Nexen Inc News

The company says it has an extensive exploration program and plans to drill roughly 155 exploration wells and acquire approximately 26.7 thousand kilometers of 2-Dimensional (2D) seismic data as well as approximately 19.4 thousand square kilometers of 3-Dimensional (3D) seismic data. Within the year, the company will continue to strengthen the deepwater exploration. In 2014, the company is targeted to a reserve replacement ratio (RRR) of over 100%. The company's net production target of 2014 is in the range of 422 to 435 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE)…

CNOOC Limited announced its key operational statistics for the first quarter of 2013. During the quarter, the Company achieved a total net production of 93.6 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), representing 17.3% increase year over year (YoY), primarily attributable to the production contribution from the acquisition of Nexen Inc ., the new oil and gas projects on stream, the resumption of Penglai 19-3 oil field and the overseas projects. For the first quarter, the Company made four new discoveries and six successful appraisal wells in offshore China. The appraisal confirmed that Penglai 15-2 was a mid to large sized crude oil discovery. In the perspective of overseas development, the Company successfully completed the acquisition of Nexen.

Chairman of China's largest private shipbuilder, Zhang Zhirong, steps down from China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group. Determined to put scandal behind it, China’s largest private shipbuilder, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group, has said its chairman has stepped down. to be replaced by the yard’s CEO, Chen Qiang, reports SinoShip News. Rongsheng was hit by an insider dealing scandal involving a firm owned by Zhang ahead of the $15.1bn bid for Canadian oil firm Nexen Inc by China offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC. Rongsheng’s profits have slumped this year amid a barren time for Chinese yards and shares of the Hong Kong-listed entity have dropped 30%. Source: SinoShip News

CNOOC Limited (SEHK: 00883, NYSE: CEO) and Nexen Inc. (TSX: NXY, NYSE: NXY) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which CNOOC Limited will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Nexen for $27.50 per share in cash. The purchase price represents a premium of 61% to the closing price of Nexen's common shares on the NYSE on July 20, 2012, and a premium of 66% to Nexen's 20 trading-day volume-weighted average share price. Total cash consideration of approximately US$15.1 billion will be paid for Nexen's common and preferred shares, and Nexen's current debt of approximately US$4.3 billion will remain outstanding. The transaction, which will be completed by way of a plan of arrangement, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The British government, struggling to erase its deficit, is doubling the surtax for North Sea oil and gas companies, a move that surprised an industry expecting an increase half that size, according to a Globe and Mail report. The proposed increase in the supplementary tax for North Sea energy companies is for 20 percent of income from the current 10 percent, with the change expected to cost the industry the equivalent of $13-billion over the next three years. The move affects several Canadian energy companies with North Sea assets, including Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Nexen Inc., Petro-Canada and Talisman Energy Inc. According to the report…