Nexen
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- For information on the South Korean tire manufacturer, see Nexen Tire.
| Nexen | |
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| Type | Public (NYSE: NXY, TSX: NXY) |
|---|---|
| Founded | Canada (July 12, 1971) |
| Headquarters | Calgary, Alberta Canada |
| Key people | Charlie Fischer (CEO), Marvin Romanow (CFO and Executive Vice President) |
Nexen is an energy company based in Calgary, Alberta.
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[edit] History
Nexen started in 1971 under the name "Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd.", aka CanOxy, and was 80% owned by Occidental Petroleum, a Los Angeles-based oil company. Essentially, it was created to get around rules that hampered American oil companies' operations in Canada.
In the first decade of its existence, CanOxy was fairly Canadian-oriented. During the '80s and '90s they increased their international holdings, first in the Gulf of Mexico, then into places like Yemen. 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 Oil and Gas, once known as SaskOil. Founded by Saskatchewan New Democratic Party Premier Allan Blakeney, Saskoil was later privatized by Progressive Conservative Premier Grant Devine.
One of the leading opponents to the privatization was then widely considered a leading leadership candidate for the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party, former Saskatchewan New Democratic Party Cabinet Minister and later Deputy Premier, Dwain Lingenfelter.[citation needed], Blakeney was hired to advise Wascana during the takeover by CanOxy which was itself splitting from Occidental. Following the transaction CanOxy appointed the former Premier to its board. CanOxy then hired the former Deputy Premier of Saskatchewan Dwain Lingenfelter, as its Vice-President of Government Affairs.
In 2001 the name was changed to Nexen Incorporated in recognition of the fact that Occidental no longer held a significant portion of the company.
[edit] Energy Operations
Nexen has interests in Yemen, Canada (including the Athabasca Oil Sands through their 7% ownership of Syncrude and their Long Lake project with OPTI Canada), the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Colombia, the Buzzard Oil Field (offshore UK) and offshore West Africa. The bulk of Nexen's profits presently come from its operations in Yemen, Canada and the United States.
The Buzzard Oil Field was originally developed by EnCana and the project was bought by Nexen.
[edit] Long Lake
The Long Lake Project in the Athabasca Oil Sands, a joint venture of Nexen Inc. and OPTI Canada Inc., was initiated in 2001. It was started in order to develop the Long Lake site using Steam assisted gravity drainage and the exclusive OrCrude™ Process for on-site upgrading. Nexen and OPTI share equally in all project production and operating costs. Initial steam injection is scheduled to begin in late 2006 while upgrader startup is to begin the second half of 2007. The estimated synthetic crude oil production for the Long Lake project is estimated at 60,000 bbls/d before royalties sustainable over 40 years with a 70,000 bpd expansion in the works the total bbls produced over its lifetime is estimated at 2 billion.
[edit] Chemicals
At one point Nexen also produced chemicals under the Canexus division, but in 2005 Canexus became an independent company, publicly traded on the TSX. Canexus produces sodium chlorate and chlor-alkali products in six plants in Canada and one in Brazil. The sodium chlorate is used as a bleaching agent primarily in the North American pulp and paper industry. The chlor-alkali products include caustic soda, chlorine and muriatic acid. The caustic soda is also used for pulp and paper while the chlorine is used for water purification, polyvinyl chloride and petrochemical industries.
[edit] Power Production
The company also has a power division that buys and sells power. This division of the company is only a few years old, and is headed by David Axford. Nexen itself has several power generating facilities in Canada.
[edit] External links
Categories: Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange | Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Oil companies of Canada | Natural gas companies of Canada | Power companies of Canada | Energy companies of Canada | S&P/TSX 60 Index | Companies based in Calgary | Companies established in 1971
