The Contract

The Mentor - in medias res

The Mentor is independent and works anonymously in the background. The HANSE Mentor is a person who has a very successful track record in energy-, gas and crude oil and fields such as Governance & Public Policy, energy- and oil banking and trading, contracting and financing. 

HANSE Mentor since 1972

    Plain Language Comments

    Miscellaneous

    HANSE Restrictions and Undesired Persons

    Login your web-account to visit latest updates regarding embargos, other restricted persons or companies suspecious to fraudulent activities. Details upon reasonable request only. Report Fraud to the Mentor > If you suspect to have received a false business offer, please contact us. If you believe you have received a fraudulent communication, we would advise that you contact your the relevant authorities.



    Money talks, bullshit walks

    A trader can talk about whom he want to trade with and whom he does not want to trade with, but at the end of the day a trader would always sell to the buyer bidding the best price. Decisions are based oncashing in money and not on popuar talk



    Patience is like eating an elephant

    Some business will come slowly. It takes a lot of effort to get a final result. Take it step by step (one bite at the time). Especially in business development.



    Don't be shy, else you die

    Take initiative and be a decision trader. If not, the competition would take your business away. Be seen in the market. Without a good network or partner(s) it is difficult to create business. You must have self-confidence when you are trading. If you miss that you will never be happy in your job, it will give stress.



    ICPO. What behind?

    If any intermediary offers you an ICPO you know they are inexperienced or trying to scam you. Only the end buyer can offer such a document. The intermediary should first ask the supplier for a “RFQ” (Request for Quote) not issue a (LOI). The next document is an “Offer” for you as a “buyer/seller intermediary” to consider from the supplier (“Offer to Sell”) Not (ICPO). HANSE does never issue nor attend those papers.



    Anti-Corruption

    HANSE observes a zero-tolerance policy with regards to any form of unlawful, improper or dishonest practices, including but not limited to bribery, corruption, fraud or misrepresentation.
    Suppliers must not give, promise or offer to any of the HANSE directors, officers, employees or representatives (or their respective family members), be it directly or indirectly, money, gifts, entertainment or any other inappropriate financial and/or non-financial benefit for the purpose of securing contracts or business transactions, or to obtain a business advantage.



    Time Wasting

    The biggest time waster is day dreaming. Thinking about what you will do or how things could be will get you absolutely nowhere. Take action if you have a business plan. If you do not have a plan, get one. Dreams will not put one penny in your bank account. Action will.





    Finance

    Cash Flow, Corporate or Private Liquidity

    The cash flow statement is one of the most important but often overlooked components of a firm’s financial statements. In its entirety, it lets an individual, whether they are an analyst, investor, credit provider, or auditor, learn the sources and uses of a company's cash. Without proper cash management, regardless of how fast a firm’s sales or reported profits on the income statement are growing, a firm cannot survive without carefully ensuring that it takes in more cash than it sends out the door or apply for financing or investments.



    Shariah Modes of Islamic Financing

    HANSE may consider all Shari’ah modes of financing for trade operations. The following modes of financing are the most widely used: Murabaha - Installment Sale Istisna'a In addition to these modes, HANSE is working on importing employing more modes of financing in the future such as Leasing, Bay Salam as well as Wakalah, Ja’ala for the financing of services.



    Trading

    POP prove of Product

    A Proof of Product (‘POP’) is often requested by buyers or intermediaries who believe it will give them some guarantee of the existence of the product and ability of the supplier to deliver. Many POPs produced are fake. The POP offers no proof at all, because once a POP has been drafted, it is automatically out of date. The product could have been sold to another buyer and no longer exists. If an end Buyer were dealing with a supplier, anything can be suggested especially in matters of POP.



    Broker Chainsj

    If you’re real serious about dealing in this market and transacting business with us, hereunder in this category my basic tips for you. Do not get involved with broker chains. The key is to have access to principals. I do NOT work any offer in which I do NOT have access to BOTH SELLER and BUYER. Worst are the people who do nothing but forward Emails without even reading them. They for sure will never get you to the “finish line” as they are just ignorant messengers good for nothing. No transparency no deal. This is business not the CIA. Work with a small group of trusted colleagues rather than chasing every deal.



    About NCNDA and NDA

    NCNDA stands for (Non Circumvention, Non Disclosure Agreement.) This document is not worth the paper it is written on. If you have your name on this document and get circumvented, do you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay to take this through the international courts? This is a document that is very hard to enforce. Only a misinformed or unskilled intermediary/broker would send you a NCNDA. Is the NCNDA any protection for an intermediary?

    Not even close to protection. Once again, the NCNDA is a totally useless piece of paper unless the product is in your own country. Internationally, these documents floating around the Internet are impossible to enforce in a court of law.



    Trading is a zero sume game. Your loss is their gain

    Since there are more loser than winners in the market, trading can be very profitable, if you 're good.



    Joker Brokers

    There are a lot of people who would like to become a brokers and act like a broker. These people send offers on email and use the internet to make various offers. Often the quantities are too big and unrealistic. The prices are not even close to real values. Terms like LOI, POP, RWA, IPCO, FCO etcetera are mentioned in the offer. The market has difficuties to take these offers serious and never replies on this business, These types of brokers are therefore rightly called "joderbrokers".



    Fraud Alert

    Warning about companies identifying themselves as companies of the HANSE Group.
    Companies calling themselves "HANSE partners or members" , have established websites and are engaged in activities on the Internet, identifying themselves as companies of the HANSE Group. Please beware that those companies have absolutely no relationship or association with HANSE group



    Independent Fuel Trade

    Many traders have learned the hard way, that venturing into the unregulated space of independent fuel trading is wrought with pitfalls, fraud and uncertainty, thereby making Trade-Ex one of the greatest resource assets to the independent trader. Entering into a trade transaction, with the comfort of knowing that the Seller's fuel has been physically verified and the Buyer's funds are sitting in escrow ready to close is the epitome of 'best-case-scenario' in the fuel trade. A “Trade Desk” normally flips to Exit Buyers, but must have the funds to “Buy the Fuel” first, all else is illegal, period. Therefore, once you own it, then you can sell it.



    Some News

    Oil Market Price

    With crude starting the year strongly, HANSE OIL experts said they expects Brent to reach $65 a barrel by the summer, sooner than previously anticipated.



    2021 Good reasons to become a HANSE Partner

    With 2021 shaping up to be one of the most important years for the energy sector in modern history, there is no better time to become a HANSE Partner



    Legal

    Bank not liable on Commitment Letter

    A recent case in California involving a lender's decision not to extend a loan after issuing a commitment letter to the prospective borrower underscores the importance of carefully documenting conditions to commitment letters. While the proposed borrower agreed to the terms of the commitment letter, because the letter did not set forth all of the material terms of the proposed loan, the court decided that no binding agreement was reached regarding the full scope of terms of the proposed loan. First, the court noted that a commitment letter, for which a fee is paid, constitutes an option to the applicant to obtain a loan on specified terms. But the court also observed that a loan commitment is not binding on a lender unless (a) the commitment letter contains all of the material terms of the loan and (b) either the lender's obligation is unconditional or its stated conditions have been satisfied.



    Contract Conclusion Language

    Recent decisions by the Texas Supreme Court should put practitioners and industry members on notice that attention to specific language in a contract is crucial, and that even if certain language has a common understanding in the industry, the court will defer to the plain meaning of that language over industry custom and practice in the event of a dispute as to interpretation.



    Subject to Contract

    The legal effect of the phrase “subject to contract” is clear, which is to enable either party to avoid entering into contractual relations by refusing to sign a written contract or reach agreement on any outstanding terms, as the case may be. Similarly, no contract comes into existence when an agreement is reached “subject to board approval” by one or other party, because the effect of those words is to postpone the decision on whether to enter into legal relations to a subsequent stage.



    Force Majeure - Burden of Prove

    The burden of prove rests upon the person who claims that the event which prevented his performance was beyond his reasonable congtrol. Thus, the seller would have to establish that an event within the clause(eg embargo) prevented fulfillment of his contract with the buyer. He had to prove that no goods of the contract decription were available and that following notice of the event, he was unable to obtain such goods by the exercise of any means reasonably open to him.



    Offer and Acceptance

    A quotation or a "letter of intent" are usually considered as an "invitation". However, if they show an binding intention, they may be treated as an offer. Acceptance is an epression of assent to the terms of the offer. It must correspond to the terms of the offer. If it contains varied or additional terms, it is regarded as a counter offer.



    Humburg

    Hopeless

    Same procedure every day: receiving emails offering huge transactions sent from private, anonymous email addresses ..we as mandates from a refinery..., or as end-seller, as title older, ...under perjury of...., loaded on vessel.., and so on. What utter humburg. By the way: Refiners do never appoint so-called "mandates". Period.



    Fake Offers received - without comments

    it is not even alone a fake but also nonsens: Read here: no content



    Countries

    Buying from Nigeria

    Buying crude oil from Nigeria on OFF-OPEC terms is an extremely difficult process. The second you think you’ve got the right crude oil seller, you realise there’s a problem somewhere, and you’re back to square one. The reality is no seller is truly guaranteed of a next shipment since anything can happen at any time, and so when planning, every buyer must always put that into consideration. Your financial security as a buyer is more important than anything else. And using experienced hands to ensure the procedure—while being what is accepted in the industry—is also safe for you the buyer, is extremely important. Many more reasons cause OFF-OPEC crude oil transactions to fail in Nigeria, but above all else, these are some of the most common reasons.



    Russia Oil Trading

    HANSE OIL Russia has warned HANSE OIL traders to be on alert when importing oil from their Russian counterparts. A note said that many offers from Russian traders during the coronavirus pandemic are fake adding that this has led to some buyers being defrauded. HANSE Manegement said that the fake offers are characterised by extremely low prices for huge volumes, which are attractive to buyers and claiming that brokers are 'mandated or authorized' by a refinery which is fraudulent nonsense alltogether. If you’re asked to pay for something allegedly to one of the Russian authority and they’re the direct payees with accounts in some privately owned banks, it’s 100 % a scam. There are no export license requirements in Russia for petroleum products (the only exception is natural gas in a gas form). So if your potential counterparty requests you to pay for an export license, it’s a scam. PERIOD!



    Nigeria Oil Trading

    Buying crude oil from Nigeria on OFF-OPEC terms is an extremely difficult process. HANSE has raised a red flag (High-Risk) over a potential fraud risk in relation to oil trades involving Nigerian traders. Some Nigerian traders have tried to conclude their deals in the name of Nigeria state-NNPC through personal emails, HANSE OIL said.To clinch the deals with buyers, Russian traders have looked to sign letters of intent and place irrevocable corporate purchase orders without going through proper due diligence, HANSE OIL said.



    Buying from Russia

    Be aware of fraudulent schemes that might affect potential petroleum products' buyers. Many Singapore companies are seeking out supply sources of petroleum products (among them mazut M-100, diesel D-2, jet fuel and others) from Russia in the Internet. There are lots of companies over there who claim to be ready to sell products of the Russian origin in high volumes on a long-term basis. Unfortunately, some of them are fake (fraudulent) companies using bogus documents and/or letterheads of corporate names of major Russian oil corporations (like Rosneft, LukOil etc.).



    Contact

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