Citigroup Inc News

Port officials on Tuesday are expected to consider $300 million in financing that would prepare the country's largest oil-export port - Corpus Christi, Texas - to handle a surge in U.S. shale production over the next five years.International buyers would like more U.S. crude but are unable to get it because of infrastructure constraints along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Terminals originally designed for imports only recently have revamped operations to handle exports including accepting…

Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras)will seek a valuation of up to 22 billion reais ($6.8 billion) for its fuel distribution unit in what is expected to be Brazil’s biggest IPO of the year, reported Reuters. The Brazilian energy giant intends to raise around $2.3 billion or $7.5 billion reais at the high end of the price range of 15 reais-19 reais per share. Petrobras is expected to offer between 25% and 40% of its stake in BR Distribuidora. The offering could grow to a 33.75 percent stake in the distribution unit if the company sells all additional and supplementary allotments, according to a new regulatory filing.

Overseas Shipholding Group Inc investors have reached $16.25 million in settlements with the executives, underwriters and an auditor of the tanker company in a lawsuit related to its 2012 bankruptcy and tax problems. Company directors and officers, including former Chief Executive Morten Arntzen and former Chief Financial Officer Myles Itkin, agreed to pay $10.5 million, papers filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday showed. Underwriters including Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc will pay $4 million, while accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will pay $1.75 million. "We're think its an extraordinary result in an extremely complex case," David Rosenfeld, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said on Friday.

ConocoPhillips Inc is weighing sale of some of its North Sea assets in Norway which may fetch as much as $1 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The largest independent producer of oil and natural gas may sell assets that are operated by others including stakes in the Aasta Hansteen, Alvheim and Grane fields, Bloomberg said, citing the sources. (http://bloom.bg/1J7KJ8g). The company is also said to have contacted potential buyers, Bloomberg reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. ConocoPhillips said it does not comment on ongoing business development or commercial activities. Reuters last week reported that the company was preparing the sale of noncore oil and gas producing acreage in the United States…

Citigroup Inc said on Friday it has started proceedings in commercial court in London to enforce its rights over $285 million of financing at two ports in China, where metals are believed to have gone missing. Citigroup said it initiated the action on July 22 after a business counterparty and a Chinese warehouse provider commenced action in British courts to establish their rights. Citigroup's disclosure, made in a quarterly financial filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, did not name the counterparty or the warehouse operator. Standard Chartered, China's CITIC Resources Holdings Ltd, Shanxi Coal International Energy Group and other firms have also made legal claims over metals financing since May.

Citigroup Inc has about $280 million in loans tied to commodities in two Chinese ports which are at the center of a probe into possible fraud, a senior executive said on Friday, becoming the first U.S. bank to disclose its potential exposure. The total is a large portion of the bank's roughly $400 million worth of so-called repo commodity financing deals in China. Short for repurchasing agreements, repo deals give customers access to short-term credit in exchange for goods. "At this stage we believe the activities are isolated and just specific to those very specific locations," Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said in a conference call with analysts.

President Barack Obama announced steps on Friday to increase the use of solar panels, boost energy efficiency in federal buildings and train more people to work in the renewable energy field. "It's the right thing to do for the planet," Obama said, standing in the outdoor lighting display section of a WalMart store that features roof-top solar panels and a charging station for electric vehicles, among other energy-saving retrofits. The president used the stop to show how major corporations have committed to increasing the generation of solar power at their facilities. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Apple Inc , Yahoo Inc, Google Inc and Ikea were among the companies that have made such commitments.

Weakening economies in Europe, Asia, cause Saudi to produce surplus crude Citigroup Inc. has said oil prices may fall in the third quarter, as economies weaken in Europe and Asia and Saudi Arabia produces surplus crude, Bloomberg reports. Increased crude production from Saudi Arabia and Iraq may be a "major downside risk to prices" if the economic crisis worsens, said Citigroup analyst in New York, Edward Morse. "Saudi Arabia continues to push prices lower" by cutting June official selling price differentials to Asia and increasing output to about 10 million barrels a day, Morse said. "What's most dangerous to prices would be a repeat of conditions in 1997-1998, when Saudi overproduction coincided with an unexpected Asian financial crisis that hit hard at demand."

The European Union may allow insurance against risks, such as collisions and spills, for tankers carrying Iranian oil, a proposal which would ease curbs on Iran’s crude exports. The EU would prohibit the insurance and re-insurance of Iranian oil “except for third-party liability insurance and environmental liability insurance,” according to a draft document obtained by Bloomberg News. The bloc aims to complete the regulation, which is being considered by national governments, within a month, according to an EU official with knowledge of the matter. Brent oil has risen 14 percent since an EU embargo was announced January 23 to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.