/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/190507.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R L A T I N A M E R I C A Tuesday, May 7, 2019, Vol. 20, No. 91 Headlines A N T I G U A A N D B A R B U D A LIAT: Antigua & Barbuda Prepared to Purchase More Shares LIAT: Shareholders to Consider Proposal on Airline's Future A R G E N T I N A ARGENTINA: Economic Crisis is Looming Anew ORIGINCLEAR INC: Liggett & Webb Raises Going Concern Doubt YPF ENERGIA: Moody's Assigns 'B2/A1.ar' Ratings, Outlook Stable B R A Z I L BRAZIL: Brumadinho Disaster Takes a Toll on Economy ODEBRECHT: Rolls Out New Logo, Changes Name to OEC D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Retain Severance Pay, Unions Urge P U E R T O R I C O MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL: Case Summary & 20 Top Unsecured Creditors UNITED EMERGENCY: Case Summary & 20 Largest Unsecured Creditors T R I N I D A D A N D T O B A G O TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Real Estate Fraud On the Rise V E N E Z U E L A PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA: To Install Generators for Chevron - - - - - ===================================== A N T I G U A A N D B A R B U D A ===================================== LIAT: Antigua & Barbuda Prepared to Purchase More Shares -------------------------------------------------------- Barbados Today reports that the Antigua and Barbuda government said it is prepared to purchase the shares owned by the Barbados government in the cash-strapped regional airline LIAT, if Bridgetown indicates it is willing to sell them. "My understanding is that the Barbados government may be thinking of ridding themselves of the shares of LIAT. If that is in fact so then we will take them up, I am sure of that," Attorney General Steadroy "Cutie" Benjamin has told reporters, according to Barbados Today. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who attended the special Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit on security, did not officially commented on the statement by Benjamin, who did not confirm nor deny media reports in his country that the offer to purchase the shares are contained in a proposal that St. John's had submitted to shareholder governments during a meeting earlier on the financial and other problems facing the regional carrier, the report relays. "[I] dare say we are determined nonetheless that we have seen a change in the attitude of our partners in the region. They understand the situation that LIAT must remain flying," Mr. Benjamin said, the report discloses. About LIAT LIAT Ltd., formerly known as Leeward Islands Air Transport or LIAT, is an airline headquartered on the grounds of V. C. Bird International Airport in Antigua. It operates high-frequency inter-island scheduled services serving 15 destinations in the Caribbean. The airline's main base is VC Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with bases at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados and Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago. The airline is owned by seven Caribbean governments, with three being the major shareholders: Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines along with Dominica(94.7 %); other Caribbean governments, private shareholders and employees (5.3%). In the last few years, LIAT has been challenged with financial difficulties, often needing additional funding as the airline dealt with the high cost of operations. In November 2016, the Barbados government defended LIAT's operations, even as opposition legislators called for a cessation of the business. In early 2015, LIAT offered early retirement packages to employees in efforts to downsize. In 2014, LIAT knew it had to deal with unprofitable routes to make operations viable. In the third quarter of 2013, the airline's top management was shaken, with news Chief Executive Officer Captain Ian Brunton's sudden resignation. LIAT's current chief executive officer is Julie Reifer-Jones and chief financial officer is Rojer Inglis. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, serves as chairman of LIAT shareholders. LIAT: Shareholders to Consider Proposal on Airline's Future ----------------------------------------------------------- Dominican News Online reports that shareholders of LIAT Ltd., formerly known as Leeward Islands Air Transport or LIAT, have agreed to give further consideration to a proposal by Prime Minister Gaston Browne regarding the future direction of the airline. Antigua and Barbuda had made an oral presentation to a LIAT shareholders meeting in Antigua on May 1 and said they would present a written document in the following days, according to Dominican News Online. At the meeting, there was a suggestion that planes be sold as part of a "slim down of LIAT" and there's a general agreement among some shareholders that this is a matter which merits very serious consideration, the report notes. The possibility was also examined of having another and smaller airline to operate on routes that may not have been profitable for the current size of aircraft in LIAT's fleet, the report relays. The report discloses that earlier this month St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonzalves said the shareholders would probably have to ask the Caribbean Development Bank to sell the three aircraft it owns as loan security while LIAT continues to operate the other seven that airline had leased. Mr. Gonsalves -- chairman of the government shareholders [Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines] -- said he hopes the proposal from Antigua and Barbuda would be discussed by the shareholders before the end of May, the report relays. Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit confirmed to shareholder governments at the LIAT that his country does not have a "largesse of funds", but is willing to use the little it has to help the cash strapped airline, the report relays. About LIAT LIAT Ltd., formerly known as Leeward Islands Air Transport or LIAT, is an airline headquartered on the grounds of V. C. Bird International Airport in Antigua. It operates high-frequency inter-island scheduled services serving 15 destinations in the Caribbean. The airline's main base is VC Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with bases at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados and Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago. The airline is owned by seven Caribbean governments, with three being the major shareholders: Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines along with Dominica(94.7 %); other Caribbean governments, private shareholders and employees (5.3%). In the last few years, LIAT has been challenged with financial difficulties, often needing additional funding as the airline dealt with the high cost of operations. In November 2016, the Barbados government defended LIAT's operations, even as opposition legislators called for a cessation of the business. In early 2015, LIAT offered early retirement packages to employees in efforts to downsize. In 2014, LIAT knew it had to deal with unprofitable routes to make operations viable. In the third quarter of 2013, the airline's top management was shaken, with news Chief Executive Officer Captain Ian Brunton's sudden resignation. LIAT's current chief executive officer is Julie Reifer-Jones and chief financial officer is Rojer Inglis. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, serves as chairman of LIAT shareholders. ================= A R G E N T I N A ================= ARGENTINA: Economic Crisis is Looming Anew ------------------------------------------ Eliana Raszewski at Reuters reports that hobbled by recession and one of the world's highest inflation rates, Argentina may be lurching toward the next in a series of economic crises afflicting the country over the last 70 years. Consumer prices streaked more than 54 percent higher in the 12 months through March in defiance of central bank efforts to control inflation, fueling poverty and further damaging a business climate blighted by nose-bleed high borrowing rates, according to Reuters. The peso, which lost 50.5 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar in 2018, has shed another 15 percent so far this year, prompting the central bank to ease limits on foreign exchange market interventions, the report notes. Reuters discloses that the situation is threatening President Mauricio Macri's chances of being re-elected in October. Macri's Role Macri was elected in late 2015 as a champion of free markets, promising to "normalize" the economy after eight years under President Cristina Fernandez, a free-spending populist who placed tight government controls on the markets, the report cites. He hired a cabinet of technocrats who promised to use orthodox policies to bring down inflation, attract waves of foreign direct investment and put the country on track toward sustainable growth, Reuters relays. But some of the measures Macri promised would cure the country's economic ills just gave it a different ailment, the report notes. To attract investment, Macri set out to cut the fiscal deficit, the report says. First on his list of budget cuts: the generous public utility subsidies that helped families recover from a 2001/2002 sovereign debt default and shock currency devaluation that tossed millions of middle-class Argentines into poverty, the report notes. As useful as Macri's budget cuts were on the fiscal side, they had an unintended effect on people who had long taken the subsidies for granted. Every time a water, electricity or home heating gas subsidy was reduced, people's monthly utility bills rose, the report says. Reuters relays that the utility bills sapped the economy by reducing consumer spending in other areas and boosted inflation as businesses increased the price of goods and services to pay their own rising utility bills. Macri got off to a good start after taking office in December e2015, but Argentina's high labor costs and activist unions known for going on strike continued to scare off investors, the report relays. Moreover, when the United States raised interest rates last year, money started flowing out of Argentina and other riskier emerging markets, the report relays. All this pressured the peso, prompting the central bank to increase interest rates, which further weighed on the economy, the report discloses. A noxious circle of fear, low private investment, recession and inflation deepened, the report cites. About Argentina As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America, S&P Global Ratings in June 2018 affirmed its 'B+' long-term sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Argentina. S&P's long-term sovereign credit ratings on Argentina was raise to 'B+' from 'B' in October 2017. The outlook on the long-term ratings remains stable. In May 2018, Fitch Ratings affirmed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B' and revised the Outlook to Stable from Positive. In December 2017, Moody's Investors Service upgraded the Government of Argentina's local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured ratings to B2 from B3. The senior unsecured shelves were upgraded to (P)B2 from (P)B3. The outlook on the ratings is stable. At the same time, Argentina's short-term rating was affirmed at Not Prime (NP). The senior unsecured ratings for unrestructured debt were affirmed at Ca and the unrestructured senior unsecured shelf affirmed at (P)Ca. Moody's said the key drivers of the upgrade of the rating to B2 are: (1) a record of macro-economic reforms that are beginning to address long existing distortions in Argentina's economy; and (2) the likelihood that reforms will continue and in turn sustain the recent return to positive economic growth. The stable outlook on Argentina's B2 ratings balances Argentina's credit strengths of its large, diverse economy and moderate income levels against the credit challenges posed by still high fiscal deficits and a reliance on external financing, which increases its vulnerability to external event risk, said Moody's. Back in July 2014, Argentina defaulted on some of its debt, after expiration of a 30-day grace period on a US$539 million interest payment. Earlier that day, talks with a court-appointed mediator ended without resolving a standoff between the country and a group of hedge funds seeking full payment on bonds that the country had defaulted on in 2001. A U.S. judge had ruled that the interest payment couldn't be made unless the hedge funds led by Elliott Management Corp., got the US$1.5 billion they claimed. The country hasn't been able to access international credit markets since its US$95 billion default 13 years ago. On March 30, 2016, Argentina's Congress passed a bill that will allow the government to repay holders of debt that the South American country defaulted on in 2001, including a group of litigating hedge funds that won judgments in a New York court. The bill passed by a vote of 54-16. ORIGINCLEAR INC: Liggett & Webb Raises Going Concern Doubt ---------------------------------------------------------- OriginClear, Inc., filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission its annual report on Form 10-K, disclosing a net loss of $11,346,569 on $4,637,698 of sales for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, compared to a net loss of $5,231,805 on $3,355,632 of sales for the year ended in 2017. The audit report of Liggett & Webb, P.A., states that the Company does not generate significant revenue, incurred a net loss and has negative cash flows from operations. This raises substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The Company's balance sheet at Dec. 31, 2018, showed total assets of $1,359,605, total liabilities of $16,241,135, and a total shareholders' deficit of $16,624,530. A copy of the Form 10-K is available at: https://is.gd/RFtuin About OriginClear OriginClear, Inc., provides water treatment solutions. The company licenses its Electro Water Separation technology worldwide to treat heavily polluted waters, as well as to remove harmful micro-contaminants from drinking water using minimal energy, chemicals, and materials. It also designs and manufactures a line of water treatment systems for municipal, industrial, and pure water applications. In addition, the company offers a range of services, including maintenance contracts, retrofits, and replacement assistance; and rents equipment through contracts of varying duration, as well as provides prefabricated wastewater treatment products. It operates in the United States, Canada, Japan, Argentina, and the Middle East. The company was formerly known as OriginOil, Inc. and changed its name to OriginClear, Inc. in April 2015. OriginClear was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. YPF ENERGIA: Moody's Assigns 'B2/A1.ar' Ratings, Outlook Stable --------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Latin America Agente de Calificacion de Riesgo S.A. has assigned a B2 Global Scale rating and an A1.ar National Scale Corporate Family Rating to YPF Energia Electrica S.A. with a stable outlook. At the same time, Moody's assigned B2/A1.ar to YPF's planned note issuance of up to USD 50 million under its MTN Program. Proceeds from the notes will be used by the issuer to fund its investment program and will have a bullet amortization in 2 years from the issuance date. Moody's has reviewed the preliminary debt documentation provided to date and the assigned ratings assume that there will be no material variation from the drafts reviewed. RATINGS RATIONALE YPF Energia Electrica S.A.'s B2/A1.ar ratings reflect the stable and predictable nature of the company's business model, derived from a majority of long term contracted revenues, arising from long term power purchase agreements, under fixed price capacity payments. YPFEE has thermal PPAs with Cammesa (Compania Administradora del Mercado Electrico Argentino, the government of Argentina's -B2 stable- agency overseeing the country's wholesale electricity market). Cammesa's PPAs are long term tenor and receive capacity-based payments. In addition, the PPAs are denominated in USD, materially reducing currency devaluation risk while also providing protection against fuel price fluctuations, since the fuel will be mainly provided by Cammesa. The assigned ratings also incorporate the incipient additional diversification provided by long term contracts with private counterparties that the company is developing, with a high proportion of YPFEE's revenues under contracts with its main shareholder YPF Sociedad Anonima (YPF S.A., B2, stable). The assigned ratings capture Moody's expectation that YPFEE will enter any future contracts primarily with tier 1 corporations in Argentina. Moody's expects that the company will develop its growth strategy in a prudent manner with leverage peaking at a maximum of around four times debt to EBITDA as stated in the company's investment plan. Moody's also expects that YPFEE will prudently manage its new projects, using well-known technology mostly under fixed price, full Engineering and Procurement (EPC) contracts and long term service agreements with recognized equipment or service providers as counterparties. Moody's understands that YPFEE's investments will exceed by far the 20% of the company's property, plant and equipment value in the next 2 years, but will begin to stabilize at lower levels going forward. While ambitious, the program is not complex and carries moderate to low execution risks. The execution risk of the company's projects is further mitigated by the presence of YPFEE's minority shareholder, an affiliate of General Electric Company (GE: Baa1 Stable), given GE's vast experience in developing power projects and in the global power industry. The ratings are tempered by YPFEE's exposure to CAMMESA, which is closely associated with the credit profile of the Government of Argentina. In addition, all of the company's assets are located in Argentina with no material geographic diversification while its operations are carried in a power market that is developing and is undergoing significant challenges. Outlook The stable outlook is in line with the outlook of the sovereign and reflects Moody's view that the creditworthiness of the company cannot be completely de-linked from the credit quality of the government because of the role of CAMMESA as the main off-taker under the PPAs. The stable outlook also considers its expectation of prudent management of YPFEE's expansion projects, leading to a maximum leverage in the range of 4 to 5 times debt to EBITDA, to decrease steadily thereafter as new projects become operational and start generating revenues. What Could Change the Rating - Up YPFEE's B2 rating is constrained by Argentina's foreign currency bond ceiling; therefore, the company's ratings could face upward pressure if Argentina's foreign currency bond ceiling is upgraded. An upgrade of the ratings would also require YPFEE to continue to generate stable cash flows from both its thermal business and its wind farms, from which Moody's expects availability levels to continue over 90% and a load factor over 45% on average respectively, which it considers standard for power generation companies in Argentina. The completion of the planned expansion projects on time and on budget, leading to the gradual deleveraging of its operations, could also exert upward pressure. Quantitatively, a rating upgrade would require YPF Energia to generate CFO (pre WC) to debt of above 25% and positive free cash flow on a sustainable basis. A material reduction of its leverage, such as a debt to EBITDA ratio below 2 times on a consistent basis. What Could Change the Rating - Down Given the constraining factors for the rating, rating downgrade of the sovereign would likely result in negative credit pressure for this company. Additional negative pressure on the ratings could occur if YPFEE's financial policy became more aggressive than expected. Specifically, a debt to EBITDA ratio consistently above 5 times beyond 2020. At that point a ratio of CFO pre-working capital to debt below 20% would also create negative credit pressure. Corporate profile YPF Energia Electrica S.A. is an Argentine power generation company with 1,819 MW of installed capacity in thermal and renewable plants. During the last year the company has acquired and developed assets for an installed capacity of 723MW and it is currently developing additional 634MW of power capacity, with an estimated start of operations in 2020. YPFEE was formed in August 2013 as a result of a spin off from YPF S.A. , its main shareholder. YPF S.A. (B2, stable) is Argentina's largest energy company, fully integrated in oil and gas and majority owned by the government of Argentina. As part of YPFEE's growth strategy in March 2018 an affiliate of General Electric subscribed a 24.9% of the company's stock. =========== B R A Z I L =========== BRAZIL: Brumadinho Disaster Takes a Toll on Economy --------------------------------------------------- EFE News reports that the Brumadinho tragedy, the mining accident whose 100-day anniversary Brazilians are commemorating, has taken a toll on South America's largest economy because of its impact on the mining industry. The collapse on Jan. 25 of a tailings dam at Vale's Brumadinho mine killed 235 people, left 35 others missing and paralyzed iron ore production in Brazil, one of the world's leading sources of the mineral, causing a spike in prices on international commodities markets, according to EFE News. As reported on the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Feb. 11, 2019, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB-/B' long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Brazil. The outlook on the long-term ratings remains stable. At the same time, S&P affirmed its transfer and convertibility assessment of 'BB+'. S&P also affirmed its 'brAAA' national scale rating, and the outlook remains stable. ODEBRECHT: Rolls Out New Logo, Changes Name to OEC -------------------------------------------------- The Latin American Herald reports that Brazilian civil engineering and construction giant Odebrecht SA, a company that admitted two and a half years ago to massive bid-rigging schemes in many different countries, has changed its corporate name to OEC and adopted a new visual identity. "Odebrecht Engineering & Construction is announcing the renewal of its brand, adopting the initials 'OEC,'" the Salvador, Brazil-based company related in a statement. The change is part of a restructuring and transformation process begun after the company and its petrochemical unit Braskem pleaded guilty in December 2016 to paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to government officials to win business in Latin America and elsewhere, according to The Latin American Herald. The report notes that Odebrecht specifically admitted to paying around $788 million as part of a bribery and bid-rigging scheme that began as far back as 2001. As part of that settlement with authorities in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland, those companies also agreed to pay a combined total penalty of at least $3.5 billion, the report notes. The company's revamped visual identity, which was developed with the support of consulting firm Keenwork and will be used starting this month in all company communication, includes a new green, blue and gray logo with the initials OEC and the English words Odebrecht Engineering & Construction, the report relays. In 2018, the Odebrecht Group, which encompasses OEC, Braskem and five other businesses, carried out a similar move when it changed the name of its oil and gas producing subsidiary from Odebrecht Oil & Gas to Ocyan, the report recalls. In the statement, the construction titan highlighted some of the changes it has made in recent years to improve its governance, including "the implementation of a new compliance system," the "incorporation of independent advisors" and a "succession process that promoted a new generation of leaders," the report notes. "It was an intense journey that enabled us to start a process to rebuild confidence and the results are now emerging, also in the form of winning important new projects since last year," OEC CEO Fabio Januario said, the report discloses. In Brazil, Odebrecht was among more than a dozen construction companies that formed a cartel to secure inflated contracts from state oil company Petrobras through bribery and rigged bid processes, the report says. The Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigation into that massive corruption scheme led to prison terms for numerous top company executives, including former Odebrecht chairman and CEO Marcelo Odebrecht, and even ensnared former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio da Silva, who was sentenced to a lengthy prison term (recently reduced to eight years and 10 months), the report notes. Lula, who vehemently denies wrongdoing, was the front-runner in last October's presidential race until being barred from competing after being found guilty of accepting bribes from construction company OAS, the report relays. The case was based largely on plea-bargained testimony from people already convicted of corruption offenses, the report notes. Authorities in many other countries in Latin America and Africa also are investigating allegations that politicians accepted bribes from Odebrecht, the report adds. About Odebrecht SA Construtora Norberto Odebrecht SA is a Latin American engineering and construction company fully owned by the Odebrecht Group, one of the 10 largest Brazilian private groups. Construtora Norberto is the world's largest builder of hydroelectric plants, of sanitary and storm sewers, water treatment and desalination plants, transmission lines and aqueducts. The Group's main businesses are heavy engineering and construction based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Braskem S.A., its chemicals/petrochemicals company, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. As of May 5, 2009, the company continues to carry Standard and Poor's BB Issuer Credit ratings, and Fitch Rating's BB+ Issuer Default ratings and BB+ Senior Unsecured Debt ratings. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Dec. 2, 2016, The Wall Street Journal related that Marcelo Odebrecht, the jailed former head of Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht SA, agreed to sign a plea-bargain agreement in connection with Brazil's largest corruption probe ever, according to a person close to the negotiations. The move could roil the nation's political class yet again. The testimony of the former industrialist, which is part of the deal, has the potential to implicate numerous politicians who allegedly took kickbacks from contractors as part of a years-long graft ring centered on Brazil's state-run oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, known as Petrobras, according to The Wall Street Journal. =================================== D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C =================================== DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Retain Severance Pay, Unions Urge ----------------------------------------------------- Dominican Today reports that Unions Federation (CNUS) president Rafael (Pepe) Abreu said the issue of the Labor Code reform should be shelved because it has "no way out." Mr. Abreu said the topic should archived because five years of talks have shown that labor and management won't agree on the main topic: severance pay, which was approved in 1964, according to Dominican Today. "Someday severance pay will cease to exist but that will depend on the development of social security. Meanwhile we cannot give up on that because it's a necessity," Abreu told Listin Diario, the report notes. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America in September 2018, Fitch Ratings affirmed Dominican Republic's Long-Term, Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-' with a Stable Outlook. ===================== P U E R T O R I C O ===================== MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL: Case Summary & 20 Top Unsecured Creditors --------------------------------------------------------------- Two affiliates that have filed voluntary petitions seeking relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code: Debtor Case No. ------ -------- Marine Environmental Remediation Group LLC 19-18994 12 Hillcrest Road Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046-1327 MER Group Puerto Rico LLC 19-18995 Pier 3, Roosevelt Roads Ceiba, PR 00735 Business Description: MER Group -- http://www.mergroupllc.com-- provides ship recycling services at facilities in the United States and Europe. MER claims to have pioneered an environmentally-sensitive process of dismantling obsolete vessels that meets or exceeds all U.S. EPA, OSHA, state and Commonwealth regulations. Chapter 11 Petition Date: May 1, 2019 Court: United States Bankruptcy Court District of New Jersey (Newark) Judge: Hon. Vincent F. Papalia Debtors' Counsel: Jeffrey D. Vanacore, Esq. PERKINS COIE LLP 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 22nd Floor New York City, NY 10112 Tel: (212) 262-6912 (212) 262-6900 Fax: (212) 977-1642 E-mail: JVanacore@perkinscoie.com - and - Schuyler G. Carroll, Esq. PERKINS COIE LLP 30 Rockefeller Plaza 22nd Floor New York, NY 10112-0085 Tel: 212-262-6900 E-mail: scaroll@perkinscoie.com Estimated Assets: $1 million to $10 million Estimated Liabilities: $1 million to $10 million The petitions were signed by Martin Vulaj, chief executive officer. A full-text copy of Marine Environmental 's petition containing, among other items, a list of the Debtor's 20 largest unsecured creditors is available for free at: http://bankrupt.com/misc/njb19-18994.pdf A full-text copy of MER Group's petition containing, among other items, a list of the Debtor's 20 largest unsecured creditors is available for free at: http://bankrupt.com/misc/njb19-18995.pdf UNITED EMERGENCY: Case Summary & 20 Largest Unsecured Creditors --------------------------------------------------------------- Debtor: United Emergency Medical Corp. P.O. Box 1880 Bayamon, PR 00960 Business Description: United Emergency Medical Corp. is a privately held company that provides medical transportation services. Chapter 11 Petition Date: May 2, 2019 Court: United States Bankruptcy Court District of Puerto Rico (Old San Juan) Case No.: 19-02477 Judge: Hon. Mildred Caban Flores Debtor's Counsel: Ruben Gonzalez Marrero, Esq. GONZALEZ & VELASCO LAW OFFICE URB Santa Rosa Carr 174 BLQ 21-24 Bayamon, PR 00959 Tel: 787 798-8600 E-mail: rgm@microjuris.com; velascolaw@hotmail.com; rgmattorney1pr@gmail.com Total Assets: $1,681,407 Total Liabilities: $825,705 The petition was signed by Josue Quintero Barroso, president. A full-text copy of the petition containing, among other items, a list of the Debtor's 20 largest unsecured creditors is available for free at: http://bankrupt.com/misc/prb19-02477.pdf ===================================== T R I N I D A D A N D T O B A G O ===================================== TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Real Estate Fraud On the Rise ------------------------------------------------ Asha Javeed at Trinidad and Tobago News reports that fraud in real estate in Trinidad and Tobago, in particular identify theft, is on the increase. In 2014, the Police Service received 45 reports of fraudulent land transactions in the sum of $16.3 million, Trinidad and Tobago News recalls. By 2017, the number of reports stood at 75, valued at $17.6 million, according to Trinidad and Tobago News. The report notes that the Financial Intelligencxe Unit's (FIU) 2018 report listed just seven suspicious transactions. But those seven suspicious transactions were valued at $24,329,545. ================= V E N E Z U E L A ================= PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA: To Install Generators for Chevron --------------------------------------------------------- Luc Cohen and Deisy Buitrago at Reuters report that Venezuela's state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) said it would install 20 generators to make a crude project partly owned by Chevron "independent" of the national grid, after a wave of blackouts crippled crude production in the OPEC nation. In a statement, the company said the generators had a total capacity of 50 megawatts and would "increase the stability of (electricity) service for the extraction of daily barrels" at fields operated by Petroboscan, a joint venture between PDVSA and Chevron, which owns a 39 percent stake, in western Venezuela. PDVSA said it expected the generators at the Zulia 9 substation would be installed by the end of May. The South American country's oil output fell to under 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, a drop of almost 500,000 bpd from the prior month due to the blackouts and the impact of U.S. sanctions. Most of PDVSA's operations depend on electricity supply from the national grid. PDVSA said it had activated a generator that would allow for an increase in crude output at the Petroindependencia project in the heavy crude Orinoco belt, another PDVSA-Chevron joint venture. On Friday, PDVSA added that it would install a 32-megawatt turbine at the Punta Gorda electric plant in Cabimas, which it said would stabilize electricity supply to oil production in Maracaibo Lake and along the eastern coast of the lack. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Aug. 24, 2018, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'SD' global scale issuer credit rating and 'D' issue-level ratings on Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). ********* S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America is a daily newsletter co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA, Marites O. Claro, Joy A. Agravante, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2746. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The TCR Latin America subscription rate is US$775 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are US$25 each. For subscription information, contact Peter A. Chapman at 215-945-7000. . * * * End of Transmission * * *