Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Jeb Blount News

26 Oct 2016

Statoil Aims for at Least 10% of Coming Brazil Gas Market

Norwegian oil company Statoil ASA hopes to have 10 to 15 percent of Brazil's natural gas market in coming years, Pal Eitrheim, the company's most senior executive in the country, told journalists on Wednesday.   Eitrheim added that major gas production in Brazil is likely to start after 2020. (Reporting by Jeb Blount; Editing by Ana Mano and Alistair Bell)

31 Aug 2016

Brazil May Open Petrobras Subsalt Area to Other Companies

Brazil may allow companies besides Petrobras to bid for the right to produce extra oil from areas it sold to the state-led oil company in 2010, the head of the exploration and production policy at the energy ministry, Jose Botelho, said on Wednesday.   Botelho also said the government may allow Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, to pay with oil for adjustments in the price of the maximum 5 billion barrels of oil and equivalent natural gas it is allowed to produce in the areas.     (Reporting by Marta Nogueira, writing by Jeb Blount; Editing by Daniel Flynn)

11 Jul 2016

Petrobras Bringing Two FPSO Platforms Online

Cidade de Saquarema (File photo: SBM Offshore)

Brazil's state-led oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA is working hard to meet its production targets, the company's head of exploration and production, Solange Guedes, said on Monday in a telephone interview.   Guedes said the company's floating, production, storage and offloading ship (FPSO) named Cidade de Saquarema could begin operations in the Lula Central field this month and that she expects that Cidade de Caraguatatuba FPSO in the Lapa field to start operations in August.     (Reporting by Marta Nogueira; Writing by Jeb Blount)

01 Jul 2016

Vale Sells 3 Valemax Iron Ore Ships to ICBC

Brazil's Vale SA said it has sold three of its giant "Valemax" iron ore ships to a group led by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, continuing efforts to unload assets to cut debt and focus investment on its main mining activities. Vale will receive $269 million for the ships when they are delivered to the Chinese-led group, likely in August, Vale said in a statement late on Thursday. Vale said it was also seeking to sell other Valemax ships. The vessels, also known as Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC's) are about 300 meters (984 feet) long and carry up to 400,000 deadweight tonnes, making them some the largest ships afloat. (Reporting by Jeb Blount; Editing by Sandra Maler)

08 Jun 2016

Huge Port Envisioned by Tycoon Opens in Brazil - without Him

The launch this week of Prumo Logistica's $3.7 billion Port of Açu, the largest in Latin America, marked the revival of a Brazilian logistics hub many thought doomed when the empire of its former billionaire owner collapsed. Açu's more than 25 km (15.5 miles) of docks, piers and breakwaters is a much-needed step towards narrowing a crippling infrastructure gap in Latin America's largest economy. The Manhattan-sized industrial complex northeast of Rio de Janeiro, which officially opened on Tuesday, however, remains a far cry from the plans drafted by Eike Batista before his $60 billion EBX industrial empire disappeared almost overnight in 2013.

07 Jun 2016

Chevron to Lease Chouest's Brazil Vessel Base

Chevron plans to sign a 5-year agreement to lease berthing space for its vessels from U.S. oil service company Edison Chouest Offshore, Chouest's head of Brazilian operations said on Tuesday.   Chouest's 950-million-real ($275 million) base is located at Prumo Logistica's Port of Acu, on the northeast coast of Rio de Janeiro state. It is scheduled to be completed by mid-2017, Chouest's Brazilian head Ricardo Chagas told reporters. ($1 = 3.4485 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Jeb Blount; Writing by Reese Ewing; Editing by Daniel Flynn)

07 Jun 2016

BP-Prumo's NFX Starts Importing Maritime Diesel to Brazil's Acu Port

Photo: Prumo Logistica

NFX, the joint venture between oil company BP and port operator Prumo Logistica, has begun importing maritime fuel to the Brazilian port of Acu, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.   NFX said its first shipment arrived on June 3 and it expects to import 4.5 million tonnes of maritime fuel in 2016. (Reporting by Jeb Blount)

05 Mar 2016

Brazil Onshore Assets for Sale produce 2% of Output

Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Friday it plans to sell its rights to 104 onshore oil and gas concessions, part of efforts to raise cash and focus increasingly scarce capital on more profitable offshore assets. The company, known as Petrobras, said in a securities filing that 98 of the areas are producing fields. Oil output from those areas is about 35,000 barrels a day, or less than 2 percent of the company's petroleum output and less than some single wells in Petrobras' giant offshore Lula field. The Petrobras statement did not say how much natural gas the areas produce. Six of the areas are still in the exploratory phase. Small Brazilian and international oil companies have long called on the company to sell the bulk of its onshore oil and gas portfolio.

18 Feb 2016

Vale: Q4 Iron Ore Output a Record

Brazilian miner Vale SA said on Thursday it produced 88.4 million tonnes of iron ore in the fourth quarter, a new record for the company.   The world's largest producer of the steel-making raw material also produced 82,700 tonnes of nickel and 1.59 million tonnes of coal in the period.   For full-year 2015, Vale produced 345.9 million tonnes of iron ore and 291,000 tonnes of nickel.     (Reporting by Jeb Blount and Luciana Bruno; Editing by Mark Potter)

10 Feb 2016

Brazil Agricultural Waterway Finally Reopens

Brazil's Tiete-Parana waterway, a key transport corridor for soybeans, corn, cellulose, fertilizer and other agricultural products, has reopened after a 20-month closure due to drought and the use of water for electricity, the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported late Tuesday. On Monday a barge train passed downstream on the Tiete River through the locks at the Nova Avanhandava hydrodam for the first time since 2014, the paper said. The barges will later head to Sao Simao in Brazil's central western state of Goias where they are expected to load soybeans, which will taken for export from the Port of Santos on the Atlantic coast near Sao Paulo.

22 Jan 2016

Vale: 200,000 Tns/Day of Iron Ore Halted at Tubarão Port

The court-ordered closure of miner Vale SA's Port of Tubarão in Brazil has blocked the loading of some 200,000 tonnes of iron ore per day, the company said in a Friday statement.   The court order, issued on Thursday due to pollution concerns, is also blocking access to 44,0000 tonnes of imported coal per day, which supplies much of Brazil's steel industry. Also on Friday, Moody's put Vale's credit rating on review for possible downgrade to "junk" status. (Reporting by Jeb Blount; Editing by Bernard Orr)

21 Jan 2016

Brazil Orders Vale to Close Tubarão Iron Ore Port

Photo: Vale

A Brazilian federal court on Thursday ordered the suspension of activities at Vale SA's Port of Tubarão because of pollution concerns, halting the world's largest iron ore exporter's ability to ship more than a third of its output. The ruling by the court in Vitoria was made as part of a police investigation at the giant man-made port as Vale comes under increasing pressure over its environmental record in Brazil after a dam burst at a mine run by its Samarco joint venture in October, killing at least 17 people.

15 Jan 2016

Petrobras Average Daily O&G Output Rose 4.3% in 2015

Oil and natural gas output at Petróleo Brasileiro SA rose 4.3 percent last year, the second annual increase after two years of declines, as long-delayed offshore production systems came on line.   Petrobras, as the company is known, produced an average 2.79 million barrels of oil and natural gas equivalent a day (boepd) in Brazil and abroad in the 12 months ending Dec. 30, compared with 2.67 million boepd a year earlier, according to data on its website.   December output fell 0.4 percent from a year earlier to 2.85 million boepd. December output was 5.2 percent higher than in November, a month affected by the worst strike at the Rio de Janeiro-based company in 20 years.     (Reporting by Jeb Blount)

05 Jan 2016

Mitsubishi-led Group Exiting Stake in Brazil Shipyard

A group of Japanese shipbuilders led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) plans to exit its 30 percent stake in Brazilian shipbuilder Ecovix and declare the investment as a loss, Valor Economico newspaper reported on Tuesday. The group led by MHI plans to sell its stake in Ecovix, which it bought in 2013 for about $300 million, to Jackson Empreendimentos for a "symbolic amount," Valor reported. Jackson Empreendimentos owns the remaining 70 percent of Ecovix, the controller of Estaleiro Rio Grande (ERG) shipyard in the Brazilian city of Rio Grande. In addition to MHI, the Japanese group includes Mitsubishi Co and the Imabari, Namura and Oshima Shipbuilding companies, the newspaper reported. MHI's Brazilian unit did not answer calls requesting comment.

09 Dec 2015

Petrobras Offers Stake in Coveted Offshore Block

Petrobras plans to reduce its 40 pct stake in Libra field. Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras is offering up to a quarter of its 40 percent stake in the huge Libra offshore oil prospect as its seeks to reduce the largest debt in the global oil industry, two industry sources said on Tuesday. The stake could fetch up to $1.5 billion, according to analysts at Macquarie, and is likely to attract international oil companies keen to expand in one of the world's fastest-developing oil basins. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, is targeting $15.1 billion in disposals by the end of next year but has struggled to sell assets in less attractive prospects off Brazil and in the Gulf of Mexico.

08 Dec 2015

Petrobras Offers to Sell up to 10% of Libra Field

Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras is offering up to a quarter of its 40 percent stake in the huge Libra offshore oil prospect as its seeks to reduce the largest debt in the global oil industry, two industry sources said on Tuesday. The stake could fetch up to $1.5 billion, according to analysts at Macquarie, and is likely to attract international oil companies keen to expand in one of the world's fastest-developing oil basins. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, is targeting $15.1 billion in disposals by the end of next year but has struggled to sell assets in less attractive prospects off Brazil and in the Gulf of Mexico.

04 Dec 2015

Vale Says Ships Sale, Leaseback Could Fetch $1.1 Bln

Brazil's Vale SA said on Friday that it plans to sell its 11 remaining Valemax iron ore carriers and lease them back in transactions that could raise $1.1 billion. Vale has said it has experienced some delay in selling the ships, the key to its attempt to cut transportation costs between its Brazilian mines and Asian customers, as it seeks to get the best freight rates under contracts to lease the ships back from the new owners. Each more than 360-meter-long (1181-ft-long) ship can carry 380,000 to 400,000 tonnes of ore and are among the biggest vessels afloat. Vale has been selling its part of the world's 35-vessel Valemax fleet for about $110 million each, Luciano Siani, chief financial officer of Rio de Janeiro-based Vale told investors at a conference in London.

10 Aug 2015

Brazil Offshore Subsalt Holds 176 bln bbls of Oil, Gas -study

Brazil's Subsalt Polygon, an offshore area that has already yielded some of the world's largest recent oil finds, may hold enough undiscovered petroleum and gas to supply the world's current oil needs for more than five years, researchers said. The Polygon, which covers most of Brazil's Santos and Campos offshore sedimentary basins, contains at least 176 billion barrels of undiscovered, recoverable resources of oil and natural gas (barrels of oil equivalent), according to study released last week by Cleveland Jones and Hernane Chaves of the National Institute of Oil and Gas (INOG) at Rio de Janeiro-State University. That is more than four times the 30 billion to 40 billion boe already discovered in the area.

07 Aug 2015

Petrobras Says Reduced Offshore Extraction Cost

Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA reduced its offshore subsalt field extraction cost to $8 a barrel from $9 a barrel, executives said in a conference call on Friday.   Shares of the company known as Petrobras were down 1.4 percent the day after it reported second-quarter net income had plunged 89 percent and a one-time charge for underperforming assets caught analysts off guard.   Petrobras plans to hook up 33 new wells in the second half of the year, down from 39 in the first half, executives said.     (Reporting by Jeb Blount; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

06 Aug 2015

Prumo Sells 20% of Brazil Acu Oil Terminal to Oiltanking

Prumo Logistica SA , the Brazilian port operator controlled by U.S.-based EIG Global Energy Partners, agreed to sell 20 percent of its oil terminal at Brazil's Port of Açu to Germany's Oiltanking for $200 million, Prumo said on Thursday. Under the agreement Oiltanking will also manage the Port of Açu Oil Terminal, which has the capacity to transfer 1.2 million barrels a day of petroleum and can handle the largest oil tankers, known as very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, Prumo said in a statement. Oiltanking is a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls, a family-owned company based in Hamburg. Prumo Logistica, formally known as LLX Logistica SA, was sold to EIG in 2013 as Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista's EBX oil, transportation, mining and energy group unraveled.

08 Jul 2015

Two Dead in Petrobras Offshore Accident

Two workers died at a construction project at a Brazilian oil terminal operated by state-run Petrobras on Tuesday, adding to a string of fatal and life-threatening accidents, a union representing oil workers said in a statement. The workers drowned after scaffolding they were erecting collapsed at the end of a pier operated by Transpetro, Petrobras' pipeline and shipping unit, the union, known as FUP, said. The pier was at Transpetro's Barra do Riacho Terminal in Espirito Santo state. The employees were wearing security belts even though work authorizations recommended that the employees only use life-jackets, FUP said. Locked to the scaffolding by the belts, they were dragged under water when the scaffolding fell.

20 Jul 2015

Brazil Convicts First Engineering Exec in Petrobras Scandal

Three executives of Brazil's Camargo Correa group were convicted on money laundering, corruption and other charges on Monday, the first construction-industry executives to be sentenced in a giant price fixing and bribery scandal involving state-run oil company Petrobras. The convictions were handed down by Judge Sergio Moro of Brazil's Federal Court in Curitiba, Brazil, the court said in its ruling. The convicted included Dalton dos Santos Avancini, chief executive officer of Camargo Correa Construções e Participações SA, João Ricardo Auler, chairman of the board of directors of Camargo Correa Construções, and Eduardo Hermelino Leite, a senior executive of Camargo Correa Construções, the ruling said.

30 Jul 2015

Vale Sells Four 'ValeMax' Bulkers to China Merchants

Brazilian mining company Vale SA said on Thursday that it expects to receive $448 million from the sale of four dry-bulk iron ore ships to China's state-owned China Merchants Energy Shipping Co in September. The 400,000-deadweight-tonne ships, known as Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) or "Valemax" vessels, are some of the largest ships ever built and were sold under accords between Vale and China Merchants signed in September 2014 and in May 2015, Vale said in a statement. Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Jeb Blount