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Oil slips below US$64 as demand for crude begins to ease off
London: Oil slipped below US$64 on Friday with OPEC members issuing fresh assurances about meeting world demand for crude. The OPEC meeting comes in the backdrop of slowing demand from the world market and the United States saying that Hurricane Katrina had spared underwater pipelines.

"As always, OPEC stands ready to supply additional oil to the market when necessary," a statement said, restating OPEC's policy of "ensuring that supply is at or above demand."

In the United States, the government said Hurricane Katrina had not caused major damage to underwater pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico oil and the gas producing region, unlike Hurricane Ivan last year.

U.S. light crude fell US$1.25 to US$63.50 a barrel. London Brent crude slipped US$1.42 to US62.24.

The price of crude has doubled in a two-year rally and economies and industry are finally beginning to feel the strain. OPEC and the West's energy watchdog, International Energy Agency, have both trimmed their forecasts for oil demand growth over the past week.

Meanwhile French finance minister Thierry Breton called a meeting with oil company chiefs on Friday to demand they do more to help consumers. Total said it would invest 2.8 billion euros in refining by 2010 to boost its French diesel output. The British government is resisting calls to cut its hefty taxes on petrol and diesel.

Analysts say crude stocks are abundant and refiners have no need of extra supplies, an argument supported by the U.S. government's sale of only 11 million barrels of emergency reserves, about a third of the total it had offered.
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Gazprom unveils shortlist for Shtokman field
Washington, DC, USA: Russian oil major Gazprom has named potential partners for the multibillion dollar Shtokman gas field project in the Barents Sea. To invest in these projects, foreign companies must directly negotiate with the Kremlin.

According to Gazprom chief executive officer Alexei Miller, North America will be the main destination for gas supplies from the Shtokman deposit. Production is scheduled to commence in 2010 and is expected to reach full capacity two years later.

Although it has yet to produce any liquefied natural gas, Gazprom is eager to emerge as a player on the international LNG market. The main recipients of the liquefied natural gas will be the United States and Europe, with 25 percent of LNG shipments going to the United States.

Gazprom announced Friday it has selected a shortlist of five potential candidates -- Norway`s Stateoil and Norsk Hydro, France`s Total, U.S.-based Chevron and ConocoPhillips.

Holding the controlling stakes in the project with 51 percent, the Russian natural-gas monopoly will select two or three of the five candidates within six months to co-finance the development, Miller said. 'The development of the Shtokman natural gas field will have a significant influence on the Russian economy if Russian companies receive at least 70 percent of orders,' ' Miller added.

Gazprom shipment of its first 62,000 tons of Russian-owned LNG to U.S. markets Sept. 2 inaugurated the Russian monopoly as world`s largest natural gas company on the global LNG market.

Shtokman has an estimated capacity of up to 113 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and could cost some US$10bn to US$20bn to develop. By comparison, major gas exporters Canada and Indonesia have proven reserves of 56.5 trillion and 91.8 trillion cubic feet, respectively.
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