut crude oil term export volumes by around 40% (about 150,000 barrels per day) as a result of the halt in Iraqi imports through the Iraq-Syria-Lebanon pipeline that is reported to have been shut down. Sytrol suggests that the reduction will continue for the rest of the year. (WMRC)
• April 14: Pumping on the oil pipeline from Iraq's Kirkuk oilfields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan is halted as the storage facilities have reached their maximum capacity of about 6.5 million barrels. There has not been a loading of Iraqi crude oil at the port since March 20. (Reuters)
• April 14: Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) shuts down for inspection the last of its 17 nuclear reactors still in operation. The shut downs result from the discovery last year that TEPCO had falsified data regarding reactor inspections, leading to the decision to shut down by Japan's nuclear authorities. Japan's largest power firm said that unless its reactors were started back up, there would be an electricity shortage of up to 9.55 million kilowatts during the summer, when electricity demand hits its peak. (Japan Times)
• April 15: U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announces that the U.S. military has shut off an oil pipeline from Iraq to Syria that is alleged to have been carrying 100,000-150,000 barrels per day. "We have been told that they have shut off a pipeline," Secretary Rumsfeld told a Pentagon briefing. "Whether it's the only one and whether that has completely stopped the flow of oil between Iraq and Syria, I cannot tell you. ... I cannot assure you that all illegal oil flowing from Iraq into Syria is shut off. I just hope it is." (Reuters)
• April 22: Yukos Oil Company and Sibneft, Russia's first and fifth largest oil companies, respectively, in terms of production, announce that they will merge in a deal in which Yukos will pay $13 billion in cash and stock for Sibneft. The new company will be the world's fifth-largest publicly traded oil and gas company, with a production of 2.4 million barrels per day. The new company plans to become a major player outside of Russia as well. (NYT, WSJ)
• April 23: According to the American military officer in charge of restarting Iraq's oil production infrastructure, Iraq's southern fields have begun to produce again. Four southern wells have begun producing a modest amount of crude oil, but according to Brig. Gen. Robert Crear of the Army Corps of Engineers, southern wells should soon be producing about 170,000 barrels a day. Initial production would go toward meeting domestic demand, especially as more refineries come back on line. The country's northern oilfields are still offline. (WSJ)
• April 24: OPEC oil ministers, meeting for emergency talks in Vienna, decide to simultaneously reduce crude oil production by 2 million barrels per day, as of June 1, and increase their overall production quota by 900,000 barrels per day to a total quota of 25.4 million barrels per day. This is a tacit admission that OPEC production is well in excess of the previous quota of 24.5 million barrels per day. Iraq does not participate in the meetings and is not subject to the quota regime. (LAT)
• April 29: Brazilian state oil company Petrobras announces the largest-ever natural gas discovery in Brazil. The discovery, located about 85 miles off the coast of the state of São Paulo, is a field containing an estimated 2.47 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This field raises Brazil's natural gas reserves by about 30%, according to some estimates. (Reuters)
• May 22: The United Nations Security Council approves the immediate end of 13 years of economic sanctions on Iraq, dating from the time of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Resolution 1483 effectively grants the United States-led coalition forces control of Iraq until a new Iraqi government can be put in place. The end of the sanctions also makes it easier for Iraqi oil exports to resume without the auspices of the United Nations. Later, on May 27, the U.S. Department of the Treasury lifts most remaining sanctions on Iraq, thereby implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483. Secretary of the Treasury John W. Snow states, "It is no longer a crime for U.S. companies and individuals to do business with Iraq." (WP)
• May 28: Yukos of Russia signs a $150 billion agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), wherein CNPC agrees to purchase 5.13 billion barrels of oil between 2005 and 2030 via a $2.5 billion pipeline from Russia's Western Siberia fields to China's Daqing field. (Reuters)
• June 2: Royal Dutch/Shell signs a $2 billion contract with an alliance of Japanese and Russian companies for the construction of Russia's first natural gas liquefaction plant in Sakhalin. This comes after Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and Tokyo Gas agreed two weeks earlier to purchase about one-quarter of the liquefaction plant's planned capacity of 9.6 million metric tons per year. Shell owns 55% of the production rights for the natural gas supplying the planned plant. (NYT)
• June 10: Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan notes that rising natural gas prices in the United States could have a negative impact on the economy in the months ahead if prices remain at high levels. States Greenspan, "I have no doubt that...if we stay at these very elevated prices we're going to see some erosion in a number of macroeconomic variables which are not evident at this stage. A very significant amount of natural gas using infrastructure in the American economy was based on $2 gas. That means a lot of noncompetitive structures are sitting out there." (Reuters)
• June 11: Oil Ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Qatar decide to keep OPEC crude oil production quotas unchanged for the ten members (i.e. not including Iraq) participating in the quota regime. The combined output quota for the ten members is 25.4 million barrels of crude oil per day. OPEC President Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, also Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry, says, "We don't want to cut for the sake of it. We should justify it." (Reuters, DJ)
• June 12: Two explosions damage the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline, in what is later determined to be an act of sabotage. Several other Iraqi pipelines are damaged in acts of sabotage throughout the month, including a natural gas pipeline in the western desert on June 21, an oil pipeline west of Baghdad on June 22, and the now-stalled Iraq-Syria pipeline on June 23. (Reuters, AP)
• June 14: ConocoPhillips announces that the company will proceed with its $1.5 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project at the Bayu-Undan fields after government officials of Australia and East Timor approved the project in the Timor Sea Joint Petroleum Development Area. Natural gas from the field will be piped to an LNG liquefaction plant in Australia's Northern Territory. (WSJ, NYT)
• June 17: The head of Iraq's North Oil Company, Adil al-Qazzaz, states that Iraq's main north-south crude oil pipeline, the so-called Strategic Pipeline, will not be operable for some time, especially because the K-3 pumping station was badly damaged during the recent war. Al-Qazzaz goes on to state that because the pipeline is not working, "[W]e don't have export flexibility, and that will have an impact." (WSJ)
• June 22: Iraq exports oil for the first time since March 20, the first day of the war that eventually toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. The crude oil, 1 million barrels, was part of the June 12 tender and will be sold to Turkish refiners from oil in storage at the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Loading of the oil onto a tanker begins today. (WP)
• July 2: The European Parliament votes to cap European industry's carbon dioxide output and let firms trade the right to pollute. As of January 2005, many plants in the oil refining, smelting, steel, cement, ceramics, glass and paper sectors will need special permits to emit carbon dioxide (CO2). "It means that the largest emissions trading scheme in the world to date will be a reality from 2005, and that the architecture foreseen under the Kyoto Protocol is coming to life," according to European Union Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom. (Reuters)
• July 9: The government of Chad announces that it has begun its first-ever crude oil production, as wells began pumping on July 1. It will still take weeks before crude is shipped from the $3.5 billion project through a 650-mile pipeline to the Atlantic coast in neighboring Cameroon. The government does not announce the initial flow rate, but eventual production is expected to reach 225,000 barrels per day. Oil begins flowing through the pipeline on July 15. (Reuters)
• July 12: Sakhalin Oil Development Corporation, the Japanese partner in an international consortium in the Sakhalin-1 project, announces that oil drilling offshore has begun. The project, which may eventually see $12 billion invested in oil and natural gas development, is potentially the largest direct foreign investment in Russia. Total recoverable reserves at the Sakhalin-1 area are estimated to be 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. (DJ)
• July 15: The operator of Israel's Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline, a bi-directional pipeline linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, announces that the pipeline is operational. The pipeline, with a current capacity of 400,000 barrels per day, but a design capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day, provides an alternative to the Suez Canal, as both Israeli ports can handle VLCCs, whereas Suez cannot. Perhaps even more importantly, with the new southerly flow, Russian crude on small tankers from the Bosporus will be able to eventually load onto VLCCs bound for East Asia. (Reuters)
• July 15: Hurricane Claudette hits the Texas coast about 80 miles southwest of Houston. According the U.S. Minerals Management Service, an estimated 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas had been shut in by Claudette, or about 18% of the Gulf's total gas output. Also, about 330,000 barrels per day of oil, or some 21% of the Gulf of Mexico's daily oil production, has been shut down. Production is quickly restored in the next few days. (Reuters)
• July 16: Italian oil and gas major Eni announces that it has begun exporting oil production from the giant Karachaganak field in Kazakhstan to the Novorossiysk terminal on the Black Sea. In addition, Eni said that it and its partners had completed pipelines and treatment facilities so that output from the oil field could grow by the end of the year to 380,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the current 220,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. (DJ)
• July 16: Royal Dutch/Shell and Total successfully conclude the first deal with Saudi Arabia giving Western companies access to the Kingdom’s hydrocarbon reserves since the nationalization of its petroleum industry. The agreement entails natural gas exploration and development across 77,000 square miles in Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter. Previous efforts to open up Saudi Arabia's upstream natural gas sector, known as “Saudi Arabia’s natural gas initiative” and the three “Core Ventures” were larger, with each estimated to be worth $10-$15 billion. The Core Ventures fell apart in June due to conflicts with foreign investors over financial terms. (Reuters)
• July 25: The first delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) since 1980 is made to the reactivated Cove Point LNG regasification plant in Maryland, as a tanker from Trinidad arrives carrying 22 million gallons of LNG. According to Dominion, owner of the facility, the plant will be able to supply 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, and will be the largest LNG regasification facility in the United States. (WP)
• July 31: Oil Ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), meeting in Vienna, decide to keep their crude oil production quotas unchanged until their next meeting, on September 24. The combined quota for the ten members participating in the quota regime (i.e. excluding Iraq) is 24.5 million barrels per day. (WSJ)
• August 7: The United States estimates that restoring Iraq's oil sector to its pre-war status will cost at least $1.1 billion and take nine months to complete. Prior to the war, Iraq was producing around 2.5-2.6 million barrels per day and exporting around 2.0-2.1 million barrels per day. Current production is closer to 1 million barrels per day, with exports of about 600,000-700,000 barrels per day. (LAT))
• August 14: Libya reportedly agrees to compensate families of the 1988 Lockerbie airplane bombing with $2.7 billion total. The money is to be released in three tranches, the first following a lifting of United Nations sanctions, the second after possible lifting of U.S. sanctions, and the third after Libya is removed from the U.S. State Department's state sponsors of terrorism list. (WMRC)
• August 14: A huge electric power blackout hits large parts of the northeastern United States, the Midwest, and southern Canada late in the afternoon. Power is out for at least several hours in major cities like New York, Detroit, Cleveland, and Toronto. Three months later, on November 19, the U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force, led by U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Canadian Natural Resource Minister Herbert Dhaliwal, releases a 124-page investigative report which concludes that the blackout was "largely preventable" and cites several failures by regional utility companies and regulators. Analyses are also published by The Michigan Public Service Commission and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). (NYT, WSJ, AP)
• August 14: Russia approves a $13 billion merger between Yukos and Sibneft, creating "YukosSibneft," Russia's first "supermajor" and one of the world's largest publicly traded oil companies. (WMRC)
• August 15: Iraq's crucial northern oil pipeline from Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan is attacked, stopping flows on the line just two days after it reopened for the first time since the war. The pipeline had a pre-war capacity of 1.1 million barrels per day, but sustained significant damage during hostilities and had started pumping at only around 200,000 barrels per day. Repairs to the line from the latest attack may take weeks, while full restoration of the pipeline's pre-war capacity could take months. (WMRC)
• September 1: Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, a former Iraqi exile, is appointed Iraq’s first post-war oil minister by the country’s Governing Council. Uloum replaces Thamir Ghadban, who had been the acting oil minister since early May. (Reuters)
• September 10: The Inter-American Development Bank approves financing for Peru’s Camisea natural gas project. The Camisea fields were discovered by Shell in 1986 and are estimated to hold 13 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 660 million barrels of condensate, possibly transforming Peru into a net energy exporter. (DJ, WP, WMRC, EIA)
• September 11: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves a plan for the new Cameron liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Cameron represents the first such project in the United States in over 20 years. (NYT)
• September 12: The United Nations (U.N.) Security Council lifts 11-year-old sanctions against Libya. Development of Libya’s sizeable oil resources has been hindered by the sanctions, which were imposed in 1992 in an effort to extradite two Libyans indicted for the 1998 bombing of an American plane over Scotland. (AP
• September 19: Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh announces that the deal which granted a Japanese consortium preferential rights to develop Iran’s Azadegan oil field has expired. The consortium was granted the rights in late 2000, but had yet to negotiate and sign a contract. The Azadegan field is estimated to hold some 26 billion barrels of oil. (Platts)
• September 24: OPEC members agree to cut the output ceiling for the ten member countries, excluding Iraq, by 900,000 barrel per day to 24.5 million barrels per day, effective November 1. Iraq attends the OPEC meeting for the first time since 1990. OPEC cited concerns that the world oil market will be oversupplied in 2004 leading to lower prices. (Reuters)
• September 30: The Chicago Climate Exchange announces its first auction of emission allowances. Although emissions cuts are still voluntary, the exchange is considered an important prototype. (WMRC)
• October 3: Chad's President Idriss Deby announced that the new Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline is officially "onstream." Chad began pumping oil into the pipeline in July 2003 from the Doba field. The $3.7 billion Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline represents the World Bank's single largest investment ever in sub-Saharan Africa. (NYT)
• October 4: The Russian oil companies Yukos and Sibneft complete their merger, creating YukosSibneft, the world's fourth-largest private oil producer. The news is accompanied by rumors that major American firms are interested in making a deal with YukosSibneft in order to gain access to the Russian energy market. (WP)
• October 14: Bowing to protests, Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada announces he will not pursue a plan to export more than one billion cubic feet per day of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the United States through Chile. The proposal had led to massive popular protests in Bolivia, resulting in the deaths of at least 16 people. (WSJ, WP, NYT)
• November 4: The International Finance Corporation, the private lending division of the World Bank, approves a $250 million loan for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Later, on November 11, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approves its $250 million loan for the project. The 1-million-barrel-per-day pipeline will enable crude oil exports from the land-locked Caspian Sea region to reach world markets through the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. (WSJ, EIA, WMRC)
• November 18: ChevronTexaco reports that it has received final approval form the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build the world's first-ever deepwater liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Port Pelican in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The plant will have a capacity of 1.6 billion cubic feet per day, with construction to begin in 2004 and to be completed in 2007. (WMRC)
• November 21: The United Nations hands over the oil-for-food program in Iraq to the U.S.-led administration in Baghdad. The "oil-for-food" program was established by the United Nations in 1995, and used proceeds from the sale of Iraqi oil to buy food and medicine for Iraqis as well as to finance infrastructure and humanitarian projects. Iraqi oil exports reportedly have reached around 1.5 million barrels per day. (USAT, WMRC)
• November 24: The U.S. Congress abandons plans to pass an energy bill before the end of the legislative session. The bill was approved in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 18, but then blocked in the Senate as its proponents were unable to close debate on the issue and call for a vote. The legislation has been under construction for three years and represents Congress's first attempt at a comprehensive energy bill since 1992. The bill's proponents intend to revisit the issue in 2004. (NYT, WP, WSJ)
• November 28: Russian oil company Sibneft makes a surprise announcement suspending its merger with Russian oil major Yukos citing technical difficulties. The $13 billion merger was announced in April 2003, and would create the world's fifth-largest publicly traded oil company. (WP, WSJ)
• December 2: President George W. Bush signs a $27.3 billion energy and water bill that includes funding for a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The repository remains a source of controversy between state and federal officials. (AP)
• December 4: OPEC holds its 128th meeting to review oil markets in Vienna, Austria, leaving OPEC 10 output quotas unchanged. (DJ)
• December 15: Oil prices fall 4% on the news that U.S. military forces capture Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit, Iraq. (CBS, WMRC)
• December 18: BP signs a 20-year deal to sell 500 million cubic feet per day of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Tangguh facility in Indonesia to the U.S. energy company Sempra Energy. The LNG will be shipped to Sempra's proposed import and regasification terminal in Baja California, Mexico before being distributed to buyers in the United States. (DJ)
• December 22: Libya announces that it will abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs and comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The United States welcomes the move, but says that it will maintain economic sanctions until it sees evidence of compliance. (WMRC, NYT)

[edit] Sources

• Energy Information Administration: Chronology of World Oil Market Events
• Commodity Research Bureau. The CRB Commodity Yearbook 2003, 2003.

OtherSources include: Associated Press (AP), Dow Jones (DJ), Japan Times, Los Angeles Times (LAT), New York Times (NYT), Oil Daily (OD), Reuters, USA Today (USAT), Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Washington Post (WP), World Markets Research Center (WMRC).

[edit] 2004

• January 18: Saudi Aramco formally inaugurates its new Haradh oil and natural gas facility. The Haradh plant is expected to boost Saudi natural gas production capacity by roughly 25%, most of which is slated for the domestic market. The Haradh facility also includes a gas-oil separation plant capable of processing 300,000 bbl/d, as well as infrastructure for delivering up to 170,000 bbl/d of condensates to the Kingdom’s Abqaiq processing facility. Developing the country’s relatively untapped natural gas potential could allow more oil to be allocated for export in the future. (Reuters, LAT, Platts)
• January 22: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton approves a plan to open parts of Alaska’s North Slope to oil exploration and drilling. Nine million acres (36,000 km²) of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve will be opened to long-term production. The site lies adjacent to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which remains closed to oil and gas drilling. (WP)
• February 11: OPEC delegates meeting in Algiers agree to lower the cartel’s output ceiling by 1 million barrels per day, to 23.5 million barrels per day, effective April 1. OPEC members also urge immediate compliance with the existing OPEC ceiling, as overproduction has been estimated at roughly 1.5 million barrels per day. Assuming full quota compliance, the decision could remove a total of 2.5 million barrels per day from the world market in April. (NYT, WSJ)
• February 19: The Royal Dutch Shell group announces that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun a formal investigation into the company’s restatement of its oil and gas reserves. On January 9, 2004, Royal Dutch/Shell announced that it had overstated its proven oil and gas reserves by 3.9 billion barrels, or 20% due to overly optimistic assumptions about plans for developing its fields around the world. (NYT)
• February 25: Total (France) and Petronas (Malaysia) sign an estimated $2 billion agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company to build Iran’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility. The two-train facility will have a capacity of 390 billion cubic feet per year, with natural gas to come from Iran’s South Pars field. Production of LNG is expected to begin in 2009. Iran holds the world’s second largest natural gas reserves—after Russia—and development of LNG facilities would allow the country to export gas around the world. (WMRC)
• February 26: The United States rescinds a ban on travel to Libya and authorizes U.S. oil companies with pre-sanctions holdings in Libya to negotiate on their return to the country if and when the United States lifts economic sanctions. The United States first imposed sanctions on Libya in 1986 following terrorist attacks in Rome and Vienna. Several U.S. oil companies were forced to abandon their assets in Libya when sanctions were imposed in 1986, including the “Oasis Group” (Marathon Oil, ConocoPhillips, Amerada Hess) and Occidental Petroleum. (WSJ)
• March 31: OPEC members unanimously agree to implement the cartel’s oil production cuts effective April 1, as agreed to in February. Relatively high prices for oil and petroleum products had prompted several consuming countries, including the United States, to suggest that OPEC members vote to postpone the cuts and put downward pressure on oil prices. According to the cartel’s official communiqué following the meeting, “Notwithstanding prevailing high prices, the Conference observed that the crude oil market remains more than well supplied as the world moves into the traditionally lower seasonal demand period.” (Reuters)
• April 21: A car bomb explodes outside a police building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, marking the first major attack by militants on governmental targets in the Kingdom. Four people are killed and 148 are wounded. The country’s major export facilities are not harmed, but port authorities maintain a “heightened sense of security.” Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil producer and America’s second largest foreign supplier of crude oil and petroleum products after Canada. (Reuters, Platts, EIA)
• May 22: OPEC oil ministers meet in Amsterdam at a forum of energy producing and consuming nations to discuss a response to high oil prices (near-month West Texas Intermediate was above $40 per barrel the previous week). Saudi Arabia calls on OPEC to raise production quotas by as much as 11%, but the ministers do not come to an agreement other than to meet again in Beirut on June 3. Saudi Arabia decides to unilaterally increase its crude oil production beyond its quota to 9.1 million barrels per day in June. (Reuters)
• May 30: Saudi militants attack a complex in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, housing foreign workers. After killing various Saudis and foreigners upon entering the compound on May 29, the militants take hostages, and later kill nine of them. Three of the militants are able to escape despite the efforts of the Saudi security forces. This attack, as well as earlier ones in the kingdom, has foreigners and foreign firms reconsidering their presence in Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
• June 1: Near-month crude oil futures on the NYMEX reach a record nominal settlement high of $42.33 per barrel, with traders thought to be reacting to the weekend terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia on top of an already tight market. This is the highest nominal settlement price since the founding of the NYMEX crude oil futures market in 1983. (WSJ)
• June 3: OPEC Ministers meeting in Beirut agree to raise OPEC production quotas by a combined 2 million barrels per day effective July 1 and a further 500,000 barrels per day effective August 1. This will bring the combined quota in August for the 10 OPEC countries participating in the quota system (Iraq does not participate) to 26 million barrels per day. Crude oil prices fall somewhat in response to this news. OPEC is scheduled to meet again on July 21 to review this decision. (AP)
• June 4: U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce William H. Lash announces that Libya has sent its first shipment of crude oil to the United States since the resumption of ties between the two countries in recent months. (AP)
• June 15: Workers at French state energy companies Electricité de France and Gaz de France go on strike in protest over plans to privatize the two companies. Workers reduce electricity output by about 15% on June 15 and by 10% on June 16. A 225-kilovolt line between France and Spain is also cut, and reductions are targeted at areas where prominent politicians live and at national landmarks as the strike continues throughout the month. The striking workers also cause delivery reductions at two LNG terminals. (Reuters)
• July 15: OPEC agrees to raise its crude oil production target by 500,000 barrels (2% of current OPEC production) by August 1—in an effort to moderate high crude oil prices. (WSJ)
• July 22: Yukos, one of Russia’s largest crude oil producers, warns that it could go bankrupt within three weeks because of the government’s decision to freeze its assets and bank accounts, jeopardizing the operations of Russia’s largest oil producer and potentially disrupting the company’s exports to world markets. (WP)
• August 9: The Russian government disregards the August 6 ruling of a Moscow court and seizes the main production unit of Yukos, Yuganskneftegaz. On August 6, the court had declared that the Russian government’s seizure of Yuganskneftegaz was illegal, a decision which had marked the first major court victory for Yukos since Russian authorities began proceedings against the company more than a year ago. Furthermore, on August 5, the government had unexpectedly withdrawn permission for Yukos to use its financial assets to continue operations, reversing a decision made 24 hours earlier. (WP, WSJ)
• September 14: In the biggest disruption of the region’s output in at least two years, Hurricane Ivan forces Royal Dutch Shell, ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, and Total to shut some hundreds of thousands of barrels per day of Gulf of Mexico oil production as the companies evacuate more than 3,000 workers from the offshore oil platforms. Oil tankers from Venezuela also face a three-day delay on deliveries to the United States because of the hurricane. The U.S. Minerals Management Service reports that Ivan has reduced Gulf Coast oil production by 61%. (Bloomberg, DJ, Reuters)
• September 20: President Bush lifts a variety of U.S. sanctions on Libya, paving the way for American oil companies to try to secure contracts or revive previous contracts for tapping Libya’s oil reserves, estimated at approximately 36 billion barrels. (NYT)
• September 24: In the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham agrees to release 1.7 million barrels of oil in the form of a loan from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Refineries are reporting supply shortages due to cuts in production and delayed imports. Prices of NYMEX WTI prompt month crude oil rise $0.42 to $48.88 per barrel despite the release. A bout 472,000 bbl/d of crude oil production is shut-in, along with 2.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas production. By February 2005, lasting damage from the Hurricane continues to cause shut-ins of over 43 million barrels of crude oil production (over 7% of the yearly production in the Gulf of Mexico) and over 172 Bcf of natural gas (almost 4% of the Gulf’s yearly production). (NYT, MMS)
• October 22: The NYMEX WTI prompt month crude oil contract price closes at an all-time high of $55.17 per barrel after the Energy Information Administration reports a fifth straight weekly decrease in U.S. heating oil stocks. Lasting effects from Hurricane Ivan have also forced the shut-in of natural gas and crude oil production from the Gulf Coast. (NYT, CNN)
• October 28: After its approval by the Russian cabinet and the lower half of the Russian legislature earlier in October, the upper house of the legislature ratifies the Kyoto Protocol global climate treaty and returns it to the executive branch for its approval. Russian ratification is necessary for the Protocol to take effect because participating countries must have been responsible for 55% of global emission in 1990, and Russia is the only remaining country that can trigger the 55% threshold. One of the Protocol’s main tasks is to implement a reduction in emissions of the six greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2012. The Bush administration announced three years ago that it would not join the accord. (WP, USA Today)
• November 2: Saboteurs mount a large attack on Iraq’s oil infrastructure by blowing up three pipelines in the north, thereby cutting exports at the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The first pipeline attack destroys a portion of the export route to Turkey, and other explosions occur in an area about 40 miles southwest of the oil producing center of Kirkuk. The explosions affect oil supplies to Iraq’s biggest refinery at Baiji and imports of refined products. Crude oil exports resumed three days later. (Reuters)
• November 16: A U.S. Senate probe finds that Iraq illegally earned approximately $21.3 billion by circumventing UN sanctions between 1991 and 2003. The figure is double the amount reported by the Duelfer report that was released in October 2004. The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations also releases details on the way in which Saddam Hussein manipulated the UN’s Oil for Food Program. (WP)
• November 22: Ukraine holds a run-off presidential election between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. Although exit polls show large-scale support for Yushchenko, initial official results show Yanukovych with a 2% lead. Massive opposition-led protests ensue in Kiev in what is commonly referred to as the “Orange Revolution”. Ukraine is a pivotal transit state for Russian oil and natural gas exports to continental Europe, as well as a major regional producer of coal. Yushschenko later wins a third runoff election at the end of December 2004. (NYT, AP)
• December 5: Around 300 unarmed Nigerian villagers - including women and children - from the Kula community in Rivers State in the southern Niger Delta, seize three oil flow stations operated by multinational oil companies Shell and ChevronTexaco, shutting in 100,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of production for one week. A community spokesman claims that his people are protesting because they feel they have been overlooked for jobs. The incident is the second attack on oil flow stations in the Niger Delta in two weeks. (WMRC)
• December 10: In its quarterly meeting, OPEC agrees to cut production of crude oil to official quota levels. The OPEC Ministers say the cartel will lower crude oil production by 1 million bbl/d effective January 1. Currently, ten of OPEC’s members are exceeding their 27 million bbl/d official quota by 1 million bbl/d (Iraq does not have a quota). OPEC members pledge to meet again on January 30 to discuss whether further cuts are necessary. Saudi Arabia plans to decrease crude oil output by 500,000 bbl/d starting on January 1, 2005. (NYT, AP, WP)
• December 18: Yuganskneftegaz, the largest subsidiary of Yukos, is auctioned off to a previously unknown company called Baikal Finans Group (BFG) for a well-below-market value of $9.4 billion. The unit is being sold to help cover more than $27 billion in tax claims the Russian government says it is owed by Yukos over the last year -- part of a broader campaign against the company and its founder, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky. Under threat of having the government auction its largest oil asset, Yukos filed for bankruptcy in a U.S. court in Houston, Texas, earlier in the week. In response, many banks that were preparing to back Gazprom in its bid for the oil unit dropped their support. Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft buys all of BFG five days later. (WSJ, NYT)
• December 20: Exelon, the United States’ largest nuclear power producer agrees to buy New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) for a reported $13.2 billion in stock, thus creating the largest utility in the United States. Pending some anticipated regulatory hurdles, the combined company will increase Exelon’s generating capacity about 50% to around 52,000 megawatts (MW). (Reuters)
• December 26: The world’s largest earthquake in 40 years triggers a devastating tsunami centered in the Indian Ocean affecting largely populated coastal areas of India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Almost 300,000 local residents and tourists are killed in the tidal waves, yet damage to energy infrastructure is limited. Relief aid flows into the area from all over the world, increasing the value of local currencies. (NYT, WP, AP, Reuters)
• December 31: The Russian government gives its long-awaited final approval for a major oil pipeline to the Pacific port of Nakhodka that would allow for exports to Japan and the western United States. The decision to move ahead with the Nakhodka pipeline rules out a proposed line to Daqing, China; however some concessions to China are expected. State oil pipeline monopoly Transneft will build a 1.6-million-bbl/d capacity pipeline from Taishet in East Siberia to the Perevoznaya Bay in the Pacific Primorsk region. The government gives no firm timeframe for the project, but says final proposals should be made before May 2005. (Reuters)

[edit] Sources

• Energy Information Administration: Chronology of World Oil Market Events
• Commodity Research Bureau. The CRB Commodity Yearbook 2004, 2004.
• Other sources include: Associated Press (AP), Dow Jones (DJ), Los Angeles Times (LAT), New York Times (NYT), Oil Daily (OD), USA Today (USAT), Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Washington Post (WP), World Markets Research Center (WMRC).

[edit] 2005

[edit] 2006

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