Official: PCC, a criminal gang, is the prime suspect in setting fire to Brazil's farmland.
A senior official in the state of Sao Paulo said that some of the suspects who set fire to sugarcane crops in the state admitted to police that they were linked to a gang, and that their actions against crime by the government was a form of retaliation. The fires started last week quickly spread through parched fields over the weekend. This was the height of the dry season in the country.
Japan's Seven & i to Buy Marathon Petroleum's Speedway Gas Stations for $21B
The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven convenience stores has agreed to buy Marathon Petroleum Corp's Speedway gas stations for $21 billion, brushing aside coronavirus concerns to return to the table five months after initially balking at the deal.The acquisition is one of the biggest this year, suggesting the pandemic, while forcing many companies to focus on protecting balance sheets instead of expansion…
Lebanon Delays Petrol Tender
Lebanon's energy ministry delayed a fuel tender by one week on Monday to allow for more competition as it seeks to stave off supply shortages during the worst economic crisis in decades.The ministry is trialing a state tender for 150,000 tonnes of 95 octane gasoline and has received offers from two companies.The tender, which aims to supply around 10% of the country's needs…
U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Firms Moving Venezuelan Oil to Cuba
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four maritime firms and vessels transporting Venezuelan oil to Cuba, amid an acute fuel scarcity in the island that is forcing people to line up for gasoline and public transport.Despite tough U.S. measures against Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA in January, Cuba's state-run oil import and export company…
Hyundai Heavy Sells Oil Stake to Saudi Aramco
South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries sells its share of oil refinery Hyundai Oilbank to Saudi Arabian oil giant Saudi Aramco.According to a press release, Saudi Aramco’s subsidiary, Aramco Overseas Company B.V (AOC) will purchase a 17% stake in South Korea's Hyundai Oilbank, a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings.The investment is valued at approximately $ 1.25 billion…
Ven's Blackout Halts Oil Exports From Primary Port
Venezuela's state-run oil firm PDVSA has been unable to resume crude exports from its primary port since last week's massive power outage, essentially crippling the OPEC nation's principal industry, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.Power remained patchy in most of the country after a blackout on Thursday that the government of President Nicolas Maduro claimed…
Citgo Loans Price in Potential Regime Change
The bank debt of oil refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp, US subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), has been volatile in recent days as Venezuela’s political crisis deepens and the market prices in a potential regime change in the South American nation.The company’s US$650m term loan B jumped in secondary trading this week, according to a trader monitoring the debt, after…
CITGO Formally Cuts Ties with PDVSA
U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp is formally cutting ties with its parent, state-run oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA, to meet U.S. sanctions imposed on the OPEC country, two people close to the decision told Reuters on Tuesday.Executives at the Houston-based firm set a Feb. 26 deadline to end relationships with PDVSA following sanctions designed to curb oil revenues…
Citgo's New Board Arrives, to Hold First Meeting
A board of directors appointed this month by Venezuela's opposition-controlled congress to run state-owned oil firm PDVSA's U.S. unit Citgo Petroleum on Thursday was arranging its first meeting at the company's headquarters, according with two people familiar with the matter.Venezuela's National Assembly, led by opposition leader and self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido…
Shell, Petrobras Units Probed for Brazil Price-Fixing
Brazil's three largest fuel distribution companies are under investigation for fixing prices at the pump, police said on Tuesday, reigniting debate over potential collusion among gas station owners in Latin America's largest oil producer.The firms targeted by the probe are Petrobras Distribuidora SA, a subsidiary of state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA; Ipiranga, a unit of Ultrapar Participações SA…
Petrobras CEO Parente Resigns
Petroleo Brasileiro SA's chief executive quit on Friday in a surprise move that wiped $12 billion off the state-controlled oil producer's market valuation, after Brazil's government responded to a national trucking strike by intervening in the company's fuel pricing policy.Pedro Parente, who in two years in the job had succeeded in slashing the scandal-plagued company's debt and restoring it to profitability…
Sudan, Saudi Arabia in Talks for Five-year Oil Aid Agreement
Sudan is in talks with Saudi Arabia for an oil aid agreement that would have the kingdom supply its oil needs for five years on credit, Sudan Oil Minister Abdulrahman Othman said on Monday.Othman said the deal would provide about 1.8 million tonnes of oil per year to Sudan, which has been hit in recent months by fuel shortages that have forced people to queue at gas stations for hours.A source in the presidency's office in Sudan said the final agreement is expe
Marathon Creates Top U.S. Refiner with Andeavor Acquisition
Marathon paying $152/share to create biggest independent refiner; Andeavor assets include pipelines, refineries, gas stations. Marathon Petroleum Corp said on Monday it would buy rival Andeavor for more than $23 billion, forming a company that would leapfrog Valero Energy Corp as the largest independent U.S. refiner by capacity. Shale oil fields have pushed U.S. crude production…
Fuel Shortage Hits Sudan as Dollar Crisis Hampers Imports
Vehicles queued for hours at gas stations in Sudan's capital on Tuesday as a fuel shortage caused by the government's difficulty in importing it due to a foreign currency crisis hit home.Once an exporter of oil, Sudan was forced to begin importing it after the south seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of what had been the country's oil output and its main source…
China's Independent Refiners Gear up for Ethanol Push
Dongming plans to import ethanol, may produce biofuel; China set 2020 target for nationwide 10 pct biofuel use. China's top independent oil refiner is buying ethanol and two others are seeking government approval to blend the biofuel into their gasoline ahead of the country's 2020 deadline to add it to the nation's fuel supply, several sources told Reuters. China mandated last September that gasoline supplies should contain 10 percent ethanol…
Gasum to Set up Floating Gas Station Network
In line with the Nordic gas ecosystem, Gasum will be setting up heavy duty gas stations. The aim is to establish a tank infrastructure that meets the heavy transport segment's needs for rational logistics and accessibility. These establishments have been awarded an investment contribution from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency in the Climate Climate Program. In all 16 service stations will be set up in the country at a total cost of SEK 92.6 million.
Mexico's Energy Sector Faces Deepwater Auction Test
An auction of deepwater oil and gas fields in Mexico this month may prove the last major opportunity for President Enrique Pena Nieto's government to capitalize on its opening of the energy sector, the central plank of its economic agenda. The Jan. 31 tender of licenses to explore and drill in 29 blocks in the Gulf of Mexico is the biggest chunk of oil and gas wealth on…
Chevron to Study Mexican Oil Block
U.S. oil major Chevron Corp will focus on studying the geology of its block in Mexico's deepwater Gulf during the first four-year phase of its contract, rather than drilling new wells, a senior executive said on Thursday. The company, which leads a consortium that includes Mexican state oil firm Pemex and Japan's Inpex, won the rights to deepwater Block 3 at auction late last year.
Italy Breaks up Libyan Fuel Smuggling Ring
Sicilian police on Wednesday sought the arrest of nine people, including a suspected mobster, for running a Libyan fuel-smuggling ring in which at least 30 million euros ($35 million) of diesel was sold in gas stations in Italy and Europe. A Libyan, nicknamed the "boss", used small boats to steal fuel from a refinery in Zawiya, a port city west of Tripoli, a statement from the finance police said.
More Fuel on the Way to Puerto Ricans
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello reported progress in getting fuel supplies to the island's 3.4 million inhabitants on Monday as they faced a 13th day largely without power after the U.S. territory was devastated by Hurricane Maria. "We've been increasing the number of gas stations that are open," Rossello said at a news briefing, with more than 720 gas stations now up and running.
