Australia's Iron Ore Giant Fortescue Plans 235GW Green Energy Drive
Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest outlined ambitious plans on Wednesday to build a renewable energy business, aiming to compete with oil giants to provide low-cost green energy globally.Billionaire Forrest, who turned Fortescue Metals Group over two decades into the world's fourth-biggest iron ore miner, said Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) has already signed preliminary deals, such as in Papua New Guinea and Africa, and a team of executives is looking for other partners."We are building a portfolio of renewable assets…
A 'Chicago Boy' Takes the Reins at Petrobras
Depending on who you ask, Roberto Castello Branco, the new chief executive of Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA, will either save the indebted oil major - or strip it to the bone.Tapped by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who took power on Tuesday, Castello Branco had said in a June newspaper column he thought Petrobras - as the company is known - should be privatized, a hardcore proposal even in an administration packed with free market advocates.He has walked back on that idea since being named as CEO in November…
Castello Branco Named Petrobras CEO
Brazil's incoming far-right government on Monday tapped a University of Chicago-trained economist with experience in the oil sector to be the chief executive of state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA, amid a debate over privatization of the company's assets.The nomination of Roberto Castello Branco is the latest in a string of business-friendly appointments by President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, who takes office on Jan. 1.Castello Branco, a member of Petrobras's board until 2016, has also held executive positions at Brazil's central bank and at iron ore miner Vale SA.He will take over from Ivan Monteiro…
BHP Profit Surges, but Looks to Exit U.S. Shale
Underlying net profit jumps to $6.7 bln from $1.2 bln. BHP Billiton, the world's largest miner, reported a surge in underlying full-year profits on Tuesday and said it would exit its underperforming U.S. shale oil and gas business, pleasing disgruntled shareholders who had called for a sale. The Anglo-Australian mining giant, which is under pressure from U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management to rethink its investment in oil and boost shareholder returns, was buoyed by a recovery in industrial commodities markets. It generated more cash than even in some years of the mining boom…
Samarco Could Resume Operations by Mid-2017
It is "feasible" that iron ore miner Samarco could resume operations by the middle of next year, a senior executive at Brazilian miner Vale SA said on Tuesday. "It does not make sense that every time there is an accident, as a penalty, the company should cease to exist," Clovis Torres, director of human resources, health and security, sustainability and energy at Vale, said at an event. In November the collapse of a dam used by Samarco, a joint venture of Vale and BHP Billiton Ltd, left hundreds homeless and triggered Brazil's worst environmental disaster on record. Reporting by Martha Nogueira; Writing by Bruno Federowski
Struggling U.S. O&G Companies Eye Rare Financing Deals
Some cash-strapped U.S. oil and gas companies are considering creating an unusual layer of debt as a way of surviving the rout in oil and gas prices, according to restructuring advisors. Chesapeake Energy Corp for example is considering the strategy to swap some of its roughly $9 billion debt. Severely distressed companies may issue so-called 1.5 lien debt, sandwiched between the first and second liens, to raise new capital. Investors with a stomach for risk would get a better yield than for the top debt, and have a stronger claim than junior creditors if the company filed for bankruptcy.
Ferreira Quits Petrobras
Murilo Ferreira quit as chairman of Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-controlled oil company said on Monday, without disclosing the reason for his decision. Ferreira had been on a leave of absence since Sept. 14, and Nelson Carvalho replaced him on an interim basis. In a securities filing, the company known as Petrobras said Carvalho would stay in that position until the board convened to elect a new chairman. Ferreira, who has been chief executive officer of Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA since 2011, became Petrobras chairman of Petrobras in April, as the company was sinking deeper into its the worst crisis in history.
BHP, Vale CEOs Visit Brazilian Mine Disaster Site as Toll Mounts
The chief executives of BHP Billiton Ltd and Vale SA on Wednesday surveyed the devastation caused by burst dams at a Brazilian mine owned by the mining giants, as the human and environmental toll from the disaster mounted. Six people are confirmed killed and another 22 are missing as a result of the ruptures at an iron ore mine in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais nearly a week ago. The search for more victims is continuing along nearly 100 km (62.5 miles) of mud-caked floodplain. Authorities in Minas Gerais…
Fallen Brazilian Tycoon Batista Faces the Law
A year after the epic collapse of his industrial empire, Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista's financial and legal troubles appear far from over. Once worth more than $30 billion and listed as the world's eighth-richest man by Forbes Magazine, Batista says his debts now exceed his assets by $1 billion and the value of his remaining stakes in the oil, shipbuilding, mining and transportation companies he founded continues to shrink. Batista also faces criminal and regulatory investigations into suspected insider trading and fraud. On Monday, a judge ordered Batista, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, to testify on Nov.
Glencore-Rio Proposal Not the Right Iron Ore Deal: Russell
The hullabaloo surrounding Glencore Plc's spurned approach to rival miner Rio Tinto shows why this is probably the wrong deal at the right time. Glencore's proposal to create a $160 billion behemoth is certainly audacious, and may even make sense for shareholders of both companies if priced attractively. But even if it were successful, such a deal would do little resolve the key problems bedevilling the outlook for many commodity markets, and the companies that produce those resources. The logic of Glencore taking control of Rio Tinto would be for the former to get access to the latter's iron ore operations in Australia…
Neves Contends Drives Bullish Bets on Brazil Companies
U.S. options market bulls rushed to some of the biggest Brazilian companies on Monday, a day after pro-business Brazilian presidential candidate Aecio Neves' surprisingly strong showing in the first-round election vote. Brazilian financial markets rallied after the centrist senator's strong finish in Sunday's election, setting the stage for what is expected to be a tight runoff against leftist President Dilma Rousseff. Neves will now face Rousseff in the second-round runoff on Oct. 26. Of late, the ups and downs in the heavily traded Brazil iShares ETF…
MMX Shares Tumble on Report May File Bankruptcy
Shares in Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista's iron ore miner MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA fell nearly 6 percent to an all-time low on Tuesday on a report that the company is going to ask a Brazilian court for protection from creditors. Brazilian magazine Veja reported late on Monday that the company is planning to file for bankruptcy protection by the end of this month, following in the path of the other companies in Batista's shrinking EBX empire: oil company Oleo e Gas Participacoes SA (previously known as OGX) and shipbuilder group OSX Brasil SA. The Veja report was published in a column in its online edition.
Japan PM Tells Brazil Time to do More Business
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touted the success of his economic policies on a visit to Brazil on Friday and said it was time for the two nations to expand their trade and investment partnership. On the first visit to Brazil in a decade by a Japanese prime minister, Japanese banks extended $700 million in loans to boost Brazilian soy and corn exports to Japan and build ship platforms for Brazil's burgeoning offshore oil industry. Abe told Brazilian business leaders that Japan has closed a 15-year deflation cycle…
India May Appeal Parts of WTO Steel Ruling
India said on Tuesday it may appeal against parts of a World Trade Organization ruling against countervailing U.S. duties on some of its steel exports, despite being partly vindicated in a trade dispute. States impose countervailing duties, or punitively high import tariffs, when they suspect another country of gaining an unfair trade advantage through subsidies. The WTO, ruling on the April 2012 case, said on Monday that the United States had acted wrongly in claiming some Indian subsidy programmes had given steelmakers such as Tata Steel an unfair advantage.
