EXCLUSIVE: Shell seeks $2bln from Aramco in Motiva JV breakup -By Ron Bousso and Erwin Seba

A Shell logo is seen reflected in a car's side mirror at a petrol station in west London, Britain, …

By Ron Bousso and Erwin Seba

LONDON/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell has asked Saudi Aramco for up to $2 billion as part of the breakup of their giant Motiva Enterprises refining joint venture in the United States, the latest stumbling point in a partnership fraught with tension.
The payment would be compensation for the Saudi company retaining a larger share of the nearly two decade-old JV. Its split was announced in March and is expected to be completed in October but disagreements over the payment could postpone the final date, sources close to the talks told Reuters.
Under the agreement announced in March, Aramco will take control of Motiva's largest U.S. refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, and retain 26 distribution terminals.
That underscored Aramco's strategy to expand its global refining footprint in order to secure markets for its crude oil and could also be part of its ambitious public offering plan.
Shell will become the sole owner of Motiva's Louisiana refineries in Convent and Norco, where it also operates a chemicals plant, as well as Shell-branded gasoline stations in Florida, Louisiana and the northeastern United States.
Shell is focusing on developing its global chemicals business but also plans to sell $30 billion of its assets by 2018 to finance its $54 billion acquisition of BG Group in February, which will include several refining assets.
The Anglo-Dutch company is seeking 1 billion to 2 billion dollars from Aramco to compensate for the Saudi company keeping a bigger stake in the JV, two sources close to the talks said. Aramco nevertheless believes the fee should be significantly lower, they added.
A Shell spokesman declined to comment. An Aramco spokesperson said the company does not comment on speculation.
Shell has indicated in the past it will receive a cash payment from Aramco as part of the deal, but the size of the cash consideration has not been disclosed before.
ACRIMONY
The payment is primarily due to Aramco retaining a larger refining capacity than Shell -- the Port Arthur plant can process 603,000 barrels per day (bpd) while the two Louisiana plants jointly have a combined 473,000 bpd capacity.
The Texas refinery is also considered more advanced after extensive upgrading in recent years.
Additional infrastructure such as storage tanks and pipelines will also be included in the payment.
Refineries are generally valued according to the quality of the units as well as the outlook for its profit margins.
"It is a little bit of an awkward time for Shell to be holding out their hand for a lot of money because refining margins have come off recently," said Neil Earnest, President of Dallas-based consultancy Muse Stancil.
"The margin climate has shifted away from Shell towards Aramco in terms of any cash consideration that needs to be exchanged. Aramco will be saying that the cash consideration today should be lower because the short and medium term outlook for U.S. refining margins is not as robust as it was."
Aramco has rapidly expanded its corporate headquarters in Houston and has hired several new traders in recent months, according to several sources. Motiva's refined product trading business was separated from Shell's trading business in Houston in June 2015 after disagreements between the sides, and it has hired several new traders in recent months, trading sources said.
The Motiva JV was set up in 1998. Relations between the partners started to sour during a huge upgrade of the Shell-operated Port Arthur refinery, which suffered several setbacks and cost overruns which doubled the initial plan of $5 billion.
In 2012, the main refining unit at the heart of the expansion was damaged by a release of caustic chemicals, keeping the unit out of production for eight months and leading to acrimony between the partners as costs ballooned.
"The Motiva Port Arthur upgrade cost overruns were received very badly by Saudi Aramco and put the relation under a lot of stress," said Earnest.

Shell and Aramco continue to cooperate in two major joint ventures: the 50:50 Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co (SASREF) in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and the Showa refining venture in Japan.

(Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal in Dubai; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Culled from Reuters

Post-Brexit vote rebound sees FTSE 100 set for biggest weekly rise since 2011

Brokers react on a trading floor at BGC, in the Canary Wharf financial district of London, Britain June …

 

People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain November 30, 2015. REU …

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rose for a fourth straight session on Friday, leaving it set to post its biggest weekly rise in 4-1/2 years as banks rebounded after a sell-off following Britain's vote to leave the EU.

Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> was up 15.12 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,519.45, taking gains on the week to 6.2 percent. That left the index set for its biggest weekly gain since December 2011.
Following a two day sell-off after Britain voted to leave the EU in a referendum last week, the FTSE 100 has rebounded strongly, led by rises in its dollar earners and commodity stocks, which are insulated from uncertainty over the domestic economy.
On Friday the big risers were banks <.FTNMX8350>, up 1.2 percent overall, with Lloyds , Barclays and RBS each up 2-3 percent.

Although the sector remained 10 percent lower since the referendum, it was buoyed after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Thursday the central bank would probably need to pump more stimulus into Britain's economy over the summer after the shock of the Brexit vote.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Culled from Reuters

This woman retired at 33 and is traveling the world without going broke

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By the age of 33, most people are in the middle of their careers, buying homes, raising families and stashing money away for retirement — which is more than 30 years away.
That is, unless you’re Anita Dhake, who retired from her law career at 33, packed up her stuff and started traveling the world. So far, she has visited countries like including China, Australia, Spain and Brazil, and doesn’t plan to stop until she has checked everything off her bucket list.
It might sound like a spontaneous decision, but in an interview with Forbes, Dhake shares how her journey actually started with a “light bulb” moment in 2009 when she was interviewing for jobs at big law firms in Chicago.
“I remember learning about the salary and asking a friend, ‘If I make four times what the average person makes, can’t I retire four times earlier?’” she said. 
Her friend assured her that early retirement didn’t work that way, but Dhake would go on to prove him wrong. She got a job when she graduated from law school in 2009, but her firm offered her a deferral year because of the struggling economy and paid her a third of her salary to use as she pleased. Dhake traveled, which cemented her desire to travel more.

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In October 2010, Dhake started work. The hours were long, but with a base salary of $160,000 a year and bonuses, it took her just one year to pay off $100,000 in student loans. Once she eliminated her debt, she focused her efforts on saving every penny, a task made easy thanks to her simple lifestyle.
“I hated shopping and was always a natural saver. I had a roommate. I brought my lunch to work almost every day,” she told Forbes. “All of my clothes are hand-me-downs from my older sisters. I biked, walked, or took public transportation. I didn’t have a car.”
Her goal was to save $450,000. Within four years, Dhake saved an impressive $700,000, thanks bonuses and yearly raises. 
With her financial goal reached – at 33 – Dhake quit her job. She says that people were skeptical of her decision – even her mother – so she started a blog called The Power of Thrift, so that people who questioned her choices could see how it’s possible to retire young and travel.
“The law firm wasn’t paying me because I knew things. They were paying me for my life. I felt pressured to put work above family, friends, sleep, vacations and everything else,” she said. “At the time, I thought I was getting the better end of the deal — $160k for a year of my life? Heck, yeah! Now, I realize I only have one life and I’ll never get it back.”
Dhake started traveling in 2013, and her freedom allows her to choose countries that she’s never visited before. She’s lived in Australia, ate her way through Thailand and enjoyed the lively streets and cultural diversity of Brazil. She is currently visiting Norway, her 49th country, and has no plans to stop country-hopping in the near future.

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Dhake spends about $1,500 to $2,500 a month, although her budget greatly depends on what country she’s visiting and accommodations. Even so, she spends about $24,000 year. The only other major cost Dhake has is her private health insurance that has a high deductible.
“The only money I currently make is from dividends (and the appreciation from my investments). Eventually, I may try to monetize my website,” she said
Dhake’s story is certainly unique, and some may minimize her success because she was making more than three times the average US income of $53,657 before she retired. To that, Dhake expresses her belief that salary is secondary to discipline.
“I knew people who made my salary and spent every penny. They will never retire,” she said. “It will definitely be harder if you make less, but it’s doable. Embrace the thrifty lifestyle: You’ll find that you don’t need that much.”
The money Dhake saved should last about 30 years (at her current rate of spending), and she admits that one day she might consider re-entering the workforce. Working in a factory is one of the items on her “bucket list,” and she thinks that one day it might be fulfilling to start her own business. In the meantime, though, she’s living her golden years, now.
“I’m enjoying traveling, reading, sleeping in — and not working.”

Culled from Yahoo