Editor’s Note: Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A), Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR), TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT)
Shell shuts unit at Motiva Texas refinery (Reuters UK)
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it shut down an unspecified unit at its joint-venture 600,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, on Saturday, following an operational problem. “Several units that are integrated to this unit will run at reduced rates and others are being shut down,” while repairs are underway, Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) spokeswoman Kimberly Windon said in an email on Monday. Sources said Motiva shut a hydrocracker at the refinery following a fire on Saturday.
Petrobras sells styrene unit to Videolar (Business News Americas)
Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) said it has agreed to sell its styrene business Innova to Brazilian plastic packaging producer Videolar for US$372mn. Videolar’s founder and majority shareholder, Lirio Parisotto, will also participate in the acquisition. The purchasers will assume around 23mn reais (US$9.6mn) in debt, Petrobras said. Innova is among a number of assets that Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) is selling to raise cash and focus on investments in the Brazilian offshore.
Total hits hydrocarbon pay in deepwater Gabon pre-salt (Oil & Gas Financial Journal)
French oil major TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT), through Total Gabon and its partners, has hit hydrocarbon pay off the coast of Gabon. Marathon Oil, a partner with a 21.25% non-operated working interest in the Diaba License noted August 19 that the pre-salt Diaman-1B exploration well offshore Gabon encountered 160-180 net feet of hydrocarbon pay in the deepwater pre-salt play. Preliminary analysis suggests that the hydrocarbons are natural gas with condensate content, pending results of ongoing analyses of well data. The Diaman-1B well was drilled to a total depth of 18,323 feet in approximately 5,673 feet of water in the Diaba License G4-223.
Shell closes Egypt office, curbs business travel there (CPI Financial)
Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) gave no details on how many staff were affected by the closures nor where the offices were located. A spokesman could not immediately say whether oil installations – mostly in the Western Desert and Nile delta – were affected. “To ensure the safety and security of our staff, Shell offices in Egypt are closed for business today and into the weekend and business travel into the country has been restricted. We will continue to monitor the situation in Egypt,” he said in a statement.
Petrobras confirms offshore oil and gas discovery in Sergipe Basin (PennEnergy)
Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) has published the drilling results for extension well 3-SES-175D (3-BRSA-1180-D-SES), known as Muriú 1, located in the BM-SEAL-10 concession area (blocks SEAL-M-347 and SEAL-M-424) in the ultra deep waters of the Sergipe Basin. The results confirm the extent of the light oil and natural gas discovery in the Muriú area announced in the press release of December 5, 2012. The well is located 83 km from the city of Aracaju, 4.4 km from the discovery well and at a water depth of 2,432 meters, and confirms the existence of a 24-meter thick reservoir with good permo-porosity characteristics.
