Petrobras’s (Rio de Janeiro) minority stakes in Braskem and Deten Quimica have been excluded from Petrobras’s divestment program, according to a government decree published in Brazil’s Official Gazette last week.
The decree prevents Petrobras from immediately selling its minority stake in Braskem, which had been announced this year. A new decree will be required to release the stock sale.
Petrobras’s board earlier approved a strategic plan for 2017-21 that included the divestment of all petrochemical interests.
Petrobras began negotiations with Odebrecht (Salvador, Brazil) in July to promote the revision of the terms and conditions of the Braskem shareholders’ agreement, Petrobras said in a securities filing at that time. The shareholders’ agreement dates from February 2010. Odebrecht holds 50.1% of Braskem’s voting capital and 38.3% of the total capital. Petrobras holds 47% of Braskem’s voting capital and 36.1% of the total capital.
Braskem’s shares also trade on stock exchanges in Brazil and the United States. “The revision aims to improve Braskem’s corporate governance and the corporate relationship between all of the parties,” the filing stated.
By Francinia Protti-Alvarez
Source: Chemical Week
France has launched an offshore green hydrogen production platform at the country’s Port of Saint-Nazaire this week, along with its first offshore wind farm. The hydrogen plant, which its operators say is the world’s first facility of its type, coincides with the launch of another “first of its kind” facility in Sweden dedicated to storing hydrogen in an underground lined rock cavern (LRC).
The project sets up the Hydrogen Valley in Rome, the first industrial-scale technological hub for the development of the national supply chain for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen for the decarbonization of industrial processes and for sustainable mobility.
At first glance, hydrogen seems to be the perfect solution to our energy needs. It doesn’t produce any carbon dioxide when used. It can store energy for long periods of time. It doesn’t leave behind hazardous waste materials, like nuclear does. And it doesn’t require large swathes of land to be flooded, like hydroelectricity. Seems too good to be true. So…what’s the catch?
