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] www.platts.com Oilgram News Volume 84 / Number 67 / Friday, April 7, 2006 NYMEX to trade contracts Lyondell-Citgo Houston refinery for sale on CME Globex platform Deal could fetch $4 billion, end troubled relationship New York—The New York Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced New York—Warring partners Lyondell Chemical and Venezuelan state oil giant PDVSA’s Citgo April 6 an agreement to launch electronic Petroleum said April 6 they have put their 268,000 b/d Lyondell-Citgo heavy, sour crude trading of NYMEX energy and metals futures refinery on the Houston Ship Channel up for sale. and options contracts on CME’s Globex elec- Industry consultants expect the high-complexity, high-conversion plant to fetch upward of tronic trading platform. $4 billion. Among likely interested bidders is Brazilian state oil major Petrobras, which was Terms of the agreement were not speci- reported early last year to be in talks for Lyondell’s 59% stake in the joint venture. fied. The agreement lasts through 2016, with Petrobras said April 6 it is “studying business opportunities...in several countries,” but Globex the exclusive electronic trading plat- “isn’t able to reveal details.” form for NYMEX. Last fall Petrobras agreed to pay Astra Oil $370 million for a 50% stake in its former Electronic trading of the NYMEX’s main Crown Central refinery, a close neighbor to Lyondell-Citgo, and has now said it will fund energy products—crude, heating oil, unleaded most of the $400 million needed to upgrade that 110,000 b/d plant to process 70% heavy gasoline, natural gas—will begin trading on crude, including Brazilian Marlim grade. Globex side-by-side with NYMEX floor trading Lyondell-Citgo is one of the largest “full conversion” refineries in the US and the world. in the second quarter of 2006, the exchanges It is able to run entirely on heavy, sour crude and upgrades every barrel to either high-value said in a statement. The smaller-size E-mini gasoline, distillate, lube or aromatics, or converting its “bottoms” to petroleum coke. It has contracts will also begin trading then. at least two crude stills, a large fluid cat cracker and two delayed cokers. Its Nelson com- COMEX electronic metals trading and all plexity rating is 12.2. energy contracts currently traded after-hours The sale of the plant would end the troubled relationship between Lyondell and PDVSA, on the ACCESS platform are anticipated to which in recent years has been mired in litigation centered on the plant’s “netback” launch on Globex during the third quarter. arrangement to buy heavy, sour Venezuelan crude. As part of the sale announcement, Lyon- The NYMEX and CME are aiming for a dell and PDVSA said they have agreed to end cross-litigation in Manhattan federal court, for June 1 launch, NYMEX President James New- an undisclosed “cash settlement.” some said April 6 during a conference call. NYMEX contracts will be launched on (Continued on page 5) Globex in phases, NYMEX said. The goal is to list all electronic NYMEX contracts “as Niger Delta security remains a concern despite meeting quickly as possible,” Newsome said. Open outcry contracts will then be listed as part of Paris—Nigerian industry sources April 6 wel- ment partners and donors’ thing,” NYMEX’s plan to run simultaneous side-by- comed the outcome of a meeting with Presi- A spokesman for the Delta state govern- side open outcry and electronic trading. dent Olusegun Obasanjo and Niger Delta lead- ment said he did not expect Shell, the main NYMEX expects to release the exact con- ers but were skeptical as to whether it was target of a series of militant attacks, to tracts to be listed in a matter of weeks, after enough to persuade oil companies to return resume production any time soon. the NYMEX Board of Directors has made a to abandoned fields. “I am not in their shoes but in as much final decision on which contracts to list. The Obasanjo agreed April 5 to set up a new as they want to make profit, they want to start NYMEX, however, would not comment on committee in an attempt to end the violent production immediately. They will be a bit whether the full-size contracts would be physi- unrest in the Niger Delta that has seen the skeptical, they will want to watch events cally settled, like the open outcry contracts, or country’s oil production cut by more than unfold, I would say they might want to wait for cash-settled. 20%. The president said a panel would be the inauguration proper before they make any NYMEX will clear all of its contracts that inaugurated April 18 made up of representa- decisions,” the spokesman told Platts. trade through Globex. CME will designate a tives from the nine oil-producing states, Niger A spokeswoman for Shell said the compa- certain number of market makers to build liq- Delta Development Commission, oil compa- ny welcomed the initiative but gave no time uidity in the energy contracts. These market nies, ministries of oil, works, power and steel frame on when it might resume 445,000 b/d makers will trade at NYMEX member rates. and state-owned NNPC. of its shut-in production. “[Shell] hopes that “Outsourcing the electronic trading of our “The Niger Delta needs special attention it leads to constructive dialogue that will help energy futures contracts to CME will ensure by all of us,” Obasanjo said, quoted in the address the developmental needs of the Niger that we continue to meet the needs of our Nigerian ThisDay newspaper. “It is not a feder- Delta in a holistic manner,” she said. customers while providing additional liquidity al government attention alone, not a state nor Chevron, Nigeria’s third biggest operator, to our open outcry trading platform,” said local government thing alone. It is a communi- said the oil companies had not been directly Mitchell Steinhause, chairman of NYMEX, in a ty, family, individual, oil companies, develop- involved in the meeting but a spokesman said statement. (Continued on page 5) (Continued on page 6) The McGraw Hill Companies VOLUME 84 / NUMBER 67 / FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2006 OILGRAM NEWS US companies ordered to cover Congo debt Lack of rigs may delay drilling at Cepu oil block Judge seeks garnishment of royalty oil payments Jakarta—Pertamina and ExxonMobil might Houston—Oil companies with operations in But sources close to the case confirmed have to delay drilling on their jointly-held Cepu developing nations may face a new financial they consider the ruling a victory for the cred- oil block in East Java from September this challenge after a US judge ruled April 5 that itors and a defeat for the oil industry. They year to early 2007 due to a shortage of avail- creditors may use them as vehicles for collec- estimated that the debt involved may be as able rigs, a senior official of the Indonesian tion of bad debts overseas. high as $65 million and projected the value state-owned company said April 6. More specifically, US District Judge Keith of next week’s royalty lifting of 550,000 bar- “We may delay our initial drilling plan from Ellison ordered three units of Europe’s Peren- rels from the Yombo Field at $20 million to around September/October this year to early co Group to post a surety bond covering the $30 million. 2007 because of a rig shortage. We are hav- value of royalty oil to be lifted next week by ing trouble finding a rig. However, if we find a the Republic of the Congo as payment for Debt collectors rig, we will start drilling based on our initial debts owed by Congo to a group of creditors. One source from the oil industry side plan,” Pertamina Vice President Iin Arifin Those creditors and the court consider charged that the ruling threatens to force US Takhyan said. the group targets for garnishment on the oil companies to act as debt collectors for Pertamina and ExxonMobil plan to drill 10 Congo debt, seeking to seize the value of roy- so-called “vulture funds” that buy foreign development wells in the Banyu Urip discovery alty oil payments from the oil companies to debt. in Cepu in 2007, Iin said. Earlier the two satisfy the unpaid debt just as they would But sources close to the creditors said companies had said they planned to produce from the payroll checks of an employer with a they consider the oil industry’s fears exagger- oil at Banyu Urip 31 months after the Cepu worker who owed them money. ated, noting that creditors have a right to use Joint Operating Agreement was signed on But the implications for the industry as a the US court system to collect debts. March 15 this year (ON 3/16). whole have attracted the attention of other In this case, the bond would remain in Meanwhile, upstream regulator BPMigas oil companies, such as Chevron, which the court registry as a promise to pay pend- has asked Pertamina and ExxonMobil to echoed the industry viewpoint last year in a ing results of the trial, now scheduled for review the plan of development they submit- brief for the Congo case. October 30. ted earlier. “The Congo has expressed its intent, if “We are reviewing our PoD currently and Powerful incentive necessary, to take the lifting by force,” wrote plan to re-submit to BPMigas on April 21. We “Given the size of their debts, many for- Judge Ellison in his ruling. The judge ordered expect to get approval on May 21,” Iin said.