By Angelina Rascouet (Bloomberg) -- When Total SA warned last month it was ready for acquisitions, U.S. shale assets weren’t at the top of its shopping list. On Monday, the French energy giant agreed to buy the oil and gas unit of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, its biggest purchase since 1999. The $7.45 billion deal, including debt, reinforces Total’s footprint in … [Read more...]
Total To Pay $5 Billion For Maersk Oil
By Geraldine Amiel and Christian Wienberg (Bloomberg) Total SA agreed to buy the oil and gas unit of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the French company’s biggest acquisition since 1999 and another sign of the accelerating pace of energy deals after a long downturn. Total will pay Maersk with $4.95 billion of its own shares and assume $2.5 billion of the Copenhagen-based company’s … [Read more...]
U.S. Manufacturers ‘Alarmed’ by Trump’s Push for Natural Gas Exports
By Ari Natter (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s effort to boost U.S. energy is facing push back from manufacturers who say exporting more natural gas may undercut his “America First” jobs focus. The Industrial Energy Consumers of America asked the administration Wednesday for a moratorium on U.S. approvals for liquefied natural gas projects. The trade association, … [Read more...]
New Jones Act Tankers Are Great for Traders, Lousy for Owners
By Laura Blewitt (Bloomberg) -- Once rare American-built oil tankers are now plentiful, changing U.S. gasoline flows and giving shipowners headaches. These brand-new tankers have names like American Endurance, American Freedom, American Liberty and American Pride painted on their sterns. They’re part of a growing fleet of so-called Jones Act ships, named for a law almost a … [Read more...]
Modern LNG Carriers Earning More Taking the Scenic Route
By Anna Shiryaevskaya (Bloomberg) -- When the tanker Provalys left Louisiana for Chile last month with a full load of U.S. liquefied natural gas, it sailed around South America instead of taking a shortcut through the expanded Panama Canal. Not only may the route be cheaper without canal transit fees, but advances in technology mean less of the fuel would end up lost at sea … [Read more...]
Transocean Shares Take a Beating Over Songa Offshore Deal
By David Wethe and Joe Carroll (Bloomberg) -- Transocean Ltd. dropped to the lowest in more than two decades as investors panned its deal to buy Songa Offshore SE in the biggest offshore drilling industry deal since oil prices collapsed three years ago. The enterprise value is about $3.4 billion, half of which is Songa debt assumed by the combined entity, the companies said. … [Read more...]
Global Shipping Industry Bouncing Back From ‘Lehman Moment’
By Kyunghee Park (Bloomberg) -- The hulking container ships that transport sneakers, bananas and Barbie dolls around the world keep getting bigger. So are the companies that own them. A massive consolidation is underway in the $500 billion global industry and the survivors now enjoy big economies of scale and increased demand, one year after excess capacity caused … [Read more...]