Ugland Nordic Shipping News

Expanding the Suezmax fleet and greater involvement in carrying oil products are among the ambitions being pursued by theTeekay Tanker Services (TTS) business unit of Teekay. "At the same time, we're working to expand our strong Aframax position," said TTS Vice President Peder Farmen, who heads the product transport sector of TTS from the group's Norwegian office in Stavanger. Teekay's conventional shipping operations in Norway have further diversified the company's fleet, the majority of which is comprised of Aframax vessels. Since Teekay's acquisitions of Bona Shipholding in 1999, Ugland Nordic Shipping in 2001 and Navion in 2002, Teekay has established itself as a leading tanker operator in the North Sea and Atlantic, in addition to the Pacific.

International tanker group Teekay has taken control of 56 percent of shares in Norway’s Ugland Nordic Shipping. Teekay will submit an offer to acquire all remaining shares in UNS at $15.85 per share, which values UNS just below $225.6 million. UNS said its board members, including the president and chief executive officer and management had sold their shares to Teekay for an undisclosed price. Teekay, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has a fleet of 75 tankers. — (Reuters)

International tanker group Teekay's acquisition of a majority of the world's biggest shuttle-tanker owner Ugland Nordic Shipping could lead to a second merger to dominate the sector, with Statoil's tanker subsidiary Navion, analysts said. Norwegian energy giant Statoil is close to being privatized, and the future direction of Navion, in which it holds 80 percent, is uncertain. Co-owner of Navion, Norway's Rasmussen group, last month bought a major stake in Ugland, and analysts said this was the first step towards an Ugland-Navion merger. Both Teekay and Rasmussen now seem open to the possibility that one huge merger involving all four parties could still go ahead. Ugland Nordic has a fleet of 14, and four more on order.

Standard & Poor's revised its outlook on Teekay Shipping Corp. to positive from stable. The outlook revision reflects Teekay's consistent, solid performance, which has resulted in a gradually improving financial profile, and expectations for more predictable cash flow generation due to the purchase of contract-based shuttle tanker operator Ugland Nordic Shipping ASA. Teekay's rating reflects a favorable business position as the leading midsize ("Aframax") crude oil tanker operator in the Indo-Pacific Basin, expanded presences in the AtlanticAframax tanker market and the North Sea Shuttle tanker market, and fairly conservative financial policies. These factors are offset by significant, but carefully managed exposure to the volatile tanker spot markets.

Teekay Shipping Corporation announced that it will buy Statoil's wholly-owned shipping company, Navion ASA, on a debt free basis, for approximately $ 800 million in cash. The transaction positions Teekay as a strategic logistics provider of shuttle tanker services to Statoil and other oil companies, and increases Teekay's presence in the conventional crude oil and product tanker trades. In 2001, Navion transported a total of 160 million tons of crude oil and petroleum products, exceeding the 135 million tons carried by Teekay in that year. Operating from Stavanger, Norway, Navion has built a leading franchise in the complex North Sea offshore loading business.

Norway's Statoil is considering options for its loss-making shipping arm Navion, including selling the group or divesting some activities such as floating production or drill ships. Navion was formed in 1997 between Statoil, which holds 80 percent, and Norwegian shipping firm Rasmussen. Assets include around 12 shuttle tankers, a crude oil storage vessel, two production vessels and a drilling ship. Statoil has stated from the outset that it wanted to reduce its stake in Navion. But attempts to find a third party to join the Statoil-Rasmussen partnership were thwarted by poor tanker markets, weak oil prices, delays to oil project start ups and huge cost overruns to build the Navion I drilling ship. "Now we have a more pragmatic approach.

Higher oil prices have helped the Oslo Stock Exchange's shipping index, which features maritime and offshore shares, to rise by 33.7 percent so far this year - outperforming the exchange's other indexes. Share prices of offshore shares have decreased for two months now, resisting the influence of continued buoyant oil prices. The value of shares on the Main List dropped 5.6 percent in September and 13.6 percent in October. The 19.6 percent price fall recorded by the seismic company Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS), the biggest offshore company on the Exchange, was the main contributor. The SMB-listed offshore company Ocean Rig (OCR) tops the losers list for the second month running, having sliced almost 30 percent off its share price in October. Big players such as Fred.

A December rally on the Oslo Stock Exchange gave maritime shares an extra glitter and ensured a strong finish to an already strong year. Shipping and offshore shares performed marginally better than shares on the general Oslo market during 1999, rallying 8.6 percent in December to finish the year a solid 48.0 percent above last year's close. The All Share Index, which includes all shares on the Main List, was up 45.5 percent for the year, and shaking off the dismal record in 1998 when the index dropped 26.7 percent. The All Share Index is still 4.4 percent away from its all time high, while the Shipping Index is 24.4 percent below its top mark.