MARKET SPOTLIGHT AGAIN MOVES TO NORTH SEA

In the intensifying war of nerves in the world oil market, the spotlight is once again focused on the North Sea - more particularly on Norway's Statoil which will have to decide upon its December price levels by the end of the coming week.

In its mid-October move - which sparked off the current price crisis - Statoil granted discounts to contract customers of $1.35/B for October, scaling down to $1.05/B for November, with the December price...