Korean firm acquiring a Canadian oil company
October 23, 2009
By Lee Ho-jeong [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]
Joongangdaily.com
Korea’s self-sufficiency in developing oil and gas is expected to improve with the acquisition of a Canadian energy company.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said yesterday that the Korea National Oil Corp. will purchase Canada’s Harvest Energy Trust for $4 billion. Harvest is headquartered in Calgary.
This is the largest amount any Korean company has paid to buy a foreign energy company.
The Korean state-run company will pay $1.8 billion in cash and assume $2.2 billion in Harvest Energy debt.
“With the current acquisition, Korea’s self-sufficiency in developing oil and gas will go up 1.8 percentage points to 8.1 percent,” said Kim Jung-gwan, the Knowledge Economy Ministry’s deputy minister for energy resources development. “This exceeds the 7.4 percent target set by the government earlier this year.”
Last year Korea imported 870 million barrels of crude oil.
Harvest Energy has crude oil and gas reserves of 220 million barrels.
Additionally, the Canadian company produces over 53,000 barrels of crude oil and gas daily and refines 115,000 barrels of oil in eastern Canada.
The Canadian company also has one billion barrels of oil sand.
Following the acquisition of Harvest Energy, Korea’s daily production of crude oil overseas will increase from the current 188,000 barrels to 241,000 barrels.
The Korean state-run oil company is planning to complete the Harvest acquisition, which needs approval of the Canadian government, by the end of this year. Kim from the Knowledge Economy Ministry said the Korea National Oil Corp. is currently examining three to four foreign energy companies. He said the firm would likely acquire one.
By Lee Ho-jeong [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Hooray! Harper helps boost Korea's energy self sufficiency. This is a good thing?
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7 comments:
What the devil was the gov`t`s plan here anyway??
Sell-off tax dollar producing entities to private equity & foreign interests in order to deplete the tax coffers??
Deprive private Canadian citizens the right to own such entities & therefore benefit from the income streams??
Help South Korea to our oil??
Who knows with these guys as what seems to be up is really down & what seems to be right is really wrong.
Makes me want to pinch myself to see if I am really awake & not just dreaming some nightmare.
Dr Mike Popovich
I am a CANadian - NOT a CONadian.
My country is CANada - NOT CONada. (or KONada)
Oh yeah - just give us some elixir to stop us protesting the fascist direction of CANadian's CANada.
LIBERALS (if there are any) - STAND UP.
"Sell-off tax dollar producing entities to private equity & foreign interests in order to deplete the tax coffers??"
Absolutely Dr. Mike. That way they can do away with some of our social programs. You know how it works - bankrupt the govt. & privatize everything they possibly can.
Penlan
It`s healthcare that I am worried about.
I don`t want to be an American & die while hoping I can land a job that will give me a plan---& then hoping they won`t cancel it if I use it one too many times.
Allowing the big insurers to gain control will be a travesty & Canadians will be sorry.
Dr Mike
Dr. Mike,
My sentiments exactly. It's a well known fact that the Cons want healthcare privatized, especially Harper, & that would devastate all of us except the super wealthy. Guess it's one of the ways the Cons want to get rid of the "riff-raff". You know, those living in poverty, on assistance, the poorest of the poor whose health is already compromised from lack of proper nutrition as the money isn't there to buy balanced foodstuffs. Oh & our First Nations people as well. You know how Harper thinks of them & of immigrants with brown skin. A total nightmare if this creep gets his craved for majority.
Hi Brent-
Thanks for writing. I was going to suggest that I forward your note to our letters page, but I see that you've already ensured its broad distribution.
It's probably worth noting that if you weigh the relative impacts of Stephen Harper's policy changes and $35 oil, I suspect Mr. Harper will not come on top.
Best regards
Nathan
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Nathan VanderKlippe
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Nathan:
By all means please forward my comments to your letters page rather than assuming it has received widespread distribution.
As for your argument about the effects of $35 oil. That is a worthless argument, again designed to provide “cover” for Harper’s culpability in these negative outcome of his policies, since governments have no control over oil price but they do have ABSOLUTE control over policies (in the same way that you have absolute control over how you choose to spin a story).
I learned that lesson over 30 years ago about the effects of oil price and bad policy, when I worked in the Corporate Planning and Economic Department of Dome Petroleum at the time the NEP was ushered in by a similarly reckless federal government.
Brent Fullard
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