The Blackstone Group News

The next wave of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects will be “tougher” to bring online, as companies with existing facilities take advantage of lower costs to expand capacity in coming years, the chief executive of Blackstone Group said on Wednesday.Blackstone CEO David Foley said at the Gastech Energy Conference in Houston that only one or two new startup projects may reach a final investment decision (FID) in the next wave of U.S. LNG export projects.“In terms of liquefaction capacity that gets FID from the U.S.…

U.S. investment firm Blackstone Group LP said on Sunday that funds affiliated with Blackstone Infrastructure Partners invested in Carrix Inc, the largest marine terminal operator in the United States and the Americas.The company did not disclose the terms of the transaction.Carrix is the parent of SSA Marine and its related affiliates with operations at over 250 port and rail locations worldwide, including 16 container terminals in Long Beach and Oakland in California, Seattle and Tacoma in Washington…

Eletson Gas and Evergas announced an alliance of the two companies that will trade the companies’ semi-ref/ethylene capable vessels. The new venture, to be called the E3 Pool, will commence trading on the 30th of January from the Eletson offices in Piraeus and London and the Evergas offices in Copenhagen and Singapore. The new commercial venture will control the 15-strong fleet of modern gas carriers that are currently trading. It will be joined by a further four vessels to be delivered to Eletson over the next twelve months and will create a single point of contact for cargo owners. A larger fleet will provide more flexibility and more options for Charterers…

Some positive market indicators could presage an investment revival in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico – and beyond. The good news, reported by Bloomberg, is that in the third quarter of 2016, the largest oil companies increased cash from operations by nearly $26 billion. This reflects a 67 percent increase from the previous quarter and more than twice the amount of the first quarter of 2016. Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Total and BP indicated that the increase was due to lower spending, increased output and rising crude prices, although the numbers were still below last year’s numbers.

Private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners will invest up to $1 billion in a new entity for acquisition and development of oil and gas assets that will be managed by Linn Energy LLC. Linn will be able to take a 15-50 percent direct working interest in the acquired assets, the two companies said in a joint statement on Monday. Linn's shares rose 4.5 percent in premarket trading, while its unit LinnCo LLC's shares were up 6.5 percent. The deal comes two months after Linn received funding of up to $500 million from GSO Capital Partners LP, a unit of Blackstone Group LP. Linn, like other oil and gas companies, has been struggling to cope with a 50 percent fall in crude oil prices since June. In response to weak prices, Linn cut its annual payout by more than half in January.

Private equity has pumped $32 bln into shipping in past 2 years. Ships totaling 299 mln dwt to enter global fleet from May. Some private equity-backed shipping IPOs have been put off on weak sentiment. The shipping industry faces a looming capacity glut as billions of dollars pumped into it by private equity have stoked a vessel-buying spree, threatening its prospects just as the sector is emerging from its worst downturn in three decades. Backed by private equity and hedge fund financing, shipping companies have placed orders for thousands of new ships over the past two years, reminiscent of the ship-ordering binge of the mid-2000s that eventually led to overcapacity after the global financial crisis severely hit cargo demand.

Blackstone Group LP is unlikely to make a foray into commodity trading in the short term as the world's largest alternative asset manager struggles to find a target to fit its asset-light business model, a senior executive said on Thursday. In his first earnings call with reporters since Blackstone lost out to Mercuria to buy JPMorgan Chase & Co's physical commodity division, Blackstone President Tony James said he is still interested in broadening the company's revenue through commodities. "It remains of interest, but I would not count on us doing anything in the short term," he said. James did not identify any potential targets. Instead…

Kinder Morgan Announces Acquisition of Jones Act Shipping Tankers in U.S. for Approximately $962 Million. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire American Petroleum Tankers (APT) and State Class Tankers (SCT) from affiliates of The Blackstone Group and Cerberus Capital Management for $962 million in cash. APT and SCT are engaged in the marine transportation of crude oil, condensate and refined products in the United States domestic trade, commonly referred to as the Jones Act trade. APT’s fleet consists of five medium range Jones Act qualified product tankers, each with 330,000 barrels of cargo capacity. With an average vessel age of approximately four years, the APT fleet is one of the youngest in the industry.

Today General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), delivered the fifth ship of its State-class product carriers to American Petroleum Tankers, LLC, a joint venture of the Blackstone Group. The ship is named Evergreen State, in honor of the state of Washington. A christening ceremony for Evergreen State (Hull 505) was held to commemorate the ship’s entrance into the U.S. Fleet. The ship’s sponsor was Carol Kurz, wife of American Petroleum Tankers’ Chief Executive Officer Robert Kurz. Carol Kurz broke the traditional bottle of champagne across the ship’s side in front of an audience of about 200 who had gathered at the shipyard to witness the ceremony.

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), delivered the third ship of its State-class of product carriers to American Petroleum Tankers, LLC, a joint venture of the Blackstone Group. The ship is named Sunshine State, the state nickname of Fla. NASSCO began constructing the Sunshine State in August 2007. At a length of 600.4 feet, the double-hulled ship has a cargo capacity of approximately 331,000 barrels and will be used to carry petroleum and chemical products in Jones Act service between U.S. ports. “Completed 11 months ahead of our original schedule and under budget, the Sunshine State is the third product carrier NASSCO has delivered this year and reflects greatly upon the skilled shipbuilders in San Diego…

The Settlement agreement recently approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge in New York became effective July 28, clearing the way for an investor group led by The Blackstone Group to terminate their relationship with U.S. Shipping and to retain Crowley Maritime Corporation to manage five U.S.-flag petroleum tankers for the newly renamed company, American Petroleum Tankers LLC. The five tankers, two of which are in operation and three of which are due for delivery from shipbuilder NASSCO in San Diego through 2010, were to be owned by a joint venture controlled primarily by affiliates of The Blackstone Group and U.S. Shipping Partners. U.S. Shipping filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 earlier this year.

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), delivered the second ship of its State-class of product carriers to USS Products Investor, a shipbuilding joint venture led by the Blackstone Group. The ship is named Pelican State, the state nickname of Louisiana. NASSCO began constructing the Pelican State in August 2007. At a length of 600.4 ft, the double-hulled ship has a cargo capacity of approximately 331,000 barrels and will be used to carry petroleum and chemical products in Jones Act service between U.S. ports. “Completed more than eight months ahead of our original schedule, under budget, and in substantially fewer man-hours than the lead ship of the class…

Shares of Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. plunged 50 percent on Tuesday after the satellite telephone operator said it would stop paying debt holders so it can save cash to fund its operations into 2002. Globalstar, which was founded by Loral Space & Communications Ltd. and Qualcomm Inc., said it would save $400 million in 2001 by suspending payments on its funded debt, including its credit facility, vendor financing agreements and senior notes. The company said it will also halt dividend payments on its preferred stock. Shares of Globalstar were 29/32 lower at $1 at midday on Nasdaq, on volume of 10.1 million shares, after dipping as low as 15/16.

Mobile satellite telephone company Globalstar L.P. said on Monday it recorded a net loss of $3.8 billion in 2000 and it could seek bankruptcy protection if it cannot execute a restructuring plan. The company warned in an annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its restructuring plan may fail if it conflicts with certain restrictions under existing agreements or if it cannot forge an accord with its creditors. Globalstar is a partnership that was formed in November 1994 by satellite firm Loral Space & Communications Ltd. and cellular telecommunications company Qualcomm Inc. Loral owns about 38 percent of Globalstar L.P. Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd., the public Globalstar entity, owns more than 40 percent of the business.

General Dynamics NASSCO has finalized a $1b contract with U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. (USS) to build nine product carrier tankers. The contract includes options for five additional ships. Construction of the first tanker is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2007, with delivery to occur by the second quarter of 2009. The product carrier tankers or “PCs” will be 183 m in length and 32.2 m in beam, with a design draft of 11.8 m. The ships are to be double hulled, weighing 49,000 dead weight tons (DWT) and will have a cargo capacity of 331,000 barrels. USS operates a fleet of 10 deep sea vessels that carry refined petroleum and chemical products among customer facilities along the U.S. coast and has 5 double-hulled, articulated tug barges on order or under construction.