Husky ready to open acquisition wallet

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Watch out for Husky Energy, once a scrawny after-thought among Canada’s five integrated oil companies and now ready to spend up to C$2 billion bulking its portfolio.

Chief Executive Officer John Lau told a conference call Oct. 23 that his company “already has the finances in place to meet any commitment up to (the level of C$1 billion-$2 billion) without resorting to the bank.”

Following its US$588 million acquisition of Marathon Oil’s upstream interests in Western Canada — and subsequent spin off of some of those properties to EOG Resources for $320 million — Husky is now “looking at ways to increase our production ... and we are looking at opportunities,” said Lau, without offering further details.

The Marathon deal pumped an additional 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day into Husky’s holdings, including what Lau described as a significant boost to gas output in northeastern British Columbia and Alberta.

Despite slight production declines in the third quarter, Husky reported a 40 percent jump in profits over a year earlier to C$243 million. Its shares have made solid gains over the past 52 weeks, climbing to C$23.30 from C$15.43.