Exxon quits some Russian joint ventures citing sanctions

Business News
February 28, 2018 / 5 months ago
Exxon quits some Russian joint ventures citing sanctions
Ernest Scheyder, Vladimir Soldatkin


HOUSTON/MOSCOW (Reuters)

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) will exit some joint ventures with Russia’s Rosneft (ROSN.MM), citing Western sanctions first imposed in 2014, in a move that the Russian company said would result in serious losses for its U.S. partner.

The decision is an about-face for Exxon, which had opposed the sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Crimea and argued they unfairly penalized U.S. companies while allowing foreign energy rivals to operate in the country, the world’s largest oil producer.

The sanctions slowed work on a project by Exxon and Rosneft on what was hailed as a major discovery in the Kara Sea above the Arctic Circle.

 

Exxon’s exit will not affect the Sakhalin project off the eastern coast of Russia, Exxon and Rosneft spokesmen said.

Sakhalin-1 operates under a Production Sharing Agreement struck in the mid-1990s and currently produces around 200,000 barrels of oil per day.

The joint ventures were reached when U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was Exxon’s chief executive.n


Tillerson has taken a hard line on Russia as secretary of state, in contrast to his position while at Exxon. 

Tillerson has said U.S. sanctions imposed for Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea would remain in place until Crimea is returned to Ukraine.

He has accused Moscow of imposing its will on other nations by force and employing disinformation and cyber attacks to subvert Western democracies.


In 2012, Exxon and Rosneft detailed an exploration partnership with plans to invest as much as $500 billion in developing Russia’s Arctic and Black Sea oil reserves.
 

Rosneft said that resources at the projects, from which Exxon decided to withdraw, total 12.3 billion tonnes of oil and gas condensate as well as 15.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.

Exxon said in a financial filing on Wednesday that it recorded a fourth quarter after-tax loss of $200 million due to the withdrawal plan.
    Exxon wound down drilling in Russia’s Arctic in 2014 after the sanctions were imposed. 
 

Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston and Vladimir Soldatkin.

Humans toss 28 billion pounds of plastic into the oceans each year

Mike Hudema‏Verified account @MikeHudema Jun 17

Humans toss 28 billion pounds of plastic into the oceans each year. That needs to stop:

https://buff.ly/2xPe7m4 

  RT if you agree. #SaveOurOceans #BanPlastic #Useless #Wasteless #EndOcean plastic.

International buyers appear to be souring on the U.S. housing market.

After strong interest for several years, international buyers appear to be souring on the U.S. housing market.

CNBC‏Verified account @CNBC

International buyers are dropping out of US housing market

• The dollar volume of U.S. home sales to international buyers between April 2017 to March 2018 dropped 21 percent compared with the previous 12-month period, according to the National Association of Realtors.
• Buyers from China, Canada, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom accounted for nearly half of the dollar volume of sales to international buyers.
• Sales to Canadian buyers fell by 45 percent.
  
  Diana Olick | @DianaOlick Published 14 Hours Ago Updated 12 Hours Ago CNBC.com
  
  
  After strong interest for several years, international buyers appear to be souring on the U.S. housing market.
  
  The dollar volume of U.S. home sales to international buyers between April 2017 and March 2018 dropped 21 percent compared with the year-ago period, according to the National Association of Realtors.
  
  Of the $121 billion in sales to international buyers, those currently living in the U.S purchased $67.9 billion in properties, while nonresident foreigners purchased $53 billion, both marking a drop from the previous year. Foreign buyers accounted for 8 percent of the $1.6 trillion in existing home sales, a drop from 10 percent the previous year.

While high home prices and inventory shortages are clearly playing some role in the drop. Competition from domestic buyers, whose demand is increasing sharply, may also be a deterrent. And the current political climate in the U.S. also should not be overlooked.
"The decline is partly coming off high levels of the prior year, but also surely from the strong rhetoric coming out of Washington against foreigners," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors. "There has been a large drop-off in foreign students attending U.S. universities already. Chinese [buyers], in particular, purchase homes for their kids while attending college."

How to win a bidding war  

China still leads the pack for international buyers, as it has for six straight years, accounting for 15 percent of international sales. Chinese buyers also purchased the most expensive homes, with a median price of $439,100.

Canada came in second, with a 10 percent share of international sales, but the Canadians' dollar volume dropped by 45 percent compared to the previous year. Not only are Canadians buying fewer U.S. properties, they are buying cheaper U.S. properties. The median price for Canadian buyers was $292,000.

"The market here is softer, and I imagine that's why there are perhaps less Canadian buyers," said Elli Davis, a real estate agent based in Toronto. "That does surprise me, though, as I still know lots of people buying mostly in Florida!"

Buyers from China, Canada, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom accounted for nearly half of the dollar volume of sales to international buyers. Canadian buyers had been the market leaders by far during the U.S. recession. They dropped back significantly as U.S. home prices recovered, Chinese buying increased and U.S. investor purchases climbed.

"Inventory shortages continue to drive up prices and sustained job creation and historically low interest rates mean that foreign buyers are now competing with domestic residents for the same, limited supply of homes," Yun said.

High prices could certainly be a deterrent for buyers in Southern California. Chinese buyers have been very strong in the single-family market there, as they plan for their children to attend area universities. Irvine, especially, saw huge demand from Chinese buyers, particularly in newly built communities, with larger, multigenerational homes that they favor.

For international investors who are looking for condominiums in large cities as an investment, the supply theory doesn't really hold.

"I don't think it's the supply issue because these buyers are buying in the higher end and there is more supply there, particularly in the gateway cities like Miami and New York," said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. "It could be just that their appetite for U.S. real estate is waning."



Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/24/southern-california-home-sales-crash-a-warning-sign-to-the-nation.html?recirc=taboolainternal

How to win a bidding war when buying a home from CNBC.

Southern California home sales crash, a warning sign to the nation

Link: https://cnb.cx/2uIeZVB

Trump tells his followers what to think

Don’t let Congress gut the Endangered Species Act

Teabar.com

@MAHAMOSA

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t let Congress gut the Endangered Species Act

 Help save our country's most imperiled wildlife and wild places by opposing any efforts by Congress to dismantle the Endangered Species Act. Take action:

 

 

 NRDC 🌎‏Verified account @NRDC

Many Americans will visit coastal national parks this summer. But a report by NRDC and the @NPCA shows that if the Trump admin. follows through on their offshore drilling plans, 68 coastal national parks could be at risk of an oil spill. 

Take action: https://on.nrdc.org/2CxImf3 

 

 

 

 

 

Rainforest Trust‏Verified account @RainforestTrust

Help us kick off #SharkWeek2018 by donating to our Costa Rican Shark Sanctuary today! https://buff.ly/2IHD8og

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.Justin Trudeau: “Remember It's Not An Investment If It's Destroying the Planet"

.@JustinTrudeau 

“Remember It's Not An Investment If It's Destroying the Planet" ~Vandana Shiva. 

RT if you want panels not pipelines. #Climate #Energy #cdnpoli #bcpoli #NoKXL #StopKM #WaterIsLife #JustinCrudeau

Another Balloon and a Michael Avenatti Speech

This Trump Chicken Balloon in a Prison Outfit is about to set sail and float off of Alcatraz Prison. I can not like this enough!

  Brian Krassenstein‏ @krassenstein

Oxford Union Library Retweeted

 

Oxford Union Library Retweeted

In Our Time‏ @BBCInOurTime Jul 2

This week: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful"

the ideas of William Morris https://bbc.in/2KoT1kh

This week: 

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful"

the ideas of William Morris https://bbc.in/2KoT1kh  

“Donald Trump is hoping that people like us don’t see the connection between our own ancestors and the immigrants arriving today...And so I want to say as plainly as I can: These are our people, too.” 

My speech last night at @publicjustice. #TheseAreMyPeopleToo

Michael Avenatti‏Verified account @MichaelAvenatti Jul 10