Editor’s Note: Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A), TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT), Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR), HORSEHEAD HOLDING CORP. (NASDAQ:ZINC)
Shell Moves a Step Closer to PA Ethane Cracker Plant (PoliticsPA)
A proposed Beaver County ethane cracker plant could make or break Gov. Tom Corbett’s economic record. Despite being more than a year from a decision whether or not to build a Marcellus shale processing facility, Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) has opened bidding for ethane suppliers for the proposed plant. Shell currently has an option to buy on the Beaver County property of HORSEHEAD HOLDING CORP. (NASDAQ:ZINC). Horsehead Holding owns and operates a plant on the property that processes zinc metal, dust, and powder, as well as zinc oxide, from recycled sources, the company’s website said.
Allen & Overy advises Borealis in relation to firm offer to acquire Total SA fertiliser business units (The Lawyer)
Allen & Overy has advised Borealis in relation to its firm offer to acquire fertiliser business units of TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT), consisting of 100 per cent of the shares in GPN SA (France) and a controlling stake of 56.86 per cent of the share capital of Rosier SA (Belgium). The remaining 43.13 per cent of the shares are publically traded on NYSE Euronext Brussels. Borealis is a provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilisers based in Austria.
Brazil: Petrobras debt treated as junk (Independent Online)
Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) is being treated like junk by derivatives traders as the most-leveraged major oil producer goes deeper into debt to finance a $237 billion (R2.4 trillion) spending spree to expand output and refining. The cost to protect the Brazilian firm’s debt for five years using credit default swaps has almost doubled this year to 280.11 basis points, the most among 20 integrated oil firms globally, according to data provider CMA. Fitch Group said the contracts implied a debt rating of BB+, one level below investment grade.
South Africa Shale Pits Shell Against Sheep Farmers (Bloomberg)
Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A)’s shale gas drilling plans for South Africa’s Karoo semi-desert are pitting the government and its energy goals against farmers and conservationists like billionaire Johann Rupert who say the land will be spoiled. The government estimates enough gas can be discovered to generate 1 trillion rand ($100 billion) of sales within three decades and help bring a country that imports 70 percent of its crude oil needs closer to supplying its own energy demand. Landowners are lining up against the water-intensive drilling techniques that Europe’s biggest oil company intends to use.
Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR)’s stock shows heavy decline in prices (FinancialsTrend)
The American Depository Receipts of Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) had been presenting heavy decline in prices in the recent trading sessions to plunge the stock to near low prices with heavy trading volumes. In the recently released quarterly reports, the company had presented profits at $2.73 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 and at the rate of 46 cents per share of the stock. However, the profits were observed to be lower than the consensus estimates presented by the analysts on the Wall Street.
