A Stand in the Sand Against Offshore Drilling

June 28, 2010 - On an overcast morning Saturday, 23 people gathered at the 4th Street lifeguard tower to take a stand against the harmful effects of offshore oil drilling and to support clean energy. As the group linked hands for 15 minutes, two oil rigs north of the Manhattan Beach pier could be seen from the shore.
Manhatttan Beach resident Tory Haslinger organized the event as part of Hands Across the Sand, a group that supports the protection of coastal economies, marine wildlife and the fishing industry. More than 650 Hands Across the Sand sites around the world were reported to have participated simultaneously.

Concerned for California's coast, Haslinger and boyfriend Jacob Watt took action after seeing the devastation of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"I can't go out there and fix the pipeline," said Haslinger, "but I can make our leaders aware that they need to find alternative energy sources or at least have safety procedures in place so this doesn't happen again."

Participants were hopeful the event would help increase awareness and that eventually the government would implement clean energy solutions that do not harm the environment.

"Tragedy wakes people up," said Rita Powell, who came to the gathering from her home in Long Beach. "It raises people's consciousness of their lifestyle and the marine life."

Residue from offshore oil tankers ends up on California beaches, said Chris Gray, a Manhattan Beach lifeguard who sometimes sees tar washing up onshore.

"It's a bummer that [the spill] happened," Gray said. "It ruins beaches, the town, the whole vibe."

Other participants acknowledged their own continued dependence on oil, especially in Southern California, where getting anywhere without driving is difficult.

"We all use a lot of oil and energy," said Shannon Schaefer, who drove from Echo Park. "We all need to find ways to reduce the amount."
source: manhattanbeach.patch.com

Judge says 150,000 jobs tied to offshore gulf operations

The offshore industry is crucial to the economies of communities along the Gulf of Mexico, US District Judge Martin Feldman of New Orleans notes in his ruling blocking a 6-month deepwater drilling moratorium in the gulf.

The moratorium stemmed from the Apr. 20 explosion and fire on Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible rig, which was drilling the Macondo well in 5,000 ft of water for BP PLC and its partners. Eleven people were killed and a massive oil spill resulted.
US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar believes industry needs to refine blowout prevention, containment, and response planning before deepwater drilling should resume. DOE is appealing the temporary injunction that Feldman granted, blocking the drilling moratorium.

In his June 22 ruling, Feldman discussed how gulf drilling activities rely upon a vast and complex network of technology, assets, people, and experience.

“Indeed, an estimated 150,000 jobs are directly related to offshore operations,” Feldman said. “The government admits that the industry provides relatively high-paying jobs in drilling and production activities.”

Hornbeck Offshore Services Co. of Covington, La., and some 30 other companies requested the preliminary injunction against the moratorium. Feldman said plaintiffs own and operate vessels, shipyards, and supply service companies that support deepwater exploration and production.

“In addition to the vessels and facilities involved in their work, the plaintiffs together employ over 11,875 people,” Feldman said. “At least 19 other companies, aside from BP’s operations involved with Deepwater Horizon, are presently operating deepwater drilling rigs.”

Labels: Hornbeck Offshore , Judge Martin Feldman , oil spill , Interior Secretary Ken Salazar , drilling moratorium

100623 :Judge says 150,000 jobs tied to offshore gulf operation
source: www.ogj.com

Libya Approves Drilling Deal With BP

June 27, 2010 - While troubling news of a tropical storm worsening the BP oil disaster hits the States, thousands of miles away over the Atlantic a country plans to drill in its locations of offshore waters for oil next month. The country of Libya has struck up a contract with the same exact oil company that was responsible for the current and historically the biggest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
As part of its recent efforts to attract foreign investors, the Libyan government’s oil minister, Shokri Ghanem, confirmed the 2007 contract with BP and will oversee the drilling in the Mediterranean which is due to happen next month. Answering questions of incredulity at the fact that BP will be drilling, Minister Ghanem stated that although the deaths of those working on Deepwater Horizon and the resulting oil spill were “tragic accidents”, Ghanem is confident that the British oil baron with its “good experience” can successfully retrieve Libyan oil.

Additionally, Shokri Ghanem referred to the huge untapped oil reserves as a “new frontier” and emphasized the need “to go on with life and learn the lessons from it.” After meeting with Tony Hayward, the former chief executive officer of BP who was ‘scapegoated’, Ghanem’s confidence was bolstered after being reassured the British oil company will do its best.

Typical of a Middle Eastern OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) member, Libya has a very large amount of oil and is estimated to have the ninth largest oil reserve in the world. While BP is noted to be the first ever foreign company to drill in offshore waters for an OPEC member, its fortunes have been drastically waning in the markets.

The shocking drop and the more-than-possible future decline in BP’s stock value has led various analysts to speculate the BP plc is “expected” to become a ‘takeover target’.

The future of BP remains clear to those who insist that it will fall as the company has been the #1 producer of oil for the U.S since 2000 and last year’s statistics showed BP to very dependent on the United States for profits even though it has been very active in waters off of almost every continent and countries like Egypt and Brazil.

Others are saying BP will not die off even if their business prospects in the U.S flicker out as it has numerous contracts with other world powers and access to large oil reserves.source: inewp.com

Hopewell Highway pioneers offshore renminbi bonds

28 June 2010

Hopewell Highway Infrastructure is set to become the first company to sell bonds denominated in renminbi to international investors. The Hong Kong-based toll road company will start marketing the bonds today and will use the proceeds to help finance the construction of a project in China's Pearl River delta region.

The deal marks another important step in China's internationalisation of its currency and was made possible after Chinese regulators relaxed the rules on cross-border renminbi flows on June 17.
Hopewell Highway has moved quickly to be the first to market corporate renminbi bonds and said yesterday that the funds will be used to finance the third phase of its Western Delta Route, a highway project that will connect Guangzhou to Macau and pass through cities such as Foshan, Panyu, Shunde, Zhongshan and Zhuhai.

"The issuance of the first renminbi corporate bonds by HHI marks a milestone in the development of renminbi business in Hong Kong," said He Guangbei, vice-chairman and chief executive of Bank of China (Hong Kong), which arranged the deal. "It not only helps diversify the renminbi bond offerings and deepen the local bond market, but also strengthens Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre."

The new relaxed framework follows a pilot programme launched in July 2009 that allowed authorised institutions in five Chinese cities to use renminbi for trade settlement. Under those rules, cross-border renminbi flows were only approved for Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia.

The June circular extended the rules to all foreign-invested enterprises and included cities in an additional 18 Chinese provinces. Cross-border settlement is also now widened to include all countries and regions, and is no longer restricted solely to trade finance but can be used for other transfers, including dividends from onshore businesses. This will pave the way for foreign companies to fund their operations in China through offshore renminbi bonds -- and, crucially, to use the profits from those projects to repay investors.

The Hong Kong government announced supervisory principles for the issuance of renminbi bonds in February, but until the June announcement it was not clear how issuers could either spend the money or service the debt. "Everyone had been puzzling about that," said a source with knowledge of the transaction. "This deal is an answer to that question."

Banks have been able to issue renminbi bonds since last year, but the extension of the rule to all companies is a significant development that will lower funding costs for foreign firms' Chinese operations. Hopewell Highway still needs approval to transfer the proceeds of its renminbi bonds into China, but the speed with which it has moved on this deal demonstrates the government's encouragement of such transactions.

"In the past, it was unthinkable for companies to get such approvals," said the source. "But this deal signals that if you're a good company, in an industry encouraged by the government, you can now do the unthinkable."

As such, it is no surprise that Hopewell Highways has won the coveted first deal. The highway it is building in the western Pearl River delta is a key infrastructure project in the heart of China's export industry. But, according to the source, there are a string of deals in the pipeline and prospective borrowers are enjoying the encouragement of governments in both Hong Kong and China.

"Everyone wants to get these deals done before Hong Kong's national day on July 1 because it's a symbolic date that marks the return of Hong Kong to the motherland," the source said.

Officials in Hong Kong have spent months researching the development of the Eurobond market in the 1960s and hope that this deal marks the opening of a market that might one day rival the offshore dollar market.

Linklaters is acting as legal adviser to Bank of China.

© Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.source: www.financeasia.com