Editor’s Note: Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A), TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT), Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR)
Shell asked to build lube oil basic materials producing plant (ANTARA)
Industry Minister Mohamad S Hidayat asked Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) to invest in industry to produce lube oil basic materials in Indonesia. “Building a lube oil factory will mean greater dependence on imports for basic materials,” Hidayat said here on Tuesday after a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a Shell lube oil plant. He said lube oil industry is strategic with the rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles and growing manufacturing industry as the main consumers in the country.
UPDATE 3-Total reports Gabon offshore gas discovery (Reuters)
French oil major Total said it had discovered gas condensate in deep waters off the coast of Gabon, raising hopes for other explorers in the region. The discovery, made in a layer of the ocean bed referred to as pre-salt, follows other regional finds in Ghana and Ivory Coast, where Total struck oil earlier this year. “Situated at more than 100 kilometres from the Gabonese coast, this exploration work revealed an accumulation of gas condensate,” Total Gabon said on Monday.
Petrobras’ $2.1B in asset sales disappoints (The Deal Pipeline)
Brazilian oil giant Petróleo Brasileiro SA, also known as Petrobras, said Aug. 16 its board approved the sale of $2.1 billion in oil and gas, petrochemical and power plant assets as part of its $9 billion divestiture program. The sale included Petrobras’ 35% stake in block BC-10 in the Campos Basin, known as the Parque das Conchas, to China’s Sinochem Corp. for $1.54 billion. Analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities Inc. wrote in a note Monday that the sales came in lower than the firm’s valuation estimates, including Petrobras’ stake in Parque das Conchas, which it calculated as being worth $1.7 billion. But it added that the move will help fund the seller’s “massive” pre-salt capital expenditure plan.
Shell Breaks Ground on Bekasi Lubricant Plant (Jakarta Globe)
Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s largest company based on revenue, on Tuesday started work on its first lubricants plant in Indonesia with a ceremony at the West Java site. The plant will have the capacity to produce 120,000 tons a year of Shell’s lubricant products, making it the largest foreign-owned producer in Indonesia, according to Shell executive vice president Mark Gainsborough. “We have an ambitious plan to grow our business here and this groundbreaking marks another milestone on our journey,” Gainsborough said on Tuesday.
Fitch Solutions: Concern Mounts for Petrobras; CDS 89% Wider from 2012 (MarketWatch)
Market concerns over Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s (Petrobras) ability to carry out its future investment plan has sent the company’s credit default swaps (CDS) to their widest levels in four years, according to Fitch Solutions. Petrobras’ CDS have widened 89% year over year. At 300 basis points, credit protection on the oil company’s debt is widening to levels not seen since April 2009. The likely reason for worsening market sentiment is that Petrobas may need to issue more debt to help finance its five-year investment plan worth roughly $237 billion.
