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Oil Patch Insider J.C. Anderson on the comeback trail; Eni under pressure to buy
J.C. isn’t yet ready to go quietly into the night.
Even at 74, the “thrill of the chase” hasn’t left him.
So he’s returning to the Western Canada Sedimentary basin as chairman of a junior E&P company, convinced that there is still life in the oil and gas business.
Known as a tireless worker and shrewd operator, J.C. Anderson built substantial personal wealth as the founder in 1968 of Anderson Exploration — a company he sold in 2001 to Devon Energy for C$5.3 billion when it was Canada’s sixth largest independent producer.
Giving himself no time to slide into retirement, he formed Anderson Energy and is going public following a C$70 million takeover of Aquest Energy to double Anderson’s output to 3,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The level of confidence in the Oklahoma-born wildcatter is reflected in the fact that five of his seven managers were part of his team at Anderson Exploration.
The target for Anderson Energy is to reach 6,400 boe per day in 2006, although Chief Executive Officer Brian Dau concedes that acquisitions not major discoveries offer the best hope for growth.
For J.C. it’s a chance to recapture some of his past by taking up the challenge of building a public company. Eni chief under pressure to buy; Italian giant likes high-risk projects According to a July 1 Dow Jones Newswires report, Eni SpA’s new chief executive is under growing pressure to put the oil and gas giant back on the acquisition track.
The pressure comes from continued high oil prices and an expectation of more consolidation within industry to secure hydrocarbon resources.
Paolo Scaroni could resume his predecessor’s spending spree, the news agency reported, noting that the cash-rich Italian company’s share price has risen 40 percent since January as the oil industry looks at another round of consolidating.
Eni is rumored to be considering an Alaska acquisition that would give the energy giant a toe-hold in the northernmost state.
Dow Jones was quick to point out that Scaroni hasn’t “yet made any public comments on Eni’s growth strategy,” but that an influential board member recently voiced his support for expansion.
A Milan analyst told the news agency that one of the companies Eni is expected to make a bid for is PetroKazakhstan. (Eni already controls key assets in Kazakhstan.)
The news agency said another possible bid target is U.K. oil major BG PLC.
But although analysts said Eni could be back on the acquisition trail, they don’t expect the company to act aggressively, the news agency reported. For instance, they don’t expect Eni to get involved in a bidding war with Chevron and CNOOC over Unocal.
According to a recent report by Goldman Sachs, Scaroni has little experience in the oil and gas sector, where the ability to conduct lengthy and tough negotiations with foreign governments is a must.
The report also pointed out that Eni’s growth is more concentrated than other oil majors in a few giant projects in non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries.
Goldman Sachs also said Eni’s portfolio contains projects with a high level of risk and a high level of potential return. Sounds like a perfect match for Alaska.
Editor’s note: Oil Patch Insider is written by Gary Park and Kay Cashman. News tips can be emailed to [email protected].
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