|
Oil Patch Insider First Calgary takes time out to review bids; Van Meurs stuck
It will take several weeks before shareholders of First Calgary Petroleums learn whether the Algerian desert is their personal gold mine.
The Calgary-based company, with no production but access to a reported 13 trillion cubic feet equivalent of reserves, said April 16 it needs time to weigh a “number of complex proposals” for the company or its assets.
The April 15 bid deadline passed in a swirl of rumors that big-time players such as Royal Dutch/Shell, Norway’s Statoil, Spain’s Repsol and France’s Total and Gaz de France have all participated in a detailed study of First Calgary’s assets.
But First Calgary will “not comment on the forms of the proposals or the identities of the parties.”
Along with its advisers at Lehman Brothers, the company said it will take the “next few weeks” to hold discussions with some of the participants “with a view towards reaching a conclusion of the process.”
It emphasized that there is no guarantee that any deal will be done.
First Calgary has previously indicated that it may drill more wells if the bids don’t measure up to its expectations.
There has also been industry speculation of a partnership to develop the assets.
Meanwhile, Algeria has become one of the hottest gas plays in the world.
New exploration blocks were awarded in early April to several companies, led by Shell, which desperately needs new reserves to restore some balance to its portfolio, and BP.
The Algerian government has also been opening its doors to foreigners by introducing a new law that reduces the power of state-owned Sonatrach and creating a regulatory agency to work out contracts with foreigners.
Currently valued at C$2.85 billion, First Calgary has experienced a wild ride on the Toronto Stock Exchange over the past year, soaring from a low of $7.70 per share to C$24.90 in mid-February, then slumping to its current range of about C$15.50.
—Gary Park Alaska’s lead gas line negotiator stuck in Vancouver Alaska North Slope gas pipeline negotiators were forced to meet in Vancouver, British Columbia April 18-20 because Alaska’s lead gas project consultant was refused entrance into the United States for unspecified visa problems.
The week before Pedro van Meurs, a Netherlands native, had tried to cross the Canadian border into Alaska for negotiations in Anchorage but instead had to participate by phone, according to Mike Menge, Gov. Frank Murkowski’s special assistant on natural resources in An Associated Press report.
On April 18 three other state negotiators and representatives from BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil joined van Meurs in Vancouver in what Menge described as a technical session. Formal negotiations were scheduled to resume April 21 in Anchorage as Petroleum News went to press, with van Meurs expected to participate again by telephone, Menge said.
The sequestration in Canada is a small hitch, but Menge said the talks won’t be affected by the absence of van Meurs, who has been the lead consultant in oil and gas deals around the world.
Murkowski spokeswoman Becky Hultberg said the state is helping van Meurs gather information on his expertise in oil and gas to help in his immigration case, but could not say what that information would be used for.
“We don’t know all the details of the visa problem. We know that it’s a work-related visa,” she said.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report PetroKaz dragged deeper into legal morass Here we go again with the latest chapter in the trials and tribulations of PetroKazakhstan as the feuding spreads through European tribunals.
This time it’s a round of tit-for-tat lawsuits with Russian oil giant Lukoil, in a dispute over the companies’ Turgai Petroleum joint venture in the central Asian republic.
Calgary-based PetroKaz fired an opening shot in mid-2004 claiming $65 million; Lukoil reportedly filed with a Swedish arbitration authority on April 13 for $100 million; then PetroKaz fired back on April 14 with a counter-claim, raising its total to $200 million.
Lukoil said it is taking issue with PetroKaz over pricing issues, claiming it was underpaid for crude delivered to a PetroKaz-owned refinery in Kazakhstan by $100 million between October 2003 and November 2004.
PetroKaz has meanwhile accused Lukoil of unlawfully shutting in certain Kazakhstan wells, including the Kumkol North well that is operated by Turgai. That case is before the District Court of Amsterdam.
Although it has yet to receive formal notice of the suit Lukoil claimed to have filed in Sweden, PetroKaz describes the Lukoil request for arbitration as a “retaliatory response” to the initial legal actions in 2004.
In its $200 million claim, PetroKaz accuses Lukoil of failing to live up to its funding commitment for its 50 percent share of Turgai.
All of this came on the heels of an escalating civil dispute between PetroKaz and the government of Kazakhstan.
The government laid criminal charges in early April against two of the company’s executives as part of allegations that the firm overcharged for some of its products.
Since 2003, PetroKaz has battled Kazakhstan’s anti-monopoly agency, which had previously sought $90 million to settle the issue.
While the spat drags on, some production has been shut in and PetroKaz shares have been trimmed by about 25 percent since peaking at C$55.72 in late February.
One of the few winners during the legal wrangling has been PetroKaz Chief Executive Officer Bernard Isautier who has divested $213 million in company shares since early 2004. According to a proxy circular he made about $93 million on exercised options last year.
Isautier still holds 2.3 million shares and 200,000 options, putting him among the top six shareholders in PetroKaz.
| 