Cenovus prices $2.9bn debt offering
CALGARY: Cenovus Energy said it priced a $2.9 billion offering of senior notes to fund the acquisition of assets in Western Canada from ConocoPhillips COP.N. Last week, the company agreed to buy oil sands and natural gas assets from ConocoPhillips in a cash-and-stock deal valued at C$17.7 billion ($13.3 billion). The notes offering is expected to close on or about April 7 Cenovus said in a statement.
Citgo’s Corpus Christi shut for work
HOUSTON: Citgo Petroleum Corp’s 157,500 barrel per day (bpd) Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery shut a sulfur recovery unit (SRU) for two weeks of planned work, said sources familiar with plant operations. The shut SRU is located in the East Plant of the Citgo refinery, which has another SRU. The units recover sulfur from hydrogen sulphide removed from motor fuel feedstocks in compliance with US environmental rules.
Petrobras CEO sees debt falling
SAO PAULO: Brazil’s state-controlled oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro could reduce debt below a projected target of 2.5 times Ebitda by the end of next year, chief executive officer Pedro Parente said. According to Parente, that would be possible if the company maintains the current trend of debt reduction. Petrobras has a debt load of just under $100 billion, amongst the highest in the global oil industry.
Eskom signs power export deal
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom said it had signed a new three-year deal to export electricity to Botswana. Eskom, the sole power provider in South Africa, has struggled to meet power demand in the country in the past due to its ageing infrastructure.
The utility now has excess capacity of 4,000 megawatts (MW) after new generation units were brought online and maintenance was carried out on power plants. "Eskom reaffirms its position that we are ‘open for business’ and stand ready to undertake further long-term supply agreements," Interim Eskom CEO Matshela Koko said.
Itaúsa buys into NTS gas pipeline
BRASILIA: Itaúsa Investimentos, a family-controlled company that is a major shareholder in Brazil’s No 1 private-sector bank, said in a securities filing it bought a 7.65 per cent stake in gas pipeline unit Nova Transportadora do Sudeste SA (NTS) for $292.3 million.
State-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro sold a 90 per cent stake of the NTS unit to a group of investors led by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc for $5.2 billion in September.
Lyondell Houston may resume
HOUSTON: A restarting gasoline-producing unit at LyondellBasell Industries 263,776-barrel-per-day (bpd) Houston refinery may resume production for the first time since January 30 as early as next week, sources familiar with plant operations said. A Lyondell spokeswoman declined to discuss operations at the Houston refinery.
The 90,000 bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit began restarting from an extended two-month overhaul. Lyondell had decided to extend the overhaul of the cat cracker to eight weeks from its planned six-week length the day before a March 15 fire damaged the tower that provides cooling water to the FCCU.
Motiva Port Arthur cut back
HOUSTON: Motiva Enterprises’ 603,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery cut back production on the hydrocracking unit (HCU) for repairs to a pump, said sources familiar with plant operations. Motiva did not expect to have to cut production on the 105,000-bpd-capacity hydrocracker to repair the pump, but later was forced to do so to carry out the work, according to the sources.
A Motiva spokeswoman declined to discuss operations at the refinery. Production on other units may also have to be cut back while the repairs are underway, the sources said.
Mexico’s Pemex eyeing tie-ups
MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s state oil company Pemex is planning to form alliances around hydrogen plants at its refineries, Pemex chief Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya said. In February, Pemex said it will partner with France’s Air Liquide SA to operate an existing hydrogen plant and build a second one at its Tula refinery. Mexico has five more refineries.
Exxon eyes pre-salt oil
SAO PAULO: US oil company ExxonMobil Corp expressed to Brazil’s state-controlled company Petrobras "strong interest" in the exploration of deep-water oil fields off the Brazilian coast, Petrobras Chief Executive Pedro Parente said. "Considering movements towards a strategic partnership, we have nothing concrete with Exxon, but they have certainly expressed strong interest in the Brazilian pre-salt exploration," Parente told reporters.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Exxon was in talks to gain access to Brazil’s deep-water oil resources, citing people familiar with the matter.
Valero Port Arthur unit shut
HOUSTON: The small hydrocracking unit (HCU) at Valero Energy Corp’s 335,000 barrel per day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery remained shut after being knocked out of production by a malfunction, said sources familiar with plant operations.
Valero has attempted to restart the 45,000 bpd hydrocracker since it went down, but failed to keep the unit in operation, the sources said.
