Nexen

This article is about the Canadian petroleum company. For the South Korean tire manufacturer, see Nexen Tire.
Not to be confused with Nexium or Nexon.
Nexen
Wholly owned subsidiary
Industry Oil and gas, energy
Founded July 12, 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 nexencnoocltd.com

Nexen/CNOOC is a Chinese oil and gas company based in Calgary, Alberta. On 25 February 2013, Nexen became a wholly owned subsidiary of Beijing-based CNOOC Limited. It was a Canadian company, but was purchased by CNOOC.

It has three growth strategies: 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 started in 1969 as Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. (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, Nexen, then known as 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]

Acquisition by CNOOC Limited

CNOOC Limited, a major subsidiary of CNOOC headquartered in Beijing, acquired Nexen on February 25, 2013, Nexen. Nexen's common stock shareholders received cash proceeds of USD$27.50, without interest, whereas preferred stock shareholders of Nexen received cash proceeds of CAD$26, plus accrued and unpaid dividends without interest.[4]

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, 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. It was started in order to develop the Long Lake site using steam-assisted gravity drainage and the OrCrude process for on-site upgrading. Production capacity at Long Lake is 72,000 barrels of bitumen per day which, when upgraded, is capable of generating approximately 58,500 barrels per day. The proved reserves at the Long Lake site are 310,000,000 bbls.[6]

On 15 July 2015, the pipeline oil spill at the Long Lake facility near Fort McMurray was discovered in the afternoon[7] by a worker in which the factory's failsafe system was unable to detect.[8][9] As of 16 July 2015, at least 5,000,000 litres (1,100,000 imp gal; 1,300,000 US gal)—or 31,500 barrels[10]—of oil emulsion has been spilt onto an area of approximately 16,000 square metres (170,000 sq ft),[7] although water bodies were not contaminated.[10] Nexen said efforts were made to stabilise the leak,[7] such as shutting down operations at the time of discovery and isolating the area.[10] The company said the pipeline was installed in 2014 and contains an emulsion mixture of bitumen, wastewater, and oil sand.[10][11] Determining the cause of the spill would take months, according to a company employee.[12]

Efforts were made to clean up the affected area, such as vacuum trucks, and avoid further environmental impact, like affecting wildlife.[13] On 19 July, one duck was found dead from the spill.[14][15]

As of September 2015, the facility has resumed operations, but 45 pipelines still remain shut down.[16][17]

Occupational health and safety

An explosion left one worker dead and another seriously injured at the Long Lake oil sands facility near Anzac, south of Fort McMurray[18] The two maintenance workers involved were found near natural gas compression equipment used for a hydrocracker, which turns heavy oil into lighter crude, at the plant’s main processing facility, known as an upgrader.[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.

See also

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. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  3. 1 2 "Nexen Inc. (Public, TSE:NXY)". Google Finance Canada. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  4. 1 2 "Nexen Announces Completion of Acquisition by CNOOC Limited". Yahoo! Finance. 25 February 2013.
  5. "SASKOIL". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan University of Regina. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  6. OPTI Canda Inc. (December 17, 2008). "OPTI Outlines Capital Expenditure Plans, Divests Long Lake Interest". News Release. RigZone. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  7. 1 2 3 "Nexen pipeline leak in Alberta spills 5 million litres". CBC News. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  8. Paperny, Anna Mehler (17 July 2015). "Alberta oil spill: When ‘failsafe’ leak detection systems fail". Global News. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  9. Mah, Bill (17 July 2015). "Nexen spill discovered by worker walking by". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Williams, Nia; De Souza, Mike (17 July 2015). "Nexen apologizes for oil sands pipeline spill, cause unknown". Reuters. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  11. "Cleanup in western Canada after oil sands spill". 17 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  12. De Souza, Mike; Williams, Nia (September 1, 2015). "Nexen expects Long Lake oil sands shutdown to take two weeks". Reuters. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  13. Bennett, Dean (18 July 2015). "Alberta oil spill cleanup begins, but cause still uncertain". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  14. "One dead duck found at Nexen Energy pipeline spill site in northern Alberta | National Post". News.nationalpost.com. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  15. "Nexen - News Release". Nexencnoocltd.com. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  16. http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL1N11N14720150917
  17. http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2015/09/17/long-lake-resumes-operations-as-more-pipeline-suspensions-lifted
  18. Wall Street Journal, Jan. 18, 2016 "Search for Clues After Deadly Blast at Nexen Oil-Sands Plant Unit of China’s Cnooc shut facility after the accident Friday killed one and injured another "
  19. Wall Street Journal, Jan 2016 "Cnooc Oil-Sands Operation in Canada to Remain Shut After Explosion"

Coordinates: 51°2′47″N 114°4′47″W / 51.04639°N 114.07972°W / 51.04639; -114.07972

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