Petroleos Mexicanos is looking to strengthen its balance sheet with the sale of a stake in Repsol SA for about $3billion as Mexico’s state-owned producer prepares to form partnerships with foreign oil companies.
Pemex, as the Mexico City-based company is known, is selling a 7.9% stake in Repsol, according to a Citigroup Inc. filing to the Spanish stock exchange yesterday. Citigroup and Deutsche Bank AG are conducting the sale. Repsol shares were suspended from trading in Madrid until at least 10am local time, the Spanish regulator said.
The Mexican company is raising cash from the sale as lawmakers prepare regulations to open the oil industry to foreign investment for the first time since 1938. Pemex was “very disappointed” in Repsol’s performance, Chief Executive Officer Emilio Lozoya said in an Oct. 31 interview.
More communication is needed between Scotland and Norway to develop the strong business relationship between the two country to the next level, a panel of international speakers agreed during the Aberdeen-Stevanger gateway yesterday.
Cheniere Energy Inc.’s decision to postpone its annual meeting by three months signals a potential shareholder battle over executive compensation at the natural gas export company, which had the highest paid U.S. chief executive last year.
“Lukoil remains our top pick in the sector,” Ildar Davletshin, an oil and gas analyst at Renaissance Capital who has a buy rating on the stock, wrote in a note yesterday. “We continue to favor it over state-owned Rosneft and Gazprom. We are much more confident than the market in new projects that the company is pursuing and the value they could create in the future.”
North Atlantic Drilling (NADL) and Seadrill Limited have finalised an investment and co-operation agreement with Rosneft in a bid to capitalise on Russia’s onshore and offshore markets.
French energy industry service group Technip has strengthened its LNG portfolio in China.
The firm landed a contact with Fengzhen Wanjie Gas for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in China.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, who played a key role in Glencore International Plc’s takeover of Xstrata Plc, is returning to dealmaking a year after his ouster as prime minister and head of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
A long-time civil servant, Sheikh Hamad became prime minister in 2007. He was replaced by the minister of state for internal affairs in June, when then-Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani handed over power to his son, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
During the outgoing ruler’s 18-year reign, Sheikh Hamad, 55, helped transform Qatar from an indebted emirate to the world’s richest state, capitalizing on liquefied natural gas exports.
Sheikh Hamad is injecting 1.75 billion euros ($2.4 billion) into Deutsche Bank AG through his Paramount Holdings Services Ltd. investment vehicle, the Frankfurt-based bank said May 18. That follows an offer by his Al Mirqab Capital SPC vehicle for Jersey-based Heritage Oil Plc. less than three weeks earlier.
The European Union is seeking an agreement by the end of May on the price Ukraine pays for Russian natural gas as the threat of supply disruptions in Europe looms.
Boardroom changes at Wood Group herald another important stage in the Aberdeen-based energy service giant’s evolution, says boss Bob Keiller.
Speaking after the firm’s latest interim management statement (IMS) and an annual general meeting targeted by pro-Palestine campaigners, Mr Keiller said he was optimistic about the prospects for 2014.
Wood Group today reported its financial performance for the year was already exceeding expectations. The statement comes just one week after Wood Group PSN announced it would cut contractor rates by 10%.
