David French News

Groups representing major retailers and manufacturers urged the White House on Monday to intervene in contentious West Coast port labor negotiations, citing worries about shipping disruptions during critical holiday shopping seasons.The call came after the largest terminal at Southern California's Port of Long Beach closed on Monday as dock workers rally for better pay. Monday's closure followed similar disruptions on Friday in Oakland, California.More than 22,000 dockworkers…

EverWind Fuels, a company founded by private equity veteran Trent Vichie, told Reuters it became the first green hydrogen producer in North America to secure the necessary permits for a commercial-scale facility on Tuesday.Provincial authorities in Canada granted environmental approval for EverWind to begin converting a former oil storage facility and marine terminal at Point Tupper in Nova Scotia into a green hydrogen and ammonia production hub.Green hydrogen is different than conventional hydrogen only in its production…

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy Ports America, one of the largest marine terminal operators in the United States, from investment firm Oaktree Capital Management LP.While no valuation was given in the announcement statement, the deal values Ports America at over $4 billion, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The transaction comes amid heightened interest in logistics, with supply-chain disruption in focus as the…

Noble Corp and a consortium that includes Transocean Ltd and Dolphin Drilling are competing to acquire the assets of Seadrill Ltd, the bankrupt offshore oil driller controlled by Norwegian-born tycoon John Fredriksen, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.Seadrill is trying to emerge from its second U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy in four years: like many in the industry, it expanded its drilling rigs too aggressively in the mid-2010s to withstand a subsequent plunge in energy prices and rig hire rates.

Offshore oil driller Valaris PLC is exploring debt restructuring options as it grapples with a rig accident and a broader collapse in energy prices, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.Valaris has tapped debt restructuring attorneys at law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP for advice on ways to rework its roughly $6.5 billion debt pile, and is exploring enlisting a turnaround firm that specializes in urgently addressing stressed finances to bolster its roster of advisers, the…

Kosmos Energy has agreed to acquire Deep Gulf Energy (DGE) from its private equity owner for $1.23 billion, according to a bourse filing on Monday, expanding the deepwater oil and gas firm's operations into the Gulf of Mexico.Dallas-based Kosmos, which currently operates in Africa and South America, will pay $925 million in cash and $300 million in Kosmos common stock to acquire DGE, with the transaction expected to close towards the end of the third quarter.Acquiring DGE's business will increase Kosmos' production by more than 50 percent to 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) from

Talos Energy LLC and Stone Energy Corp, two U.S. exploration and production companies focused on the Gulf of Mexico, announced on Tuesday plans to merge and create a new company valued around $2.5 billion including debt, sending Stone's shares down nearly 13 percent. "The idea of a reverse merger works very well for us, as we get a lot of talented people into the company and also use a structure which gets us to the public equity markets", said Timothy Duncan, chief executive of Talos, who will retain the title under the combined company, to be named Talos Energy Inc. Stone shares will be exchanged for Talos stock on a one-for-one basis, while Talos' existing stockholders will be issued 34.2 million shares to give them 63 percent of the combined company, according to a statement.

Ports operator DP World reported on Tuesday first-half 2016 gross container volumes up 1.2 percent on a like-for-like basis and up 2.5 percent on a reported basis. The Dubai-based company handled 31.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) with growth largely driven by strong performances at its European and Indian subcontinent terminals, according to a statement. This growth offset "challenging" market conditions in Australia and Latin America, while the amount of TEUs it handled in its home market of the United Arab Emirates fell 6 percent year-on-year due to a reduction in lower-margin cargo. Consolidated volumes, at terminals over which DP World has control, fell 1.4 percent on a like-for-like basis to 14.6 million TEU. On a reported basis though, it increased 1.6 percent.

National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) said on Sunday it signed a deal with Arab Petroleum Investments Corp. (APICORP) to launch a $1.5 billion investment fund that could buy up to 15 very large crude carriers (VLCCs). The fund will be seeded with $500 million on three occasions, subject to conditions, Bahri said in a bourse statement, adding that it will subscribe to 15 percent of the fund's capital. APICORP will provide the remaining 85 percent, and will be the manager for the fund and responsible for arranging finance, Bahri said. Bahri, in return, will be the technical and commercial manager for the fleet of tankers owned by the fund.

Dubai-based ports operator DP World launched a seven-year $1.2 billion sukuk issue on Tuesday, a document from lead managers showed. The issue, structured to be compliant with rules allowing investors in the United States to participate, will price at 237.5 basis points over midswaps, according to the document. This is significantly inside the initial pricing guidance of between 262.5 bps and 275 bps over the same benchmark given earlier in the day, indicating strong investor demand. The transaction will be used to fund the part-repurchase of DP World's $1.5 billion sukuk which is due to mature in 2017, for which preliminary results of a tender offer announced on Tuesday showed investor demand had significantly outstripped the firm's original plan to buy back half of the paper.

DP World could buy back around half of its $1.5 billion sukuk offering which is due to mature in 2017 as the global ports operator seeks to reduce the cost of its debt, it said in a statement on Monday.   Holders of the Islamic bond have until 1600 London time on May 23 to decide whether to accept DP World's offer to buy the sukuk at $10,555 when the face value is $10,000.   The firm will purchase sukuk worth up to $750 million, of which around there was around $1.42 billion of the issue currently outstanding.   DP World has hired Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Citigroup and Dubai Islamic Bank to act as dealer managers for the tender offer, the statement added.   (Reporting by David French)

National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had signed a murabaha facility with Riyad Bank valued at 1.425 billion riyals ($380 million) to finance the construction cost of five very large crude carriers. The facility lasts for a period of 10 years and six months, and includes a maximum two-year grace period, the firm known as Bahri said in the bourse statement. A murabaha is a cost-plus-profit arrangement which complies with Islamic finance standards. The exclusive oil-shipper for Saudi Aramco last year signed a deal to buy five very large crude tankers from ship builders Hyundai Heavy Industries. ($1 = 3.7500 riyals) (Reporting by Tom Arnold; Editing by David French)

Dubai's Topaz Energy and Marine, a unit of Muscat-listed Renaissance Services, has bought two ships from Norwegian boat yard Vard Brattvaag for about $115 million, the Omani parent firm said on Sunday. The two vessels will be delivered in the second half of 2017, a statement to Muscat's bourse said. The chief executive of the Dubai-based oil services firm told Reuters in June it was in negotiations to acquire two subsea vessels as Topaz aimed to expand the division in the Atlantic basin over the next two years. Vard Brattvaag shipyard is part of Singapore-listed Vard Holding, which is ultimately majority-owned by Italy's Fincantieri. (Reporting by Matt Smith; Editing by David French)

Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat), one of the world's largest shippers of liquefied natural gas, posted a 12.3 percent increase in second-quarter net profit on Tuesday, according to Reuters calculations. The company made a net profit of 267.8 million riyals ($73.6 million) in the three months ending June 30, Reuters calculations showed, using financial statements in lieu of a quarterly earnings breakdown. This is up from 238.4 million riyals a year earlier, while it exceeded the forecast of 259.1 million riyals made by QNB Financial Services. Nakilat recorded a net profit in the first six months of 2015 of 490.2 million riyals, up from 444.9 million riyals in the corresponding period of last year, it said in a statement.

National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), the exclusive oil-shipper for Saudi Aramco, said on Monday its second-quarter net profit more than doubled due to increased fleet size and rates for transporting spot crude. The company's net profit for the three months to June 30 was 342.5 million riyals ($91.3 million), compared to 130.4 million riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement. Albilad Capital had forecast that Bahri would make a quarterly profit of 350 million riyals.

Shareholders of DP World have approved buying Economic Zones World from its majority shareholder and also backed the port operator's delisting from the London Stock Exchange, the Dubai-based company said on Thursday. The assent was granted at a meeting on Thursday, with the proposals received near-unanimous support from independent shareholders, DP World said in a London bourse filing. DP World last month said it would pay $2.6 billion to Dubai World for its EZW logistics infrastructure firm and would delist from the London bourse due to thin trading volumes. Dubai World owns 80.45 percent of DP World. Reporting by David French

The secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Sunday the price of oil had fallen further than market fundamentals would have dictated. Speaking at an event in Dubai, Abdullah al-Badri added that the November meeting which ruled out a cut in production by members of the group was not aimed at anyone specific. "The fundamentals should not lead to this dramatic reduction (in price). Some people say this decision was directed at the United States and shale oil. All of this is incorrect. Some also say it was directed at Iran. And Russia. This also is incorrect." Crude oil markets are at five-year lows. (Reporting by William Maclean; Writing by David French, editing by John Stonestreet)

DP World  is looking to develop a free zone in Senegal, Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said on Wednesday. Sulayem was speaking at an African investment event in Dubai. He did not provide specifics on the firm's Senegal plans, but said it was very bullish on Africa in general. (Reporting by Martin Dokoupil; Writing by David French, editing by David Evans; Editing by William Maclean)

The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has named Ibrahim Abdulrahman al-Omar as its chief executive, effective on Oct. 1, a bourse filing said on Wednesday. Omar has worked in several senior positions at firms including Saudi Telecom and its affiliate Viva Bahrain, the statement added. He replaces Mohammad Omair al-Otaibi, who was appointed acting CEO last month after the departure of Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser at the end of July. (Reporting by David French; Editing by Andrew Torchia)

Japan's Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have acquired a 38.4 percent stake in water and wastewater project developer Metito Holdings for an undisclosed sum, the United Arab Emirates-based firm said. In addition, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation will provide up to $92 million in funds to Metito to help finance its expansion plans. Japanese firms' global network and expertise will help Metito develop its operations, said Metito chief executive Rami Ghandour. "We have outgrown the region and we need to position ourselves for the next stage of our growth," Ghandour said in a telephone interview. While Metito could look to bid for projects in collaboration with its new stakeholders…

DP World took advantage of strong market conditions and scarcity value to raise a $1 billion convertible bond with a ten year lifespan on Thursday, in order to fund growth opportunities and diversify its funding sources. The issue is a rare example of an international convertible bond from a Middle Eastern company and comes at a time when convertible bonds have drawing investors' attention following a spate of issuance by European firms. Pricing for DP World's debut convertible…

Dubai-owned port operator DP World is in talks with lenders to triple the size of an existing $1 billion loan, as well as extend the lifespan and reduce the interest rate, banking sources told Reuters on Thursday. The firm, part of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World , is aiming to raise the loan to $3 billion, four banking sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information isn't public. The original revolving credit facility was signed in April 2012 and has already been renegotiated once, adding a year to the lifespan in June 2013.