Repsol Suspends Drilling on Vietnam Oil Block Disputed by China
Spain's Repsol said it had suspended oil drilling in a block off Vietnam, where the prospecting in South China Sea waters claimed by China had infuriated Beijing and brought Chinese pressure on Vietnam to stop. Tension has been growing between Vietnam and China over energy development in the waterway, where extensive Chinese claims are challenged by five Southeast Asian countries and disputed by the United States. Repsol's chief financial officer, Miguel Martinez, said work had been suspended off Vietnam, according to the transcript of a conference call with analysts last week. "We are working with the PetroVietnam and with the Vietnamese authorities and the only comment is that right now, operations have been suspended," he said.
Vietnam Renews India Oil Deal In Tense South China Sea
Vietnam has extended an Indian oil concession in the South China Sea and begun drilling in another area it disputes with China in moves that could heighten tensions over who owns what in the vital maritime region. The moves come at a delicate time in Beijing's relations with Vietnam, which claims parts of the sea, and India, which recently sent warships to monitor the Malacca Straits, through which most of China's energy supplies and trade passes. Vietnam granted Indian oil firm ONGC Videsh a two-year extension to explore oil block 128 in a letter that arrived earlier this week, the state-run company's managing director Narendra K. Verma told Reuters.
Fallen Brazilian Tycoon Batista Faces the Law
A year after the epic collapse of his industrial empire, Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista's financial and legal troubles appear far from over. Once worth more than $30 billion and listed as the world's eighth-richest man by Forbes Magazine, Batista says his debts now exceed his assets by $1 billion and the value of his remaining stakes in the oil, shipbuilding, mining and transportation companies he founded continues to shrink. Batista also faces criminal and regulatory investigations into suspected insider trading and fraud. On Monday, a judge ordered Batista, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, to testify on Nov. 18, the first step in a legal saga that experts say could drag on for months, if not years.
Brazil Iron Ore Terminal will Start This Year
Trading firm Trafigura and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala said on Thursday their Brazilian port for exporting iron ore will start this year, in response to a steelmaker with a contract to use the port that said the opening could be pushed back to 2015. Porto Sudeste "is on track to start operation in the beginning of the last quarter of 2014," Eugenio Mamede, chief operating officer for the port, said in a written response to Reuters. Trafigura owns a controlling stake in the port with Abu Dhabi government investment fund Mubadala Development Co. The export terminal located in Rio de Janeiro state will be able to handle 50 million tonnes of iron ore per year, and could expand to 100 million tonnes.
Batista Transfers Prumo Stake to Mubadala
Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista agreed on Tuesday to transfer a 10.44% stake he has in port and logistics company Prumo Logística SA to sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Development Co PJSC. The transaction is expected to be completed during the third quarter, Prumo said in a securities filing after receiving a notification from Batista's office. Batista, who founded the company and originally named it LLX Logística SA, is divesting some of his holdings in an effort to renegotiate about $2 billion in debt with Mubadala. The filing did not give further details on the transaction. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
