50 Percent Interest News

China's Cosco Shipping has earlier this month delivered the King’s Quay floating production unit to Ingleside, Texas, aboard its M/V Xiang An Kou semi-submersible heavy transportation vessel, after a long journey from South Korea.The 21,498mt platform, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, will be used for Murphy Oil's offshore oil field developments around 175 miles south of New Orleans in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.The King’s Quay floating production unit is scheduled to go into service in 2022.

Offshore driller Ensco Plc said on Monday it plans to buy smaller rival Rowan Cos Plc in an all-stock deal valued at $2.38 billion, as it looks to expand its fleet and benefit from a partnership with Saudi Aramco.This is Ensco's second deal since OPEC-led efforts boosted oil prices in the second half of 2016. Ensco bought rival Atwood Oceanics in a similar deal last year.Rowan shareholders will receive 2.215 Ensco shares for each share held.

Woodside and BHP have entered into an agreement in relation to the proposed development of the Scarborough gas field. BHP waived its right of pre-emption and provides its consent to the sale by ExxonMobil to Woodside of its 50 percent interest in WA-1-R and the Scarborough Joint Venture Operating Agreement. Woodside will become the Scarborough operator on completion of the transaction between ExxonMobil and Woodside. Woodside grants BHP an option to purchase an additional 10 percent interest in Scarborough on equivalent consideration and terms to the transaction with ExxonMobil. The option may be exercised by BHP at any time prior to the earlier of December 31, 2019 and approval to commence the front-end engineering and design phase of the Scarborough Development.

Golar LNG Limited announced that it has entered into a 50/50 joint venture with investment vehicles affiliated with private equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners. The joint venture company, Golar Power Ltd, will offer integrated LNG based downstream solutions, through the ownership and operation of floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) and associated terminal and power generation infrastructure. Stonepeak shares Golar's ambition to aggressively grow in the FSRU and LNG fueled power market and is committing $290 million in new equity to develop Golar Power. Stonepeak Senior Managing Director, Luke Taylor, commented…

The Vitol Group and Sargeant Marine, an asphalt trading, storage and transportation business, announced that Vitol will acquire a 50 percent interest in Sargeant Marine for an undisclosed sum. Sargeant Marine comprises a global trading operation, which distributes asphalt to customers worldwide, and two terminals in Rotterdam, Netherlands and Constantza, Romania. On completion, it is anticipated that the new, combined business will trade circa 1.3 million metric tons of asphalt per annum, with hubs in Florida, London and Singapore, and operate a fleet of 13 specialist vessels. It will also benefit from access to Vitol’s asphalt production around the world. The transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2016. Until completion, day to day operations will remain unchanged.

Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. announced that it has agreed to acquire a 50 percent interest in the Cidade de Itajai floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit from Teekay Corporation for a purchase price of approximately $204 million. The acquisition will be financed with assumed debt and proceeds from the recently completed equity private placement. The acquisition is expected to be completed on June 1, 2013, subject to customary closing conditions. The Itajai FPSO is operating on the Baúna and Piracaba (previously named Tiro and Sidon) fields in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil under a nine-year fixed-rate time-charter contract (plus extension options) with Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

Natural gas deposits discovered in two locations by Chevron Australia's deepwater drilling exploration program in the Carnarvon Basin. The Pinhoe-1 exploration discovery well encountered approximately 197 feet (60 meters) of net gas pay in the Barrow and Mungaroo Sands. Pinhoe-1 is located in the WA-383-P permit area, located approximately 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of Exmouth off the Western Australia coast. The well was drilled in 3,048 feet (929 meters) of water to a total depth of 13,396 feet (4,083 meters). The Arnhem-1 exploration discovery well confirmed approximately 149 feet (45.5 meters) of net gas pay in the upper Mungaroo Sands. Arnhem-1 is in the WA-364-P permit area, located approximately 180 miles (290 kilometres) north of Exmouth off the Western Australia coast.

Centrica Plc. and Dong Energy A/S said that they had formed a joint venture to develop offshore wind farms in the Round 3 Irish Sea Zone. Dong Energy will pay Centrica as much as 40 million pounds in cash for a 50 percent interest in the venture, according to a regulatory statement today. (Bloomberg)

Kitimat LNG partners Apache Canada Ltd. (Apache Canada) and EOG Resources Canada Inc. (EOG Canada) announced that they have agreed to purchase the 50 percent interest in the Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership (PTPLP) they do not own from Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) for $50m. Apache Canada and EOG Canada will pay PNG $30m on closing – expected by the end of February – and a second payment of $20m when the purchasers decide to proceed with construction of the Kitimat liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility. "Acquiring the PTP is an important step in building a comprehensive system that will enable Apache and EOG to tap Asian markets for our abundant natural gas resources in the Horn River Basin and elsewhere in Western Canada," said Janine McArdle, president of Kitimat LNG.

Mein Schiff (My Ship), the first ship in the new TUI Cruises fleet, was named on May 15 in Hamburg, Germany, in a celebration that marked a significant step for the joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and TUI AG. The new brand is designed to serve the German cruise market, where some 906,000 Germans took cruises in 2008, and where that number is forecast to increase by 11 percent in 2009. Following a short inaugural cruise, Mein Schiff will sail in the Baltic for the 2009 summer season (May through October).

Transocean Inc. announced that the ultra-deepwater drillship Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2 (formerly Deepwater Pacific 2), which is owned by a joint venture in which the company has 50 percent interest, has been awarded a five-year drilling contract from Reliance Industries. The contract is expected to commence in the first quarter 2010 following shipyard construction, sea trials, mobilization to and customer acceptance. Contract revenues which could be generated over the first six months and remaining 54 months of the contract period are estimated to be $90 million and $838 million, respectively. In addition, Transocean announced that the first ultra-deepwater drillship owned by the joint venture…

Smit Internationale N.V. announced that it has completed the acquisition of the remaining 50 percent interest from Fairplay Towage in URS. All conditions as mentioned in the press release of December 31, 2007 have been fulfilled. With the URS operation SMIT further strengthens its leading position in the Belgium towage market. Further information will follow with the 2007 year results, which will be published on March 6.

Smit Internationale N.V. agreed with Fairplay Towage to acquire Fairplay Towage’s 50 percent interest in URS. Through this acquisition SMIT will become 100 percent shareholder of URS, the leading towage provider in Belgium. The total consideration for this transaction amounts to EUR 182.5 million. The transaction will be paid partly in shares and partly in cash. The calculation is based on SMIT’s share price at closing of Euronext Amsterdam of December 28 of EUR 68.34. SMIT will increase its outstanding shares by issuing new shares to an amount of 9.99% of its outstanding shares, as per today which represents an amount of EUR 108 million. The cash consideration amounts to EUR 74.5 million.

TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced today they will launch a new joint venture serving the German cruise market. The new company, TUI Cruises, will begin service with one ship, in early 2009, and grow quickly with two newbuilds planned for 2011 and 2012. Sales and marketing will commence earlier in Spring 2008. Both partners will hold a 50 percent interest in the joint venture, which is subject to regulatory and board approvals before completion. The first ship to operate under the TUI Cruises brand will undergo renovations before entering service. Once deployed, it will not only enhance the German cruise market, but also meet the sophisticated needs of German-speaking customers seeking a contemporary/premium cruise experience.

Statoil Hydro on November 27 said it has won a bid to conduct offshore exploration off Brazil. The Norwegian group was awarded two blocks offshore. The blocks, numbered CM529 and CM530, are located in sea depths of around 100 m. The licenses for the two blocks were to be operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation that would have a 50 percent stake, the same as Statoil Hydro. Statoil Hydro did not state what the bid cost. The blocks were located next to the heavy oil field Peregrino that was slated to come on stream in 2010. Statoil Hydro has a 50-percent-stake in the Peregrino field in the Campos basin. The Norwegian group was created October 1 when Statoil and its rival Norsk Hydro merged their oil and gas activities.

Seacor — through an unprecedented string of strategic and financially sound acquisitions — has emerged as one of the world's premier operators of a fleet of vessels that provide marine services to the oil and gas exploration and production industry, and oil spill response services in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, offshore West Africa, the Far East and Latin America. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000, the company announced net earnings of $11.1 million on revenues of $88.3 million. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2000, net earnings were $34.1 million on revenues of $339.9 million. The improvement in the fourth quarter…

ConocoPhillips announced the signing of an agreement with Freeport LNG Development, L.P. to participate in its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in Quintana, Texas. ConocoPhillips will acquire 1 billion cubic feet (BCF) per day of regasification capacity in the terminal for its use and obtain a 50 percent interest in the general partner managing the venture. ConocoPhillips will be primarily responsible for management of construction and operation of the facility, and provide a significant portion of construction funding. The management of Freeport LNG Development will remain in place and be responsible for all commercial activities and customer interface for the remaining capacity in the facility.

ConocoPhillips announced the signing of an agreement with Freeport LNG Development, L.P. to participate in its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in Quintana, Texas. ConocoPhillips will acquire 1 billion cu. Ft. (BCF) per day of regasification capacity in the terminal for its use and obtain a 50 percent interest in the general partner managing the venture. ConocoPhillips will be primarily responsible for management of construction and operation of the facility, and provide a significant portion of construction funding. The management of Freeport LNG Development will remain in place and be responsible for all commercial activities and customer interface for the remaining capacity in the facility.

ConocoPhillips announced the finalization of its transaction with Freeport LNG Development, L.P. to participate in a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in Quintana, Brazoria County, Texas. ConocoPhillips has acquired 1 billion cubic feet (BCF) per day of regasification capacity in the terminal, has obtained a 50 percent interest in the general partner managing the venture and will provide substantial construction funding to the venture. The terminal is designed with storage capacity of nearly 7 BCF and send-out capacity of 1.5 BCF per day. Natural gas will be transported through a 9.4-mile pipeline to Stratton Ridge, Texas, which is a major point of interconnection with the Texas intrastate gas pipeline system.

The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) has disbursed $65 million to six coastal states: Alabama, Alaska, California, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. This is the fourteenth installment in a series of annual payments based on 1985 settlement legislation regarding the allocation of royalties, rents and bonuses from certain federal offshore oil and gas leases. The 1978 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act Amendments provided for certain coastal states and the federal government to share revenues earned from OCS leases, generally, three to six miles beyond a state's coastal boundary. This area, known as the 8(g) zone, is named after the enabling paragraph of that legislation.

Carnival Corp., the world's biggest cruise operator, will buy the remaining half of Italian cruise operator Costa Crociere which it does not already own from British travel company Airtours Plc. Carnival said it expected to pay about $525 million in cash for Airtours' stake in Costa, which is headquartered in Genoa. Carnival would own all of Costa and keep a 26 percent "strategic interest" in Airtours, which it acquired in 1996. "The purchase of Airtours' 50 percent interest in Costa is a very important strategic move in the continued development of Carnival Corporation's European business," Micky Arison, Carnival chairman and CEO, said.

Carnival Cruise Lines reported today that it will transfer its 1,022-passenger Tropicale to sister company Costa Cruises in February 2001. Prior to its delivery to Costa, the 36,674-ton vessel will complete its current schedule of 10-day Panama Canal cruises from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,which end Feb. 10, 2001. After that, Costa will immediately reposition the Tropicale to Genoa, Italy, for an extensive refurbishment and refit before placing the vessel into European service. Once the work is complete, the vessel will assume the physical characteristics and on-board environment of a typical Costa-owned ship. "We've said all along that Costa will be our primary platform for expanding our European business and the transfer of the Tropicale is consistent with that strategy…

S.A. that are unconditionally guaranteed by Carnival Corporation. Moody's also confirmed Carnival's A2 and Prime-1 ratings. The rating confirmation reflects Carnival's industry leading market share and margins, the strength of its brands, as well as the risks associated with its shipbuilding program and weakening global economic fundamentals. The rating outlook is stable. Carnival will use the proceeds of this offering to repay bridge financing put in place to consummate the acquisition of the remaining 50 percent interest in Costa Crociere from Airtours plc for $510 million and for working capital purposes. The cruise industry is expected to increase gross capacity by between 12-14 percent per annum through 2004.