France News

A record 16 oil companies, including heavyweights like Royal Dutch Shell Plc, have registered to participate in the so-called fourth round of bidding for stakes in Brazil's coveted pre-salt layer, oil regulator ANP said on Thursday.American firms Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp, Norway's Statoil and France's Total SA are also registered for the June auction of blocks in the offshore play, where billions of barrels of oil are trapped under a thick layer of salt below the ocean floor.(Reporting by Roberto Samora and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

The latest sub-regional contingency plan to deal with any oil pollution incident in the Mediterranean Sea has been signed, following support from the International Maritime Organization (IMO)-administered Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC). An Implementation Agreement on the Sub-Regional Marine Oil Pollution Contingency Plan was signed in Nicosia, Cyprus (8 May) by Cyprus, Greece, and Israel, along with other instruments for cooperation among the three countries. The objective of the contingency plan is an effective reaction to spills.

The leading Port Community System operator in France SOGET appointed Hervé Cornède as the Executive Director of the company. Hervé Cornède was appointed as the Commercial Director of the port of Le Havre in September 2009 and then Commercial and Marketing Director for HAROPA, when the EIG (Economic interest group) was created on January 1st, 2013. He worked for the first-rank positioning of the shipping offering of HAROPA ports, for the development of their terminals and the attractiveness of their logistics zones…

France wants a "multiple shareholder" solution to STX France, the shipbuilding company being sold off, French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday. "We are working with the aim that the state can remain a minority shareholder, we want a multiple shareholder solution," Hollande said, speaking at a news conference held with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has made a bid for STX France, but France - which owns 33 percent of the company - wants to ensure that the French state remains a key stakeholder in the firm. The head of French state-controlled military shipbuilder DCNS also said last week it was "very likely" that DCNS - in which Thales has a minority stake - would enter into the capital of STX France.

Hard to say 'Non' to Italian company's bid, says Sirugue; France keen to keep Saint Nazaire site running. A leading French minister expressed support on Wednesday for a bid by Italy's Fincantieri's for shipbuilder STX France, adding that the government would aim to keep the shipbuilder's main site running at Saint Nazaire. "We said we wanted a European, industrial company ... Fincantieri is a European, industrial company. So it would be hard for us to say 'no' to them," French Industry Minister Christophe Sirugue told RMC Radio. The sale of STX France, which specialises in building cruise ships at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard and is profitable, forms part of a broader sell-off of businesses following the demise of the South Korean STX shipbuilding group.

Work has kicked off at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque to convert the trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Samuel de Champlain from diesel-electric propulsion to dual-fuel capability combining marine gas oil (MGO) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). A ceremony was held at the yard to mark the first cutting of steel for the prefabrication of a new section of hull that will hold the new generators and other equipment.Present at the occasion were Jean-Pierre Guellec, CEO of GIE Dragages-Ports…

MSC Cruises, the 4th largest cruise line, confirmed the existing STX France options to build an additional two ships in the Meraviglia class. The ships, valued by MSC at $1.7 billion, will be longer and bigger versions of the Meraviglia-class ship, which is scheduled to begin with the 167,600-gross-ton MSC Meraviglia in 2017. MSC now has four firm orders on the books from STX France, plus another three ships at Fincantieri. Furthermore, the two new next-generation ships known as Meraviglia-Plus will feature increased tonnage and overall size…

French industry minister Christophe Sirugue said he would meet Italy's Fincantieri in a week's time to discuss its bid for STX France, but added France was still against Fincantieri gaining dominance in the governance of STX France. "Our position is that we do not want Fincantieri to be the sole majority shareholder in the governance of Saint-Nazaire shipyards," Sirugue told Reuters on Friday, speaking on the sidelines of a news conference in Paris. "We continue to work with Fincantieri and we will probably have to meet again in a week's time".

DP World Group Chairman and CEO HE Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem recently met the President of France, Francois Hollande and senior government and business leaders at a major investment summit at the Élysée Palace in Paris. France’s attractiveness as an investment location and DP World’s projects in the country were highlights of the discussions which also covered infrastructure development, port centric development, distribution and export hubs, rail freight, customs, and other logistics topics.

A good order book and need for higher capacity in the dock were the basis for STX France to purchase more welding automation for its shipyard’s panel welding. STX France decided to turn to Pemamek after a competitive offering round, and purchased PEMA Integrated One-sided Laser-Hybrid Welding and Milling Station with conveyor solution for welding deck plates together. To secure fast and reliable delivery of the welding line, STX France also included in its order installation, training and commissioning of the complete solution.

France is an attractive investment location for DP World’s projects related to infrastructure development, port centric development, distribution and export hubs, rail freight, customs, and other logistics topics, said DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem. He has recently met the President of France, Francois Hollande and senior government and business leaders at a major investment summit at the Élysée Palace in Paris. Bin Sulayem outlined DP World's contribution to global trade…

Rohr International Dredge Holdings, Inc. announced that it acquired Eurl Rohr France, including its current backlog, inventory and all associated intellectual property (IPR), on July 23, 2014. Rohr France, which is based in Betting, France, was a Rohr licensee and will continue at the same location, operating as a subsidiary of Rohr Bagger GmbH, a subsidiary of Rohr International Dredge Holdings, Inc. Rohr France has been a Rohr distributor and service center for over 10 years for its Land Based and Floating Bucket Ladder dredges, Clamshell dredges and conveyors to the mining industry in France. Eng. Samuel Pichowska will be the new General Manager for Rohr France and comes to Rohr France from Hazemag, a provider of engineering and equipment solutions for the mineral processing industry.

After the oil industry suffered from a severe drought in Venezuela, forest fires in Canada and rebel attacks on oil installations in Nigeria, it is now facing the consequences of a national strike in France, where members of the trade union CGT have organized strikes at the country’s refineries and blocked oil terminals and fuel depots, says the Tanker Research & Consulting department at Poten & Partners. The situation seems to be worsening as more unions join the CGT and clashes break out between protestors and the police.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni received a "friendly" phone call on Thursday from French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the STX France shipyard, Libya and immigration, Gentiloni's office said. Relations between the two EU allies has been strained this month by a number of issues, including France's decision to block a bid by Italian state-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri to buy a controlling stake in STX France. Rome has also felt slighted by France's diplomatic moves in Libya and annoyed by Macron's refusal to take in migrants who have poured across the Mediterranean into Italy in recent years.   Reporting by Crispian Balmer

France: Italy's Fincantieri best option. France wants a private investor for the STX France shipyards and Fincantieri is the best option but the government will be forced to consider other alternatives should negotiations with the Italian shipbuilder fail, the French Finance Minister said on Tuesday in an Italian paper. "The (STX) Saint Nazaire shipyards must not be directed by the French State. We want a private shareholder and Fincantieri today is the best industrial group to join this big European and Franco-Italian project," Bruno Le Maire told daily il Corriere della Sera in an interview. Le Maire, who will reopen talks with Italy on Tuesday…

France hopes for agreement over the future of the STX France shipyards at a Franco-Italian summit on Sept. 27, but a separate deal on warship co-operation would take longer to negotiate, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday. "I would like us to have an agreement between the French and Italian governments on STX for the summit on September 27," Le Maire told reporters after a meeting with suppliers in the aerospace sector. France clashed with Italy in July after ordering a "temporary" nationalisation of STX…

The French and Italian governments have agreed on a shared ownership deal of the STX France shipyards, but with a clause giving France the right to take control if needed, Le Monde newspaper reported. Le Monde reported, citing an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, that Italian company Fincantieri could get 51 percent ownership, including a 1 percentage point stake lent to it by France, which France could take back. Italian state-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri declined to comment.

The French Republic became a 33.34 percent shareholder in STX France and its shipyards in Saint-Nazaire and Lorient. STX Europe is a builder of cruise ships and ferries, with a market share of 35 - 40 percent. The company builds cruise ships at its yards in France and Finland. The French yards also have experience with navy vessels. Other shipyards in STX Europe are build specialized offshore vessels. The new agreement between STX Europe and the French Republic is a realization of the memorandum of understanding announced by the two parties on June 12, 2008. The French Republic will acquire the 33.34 percent interest in STX France via an equity investment of $139.7m which is expected to be made on November 7, 2008.

France has to make a crucial decision which will have far-reaching consequences. Whether to deliver two Mistral ships to Russia (which were originally earmarked for the Russian Navy) and face the anger of its NATO allies OR to terminate the Mistral deal, paying a heavy price and further deteriorating its economy. Currently, the biggest problem that France faces is in the form of European dimension - that is the embargo to Russia. France has received an order for two Mistral class amphibious assault ships…

The French government has told South Korea it will oppose any solution for shipbuilder STX France that is against national industrial interests, Industry Minister Christophe Sirugue told Reuters on Thursday on the eve of a deadline for bids. STX France is 66.7 percent owned by failed South Korean shipbuilding group STX. An insolvency court in South Korea ruled last month that the French arm could be sold either separately from the parent, or as part of a bigger sale. Bids are due by Nov.

Oil prices are at more than three-year highs, driven by an expectation that renewed U.S. sanctions on Tehran over the country's nuclear program will disrupt Iranian crude flows.But without the Europe Union, or Iran's other big crude customers, joining the effort, as the EU did in 2012, it will be harder for Washington to hit Iran where it really hurts.U.S.

Only one bid has been received so far for shipping group STX France, said a Korean court on Tuesday.   A spokesman for the Seoul court overseeing STX Offshore's receivership had said earlier in November that four parties had expressed interest in buying one or both of South Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co Ltd and a controlling stake in STX France SA. Reporting by Joyce Lee

Italian shipbuilding and construction group Fincantieri SpA is the only bidder for shipping group STX France, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. The sale of STX France, which specialises in building cruise ships in the western France city of Saint-Nazaire and is profitable, forms part of the broader sale of businesses from the collapsed STX shipbuilding group. A spokesman for a Korean court overseeing the process had said earlier on Tuesday that one bid had been received for the STX France business, without giving a name. A spokesman for the Seoul court overseeing STX Offshore's receivership had said in November that four parties had expressed interest in buying one or both of South Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co Ltd and a controlling stake in STX France.