Brent Crude Soars to $139 a Barrel as U.S., Europe Mull Russian Oil Import Ban
Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 on Monday as the United States and European allies weighed a Russian oil import ban and delays in the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets fuelled supply fears.In the first few minutes of trade Brent crude reached $139.13 and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit $130.50, both benchmarks striking their highest levels since July 2008.By 1017 GMT, prices had lost some of those gains, with Brent up $6.60, or 5.6%…
DZ Bank in Final Stage of Selling Parts of DVB
Germany's No.2 lender DZ Bank is finalizing the sale of parts of its troubled transport financing division DVB Bank months after struggling to sell the whole business, two sources familiar with the matter said.DZ Bank has had to make large provisions for bad loans in shipping finance, which is among the reasons for the sale process.The sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said DZ Bank, which is also the umbrella organisation of German co-operative bank chain Raiffeisen-Volksbanken…
Buyers Seek US Waivers to Buy Iranian Oil amid New Sanctions
South Korea said on Wednesday it would seek U.S. exemptions to buy Iranian oil, a path many big oil consumers are likely to follow in the wake of new U.S. sanctions on Tehran, which will tighten world oil markets and push up prices.Iran is the third-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a key supplier, especially to refiners in Asia.The United States plans to impose new unilateral sanctions after abandoning an agreement reached in late 2015 which limited Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for removing joint U.S.-Europe sanctions…
Deepwater Jack-up Rig Contract for PPL Shipyard, Singapore
Sembcorp Marine's PPL Shipyard secures US$220.5-million contract to construct a jack-up rig for Bot Lease Co. BOT Lease Co., Ltd. is a leasing company of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ which is under the umbrella of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The contract price is US$220.5 million (excluding cost of BOTL’s project management team and pre-operations cost). Scheduled for delivery at end January 2015, the new rig will be built based on PPL Shipyard’s established proprietary Pacific Class 400 design. This design represents the latest generation of high-specification jack-up rigs that are capable of operating in deeper waters of 400 feet and drilling high pressure and high temperature wells to depths of 30,000 feet.
Sumitomo Mitsui to Double Overseas Banking Staff
According to a Bloomberg report, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. will double its overseas banking staff that works on financing for ship construction, as Japan's biggest arranger of such deals tries to take advantage of surging demand for vessels. China's appetite for iron ore will boost demand for vessels with cargo capacity of more than 100,000 tons by 44 percent between last year and 2010, according to a report last month by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., owner of the world's largest merchant fleet. Corporate lending at Japan's biggest banks contracted 0.7 percent from a year earlier in September, the sixth straight month of declines, a Bank of Japan report showed last month. Sumitomo Mitsui lent $2.7b for ship construction in 2006, according to the U.S. magazine Marine Money.
