CNOOC Petroleum North America

Last updated

CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC
FormerlyCNOOC Nexen (2013-2018); Nexen (2000-2013); Canadian Occidental (1971-2000)
Company type Subsidiary
IndustryOil and gas, energy
Founded12 July 1971 (1971-07-12)
Headquarters
Calgary, Alberta
,
Canada
Key people
Fang Zhi [1] (CEO)
Li Fanrong (Chairman)
Revenue$6.7 billion CAD (2012) [2]
$333 million CAD (2012) [2]
Total equity $8.8 billion CAD (2012) [3]
Number of employees
3,000 (2013) [3]
Parent CNOOC Limited
Website intl.cnoocltd.com/operations/americas/canada

CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC, formerly known as Nexen, is a Canadian oil and gas company based in Calgary, Alberta.

Contents

Originally the Canadian subsidiary of US-based Occidental Petroleum (known as Canadian Occidental Petroleum or CanOxy), it became an independent company, Nexen, in 2000. Nexen was acquired by Hong Kong–based CNOOC Limited in 2013, and was rebranded under the current name at the end of 2018.

It had three growth strategies as of 2013: oil sands and shale gas in western Canada as well as conventional exploration and development primarily in the North Sea, offshore in West Africa, and deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. [4]

History

The Nexen Building in Calgary Nexen Building 2007.JPG
The Nexen Building in Calgary

Nexen started in 1971 as Canadian Occidental Petroleum (CanOxy), and was 80% owned by Occidental Petroleum, an oil company based in Los Angeles. In the first decade of its existence, CanOxy was fairly Canadian-oriented. During the 1980s and 1990s they increased their international holdings, first in the Gulf of Mexico, then into places like Yemen and the North Sea. Further Canadian assets were also acquired.

In the 1990s, CanOxy purchased the assets of what once was the first state-owned oil and gas company in North America; Wascana Energy Inc., formerly known as SaskOil. Founded by Saskatchewan New Democratic Party Premier Allan Blakeney in 1973, Saskoil was privatized in 1986 by Progressive Conservative Premier Grant Devine. [5]

In 2000, the company partnered with the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to buy back Occidental Petroleum's shares. [6] The newly independent company changed its name to Nexen and moved into the former headquarters of NOVA Corporation, what is now known as the Nexen Building. [7]

Acquisition by CNOOC Limited

In July 2012, CNOOC Limited, a major subsidiary of CNOOC headquartered in Beijing, announced its intention to acquire Nexen for C$15.1 billion. [8] The proposal was accepted by shareholders in September under interim chief executive Kevin Reinhart, [9] but was a matter of significant public and political debate in Canada. [10] [11] Prime Minister Stephen Harper approved the deal in December 2012 but simultaneously announced more stringent guidelines for foreign acquisitions of Canadian oil sands companies. [12]

The acquisition closed in February 2013, representing China's largest-ever foreign acquisition. [13] Nexen's common stock shareholders received cash proceeds of US$27.50, without interest, whereas preferred stock shareholders of Nexen received cash proceeds of CAD$26, plus accrued and unpaid dividends without interest. [4] In April 2014, Fang Zhi replaced Kevin Reinhart as the firm's chief executive. [14] Two years after the deal, in 2015, about 14% of the company's workforce (300 in Calgary and 40 in the field) was fired in a move the drew concern in relation to Chinese ownership, but which at the time was consistent with layoffs at other companies in the industry in response to global oil price depression. [14]

The Nexen name disappeared from both legal and practical perspectives on 31 December 2018, and it became known as CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC henceforth. [15] Simultaneously and with the same date of effectiveness, related Nexen subsidiaries and affiliates changed both their legal and branding names. Its American depository receipts remained concurrently traded on the TSX and its ultimate parent company, CNOOC Limited, remained a foreign reporting issuer in Canada.

As of 2019 the company had "shrunk considerably" since the CNOOC acquisition, having gone through multiple rounds of layoffs amid a difficult Canadian oil and gas industry as a whole. [16] In 2019 the company moved its headquarters within downtown Calgary from its former namesake Nexen Building to The Bow, subleasing 8 floors from Cenovus [17] and reducing its office space from approximately 620,000 sq ft to approximately 300,000 sq ft. [16]

Energy operations

Nexen has interests in Canada (including the Athabasca oil sands through a 7.23% ownership of Syncrude and the Long Lake project), the UK North Sea (including the Buzzard oil field), the United States, and offshore West Africa. Beginning in February 2013, Nexen took accountability for managing approximately $8 billion in CNOOC Limited assets located throughout North and Central America.

Long Lake

The Long Lake project in the Athabasca Oil Sands was initiated in 2001, as a 50/50 partnership between Nexen and OPTI Canada. It was started in order to develop the Long Lake site using steam-assisted gravity drainage and OPTI's OrCrude process for on-site upgrading. Production capacity at Long Lake was estimated 72,000 barrels per day (11,400 m3/d) of bitumen per day which could be upgraded to 58,500 barrels per day (9,300 m3/d) of synthetic crude. The proved reserves at the Long Lake site are 310,000,000 bbls. [18] In 2017, the site produced approximately 41,000 barrels per day (6,500 m3/d) of bitumen. [19]

The Long Lake site has had a troubled history, including OPTI's near-bankruptcy in 2011 (with Nexen growing its ownership stake to 65% and eventually 100%), [20] a significant oil spill in 2015, [21] and an explosion in 2016 that resulted in two deaths and the permanent shutdown of the upgrader. [19] [22]

In 2018, Nexen announced a $400 million expansion project, which is expected to begin production in late 2020. [19]

Marketing

Nexen also has an Energy Marketing division that trades and markets proprietary and third-party crude oil, natural gas, liquid natural gas, and electrical power.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athabasca oil sands</span> Oil and bitumen deposits in Alberta, Canada

The Athabasca oil sands, also known as the Athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of bitumen, a heavy and viscous form of petroleum, in northeastern Alberta, Canada. These reserves are one of the largest sources of unconventional oil in the world, making Canada a significant player in the global energy market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Husky Energy</span> Canadian energy company

Husky Energy Inc. was a Canadian company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It operated in Western and Atlantic Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region, with upstream and downstream business segments. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Husky Energy was ranked as the 1443rd-largest public company in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ovintiv</span> American energy company

Ovintiv Inc. is an American petroleum company based in Denver. The company was formed in 2020 through a restructuring of its Canadian predecessor, Encana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occidental Petroleum</span> American oil company

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States and the Middle East as well as petrochemical manufacturing in the United States, Canada, and Chile. It is incorporated under the Delaware General Corporation Law and headquartered in Houston. The company ranked 183rd on the 2021 Fortune 500 based on its 2020 revenues and 670th on the 2021 Forbes Global 2000.

CNOOC Limited (中国海洋石油有限公司) is China's largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas, noted as such in 2010. It is a major subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and has been listed in Hong Kong SEHK: 883 since February 2001. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange from 2001 to 2021. It was on the Toronto Stock Exchange between 2013 and 2021. It was admitted as a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Index in July 2001.

Talisman Energy Inc. was a Canadian independent petroleum company that existed between 1993 and 2015. The company was created from the assets of BP Canada after British Petroleum divested its 57 percent stake in June 1992. It was one of Canada's largest independent oil and gas companies, and operated globally, with operations in Canada and the United States of America in North America; Colombia, South America; Algeria in North Africa; United Kingdom and Norway in Europe; Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Australia in the Far East; and Kurdistan in the Middle East. Talisman Energy has also built the offshore Beatrice Wind Farm in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anadarko Petroleum</span> American energy company

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation was a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. It was organized in Delaware and headquartered in two skyscrapers in The Woodlands, Texas: the Allison Tower and the Hackett Tower, both named after former CEOs of the company. In 2019, the company was acquired by Occidental Petroleum.

OPTI Canada is a Calgary, Alberta based oil sands development company. Established in 1999, its sole project is the Long Lake oil sands project, of which it owns 35%. The remaining 65% is owned by project operator Nexen Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obsidian Energy</span> Canadian oil and natural gas company

Obsidian Energy Ltd. is a mid-sized Canadian oil and natural gas production company based in Calgary, Alberta.

Japan Canada Oil Sands Limited (JACOS) was an oil sands extraction company. It was the operator of the Hangingstone oil sands project. JACOS was acquired by Greenfire Resources Operating Corporation in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian petroleum companies</span>

Although there are numerous oil companies operating in Canada, as of 2009, the majority of production, refining and marketing was done by fewer than 20 of them. According to the 2013 edition of Forbes Global 2000, canoils.com and any other list that emphasizes market capitalization and revenue when sizing up companies, as of March 31, 2014 these are the largest Canada-based oil and gas companies.

Cenovus Energy Inc. is a Canadian integrated oil and natural gas company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Its offices are located at Brookfield Place, having completed a move from the neighbouring Bow in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Lake (oil sands)</span> Airport in Anzac

The Long Lake oil sands upgrader project is an in situ oil extraction project near Anzac, Alberta, 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Fort McMurray in the Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta.

Saskatchewan Oil & Gas Corporation, also known as SaskOil, was a Canadian Crown corporation owned by the Government of Saskatchewan from 1973 to 1986, when the company went public under the name Wascana Energy Inc. In 1987, the last remaining government interest in the corporation was sold to Canadian Occidental Petroleum and in 1997 it was bought entirely by Canadian Occidental.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ormat Technologies</span>

Ormat Technologies, Inc. is an international company based in Reno, Nevada, United States. Ormat supplies alternative and renewable geothermal energy technology. The company has built over 190 power plants and installed over 3,200 MW. As of January 2021 it owns and operates 933 MW of geothermal and recovered energy based power plants. Ormat has supplied over 1000 turbochargers worldwide: North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company's products also include turbines, generators, and heat exchangers.

Pembina Pipeline is a Canadian corporation that operates transportation and storage infrastructure delivering oil and natural gas to and from parts of Western Canada. Since 2003, storage has also included ethylene at one location. Western Canada is the source of all products transported by Pembina pipeline systems which include the Syncrude pipeline, Horizon pipeline, and Cheecham oilsands pipelines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China National Offshore Oil Corporation</span> Chinese national oil company

China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC Group, is the third-largest national oil company in China, after CNPC and China Petrochemical Corporation. The CNOOC Group focuses on the exploitation, exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas in offshore China, along with its subsidiary COOEC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Natural Resources</span> Canadian hydrocarbon exploration company

Canadian Natural Resources Limited, or CNRL or Canadian Natural is a senior Canadian oil and natural gas company that operates primarily in the Western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, with offshore operations in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea, and offshore Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon. The company, which is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, has the largest undeveloped base in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It is the largest independent producer of natural gas in Western Canada and the largest producer of heavy crude oil in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Canada</span> Canadian subsidiary of Gulf Oil

Gulf Canada was a Canadian integrated petroleum company that existed between 1944 and 2001. Gulf Oil Corporation began operating in Canada in 1942, and two years later formed a Canadian subsidiary called the Canadian Gulf Oil Company. In 1956 Canadian Gulf Oil merged with the British American Oil Company and until 1969 operated under the British American name. In 1969, British American amalgamated with its subsidiaries into a new company called Gulf Oil Canada Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vicki Hollub</span> American businesswoman and mineral engineer

Vicki Hollub is an American businesswoman and mineral engineer. She has been the president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum since April 2016; the first woman to lead a major American oil company.

References

  1. ↑ Cattaneo, Claudia. "Nexen chief Kevin Reinhart to be replaced by CNOOC executive Fang Zhi". Financial Post. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Nexen Inc. financials". Google Finance Canada. Archived from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Nexen Inc. (Public, TSE:NXY)". Google Finance Canada. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Nexen Announces Completion of Acquisition by CNOOC Limited". Yahoo! Finance. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "SASKOIL". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan University of Regina . Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "Canadian Occidental changing name to Nexen Inc". The Globe and Mail. 28 September 2000. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  7. ↑ Jang, Brent (30 September 2000). "CanOxy must grin and bear with Nexen". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  8. ↑ de la Merced, Michael J.; Austen, Ian. "Chinese Oil Company Bids $15 Billion for Canadian Producer". Dealbook. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019.
  9. ↑ "Nexen shareholders vote to approve CA$15.1-billion takeover offer from CNOOC". The Whitehorse Star. Vol. 112, no. 183. Whitehorse, Yukon: Whitehorse Star Ltd. The Canadian Press. 20 September 2012. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Nexen sale to China's CNOOC backed by Canada government". BBC News. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  11. ↑ Erman, Michael; Ljunggren, David (8 December 2012). "Canada OK's foreign energy takeovers, but slams door on any more". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  12. ↑ Wherry, Aaron (7 December 2012). "Harper government approves CNOOC and Petronas deals". Maclean's. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  13. ↑ Rocha, Euan (25 February 2012). "CNOOC closes $15.1 billion acquisition of Canada's Nexen". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  14. 1 2 Stephenson, Amanda (18 March 2015). "Nexen layoffs to stick". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta. pp. D1, D5 – via Newspapers.com.
    The link provided above is to page D1; see also link to page D5.
  15. ↑ "Certificate of Change of Name". 31 December 2018.
  16. 1 2 Morgan, Geoffrey (6 June 2019). "CNOOC's Canadian unit laying off 100 people". Financial Post. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019.
  17. ↑ Toneguzzi, Mario (24 February 2020). "Calgary's 600,000-sq.-ft. Nexen Building sits vacant". Calgary: Real Estate News Exchange (RENX). Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  18. ↑ OPTI Canada Inc. (17 December 2008). "OPTI Outlines Capital Expenditure Plans, Divests Long Lake Interest". News Release. RigZone. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  19. 1 2 3 "Nexen Energy announces $400-million expansion of Long Lake oilsands project". CBC News. The Canadian Press. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  20. ↑ "Opti shares plunge". CBC News. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  21. ↑ "Nexen fined $750,000 over huge Long Lake pipeline spill near Fort McMurray". CBC News. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  22. ↑ Malbeuf, Jamie (18 April 2019). "Nexen fined in oilsands explosion that killed 2 workers". CBC News. Retrieved 26 January 2020.

51°2′47″N114°4′47″W / 51.04639°N 114.07972°W / 51.04639; -114.07972

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.