| Formerly | CNOOC Nexen (2013-2018); Nexen (2000-2013); Canadian Occidental (1971-2000) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Oil and gas, energy |
| Founded | 12 July 1971 (1971-07-12) |
| Headquarters | , Canada |
Key people | Fang Zhi[1] (CEO) Li Fanrong (Chairman) |
| Revenue | $6.7 billionCAD (2012)[2] |
| $333 millionCAD (2012)[2] | |
| Total equity | $8.8 billionCAD (2012)[3] |
Number of employees | 3,000 (2013)[3] |
| Parent | CNOOC Limited |
| Website | intl |
CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC, formerly known asNexen, is a Canadian oil and gas company based inCalgary, Alberta.
Originally the Canadian subsidiary of US-basedOccidental Petroleum (known as Canadian Occidental Petroleum or CanOxy), it became an independent company, Nexen, in 2000. Nexen was acquired byHong Kong–basedCNOOC Limited in 2013, and was rebranded under the current name at the end of 2018.
It had three growth strategies as of 2013[update]:oil sands andshale gas inwestern Canada as well as conventional exploration and development primarily in theNorth Sea,offshore inWest Africa, anddeepwater exploration in theGulf of Mexico.[4]
Nexen started in 1971 asCanadian Occidental Petroleum (CanOxy), and was 80% owned byOccidental Petroleum, an oil company based inLos 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 theGulf of Mexico, then into places likeYemen and theNorth 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 bySaskatchewan New Democratic Party PremierAllan Blakeney in 1973, Saskoil was privatized in 1986 byProgressive Conservative PremierGrant Devine.[5]
In 2000, the company partnered with theOntario Teachers' Pension Plan tobuy back Occidental Petroleum's shares.[6] The newly independent company changed its name to Nexen and moved into the former headquarters ofNOVA Corporation, what is now known as theNexen Building.[7]
In July 2012,CNOOC Limited, a majorsubsidiary ofCNOOC headquartered inBeijing, 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 MinisterStephen 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'scommon stock shareholders received cash proceeds of US$27.50, without interest, whereaspreferred stock shareholders of Nexen received cash proceeds ofCAD$26, plus accrued and unpaiddividends 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 theTSX and its ultimate parent company,CNOOC Limited, remained a foreign reporting issuer in Canada.
As of 2019[update] the company had "shrunk considerably" since the CNOOC acquisition, having gone through multiple rounds of layoffs amid a difficultCanadian oil and gas industry as a whole.[16] In 2019 the company moved its headquarters withindowntown Calgary from its former namesakeNexen Building toThe Bow, subleasing 8 floors fromCenovus[17] and reducing its office space from approximately 620,000 sq ft to approximately 300,000 sq ft.[16]
Nexen has interests in Canada (including theAthabasca oil sands through a 7.23% ownership ofSyncrude and the Long Lake project), the UK North Sea (including theBuzzard oil field), the United States, and offshoreWest Africa. Beginning in February 2013, Nexen took accountability for managing approximately $8 billion inCNOOC Limited assets located throughout North and Central America.
TheLong Lake project in the Athabasca Oil Sands was initiated in 2001, as a 50/50 partnership between Nexen andOPTI Canada. It was started in order to develop the Long Lake site usingsteam-assisted gravity drainage and OPTI's OrCrude process for on-siteupgrading. Production capacity at Long Lake was estimated 72,000 barrels per day (11,400 m3/d) ofbitumen per day which could be upgraded to 58,500 barrels per day (9,300 m3/d) ofsynthetic 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) ofbitumen.[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 significantoil spill in 2015,[21] and an explosion in 2016 that resulted in two deaths and the permanent shutdown of theupgrader.[19][22]
In 2018, Nexen announced a $400 million expansion project, which is expected to begin production in late 2020.[19]
Nexen also has an Energy Marketing division that trades and markets proprietary and third-partycrude oil,natural gas,liquid natural gas, andelectrical power.[citation needed]
51°2′47″N114°4′47″W / 51.04639°N 114.07972°W /51.04639; -114.07972
