Premier sells off UK North Sea oil fields to Hungary’s MOL for £76m June 30, 2014 PREMIER Oil yesterday announced that it had sold its minority stakes in three UK North Sea fields to Hungarian oil and gas group MOL for $130m (£76.1m), as part of its $300m divestment programme. The FTSE 250-quoted oil explorer said its stakes in the Scott, Telford and Rochelle fields collectively produced around 3,700 barrels of [...]
Asia Resource Minerals puts new chief Amir Sambodo in charge of flagship mine June 30, 2014 Asia Resource Minerals, the Indonesian coal miner formerly known as Bumi, yesterday said its new chief executive Amir Sambodo would also be heading up its flagship operational asset, Berau Coal Energy. It is thought that the FTSE 250-listed firm hoped the appointment – agreed at Berau’s annual shareholder meeting yesterday – would stave off speculation [...]
Al Mirqab’s £924m takeover of Heritage Oil comes into effect June 30, 2014 AL MIRQAB Capital’s £924m acquisition of Heritage Oil came into effect yesterday, the Africa-focused oil explorer said. The investment firm, controlled by Qatar’s royal family, made an offer for Heritage on 30 April, through its subsidiary Energy Investments Global. Under the terms of the deal, Heritage shareholders received 320p in cash per share. Chief executive [...]
Why one bank is rooting for Lonmin June 11, 2014 Talks to resolve the workers’ strike that has blighted South Africa’s platinum mining industry for the past 21 weeks dissolved without an outcome on Monday, sending Lonmin’s share price down over three per cent. Lonmin, along with its peers Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum, has reached a deadlock with the dominant Association of Mineworkers [...]
Aggreko slips on muted analyst outlooks June 9, 2014 Temporary power provider Aggreko’s share price edged down a little today, on a downgrade from Panmure Gordon and a cautious report from Liberum. The FTSE 100 firm, which supplied power for the 2012 London Olympics and will provide energy for this year’s football World Cup in Brazil, saw its share price fall 0.7 per cent [...]
Why one bank is switching its allegiance from BHP Billiton to Rio Tinto June 5, 2014 As both are FTSE 100 listed Anglo-Australian miners, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto often get compared rather than contrasted. But RBC Capital Markets today downgraded BHP – despite the stock outperforming Rio by around 10 per cent this year – and switched to a preference of Rio over BHP. “Since December 2013 we have preferred [...]
Fresh boost for shale gas as Queen’s Speech supports right to frack June 4, 2014 The Queen’s Speech today introduced the government’s new infrastructure bill, which supports the shale gas consultation into underground drilling access that was published in late May. The consultation’s proposals would allow energy companies to frack for shale gas 300m below the surface without getting the landowner’s permission. This also applies to geothermal energy. “Proposals [...]
Here’s why aluminium could be the new nickel June 2, 2014 After an Indonesian export ban caused the price of nickel to soar over 40 per cent this year due to a squeeze on supply, the market is poised for aluminium prices to follow suit. With more than 10 per cent of the world’s bauxite (aluminium ore) coming from Indonesia before the ban – equivalent to [...]
Tobacco customers are more Primark than Prada May 28, 2014 Companies flogging anything from ice cream to eye shadow tend to invest more in marketing their premium consumer brands, as they make higher returns. But when it comes to tobacco, customers are more attracted by value than brand, according to RBC Capital Markets research. At FTSE 100-listed tobacco giants British American Tobacco and Imperial [...]
South African miners’ strikes are boosting platinum ETF inflows May 27, 2014 The labour tensions between the unions and South Africa’s three largest platinum miners have raged on for months now with no resolution in sight. A number of employees have been killed trying to return to work, amid reports of threatening behaviour from the militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which represents the majority [...]
