UPDATE 1-Petrofac JV wins $2.9 bln share of Abu Dhabi contract

UPDATE 1-Petrofac JV wins $2.9 bln share of Abu Dhabi contract Thu, Apr 11 07:47 AM EDT LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - British oil services firm Petrofac said on Thursday its joint venture with Mubadala Petroleum won a $2.9 billion share of a contract to build facilities on an oil field in Abu Dhabi, lifting its shares. Petrofac's investors have been impatient to see it win new contracts after the company caused concerns in February by deviating from a usual practice of providing a specific annual profit targets. Shares in FTSE 100 constituent Petrofac, which have fallen 14 percent in the last three months, climbed 1.75 percent to 1,455.5 pence in midday training. Numis analyst Sanjeev Bahl said the joint venture contract win was worth about $1.45 billion to Petrofac itself, and was positive news for the company. "It helps derisk consensus forecasts. We still think they need another $5 billion or so (of contract wins) this year," he said. Petrofac, which designs and builds oil and gas infrastructure and also invests alongside oil firms in oil fields, earlier in April won another contract in Abu Dhabi worth $500 million. The company said in February it was seeing a strong pipeline of bidding opportunities meaning it would deliver "good growth" in net profit this year and adding to its confidence in meeting a 2015 earnings target. ======== UPDATE 1-Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala swings back into profit Thu, Apr 11 06:10 AM EDT * 2012 net profit 455 mln dhs VS 3.2 bln dhs loss in 2011 * Revenues up 12 pct in 2012 to 31.3 bln dirhams * 2012 financial investments losses more than half (Adds asset value performance, debt prices,) ABU DHABI, April 11 (Reuters) - Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi investment fund with a mandate to boost the emirate's local economy, swung to a net profit in 2012, helped by improved margins at some of its core businesses and lower impairments, it said on Thursday. Oil-rich Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates is investing billions of dollars in industry, tourism and infrastructure locally as well as overseas through state-backed entities such as Mubadala. However, earlier this month Mubadala signed a $2 billion loan refinancing with banks to replace a $2.5 billion loan agreed in 2010 [ID: nL5N0CQ2U7] Spreads on Mubadala bonds widened slightly on Thursday with the $500 million 7.625 percent bond maturing 2019 bid at 128.5 cents to the dollar to yield 2.520, compared with 2.515 on Wednesday. A $750 million 5.5 percent bond < AE061920099=> maturing 2021 was bid at 117.5 cents to the dollar to yield 3.03 percent, compared with 2.962 percent on Wednesday. The fund made a profit of 455 million dirhams ($124 million) in 2012, compared with a loss of 3.2 billion dirhams in 2011, when it booked heavy impairments on its financial portfolio. The fund, which has a local joint venture with General Electric and interests in the semiconductor, oil and gas, aerospace and real estate sectors in the region, increased its revenue by 12 percent last year to 31.3 billion dirhams, boosted, it said, by higher semiconductor sales and land sales. Losses from financial investments fell to 1.43 billion dirhams last year after a loss of 3.03 billion dirhams in 2011, while impairments on the fund's property portfolio dropped to 585.7 million dirhams from 653 million dirhams. "Our 2012 financial performance is a reflection of how we manage our portfolio, with certain key assets and projects reaching further maturity and improved market conditions positively impacting the value of many of our financial investments," said Chief Executive Khaldoon al Mubarak. Mubadala's total assets stood at 202.8 billion dirhams ($55.22 billion) at the end of the 2012, up from 177.1 billion dirhams a year ago. Mubadala, one of few state-controlled vehicles to publish results, also owns stakes in listed local companies such as Tabreed and indebted developer Aldar Properties which received shareholder approval for a merger with rival Sorouh Real Estate in March. ($1=3.6727 UAE dirhams) (Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Dinesh Nair and Greg Mahlich) ================== Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala swings to 2012 profit on lower impairments Thu, Apr 11 05:01 AM EDT ABU DHABI, April 11 (Reuters) - Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi investment fund with a mandate to boost the emirate's local economy, swung to a net profit in 2012, helped by improved margins at some of its core businesses and lower impairments. Mubadala, which has stakes in General Electric and private equity firm Carlyle, made a profit of 455 million dirhams ($123.88 million) for 2012, compared with a loss of 3.2 billion dirhams in 2011 when it booked heavy impairments on its financial portfolio. Unlike other regional sovereign wealth funds like Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) or Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Mubadala's main goal is to engage in investments which enhance development of the local economy, a theme which has gained greater consensus since the wake of the Arab spring. The fund has interests in semiconductors, oil and gas, aerospace and real estate among others. Revenue for the year increased 12 percent to 31.3 billion dirhams from 27.9 billion dirhams in 2011, Mubadala said in a statement on Thursday. It attributed the rise in revenues to higher sale of semiconductors and revenue from land sales. Losses from financial investments fell to 1.43 billion dirhams in 2012, compared with a loss of 3.03 billion dirhams in 2011, Mubadala said. Impairment losses on the fund's property portfolio dropped to 585.7 million dirhams from 653 million dirhams for 2011. Mubadala, one of few state-controlled vehicles to publish results, also owns stakes in local companies such as Tabreed and indebted developer Aldar Properties which received shareholder approval for a merger with rival Sorouh Real Estate in March. ($1 = 3.6730 UAE dirhams) (Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Dinesh Nair) =================

Quake hits near Iran's nuclear city Bushehr, 37 dead

Quake hits near Iran's nuclear city Bushehr, 37 dead Tue, Apr 09 18:40 PM EDT 1 of 2 By Yeganeh Torbati and Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake struck close to Iran's only nuclear power station on Tuesday, killing 37 people and injuring 850 as it destroyed homes and devastated two small villages, Iranian media reported. The 6.3 magnitude quake totally destroyed one village, a Red Crescent official told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), but the nearby Bushehr nuclear plant was undamaged, according to Iranian officials and the Russian company that built it. "Due to the intensity of this earthquake, this tragedy has deepened and we have seen the destruction of many homes in the region, the deaths of 37 people and more than 850 injured," the governor of Bushehr province, Fereydoun Hassanvand, told Mehr news agency. Many houses in rural parts of the province are made of mud bricks, which have been known to crumble easily in quake-prone Iran. Some 700 homes were destroyed, Hassanvand said. Across the Gulf, offices in Qatar and Bahrain were evacuated after the quake, whose epicenter was 89 km (55 miles) southeast of the port of Bushehr, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The early afternoon shock was also felt in financial hub Dubai. The Russian company that built the nuclear power station, 18 km (11 miles) south of Bushehr, said the plant was unaffected. "Personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm," Russian state news agency RIA quoted an official at Atomstroyexport as saying. Iran informed the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency that there was "no damage to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and no radioactive release from the installation", an agency statement said. One Bushehr resident said the quake shook her home and the homes of her neighbors but they were not damaged. "We could clearly feel the earthquake," Nikoo, who asked to be identified only by her first name, said. "The windows and chandeliers all shook." While initial fears about nuclear fallout receded, nearer the epicenter the rescue efforts ramped up into the night in search of survivors and to feed and house hundreds of residents who were traumatized by at least 16 aftershocks. A Red Crescent official told ISNA that 20 people had been saved by rescue teams searching through the rubble. Reports in Iranian media spoke of landslides destroying buildings and crowds gathering in the town of Dashti from outlying areas in search of help. Military officials said army and police units had been deployed to maintain order. Water and electricity lines were severed and communities stayed in the streets because of the threat from aftershocks. Iran's most powerful authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offered his condolences to the victims and urged authorities to extend all efforts to save lives and help the afflicted. Tuesday's quake was much smaller than the 9.0 magnitude one that hit Japan two years ago, triggering a tsunami that destroyed back-up generators and disabled the Fukushima nuclear plant's cooling system. Three of the reactors melted down. Iran is the only country operating a nuclear power plant that does not belong to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, negotiated after the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl which contaminated wide areas and made 160,000 Ukrainians homeless. Western officials and the United Nations have urged Iran to join the safety forum. REPEATED WARNINGS Tehran has repeatedly rejected safety concerns about Bushehr - built in a highly seismic area - that began operations in September 2011 after decades of delays. Iran sits on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 which flattened the southeastern city of Bam and killed more than 25,000 people. In August more than 300 people were killed when two quakes struck the northwest. A report published last week by U.S. think-tanks Carnegie Endowment and the Federation of American Scientists said that "ominously" the Bushehr reactor sits at the intersection of three tectonic plates. "Iran's sole nuclear power plant is not at risk of a tsunami similar in size to the one that knocked out the electricity and emergency cooling systems at Fukushima. But, repeated warnings about the threat of earthquakes for the Bushehr nuclear plant appear to have fallen on deaf ears," the report said. The quake happened on National Nuclear Technology Day when Iran's leaders celebrate the technological advances they say will reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels, leaving more of its abundant oil for export. Israel, Gulf Arab states and many Western countries fear Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability and the Islamic Republic is under international sanctions aimed at forcing it to curb some of its atomic work. Iran denies it wants nuclear arms and says its atomic work is for electricity generation and other peaceful uses. (Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl in Vienna, Regan Doherty in Doha, Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Michael Roddy and Jon Hemming)

Showcase building in Russia's Chechnya engulfed in flames

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.380655092049679.1073741825.100003155743870&type=1&l=16eda8e4bc Wed, Apr 03 16:26 PM EDT GROZNY, Russia, April 3 (Reuters) - A 45-storey building in the middle of Grozny meant to showcase the regeneration of the capital of Russia's Chechnya region after years of civil war was engulfed in flames on Wednesday. Dozens of fire crews battled for hours to extinguish the fire that spread quickly through the newly built and vacant building - the highest in the city that was once a byword for destruction and chaos during two wars in the 1990s. "It's so sad to see this happening because this has been a symbol of peace, a symbol of the end of the war in Chechnya, the only attraction in the city, everybody was proud of it," said Temila Sagaipova in Grozny. "I hope they will rebuild it soon so as not to let a burnt down ruin sit in the middle of the city," she added, standing in a crowd of some 600 people who gathered to watch as flames leapt up one side of the building and spread inside. Officials said an electrical short circuit rather than a rebel arson attack was the most likely cause of the fire on the shiny steel and glass structure, part of a new business and residential development called Grozny City near the capital's main mosque and local government offices. More than a decade after Moscow re-established control over Chechnya, violence is still an almost daily phenomenon in parts of the restive republic in the North Caucasus where insurgents say they are fighting to set up a separate Islamist state. Rights groups say the revolt is also driven by corruption and grievances against the strong-arm tactics of Moscow-backed Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, and his forces. Activists accuse Kadyrov's security services of carrying out kidnappings, torture and extrajudicial killings to try to quash an Islamist insurgency. He denies the accusations and points to Grozny's new architecture as a symbol of peace and his personal success. (Reporting by Asyet Meshiyeva; Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Jon Hemming) ========= Luxury skyscraper hotel destroyed in massive blaze in Chechnya (VIDEO, PHOTOS) The blaze that had engulfed the tallest skyscraper in the North Caucasus region of Russia, has been put out, leaving the building almost completely destroyed. According to information given by local emergency services, the fire that had engulfed the 'Grozny City' skyscraper on Wednesday, was put out in the early hours of Thursday, at 1:30 AM. The blaze has left the 40-floor building in a state of near-complete destruction. The local emergency service said the call about the fire on between the 4th and 5th floors was received at around 18:00 PM local time (14:00 GMT). According to witnesses’ pictures that immediately started to appear on Twitter, all stories of the building had been covered in flames. At the time there had been reports suggesting that the fire started on the top floor and the bottom floor was on fire as well. All people had managed to leave the 145-meter skyscraper ; one woman was seen to be supported by others, witnesses said. Local police confirmed no one was injured. Fire units and ambulances had arrived at the scene. Nearly 300 people were involved in extinguishing the fire. The area around the Grozny-City complex has been cordoned off. In two hours the fire had completely engulfed three sides of the skyscraper from top to bottom, as the flames spread rapidly due to the plastic trimming on the building. It had also reached the world's largest clock face, located near the apex of the building. Firefighters had managed to extinguish the flames on the lower floors. However, the fire spread very quickly, making it difficult to tackle the blaze from the ground. Helicopters have been sent from the southern city of Pyatigorsk to help out, but have not received the go-ahead for lift-off. "We are ready, but the helicopters won't be able to maneuver between the buildings, which are packed tight," said emergency ministry official Aleksandr Barsuk. A criminal case has been launched in connection to the violation of fire safety rules. According to the initial version the cause of the fire was a short circuit, LifeNews tabloid reported citing a local police source. “According to preliminary information, the cause of the fire in the skyscraper was a short circuit. A more concise report will be done after experts examine the building,” the source told the tabloid. In the burning skyscrapers, known collectively as 'Olympus', is an apartment belonging to French film star and tax exile Gerard Depardieu. LifeNews tabloid reports local administration confirmed the Frenchman’s apartment is on the 27th floor, facing the so-called 'heart of Grozny'- central mosque. “The fire has completely enveloped the right-hand side of the skyscraper. Both the wall and the window of the actor’s apartment have been damaged,” the tabloid quoted a local police source as saying. Photo from twitter.com user @katyareznikova / @AsyaBelova The head of Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov granted the actor the status of 'Chechen’s honorable resident' and presented an apartment in Grozny-City shortly after the Frenchman was granted Russian citizenship. The Grozny-City complex was partly open in 2011. It consists of seven skyscrapers both condominiums and a hotel: one 40-storey (currently on fire), one 30-storey, three 28-storey and two 18-storey buildings. The completed complex would boast 1000 apartments. "We will reconstruct the building, and make it more beautiful with help from Allah," said Kadyrov on his Instagram account. ===============

Exxon, EPA say air quality at spill in Arkansas improving

Exxon, EPA say air quality at spill in Arkansas improving Thu, Apr 04 19:12 PM EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Air quality in the Arkansas neighborhood where an Exxon Mobil Corp pipeline leaked thousands of barrels of Canadian crude has improved but was still unhealthy where workers were cleaning it up, the company and the U.S. environment regulator said on Thursday. Readings of air quality "are below levels likely to cause health effects for the general population with the exception of the cleanup areas where the emergency responders are directly working," the Environmental Protection Agency said. "As cleanup continues, contaminant levels continue to decrease," it said. Exxon has been digging out oil-soaked lawns and replacing them with fresh sod in the neighborhood in Mayflower, Arkansas, where the government estimated up to 5,000 barrels of Canadian crude leaked on Friday. The Pegasus line, which can transport more than 90,000 barrels per day of Canadian crude to Texas from Illinois, remained shut with no estimate of when it would restart. Exxon said its data showed levels of benzene, a component of crude linked to cancer, had fallen in days following the leak. On Sunday benzene had been detected 10 times in the area where workers are cleaning up the crude, with the highest concentration recorded at 0.8 parts per million. By Tuesday, benzene was detected three times in the work area with the highest level at 0.3 ppm. Monitors detected that instances of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are linked to ear and throat irritation and kidney and liver damage, had also fallen. Exxon data detected VOCs 43 times on Sunday. By Tuesday that had fallen to 35 instances. Twenty-two homes were evacuated by authorities after the leak and residents had not returned by Thursday. Workers cleaning up the spill were using breathing equipment where necessary, the EPA said. Residents in the area surrounding the spill had complained of a strong asphalt odor in the days after the leak. That odor has died down considerably since Monday, residents said on Thursday. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Additional reporting by Edward McAllister in Mayflower, Arkansas; Editing by Eric Beech) =========== UPDATE 1-CP Rail says 400 barrels of oil spilled in Ontario, not four Thu, Apr 04 16:49 PM EDT * CP raises oil spill estimate to 400 bbls from 4 bbls * Size of spill not apparent initially, spokesman says * CP says spill has been contained * Rail line to re-open later on Thursday * Shares fall 0.7 pct By Scott Haggett and Allison Martell April 4 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd raised its estimate of the amount of oil spilled in a derailment in northern Ontario a hundred-fold on Thursday, and said 400 barrels (16,800 gallons) had leaked from two tanker cars, up from its initial estimate of four barrels. CP Rail spokesman Ed Greenberg said the size of Wednesday's spill, the company's second in a week, was not evident when crews first arrived at the remote site of the derailment near White River, Ontario, about 700 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of Toronto. "During the clean-up yesterday our crews discovered the second derailed car containing oil had in fact lost product," Greenberg said. "The second car was difficult to assess due to its position among the derailed equipment but showed no signs of the product around its base during the initial assessments." A boom in North American oil production has prompted a huge rise in crude-by-rail transport as output has outgrown the existing pipeline network. CP's spills over the past week have highlighted concerns about the environmental impact of rail shipments.

"I think rail is now going to face the same kind of scrutiny that pipelines have come under," said Keith Stewart, a spokesman for Greenpeace Canada. "Rail used to be pretty inconsequential in terms of moving oil, but we've seen rapid growth in the last three years and they're projecting massive growth. I think the industry has rose-colored glasses on if they think that they can ramp up moving oil by rail, the way they're talking about, without running into big opposition."

The new estimate puts the size of the northern Ontario spill above that of last week's CP derailment in Minnesota, where about 15,000 gallons, or 360 barrels, leaked from three tank cars. But the two leaks are far smaller than last week's pipeline breach in Mayflower, Arkansas, in which an aging Exxon Mobil Corp pipeline broke and sent up to 5,000 barrels flooding through suburban streets. The Ontario derailment came early on Wednesday, when 20 cars on an eastbound, mixed-freight train bound for Montreal left the tracks. CP, Canada's second largest railroad, said it was still investigating the cause of the accident, but that it expected the track to re-open later on Thursday. Greenberg said the spill has been contained and no oil has been found beyond its containment berms. CP shares fell 84 Canadian cents to C$121.67 on Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Macondo rig fire was too big to fight: Transocean officer

Macondo rig fire was too big to fight: Transocean officer Mon, Mar 25 18:16 PM EDT By Kathy Finn NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The officer in charge of safety on Transocean's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, destroyed in a BP well accident that caused the worst-ever U.S. offshore oil spill, said the post-blowout fire was too big to fight and the evacuation saved lives. In the fifth week of a trial to apportion blame among BP Plc (BP.L), Transocean Ltd (RIG.N) and other contractors for the Macondo oil well disaster, David Young, the rig's chief mate, said the captain told him to do whatever he needed to do to get the fire on April 20, 2010, under control. "I pulled him outside and showed him the size of the fire we were dealing with and ... basically told him we couldn't fight that fire," Young said on Monday in a New Orleans federal court before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier. Young then helped load injured and other crew into lifeboats and rafts before jumping into a raft himself, he said. Later, he and others in his raft were pulled onto one of the lifeboats. "Do you believe the Deepwater Horizon's emergency training saved lives that night?" Transocean attorney Luis Li asked. "I do, because we got 115 people off," Young replied. Eleven workers died as a result of the blowout and fire, and more than 4 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf from the damaged well. BP and its contractors are being sued by the U.S. Justice Department along with the Gulf states, companies and individuals affected. Transocean's chief executive testified last week that his workers made mistakes that day, but were not responsible for overall safety at the site. While BP accepts its role in the accident, it believes Transocean and well-cementing provider Halliburton Co (HAL.N) share the blame. Young, who worked on the Deepwater Horizon for 3-1/2 years, oversaw equipment maintenance and all "marine aspects" of the rig, including firefighting and lifesaving equipment, while the captain had overall responsibility for rig safety. Young said the first priority of all the rig managers was "for everybody to go home safely, back to their families."

In cross-examination, plaintiffs' attorney Jim Roy asked why it was Young, rather than rig captain Curt Kuchta, who pushed the button to sound the general alarm as he left the bridge. "Isn't the truth, sir, that you were tired of waiting for the captain or anybody else to sound the general alarm," Roy asked, "and for the safety of yourself and the crew you decided you're going to hit it?" Young responded: "No, there was nothing to get tired of, so I wouldn't agree with that."

Transocean has pleaded guilty to federal charges connected with Clean Water Act violations and agreed to pay $1.4 billion in criminal and civil fines and penalties. In the civil case before Barbier, the companies must show any mistakes do not meet the legal definition of gross negligence required for the highest amount of damages. BP has already spent or committed $37 billion for cleanup, restoration, payouts, settlements and fines. Transocean is expected to call its final witnesses on Tuesday, beginning with Bill Ambrose, Transocean's director of special projects. Other defendants then will begin calling their witnesses. The case is In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, No. 10-md-02179, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. (Writing by Braden Reddall; Editing by Richard Chang and David Gregorio) UPDATE 1-BP spill report ignored phone call on key test -lawyer Mon, Mar 04 20:39 PM EST By Stephanie Grace NEW ORLEANS, March 4 (Reuters) - BP's own investigation of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill ignored a phone call between BP supervisors about a critical pressure test that was misinterpreted with deadly consequences, a lawyer for rig owner Transocean Ltd contended in aggressive questioning on Monday. As a civil trial that will determine blame for the disaster entered its second week, Transocean lawyer Brad Brian pushed BP's global head of safety and operational risk on why the report did not mention that call even though investigators mentioned it in their notes. The report by BP Plc placed most of the blame for the explosion and spill on Transocean, whose Deepwater Horizon rig, under contract with BP, had been drilling a mile-deep well when a surge of gas caused a blowout that killed 11 workers. "I think my team's thinking was ... it was mentioned, it wasn't in the form of consulting about it," replied Mark Bly, the BP executive who headed the company's investigation. The U.S. Justice Department, Gulf Coast states affected by the spill, and other plaintiffs - all of whom are suing BP, Transocean and other companies - argue that BP put profits over safety in the drilling job, which was over-budget and overdue. Lawyers for the plaintiffs have argued that had well site leader Don Vidrine heeded concerns of onshore senior drilling engineer Mark Hafle about that pressure test and stopped the operation, the disaster at the Macondo well could have been averted. London-based BP has acknowledged that engineers misinterpreted the results of the test, but holds both itself and Transocean responsible for that. Brian also questioned whether Bly and his investigative team looked into whether BP's decisions were driven by saving time and money. "We didn't look at that specific question," Bly said. The trial has now entered its second week before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in the first of three phases. The first phase focuses on allocation of blame among the companies involved. Later on Monday, Andrew Hurst, a geology and petroleum geology professor at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, testified on behalf of the plaintiffs that rock layers where Macondo was drilled are particularly fragile because the area is the site of the second-largest underwater landslide in the world and was the site of an undersea earthquake in 2006. He said the drilling operation could have left the rock so fragile that cement pumped into it could not bind to the rock as required. "My opinion is that formation around the bore hole disintegrated," Hurst testified. "I can't see how anything else could have happened." Under cross examination, BP attorney Matt Regan stressed that Hurst's observations about thermal conditions and pressure where BP drilled would apply to the vast majority of such sites, and that many in the industry do not follow his prescribed procedures. He also asked Hurst whether his conclusions were based on "Macondo specific data" or general observations. Hurst responded that he based his opinions on science, conceding that he did not try to "form a prognosis" for the Macondo well. The case is In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, No. 10-md-02179, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. ============== Analysis: BP's legal gamble may trim spill bill by billions Mon, Apr 22 01:27 AM EDT By Kathy Finn and Braden Reddall NEW ORLEANS/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - BP Plc's attempt to get a U.S. federal court to pin at least a sizeable amount of the blame for the Deepwater Horizon disaster on other companies may have saved it billions of dollars. After failing to settle claims from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill through negotiations, the British oil company opted in February to go to trial with plaintiffs ranging from small businesses to the U.S. government over the damages it will face. The decision rests with U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier, who could issue findings on blame and the level of negligence as early as July. Legal experts say BP appeared to succeed in shifting some of the blame for the disaster to rig owner Transocean Ltd and cement provider Halliburton Co. In doing so, it may have shaved a slice off a liability that could stretch into the tens of billions of dollars.

BP "put their faith in the hands of the court," said Blaine LeCesne, a tort law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans who has followed the trial closely. "It looks like that might have paid off."

Of course, if Barbier determines that BP was grossly negligent then it could more than offset anything it has saved by getting the rap for the disaster shared more broadly. LeCesne, and two other legal experts who followed the trial but spoke privately on the matter, believed BP had some success in offloading blame for the worst U.S. offshore spill, which was caused by a blowout on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 people exactly three years ago on Saturday. During the trial last Wednesday, Transocean may have taken a hit from BP's final witness, Andrew Mitchell, a 40-year veteran of the offshore oil industry and now an International Safety Management Code consultant. Mitchell described the rig captain's response to the crisis as "completely inadequate." That came on top of Transocean's previous admission that its employees misinterpreted a crucial pressure test on the well and evidence that a dead battery in the blow-out preventer kept the device from closing the well hole. Transocean declined to comment on specifics of the trial, but said it remained confident in the case it presented. Halliburton also took some blows. Last month the company belatedly introduced cement samples into evidence. Then this month, Halliburton produced documents, including test results BP lawyer Mike Brock said he would have liked to have had while Halliburton witnesses were still on the stand. Another document included an email in which a Halliburton executive said their company was one of the "contributing parties" responsible for ensuring a sound cement job. "It's very troubling the way Halliburton has handled this entire matter," Judge Barbier said of the documents, adding that he was considering whether to impose sanctions in response. Halliburton did not respond to a request for comment. Testimony in the first phase of the trial ended April 17. With an estimated 70 million pages of evidence to weigh, the parties have 80 days to file legal briefs as Barbier considers blame and negligence in the non-jury trial. Phase two would determine exactly how much oil spilled so damages can be assessed, a process due to start in September. Legal sources say it is possible Barbier could delay announcing his phase-one trial conclusions until after the next phase, so total fines and penalties may not be known until 2014. LeCesne expects BP could shoulder about 70 percent of the blame and that Halliburton might bear a heavier share of the rest due to testimony regarding the failure of its cement mixture in attempts to plug the well. "I'd say Halliburton is likely to have an equal or higher percentage attributed to it than Transocean," LeCesne said. BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the evidence presented at the trial showed BP was not grossly negligent and the accident was the result of "multiple causes, involving multiple parties." HISTORY LESSON BP has been determined from the start of the oil spill to avoid the decades of litigation that Exxon Mobil Corp endured after the 1989 Valdez accident in Alaska. But the complexity of BP's case meant a last-minute deal in February was elusive, so it landed in court. BP has already allocated $42 billion to cover clean-up, fines and other costs. A gross negligence finding by Barbier could add billions to the civil penalties and expose BP to punitive damages claims. BP's liability under the U.S. Clean Water Act alone could reach $17.5 billion if BP is found grossly negligent. Billions more could be piled on in economic damage claims from Gulf Coast states, while a third set of claims, for natural resource damage, have not yet been filed. Just in the past few days, the states of Mississippi and Florida have filed suit against BP over the spill. Louisiana and Alabama have been parties to the civil litigation for two years. While some observers think the results of the trial's first phase will prompt a settlement of many remaining claims, LeCesne believes the parties will continue to duke it out in court. He also thinks even if BP did reduce its share of the blame during the trial, a very costly ruling against BP is in the cards. "It's by no means a certainty, but I think it's more likely than not there will be a finding of gross negligence," he said. John Levy, a maritime and complex litigation expert at Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, said all the money at stake is what made the Deepwater Horizon case special among maritime cases. "On smaller cases, people will just work it out," he said. "Here, you're talking about numbers that end with the word billion. It's worth fighting over." The case is In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 10-md-02179. (Reporting by Kathy Finn in New Orleans and Braden Reddall in San Francisco; Editing by Patricia Kranz and Matt Driskill) =====================

Raj Rajaratnam brother charged with insider trading

Raj Rajaratnam brother charged with insider trading Thu, Mar 21 18:39 PM EDT By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Raj Rajaratnam's younger brother was indicted on charges of conspiring in the insider-trading scheme for which the founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund was convicted nearly two years ago, U.S. prosecutors announced on Thursday. Prosecutors said Rengan Rajaratnam, 42, conspired with his older brother to trade on non-public information concerning Clearwire Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc in 2008. Rengan Rajaratnam was a portfolio manager at Galleon, and the trades for which he was charged resulted in nearly $1.2 million of illegal profit, according to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan, who announced the charges. Rengan Rajaratnam was charged with six counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy, and faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the fraud counts. He has not been arrested. He is not in the United States and is believed to be in Brazil, a person familiar with the matter said. David Tobin, a lawyer for Rengan Rajaratnam, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The charges arise from a broad U.S. government crackdown on insider trading. Since October 2009, seventy-seven people have been charged by Bharara's office in that probe, and 71 have been convicted. The FBI and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are still investigating. Raj Rajaratnam, 55, received an 11-year prison sentence in October 2011 after a jury convicted him the previous May. He is appealing his conviction, as well as the government's use of wiretaps to obtain it. Wiretap evidence was also used in the case against Rengan Rajaratnam. "Rengan Rajaratnam and his brother shared more than DNA," Bharara said in a statement. "They also shared a penchant for insider trading." The SEC filed separate civil charges against Rengan Rajaratnam, whose full first name is Rajarengan. The SEC lawsuit alleges a broader scheme that netted $3 million in illicit gains for Rengan Rajaratnam and hedge funds he managed following trades on stocks including Polycom Inc and Hilton Hotels. The Polycom trade took place in January 2006 when Rengan Rajaratnam was a portfolio manager at Sedna Capital Management, which he founded in 2004. Before founding the firm, he worked briefly at Steven Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors LP as an analyst, the SEC said. 'GONNA RIP' Some of the allegations in the criminal case relate to activity that prosecutors said took place in March 2008. That made it an imperative to bring securities fraud charges on those allegations now, because of a five-year statute of limitations. Thursday's charges focus on two particular instances of Rajaratnam obtaining inside information. The first came in March 2008 after Rajiv Goel, then an executive at Intel Corp, told Raj Rajaratnam about Intel's plans to make a $1 billion investment in Clearwire. After a news report describing some details of that transaction surfaced, the younger Rajaratnam allegedly said on a phone call to his brother that the "Clearwire stuff ... just hit." "So, I don't know how much you got in today, but I think (Clearwire's share price) is gonna rip tomorrow," Rengan Rajaratnam said, referring to Raj Rajaratnam's Clearwire purchases that day and the possible direction of its stock price the next day. Prosecutors said Rengan Rajaratnam earned $101,070 from Clearwire trades in his personal brokerage account, while two Galleon funds he oversaw earned a combined $1.08 million. Goel cooperated with prosecutors in the probe. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud in 2010 and was sentenced in September to two years probation. SPILLING THE BEANS The second instance concerned information received from former McKinsey & Co director Anil Kumar, who was sentenced to two years probation last July following an earlier guilty plea to securities fraud charges. Prosecutors said that in August 2008 Kumar told Raj Rajaratnam about a deal between McKinsey client AMD and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and that three hours later Raj Rajaratnam advised his brother about it. They said that after Raj Rajaratnam bought 3 million AMD shares for a hedge fund he managed and 250,000 shares for a fund his brother managed, Rengan Rajaratnam told his brother by phone that another McKinsey partner "spilled his beans" and "volunteered the information about the investments" in AMD. The other McKinsey partner is David Palecek, according to the SEC complaint. He died in 2010. Catherine Redlich, a lawyer who represented Palecek in the investigation, in an email said "there is no proof David ever agreed to provide inside information to the Rajaratnams and no proof that he received money or other benefits from them for doing so." A representative for McKinsey did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Former McKinsey chief Rajat Gupta is separately appealing his conviction and two-year prison term for feeding information to Raj Rajaratnam that he had learned from board meetings at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, where he had been a director. The cases are U.S. v. Rajaratnam, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-cr-00211; and SEC v. Rajaratnam in the same court, No. 13-01894. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Gary Hill, Richard Chang, David Gregorio and Steve Orlofsky)

Iran will destroy Israeli cities if attacked: Khamenei

Iran will destroy Israeli cities if attacked: Khamenei Thu, Mar 21 10:41 AM EDT By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's clerical supreme leader said on Thursday the Islamic Republic would destroy the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if it came under attack from the Jewish state. "At times the officials of the Zionist regime (Israel) threaten to launch a military invasion but they themselves know that if they make the slightest mistake the Islamic Republic will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in an address to mark the Iranian new year. Israel has threatened military action against Iran unless it abandons nuclear activities which the West suspects are intended to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies this, saying it wants nuclear energy only for civilian purposes. In his televised speech, Khamenei said Iran's struggles over the past year against international sanctions imposed over its disputed nuclear program resembled a battle and that its enemies had confessed to trying to "cripple the Iranian nation". "What happened last year, we need to learn a lesson," he said, alluding to what he described as Iran's significant scientific and military advances. "This vibrant nation will never be brought to its knees." Khamenei also called for Iran's "natural right" to enrich uranium for nuclear energy to be recognized by the world. Western powers have refused, saying Iran has hidden nuclear work from U.N. inspectors and stonewalled their investigations. Talks between Iran and six world powers - the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany - are to resume early next month in a further attempt to strike a deal on Iranian nuclear aspirations. But Khamenei was cool to a U.S. suggestion of direct talks between the two countries, which severed diplomatic relations after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. "I am not optimistic about these talks. Why? Because our past experiences show that talks for the American officials do not mean for us to sit down and reach a logical solution ... What they mean by talks is that we sit down and talk until Iran accepts their viewpoint," he said. "Iran only wants its enrichment right, which is its natural right, to be recognized by the world." (Reporting By Zahra Hosseinian and Marcus George; Editing by Mark Heinrich)