Shell to Sell West Qurna 1 Stake to Itochu for $406 Mln
Oil major Royal Dutch Shell on Friday agreed to sell its entire stake in Iraq's West Qurna 1 oilfield to Japan's Itochu Corp for $406 million. The deal comes shortly after the Anglo-Dutch company agreed to exit the Majnoon oilfield, one of the largest fields in OPEC member Iraq, and hand over its operation to state-run Basra Oil Co (BOC) by end-June. Shell EP Middle East Holdings B.V.
Japan's Itochu Attacked by short-seller Glaucus
Glaucus questions how Itochu's classifies some investments. Japan's Itochu Corp became the target of short-seller Glaucus Research Group on Wednesday with a report criticising the trading company's accounting practices, sending its shares tumbling as much as 10 percent. The report highlighted Itochu's investments in a Colombian coal mining joint venture and China's CITIC Ltd…
October Mideast Crude Trading at Discount
October-loading Middle East crude cargoes have kicked off trading at discounts to their respective price markers as demand in Asia remained soft, traders said on Monday. Asia's appetite for spot crude stayed low for a second month as refiners have cut output on weak margins and are drawing down crude stocks bought in previous months instead of buying fresh supplies.
Japan Buys Itochu LPG
State-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) said on Thursday it had bought liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Itochu Corp to store in its national reserves. JOGMEC on Tuesday bought 22,000 tonnes of propane for the stockpiling base in Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture, for delivery until Aug. 12. JOGMEC said in a statement on Thursday it would not disclose the price.
Turkey to Allow Second Nuclear Plant
Turkey's parliament approved a law on Wednesday paving the way for the country's second nuclear power plant to be built by Japanese and French companies on the northern Black Sea coast. In May 2013, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHE) , Itochu Corp. and France's GDF Suez agreed to build the plant at an estimated cost of $22 billion.
Turning Point for Coal? Japanese Buying Coal Assets
Japan is world's second-biggest coal importer; trading houses take advantage of depressed coal markets. Only a few months ago, a potential buyer said Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp was prepared to sell a costly stake in a Canadian coal mine for as little as $1. But a flurry of acquisitions of high-quality coal assets by Japanese…
Abu Dhabi Crude to Top Up Japan's SPR
State-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) bought about 1.26 million barrels (200,000 kilolitres) of Abu Dhabi Das crude from Itochu Corp for the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserves, two industry sources said on Thursday. JOGMEC had been seeking 1.26 million barrels of Middle Eastern light crude, with shipments to be delivered to the Shibushi national oil storage base in Kagoshima…
Japan Trading Houses: Keep the Faith in U.S. Shale
Japan trading houses to push on with N.America shale investments; confident in sector's long-term prospects. Japan utilities looking to diversify fuel sources in wake of Fukushima. Japanese trading houses say they will push on with investments in North American shale oil and gas fields, despite writedowns in the sector on low gas prices and reduced reserve estimates.
