The following chronology lists international events of potential significance for world petroleum markets. Sources include: Dow Jones (DJ), the Washington Post (WP), and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

January 5 France=s Total SA reports that it has successfully tested a new well in Block 14 offshore Cabinda, Angola. The new discovery, called Landana, produces 7,300 barrels per day of 36-degree API crude oil, encouraging Total and its partners to continue with three more exploration wells in 1998. Total holds 20 percent of Block 14, with Chevron Corporation holding 31 percent, Angola=s national oil company Sonagol 20 percent, Italy=s Agip 20 percent, and Petrogal 9 percent. (DJ)

January 7 Due to the continuing Asian economic crisis, South Korea=s refiners have reportedly cut operations to around 80 percent of capacity. The refiners have also had difficulty securing crude oil supplies for delivery in late January or February, which could cut operations to as low as 70 percent-75 percent of capacity. (DJ)

January 8 Elf Exploration Angola, a unit of France=s Elf Aquitaine, and its partner Socieded Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola begin production of 9,500 barrels of oil per day from the Oombo field, located offshore Angola. Elf Exploration operates the field and holds a 50 percent interest. (DJ)

January 9 Premier Oil PLC announces that it has made a significant gas discovery in the Natuna Sea, Block A, Indonesia. After four drill tests produced a combined flow rate of 43 million cubic feet of gas per day, Premier has suspended the Pelikan-1 as a future producer. The Pelikan-1 well is located about 31 miles from the Anoa oil production platform, and it follows a gas discovery at the Gajah Puteri well drilled in late 1997. The oil rig will now move to another location in the block to drill the Adik Anoa oil and gas prospect. Premier operates Block A, holding a 66.67 percent interest, with Kuwait Foreign Exploration Company holding the remaining 33.33 percent interest. (DJ)

January 9 Shell Philippines Exploration, a unit of Royal Dutch/Shell and its partner Occidental Philippines, a unit of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, sign two gas supply agreements for the Malampaya natural gas-to-power project in the Philippines. The first agreement is with First Gas Holdings, a company 40 percent-owned by British Gas. The agreement calls for 1.46 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to be sent over a 20-year period to two power plants that will be built by First Gas. Initial delivery is scheduled to begin January 1, 2002. The second agreement is with National Power Corporation of the Philippines. It is a 20-year agreement beginning January 1, 2002, to supply gas to a turbine power plant to be built at Ilijan, Batangas. Total financing for the gas-to-power project is around $4.5 billion which will cover the development of the offshore subsea gas production wells, the construction of a 317-mile offshore pipeline and shore terminal, and the construction of the three power plants. (DJ)

January 12 The Albanian government awards oil exploration blocks to two international oil consortia, one led by Austria=s OMV and the other led by an Albanian subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum. OMV and its United Kingdom partners Enterprise Oil and Clyde Gas have received two blocks in the south and one in central north Albania. Meanwhile, Occidental and its partner International Petroleum Corporation have received two blocks in the south and one in the north. Although the production-sharing agreements still need to be approved by the Albanian government, drilling is expected to begin in mid-1998. (DJ)

January 12 After running aground in rough seas near the United Arab Emirates on January 7, 1998, a sunken barge has spilled about 28,000 barrels of fuel oil into the Persian Gulf, . The spill created a 5 mile by 2 mile oil slick along the coastline of the northern emirate of Umm Al Quwain. International environmental experts have teamed with the Emirates Coast Guard, the Federal Environment Authority and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in cleanup efforts. (DJ)

January 13 Japan=s Mitsubishi Petroleum Development Company begins oil production from a well in Block 3/91, located 25 miles off the coast of Angola. Daily output from the well is estimated at 9,500 barrels, with the concession expected to yield a total of around 15 million barrels of crude oil. (DJ)

January 14 In a show of support for Richard Butler, chairman of the United Nations (U.N.) Special Commission on Iraq, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approves a statement deploring Iraq=s recent actions to impede inspections by U.N. weapons monitors. (DJ)

January 14 China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Norway=s Statoil begin production from the Lufeng 22-1 oil field. Lufeng 22-1 is the deepest oil field in the South China Sea and is currently producing about 60,000 barrels per day. (DJ)

January 14 Iraq begins exporting crude oil under the third phase of the United Nations sponsored oil-for-food program. First loadings are filling the million barrel tanker White Sea for French oil company Elf Aquitaine. Other companies expected to lift Iraqi crude in January include France=s Total, Italy=s Agip, Russia=s Lukoil, and China=s Sinochem. (DJ)

January 15 Environmentalists hail the implementation of a 50-year moratorium on mining and oil exploration in the Antarctic. A protocol for the protection of the Antarctic was adopted by twenty-six countries in 1991, but it could not be implemented until Japan=s ratification cleared the way last month. Antarctica contains 70 percent of the world=s fresh water, and the moratorium attempts to preserve the world=s least polluted continent. (WP)

January 19 Elf Exploration Incorporated, a subsidiary of France=s Elf Aquitaine announces the development of its Virgo discovery located in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. The next step for Elf and its partners is to construct a drilling and production platform that will have a daily production capacity of 120 million cubic feet of gas and 15,000 barrels of oil. Elf Exploration holds a 64 percent interest in the license with Coastal Oil and Gas 16.2 percent, Pogo Producing Company 10.8 percent, and Nippon Oil Exploration USA Limited 9 percent. (DJ)

January 19 Bohai Petroleum Company, a unit of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, begins production from the Boxi Oil field located in the Bohai Sea. The field=s reserves are estimated at more than 37 million barrels of oil and about 353 billion cubic feet of natural gas. (DJ)

January 19 Gazprom, Russia=s giant natural gas company, signs a $340 million agreement with Poland designed to help repay Poland=s $200 million debt to Gazprom and to finance the Jamal-Europa gas pipeline. Under the agreement, Poland will give Gazprom $175 million worth of goods and services. The other $165 million will finance the construction of the pipeline, which will cross Russia and Eastern Europe into Western Europe. The Polish section of the pipeline is expected to be completed later this year. (DJ)

January 20 Russia=s second and seventh largest oil concerns, AO Yukos and AO Sibneft, announce a merger to create a new company to be named AO Yuksi. In terms of reserves, Yuksi will surpass Royal Dutch/Shell Group as the world=s largest private oil company and rank third behind Shell and Exxon Corporation in terms of production. Yukos=s shareholders will take a 60 percent share in the new company, with shareholders from Sibneft controlling the remaining 40 percent. (WSJ)

January 21 Following a speech last week by Luis Giusti, president of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela, in which he claimed that Saudi Arabia has been producing 9.12 million barrels of crude oil per day and that its overproduction has led to falling oil prices, Saudi Arabia defends itself stating that it is abiding by its new OPEC production quota of 8.76 million barrels per day. Giusti also said that Venezuela is currently producing 3.3 million barrels per day, which is about 25 percent over its OPEC quota of 2.583 million barrels per day, and that production will reach 3.6 million barrels per day in 1998. (DJ)

January 22 Statoil, Norway=s state-owned energy company, reports that 10 drilling services contracts have been awarded to companies holding production sharing contracts in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan. The 10 contracts, worth $110 million, have been awarded to Azdri MI, Schlumberger, Geoservices, Oceaneering, Baker Hughes Intec, Franks International and Security DBS. The first exploration well in the Shah Deniz area, where Statoil holds a 25.5 percent interest, is scheduled to be drilled in June 1998. (DJ)

January 25 Toyota Motor Corporation announces that it will attempt to introduce its hybrid electric/gasoline-powered Prius compact simultaneously in the United States and Europe in the year 2000. This new hybrid system generates half the carbon dioxide of a gasoline engine and reduces emissions of other toxic substances such as nitrogen oxides. The Prius was introduced in Japan in December 1997, and sales have been strong, with 3,500 orders received in the first month. (DJ)

January 26 The Algerian Energy Council adopts a series of measures designed to strengthen Algeria=s oil and gas industry, including the opening of the refining, petrochemical, and fertilizer sectors to foreign investment. (DJ)

January 26 Delegates from OPEC=s Ministerial Monitoring Committee hold an emergency one-day meeting to discuss falling oil prices. The delegates agree that OPEC=s crude oil output is above the 27.5 million barrels per day ceiling by at least 500,000 barrels per day, but less than 1 million barrels per day. The delegates also say that there is little OPEC can do to lift oil prices soon outside of recommending strict adherence to production quotas or possibly cutting production. (DJ)

January 27 Su Shulin, Executive Deputy Director of the Daqing Petroleum Management Bureau, states that China=s largest oil field, Daqing, will maintain annual crude production of around 100,000 barrels per day through 2010. Proven reserves in the field are said to be around 40 billion barrels. (DJ)

January 28 Amoco Corporation announces a crude oil discovery at its Immortelle oil field, located 34 miles off the east coast of Trinidad. This represents Amoco=s largest crude oil find in Trinidad in 25 years. Reserve estimates range between 40 and 70 million barrels, and as many as eight wells could be drilled by the end of the year. [Editor=s note: EIA estimates Trinidad oil production for 1997 at 124,000 barrels per day.] (DJ)

January 29 Hungarian oil and gas company MOL renews an agreement with Nafta Industria Srbia (NIS) to ship Russian natural gas to Serbia. Under the agreement, MOL will ship 99 billion cubic feet of Russian gas across Hungary from the border with Ukraine to the Hungarian-Serbian border in 1998. Annual gas shipments to Serbia will gradually increase over the course of the agreement eventually reaching 134 billion cubic feet in 2002. Over the next 20 years, MOL expects to ship a total of at least 2.6 trillion cubic feet of gas to Serbia. In addition, MOL is set to develop a pipeline system to deliver natural gas to Bosnia. MOL says it will invest around $77 million in the new system and expects to have it in service by the year 2000. (DJ)

January 31 New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine have decided to hold out for California=s zero emission standard for cars rather than join the federal National Low Emission Vehicle program. Under the federal program, automakers will agree to begin producing cars that will significantly reduce the amount of smog-producing emissions if all 13 northeastern states will agree not to adopt California=s tougher standard. The automakers say that the new cars would be 70 percent more effective in eliminating emissions of hydrocarbons and 50 percent more effective in reducing emissions of oxides of nitrogen. The cleaner cars could be available in the northeast as early as this year and nationally by 2000. Many federal officials and some automakers believe that the auto industry will agree to the new program even without participation from all 13 states. The automakers have until February 17 to decide whether they will go along with the National Low Emission Vehicle program. (WP) 

The following chronology lists international events of potential significance for world petroleum markets. Sources include: Dow Jones (DJ), the New York Times (NYT), the Washington Post (WP), and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

February 1 A U.S. federal judge denies a preliminary injunction requested by civil rights lawyers that would have removed California-based Unocal Corporation from a $1.2 billion pipeline project in Burma. The lawsuit alleges a variety of human rights violations by the Burmese government in connection with the project. The judge=s ruling states that prohibiting Unocal=s participation in the project would not stop the human rights abuses claimed in the lawsuit. President Clinton imposed trade and economic sanctions on Burma in April 1997, but the ban did not affect existing investments. Unocal holds a 28 percent share in the pipeline project, which is being constructed from Burma to Thailand. (DJ)

February 1 United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls for an increase in the amount of oil Iraq can sell under the U.N.-sponsored oil-for-food program. Annan recommends raising the sales limit from $2.14 billion every six months to $5.2 billion. The recommendation now moves to the U.N.=s 15-member Security Council for approval. (WP)

February 2 Western partners in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium have frozen funds for a $2 billion pipeline and are pushing for a shake-up in the Consortium=s Russian-led management. The 900-mile pipeline will eventually transport 1.4 million barrels of oil per day from Kazakhstan=s Tengiz oil field through Russia to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Oil shipments were scheduled to begin in late 1999, but will likely be delayed at least one year as a result of this latest development. Continued funding of the project was contingent upon the Consortium obtaining Russian rights of way and various federal and local permits for the pipeline by the end of 1997. During a meeting in December 1997, the Western partners discovered that much of this work had not been completed. (WSJ)

February 3 Azerbaijan=s state oil company Socar and U.S.-based Conoco announce an agreement to conduct a joint study of Azerbaijan=s natural gas processing industries. The study will examine the commercial viability of gathering, processing, and transporting Azerbaijan=s natural gas and natural gas liquids for export and domestic use. The study will be conducted over a period of six months. (DJ)

February 3 Russia=s RAO Gazprom has sold its 10 percent stake in Centgas, a consortium set up to construct a $2 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan natural gas pipeline. U.S.-based Unocal Corporation acquired 7 percent of Gazprom=s shares, bringing its total stake in the Centgas to 54 percent. The remaining 3 percent went to Japanese-owned Indonesia Petroleum and Itochu, South Korea=s Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company, and Pakistan=s Crescent Group. The 800-mile pipeline will extend from the Daulatabad gas field in southeastern Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan. (DJ)

February 4 General Motors and Amoco Corporation announce a groundbreaking partnership to jointly develop clean-burning motor vehicle fuels. The partnership is the first of its kind between an automaker and an oil company. General Motors Vice Chairman Harry Pearce says that cleaner diesel fuels and cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline are necessary for the success of future hybrid vehicles, which will run on a combination of gasoline and electricity. (WSJ) (DJ)

February 4 General Motors, Chrysler Corporation, and Ford Motor Company announce that they will participate in the Environmental Protection Agency=s National Low Emission Vehicle Program. The Program requires automakers to build cars that will be 70 percent cleaner than current models. In exchange for the voluntary participation of the car companies, eight Northeastern states and the District of Columbia gave up the right to adopt higher California emissions standards. The automakers will begin producing the cleaner cars in 1999 in the Northeast and two years later in the rest of the country. Ten foreign automakers have agreed to participate as well, including Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Saab, Subaru, Suzuki, Volvo, and Rolls Royce. (NYT) (WP) (DJ)

February 5 Following a ruling by a federal judge denying a request from environmentalists and Native Americans seeking to block the sale of the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve, the U.S. Department of Energy formally transfers ownership of the reserve to Occidental Petroleum Corporation. Occidental purchased a 78 percent interest in the field for $3.65 billion. Chevron Corporation currently holds the remaining 22 percent. Elk Hills contains 450 million barrels of proven oil reserves; however, officials from Occidental believe the reserve may contain one billion barrels of recoverable reserves. (DJ)

February 5 Norway=s state oil company Statoil AS and its partners will invest $400 million to expand the development of Venezuelan oil field LL 652. The investment will cover the first phase of the expansion designed to increase production from 10,000 barrels per day to 115,000 barrels per day over the next ten years. The field=s recoverable reserves are estimated at 500 million barrels. Statoil and Chevron each hold a 30 percent interest in the project with Phillips and Atlantic Richfield each holding 20 percent. (DJ)

February 5 The United Kingdom=s Hardy Oil & Gas announces the discovery of a major new natural gas field in the South West Miano concession onshore Pakistan. The exploration well Sawan-1, operated by Austria=s OMV, produced a flow rate of 58 million cubic feet per day. Reserves are estimated at approximately 918 billion cubic feet. Commercial development is expected to begin in 1998, and initial production is to start by the end of 1999. Hardy and Pakistan Petroleum Limited each hold a 30 percent interest in the concession, with OMV holding a 25 percent interest. (DJ)

February 6 Iraq rejects key parts of United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Kofi Annan=s proposal to increase the amount of oil Iraq is permitted to sell under the U.N.=s oil-for-food program from $2.14 billion to $5.2 billion. In a letter to Annan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf objects to additional funds to pay for U.N. monitoring, proposals to repair electric power stations in northern Iraq, and plans for U.N. agencies to target aid to specific groups such as the poor and children. Al-Sahhaf writes that the Iraqi government should deliver the aid and determine which power stations are repaired not the U.N. (WP) (DJ)

February 9 In a letter to United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf informs the U.N. that Iraq can only export up to $4 billion of oil in six months. The letter is a response to Annan=s recommendation to the U.N. to allow Iraq to increase the amount it can export under the oil-for-food program from $2.14 billion to $5.2 billion. In addition, al-Sahhaf writes that a larger share of the oil sales should go towards humanitarian aid, while the amounts funding U.N. programs and a compensation fund for Persian Gulf war victims should be reduced. (DJ)

February 9 Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze escapes an assassination attempt as he is headed home in Tbilisi, Georgia=s capital. This represents the second assassination attempt against him in three years. Shevardnadze is not injured, but two bodyguards are dead and four others seriously wounded. Shevardnadze suggests that the attack could have been related to his country=s attempt to be part of a pipeline route transporting Caspian Sea oil to the Black Sea. (WP)

February 10 The United Nations (U.N.) approves 34 oil contracts submitted by Iraq which will meet its $2 billion quota under the third phase of the U.N.-sponsored oil-for-food program. The 34 contracts total 151.8 million barrels of oil. Iraq exported 121.1 million barrels during the first phase and 127.3 million barrels during the second. The increase in volume is due to weakening oil prices on international markets. (DJ)

February 10 Philippine President Fidel Ramos signs into law legislation deregulating the country=s oil industry. It is the last major structural reform sought by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before it allows the Philippines to withdraw from its current IMF borrowing program. The new law provides for a five-month transition period before full deregulation and a $73 million buffer fund that can be used to subsidize certain petroleum products. (DJ)

February 10 Energy Africa Limited, a South African oil and gas exploration company, announces the discovery of oil off the coast of Congo about 10 miles southwest of the Nkossa oil field. The Bilondo Marine 1 well produced flow rates of 8,520 barrels of oil per day. The well also tapped into a different geological structure from Nkossa, proving the existence of a separate field. The discovery was made within the Haute Mer exploration permit which could contain estimated oil reserves of 500 million barrels. Energy Africa holds a 4 percent interest in a consortium that includes Elf Aquitaine (51 percent), Chevron (30 percent), and Hydro Congo (15 percent). (DJ)

February 11 Russia=s RAO Gazprom and Italy=s ENI SpA sign a preliminary agreement for joint exploration and exploitation of the Astrakhan region in Russia. The Astrakhan fields are estimated to contain up to one billion barrels of oil equivalent. The deal is worth $3 billion and includes ENI taking a yet-to-be-determined stake in Gazprom. In addition, the two companies envision joint ventures in other regions of the world, including Europe, the Mediterranean, and China. (DJ)

February 16 The United Nations (U.N.) Iraq Sanctions Committee approves a pricing plan for Iraqi oil to be shipped under the third phase of the U.N.-sponsored oil-for-food program. The approval clears the way for Iraq to export $1.07 billion of oil in each of two 90-day periods. The first 90-day period ends on March 5, 1998. (DJ)

February 17 A barge carrying about 200,000 gallons of diesel fuel sinks in rough seas off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The barge is suspected of transporting smuggled fuel from Iraq. (DJ)

February 18 United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Kofi Annan receives unanimous support from the U.N. Security Council for his diplomatic trip to Iraq. Annan is scheduled to meet with President Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi leaders in an attempt to reach a diplomatic solution to the standoff between Iraq and the U.N. over weapons inspections. (DJ)

February 18 The international environmental group Greenpeace praises a policy decision by the European Union (EU) Commission to ban the disposal of offshore oil and gas platforms at sea. The Commission also called on countries in the Ospar Convention to adopt the same policy. The Ospar Convention regulates marine pollution in the North East Atlantic from Gibraltar to the Arctic. The policy, which carries an exemption for large concrete platforms, still requires approval from EU foreign ministers. The ministers will address the policy at a Ministerial meeting on July 20-24, 1998. (DJ)

February 19 The U.S. Justice Department intervenes in four lawsuits against DuPont Company=s Conoco Unit, Royal Dutch/Shell Group=s Shell Oil Company, Burlington Resources, and Amoco Corporation. The companies are accused of violating the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties to the US government and Indian nations for oil extracted from public and Indian lands. No estimate of the value of the underpayments has been released, but a Justice Department attorney says that, since 1988, the companies had undervalued hundreds of millions of barrels of oil taken from the Gulf of Mexico and western states. (NYT) (WSJ)

February 20 The United Nations (U.N.) Security Council votes unanimously to more than double the amount of oil Iraq can export under the U.N. oil-for-food program. The Security Council=s vote increases the amount Iraq can export from $2.14 billion to $5.26 billion over six months. Iraq maintains that it only has the capability to export up to $4 billion over a six-month period. (DJ)

February 22 Sudan signs a $600 million agreement with three foreign companies to construct a 994-mile pipeline to carry oil from the western fields of Higlig to Bashair Port, near Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The pipeline will transport 150,000 barrels per day and is expected to be operational by June 1999. The Sudanese government=s partners are China=s CPECC Oil Company, Argentina=s Techint, and Britain=s Weir and Allan Diesel (DJ)

February 22 United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Kofi Annan reaches an agreement with senior Iraqi officials over U.N. inspections of suspected Iraqi weapons sites. The deal includes opening eight Iraqi presidential compounds to weapons inspectors, one of the major points of contention between Iraq and the U.N. Annan will now present the agreement to the U.N. Security Council for approval. (WP)

February 23 Amerada Hess Corporation of the U.S. signs two production-sharing contracts with Malaysia=s Petronas Carigali, marking Amerada Hess= entry into exploration activities in Malaysia. The contracts give Amerada Hess a 70 percent stake in block PM304 offshore Terengganu and an 80 percent stake in block SK306 offshore Sarawak. Amerada Hess has committed to spending $24.9 million and drilling five well on the two blocks. (DJ)

February 23 Japan=s Export-Import Bank signs a loan agreement worth approximately $80 million with Gas Authority of India Limited to help finance capacity expansion work on a natural gas pipeline linking Gujarat, Madhya, and Uttar provinces with the Bombay North oil and gas field. The loan is being co-financed by the Asian Development Bank. The loan will be used to boost the capacity of the pipeline from 636 million cubic feet per day to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day. (DJ)

February 24 Turkmenistan and Shell Exploration B.V. sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) providing Shell with the exclusive right to promote a project to transport Turkmen natural gas to Turkey. As part of the MOU, Shell will conduct a feasibility study on a proposed 1,200-mile gas pipeline connecting Turkmenistan and Turkey via Iranian territory. (DJ)

February 26 Longtime competitors Halliburton Company and Dresser Industries announce plans to merge for $8.1 billion. The new company will retain the Halliburton name at its Dallas, Texas headquarters and will form the world=s largest oil-drilling services company. The deal is still subject to approval by shareholders and regulatory agencies. (WP)

February 26 State oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA) announces that three major Venezuelan oil joint ventures will be delayed 6-8 months due to budget cuts. Lower-than- expected oil prices have forced PdVSA to cut its investment plan for 1998 by approximately $1 billion. The three projects are the Cerro Negro joint venture with Mobil Corporation, the Total-led Sincor project in the Zuata region, and the Arco-led Petrolera Ameriven S.A. joint venture in the Hamaca zone. All three are extra-heavy crude upgrading projects in the Orinoco Belt region in southeast Venezuela. (DJ)