Conoco to depose Citgo in hunt for PDVSA Caribbean assets

MOSCOW (MRC) - ConocoPhillips moved to bring Venezuelan PDVSA's U.S. refining unit Citgo Petroleum into its legal battles to enforce a USD2 billion arbitration award against the South American country's nationalization of its Venezuelan assets, as said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A U.S. district court judge in Houston ruled Conoco can depose Citgo as preparation for a court case against PDVSA and others over alleged asset transfers in the Caribbean that Conoco claims were designed to frustrate its efforts to obtain payment under an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) award.

Citgo declined to comment, citing a policy regarding ongoing litigation. Conoco is pleased with the court's decision, spokesman Daren Beaudo said in a statement. The company has not received any payment from PDVSA for the award and will continue to pursue the matter, he added.

The decision is another blow to the Venezuelan oil company, which has struggled to pay creditors as its oil production has fallen to the lowest level in more than three decades.

Conoco alleges state-run PDVSA transferred crude and fuels stored at the Isla refinery and Bullenbay Terminal in Curacao to Citgo to prevent it from seizing the oil to enforce the ICC award, according to its filing with a U.S. district in Houston.

The court filing portrays active and often successful efforts by PDVSA and its subsidiary to defeat Conoco's bids to seize oil cargoes and other assets. In one case, it claims PDVSA caused Citgo Petroleum to claim ownership of cargoes off Aruba as a way to lift the company's liens, Conoco said in its June filing.

PDVSA also denied court officers access to some ships docked near Curacao and at least one vessel temporarily disabled its GPS transponder to make a getaway, avoiding seizure, the filing said.

Conoco's assets in Venezuela were expropriated in 2007, after the late President Hugo Chavez nationalized several oil projects by forcing their conversion into joint ventures controlled by PDVSA.

Conoco and Exxon Mobil Corp left Venezuela after they were unable to reach agreements with PDVSA.
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CNPC to sign refining pact with ADNOC this month

MOSCOW (MRC) - China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is expected to sign a preliminary agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) later this month to invest in oil and gas exploration and refinery projects, four sources with knowledge of the matter said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The agreement will be signed during a high-level Chinese state visit to the United Arab Emirates during which CNPC Chairman Wang Yilin will be on the business delegation.

"It will be a preliminary and broad cooperation deal that covers upstream and downstream investment," said one of the sources, a Beijing-based oil executive briefed on Wang's planned trip.

CNPC International, the state major's overseas investment arm for oil and gas exploration and production, is taking the lead in talks with ADNOC, the executive added.

A CNPC spokesman declined to comment on the deal.

An ADNOC spokesman said the company has received "significant interest" from the market as well as from existing and new partners since it announced its plan to expand its strategic partnership model, but declined to comment on the specific deal.

China will host a high-level China-Arab summit next Tuesday where President Xi Jinping will deliver the keynote speech.
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Linde, Praxair eye merger close this year after European sale

MOSCOW (MRC) - German industrial gases company Linde and peer Praxis are hoping to seal their merger this year, after agreeing to sell Praxair’s European gases business to Japanese rival Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp, per as Reuters.

Linde and Praxair need to sell assets to get regulatory approval for their USD83 billion all-share merger of equals that will create a global leader in gas distribution, with revenues of almost USD29 billion and 88,000 staff.

"We are taking a constructive approach to address regulatory concerns with the merger in the European Economic Area," Praxair CEO Steve Angel said in a statement on Thursday.

Linde shares rose 4.2 percent after the Taiyo Nippon Sanso deal was announced, and were among top gainers on the DAX index of leading German shares.

Taiyo Nippon Sanso will pay 5 billion euros (USD5.9 billion) for the Praxair European assets, which generated annual sales of approximately 1.3 billion euros in 2017, in a move aimed at boosting its global competitiveness.
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Petrobras suspends asset sales after court decision about privatization - filing

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil’s state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said in a securities filing last Tuesday it suspended some asset sales after a Supreme Court decision ruled privatization processes must be approved by the nation’s Congress, reported Reuters.

While evaluating what legal actions to take, Petrobras decided to suspend the sale of its refineries, of the gas pipeline company Transportadora Associada de Gas and also of the Araucaria fertilizer factory.

As MRC wrote previously, in October 2017, Petrobras’s minority stakes in Braskem and Deten Quimica was excluded from Petrobras’s divestment program, according to a government decree published in Brazil’s Official Gazette. The decree prevented Petrobras from immediately selling its minority stake in Braskem, which had been announced last year. A new decree will be required to release the stock sale.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
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ExxonMobil, ENI, CNPC to develop and operate two Mozambique LNG trains

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mozambique Rovuma Venture, a JV of ExxonMobil, Eni and CNPC, has submitted the development plan to the government for the first phase of the Rovuma LNG project, which will produce, liquefy and market natural gas from the Mamba fields located in the Area 4 block offshore Mozambique, as per Eni's press release.

The plan details the proposed design and construction of two liquefied natural gas trains which will each produce 7.6 million tons of LNG per year.

ExxonMobil will lead construction and operation of natural gas liquefaction and related facilities on behalf of the joint venture, and Eni will lead construction and operation of upstream facilities.

As the Rovuma LNG project progresses, every effort will be made to actively build the local workforce and supplier capabilities in Mozambique.

"We are excited to be progressing the Rovuma LNG project, working with the government and leveraging the expertise and capabilities of all of the partners," said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Development Company.
"The Rovuma LNG Project is moving forward swiftly," said Stefano Maione, Eni’s executive vice-president for the Mozambique Program. "The size of the project makes it not only an important investment in the country, but also supports economic growth and opens new opportunities for Mozambicans."

A final investment decision by the Area 4 joint venture parties is scheduled in 2019, with LNG production expected to commence in 2024.

Marketing activities are progressing, with negotiations on sales and purchase agreements underway, targeting completion in parallel with the development plan approval process.

Rovuma LNG is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., an incorporated joint venture owned by ExxonMobil, Eni and CNPC, which holds a 70 percent interest in the Area 4 concession alongside its partners Galp, KOGAS and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos E.P. (ENH), each of which hold a 10 percent interest.
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