Ecopetrol Builds on Cano Sur Success

- Ecopetrol Builds on Cano Sur Success

Monday, September 12, 2011
Ecopetrol S.A.

Ecopetrol on Monday announced the initial test results of the CSE-8 ST1 exploratory well in the Puerto Gaitan jurisdiction, a municipality in the Meta Province, in areas belonging to the eastern block of the Exploration and Exploitation Cano Sur contract.

Production test to date show a stable average production of 532 barrels per day of API 13.8 grade oil, with water cut around 18.5%.

The exploratory well was designed with a deviated wellbore that allowed contact with a thicker net oil pay and a better location within the deposit. Drilling operations began on August 11, 2011 and reached an average depth of 4,594 feet in 7 days.

This new exploratory success brings to four the number of oil findings in Cano Sur Block during 2011, including Mito-1, Fauno-1 and Pinocho-1. This constitutes an important milestone in the exploration of this block, taking into account its importance for Ecopetrol's heavy crude oil growth strategy.

Results of initial tests show that this well has the highest productivity among the recently drilled wells in this region. Test were undertaken using an artificial lift system with an electric submersible pump.

This contract was signed in June 2005 with the National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH, Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos). Ecopetrol is the sole operator and holder of 100% interests.

"Ecopetrol has identified a huge potential for heavy crude oil commercial production in the Llanos Basin. We are very pleased with this new discovery" said Ecopetrol's CEO Javier Gutierrez Pemberthy.

In the coming months, Ecopetrol will continue to evaluate production conditions and the performance of the deposit found, maintaining simultaneous exploratory efforts in the area of the Cano Sur Block in order to make a prompt commercial viability statement.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

African Petroleum Finds Drilling Success Off Liberia

- African Petroleum Finds Drilling Success Off Liberia

Friday, September 09, 2011
African Petroleum

African Petroleum has completed drilling the first well (Apalis-1) in deep water offshore Liberia in Block LB-09.

The results of Apalis-1 confirm Blocks LB-08 and LB-09 (100% owned by African Petroleum) are located in a prospective oil basin, which is a major step forward. The geological and geophysical data have confirmed the critical components of a working hydrocarbon system are present and functioning. The Company is now accelerating a multi well drilling program on the 25+ exploration prospects identified on Blocks LB-08 & LB-09 offshore Liberia and are planning to drill the next well during 4th quarter 2011 and 1st quarter 2012.

Apalis-1 was drilled to a depth of 3665 meters and encountered oil shows in several geological units including the shallower (Tertiary) and deeper (Cretaceous) and petrophysical analysis indicates the presence of hydrocarbons. The well also confirmed the presence of organic oil prone source rocks confirming that Blocks LB-08 & LB-09 are in an attractive oil basin.

No commercial quality reservoir with hydrocarbons was encountered and consequently no well production test was undertaken.

The well was drilled without any technical problems and the costs have been materially under budget.

Having confirmed a working hydrocarbon system with the first well the forward exploration programme will focus on the deeper basinal zone where improved reservoir quality is anticipated in the well-developed Cretaceous fan system.

Karl Thompson, CEO, comments that “This is the first the first ever frontier well in the deep water in Liberia and has confirmed we are exploring in a highly prospective oil basin which was its key objective and we are committed to continuing exploration in the area”.

SIERRA LEONE

The 3D seismic survey underway in Block SL-03 Sierra Leone (100% owned by African Petroleum) to the west of the Anadarko Venus and Mercury discoveries is progressing well and is now 65% complete. The 3D survey is the start of the initial exploration phase in exploring for similar Upper Cretaceous targets as the nearby Mercury and Venus discoveries.

GAMBIA

The interpretation of the 3D seismic survey in The Gambia (60% owned by African Petroleum) is progressing very well and an extensive system of Upper Cretaceous fan systems has clearly been identified.

African Petroleum is one of the largest net exploration holders in the West African Upper Cretaceous Exploration fairway and is making continued progress in acquiring new exploration licences.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Lundin Finds Success with Avaldsnes Sidetrack

- Lundin Finds Success with Avaldsnes Sidetrack

Monday, July 18, 2011
Lundin Petroleum

Lundin Norway AS (Lundin Norway) a wholly owned subsidiary of Lundin Petroleum AB (Lundin Petroleum) has completed the sidetrack well 16/3-4A of the first appraisal well 16/3-4 on the Avaldsnes discovery in PL501 on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). A comprehensive data acquisition and sampling program has been acquired from the sidetrack well.

The objective of the sidetrack well 16/3-4A was to confirm lateral reservoir continuity and sand quality to the west of the first appraisal well. The results from the sidetrack well shows good lateral continuity of the reservoir with a proved oil column in excess of 4 meters with excellent quality sands.

The well 16/3-4A was drilled to a vertical depth of 1,934 meters below sea level using the drilling rig Bredford Dolphin. The rig will now move on to drill the second appraisal well, 16/2-7 over the Avaldsnes discovery.

Ashley Heppenstall, President and CEO of Lundin Petroleum comments ' The results of the first Avalsdnes appraisal well and subsequent sidetrack are very positive having proven the lateral continuity of the Upper Jurassic Draupne reservoir with high porosity and permeability. Whilst the reservoir thickness across the Avalsdnes structure will be variable we now have a higher degree of confidence that the part of the structure previously assumed to be non hydrocarbon bearing will in fact be covered by Upper Jurassic hydrocarbon bearing reservoir. '

Lundin Norway is the operator with 40 percent interest. Partners are Statoil Petroleum AS with 40 percent interest and Mærsk Oil Norway with 20 percent.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Lundin Tastes Sweet Success Offshore Malaysia

- Lundin Tastes Sweet Success Offshore Malaysia

Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Lundin Petroleum AB

Lundin has discovered gas in the Tarap-1 well that was drilled in Block SB303, offshore Sabah, East Malaysia.

Tarap-1 was drilled with the Offshore Courageous rig in a water depth of approximately 70 meters. The well was directionally drilled to a measured depth of 2,675 meters.

The Tarap discovery is a stratigrahic trap and the well encountered gas in each of the 5 independently sealed stacked Miocene sands targeted. Gross total vertical pay thickness for the sands encountered is approximately 150 meters. An extensive data acquisition program was completed including pressure measurements, sampling and a mini flow test in selected zones.

The data recovered from the well will be analyzed further in order to determine a range of resource estimates.

Ashley Heppenstall, President and CEO of Lundin Petroleum commented, "This is an encouraging start to the drilling campaign in Malaysia and provides strong support for our strategy in South East Asia of pursuing organic growth and value creation in focused core areas. With a large number of prospects and leads already identified within SB303, I'm confident that we can continue grow our resource base in this area in the coming years.

"Sabah currently has two gas demand centres located in Kota Kinabalu and Labuan Island that are supplied from existing offshore infrastructure. The addition of a third demand center with the construction of the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal at Kimanis and the Sabah-Sarawak gas pipeline gives us a broad range of options to explore for gas monetization in the area."

The rig will now move to drill the Cempulut prospect, also in SB303, the second well in Lundin Petroleum's five well drilling campaign in Malaysia in 2011.

Lundin Petroleum holds a 75 percent interest in SB303 through its subsidiary Lundin Malaysia BV. Lundin Malaysia BV's partner is PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd with a 25 percent interest.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Coastal Touts Success at Bua Ban North Appraisal

- Coastal Touts Success at Bua Ban North Appraisal

Monday, June 06, 2011
Coastal Energy Co.

Coastal Energy announced the successful results of the Bua Ban North B-04 appraisal well.

The Bua Ban North B-04 well was drilled to 6,000 feet TVD and encountered 64 feet of net pay in the Miocene objective with average porosity of 27%. The B-04 confirms the discovery made by the B-02 well, which encountered 62 feet of net pay in the Miocene with 26% porosity. The B-04 well is currently being cased and will then be suspended pending the arrival of production equipment. The Company plans to drill a water disposal well before mobilizing the rig to its next planned location.

Randy Bartley, Chief Executive Officer of Coastal Energy, commented, "We are pleased with the continued success in the Miocene trend at Bua Ban North B. Drilling is expected to be complete by mid-June and the Mobile Offshore Production Unit is scheduled to arrive in late June. A hydraulic unit will be used for completion operations and production testing is anticipated to begin in mid-July.

"The B-04 well further confirmed the Miocene trend at Bua Ban North B and the potential of the Miocene play across the Songkhla basin. Following Bua Ban North B, the rig will be mobilized to the Songkhla H prospect, which is in the middle of the basin between Songkhla A and Bua Ban. An exploration well will be drilled to test the Miocene and deeper zones at this location."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Peregrino Success Escalates Statoil Status Offshore Brazil

- Peregrino Success Escalates Statoil Status Offshore Brazil

Friday, June 03, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Jaime Kammerzell

The Peregrino field is 85 mi off Rio de Janeiro

Statoil started production from its Peregrino field offshore Brazil in early April. The Peregrino field is 85 km offshore Brazil from Rio de Janeiro in the Campos basin in about 100 m of water.

Back in 1994 when the field was discovered, Statoil wasn't even a shareholder in the BMC-7 and BMC-47 licenses, which were known as the Chinook field.


Original shareholders were Anadarko Petroleum Corp. with a 50% stake and EnCana Corp. with the remaining 50% stake. Statoil (formerly Hydro) purchased its 50% operating stake in the field from EnCana for $350 million in August 2006.

"The acquisition of Peregrino makes (Statoil) Hydro a major player on the Brazilian continental shelf. We have now established an excellent platform for further growth in an area with large oil and gas resources," Tore Torvund, Norsk Hydro executive vice president, said in November 2006.

StatoilHydro took control of the entire Peregrino field in December 2008 when it bought out Anadarko's stake. The agreement included Anadarko's 25% stake in the Kaskida discovery in the US Gulf of Mexico. The combined purchase price was $1.8 billion, plus a maximum pre-tax value of $300 million related to the Peregrino field to be earned by 2020, conditional on future oil prices above pre-defined threshold levels.

Statoil then agreed sell a 40% share in the Peregrino field to Sinochem Group, China's biggest chemicals trader, for $3 billion. The partners also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that underlined the wish of the two companies to jointly investigate further opportunities in Brazil and elsewhere.

At the time of the announcement, Statoils's CEO Helge Lund said, "The MoU is the beginning of a long term relationship between our two companies having similar international growth ambitions. I believe that we have supplementary skills and areas of expertise, strengthening both our opportunities globally by cooperation."

Lund continued, "In addition, we look forward to partner with Sinochem Group in the further development and operations of the large Peregrino field. Both companies see many opportunities for value creation through increased recovery and exploration for additional resources in the decades to come.

Field Development

Phase One of Statoil's field development plan included two drilling and wellhead platforms and a large floating production, storage and offload unit (FPSO). "The plan call(ed) for a total of 30 horizontal production wells to be drilled, together with seven water injection wells," said Statoil's Peregrino production director Johan Kr. Mikkelsen.

In drawing up the field development plan, Statoil relied on its competence and experience gained while developing similar fields on the Norwegian continental shelf and drilling horizontal wells to increase recoverable reserves.

Hydro chartered AP Moeller – Maersk A/S (Maersk) to build the FPSO in February 2007. The FPSO was scheduled for installation in early 2010 in anticipation of start up later that year; however first production was delayed several months. The partners also entered into an agreement to rent two drilling platforms, which Kiewit Offshore Services Ltd. of Ingleside, TX, built for the Peregrino field.

In March 2007, Hydro submitted the Declaration of Commerciality for the Peregrino oil field to the Agencia Nacional do Petroleo (ANP) in Rio de Janeiro. The ANP approved the Plan of Development (POD) in mid-May that year.

More contracts quickly followed. The partners awarded Subsea 7 a $115 million contract for engineering, procurement, fabrication, and installation of six steel pipelines, 12 flexible risers, four power cables and two mid-water arches to support the cables. Subsea 7 installed the pipelines in Q1 2009. And Wellstream was tapped to supply twelve 11.5 in. ID flexible risers to connect subsea pipelines to two wellhead platforms and an FPSO in 125 m of water. Prysmian Cables & Systems supplied 20 km of Dynamic subsea power and communication umbilicals.

In November 2007, StatoilHydro along with Anadarko won two blocks in the National Agency of Petroleum's ninth bidding round. Blocks CM529 and CM 530 are in 100 m of water adjacent to the Peregrino field. The partners hoped to expand the Peregrino field into these blocks in the future.

Shortly thereafter, StatoilHydro announced that the Peregrino reserves estimates increased to 300 to 600 MMbbl, double that of the original estimates. Statoil planned to use produced water injection and rock compaction, which would yield a recovery factor of 20% compared to the original estimate of 9%. The operator planned for 23 extra well slots for the potential use of multilateral wells that would further increase the recovery factor from the reservoir.
In the first half of 2008, Statoil awarded several more key contracts. J Ray McDermott engineered, procured, and constructed 6,500 metric tons of topside modules for the Peregrino FPSO. Fabrication and construction started in Q3 2008 and was completed in Q4 2009.

Deepwater Specialists Inc. (DSI) provided commissioning activities in the US for the two drilling and wellhead platforms. DSI coordinated and managed the commissioning activities for the interfaces with the drilling modules installed on the platforms.

Each platform comprises an eight-legged jacket structure; foundation piles; well slot conductors; deck structure, equipment and systems; and wellhead decks, including cranes. Commissioning of the platform decks, which were designed by Mustang Engineering, and the living quarters were performed at fabrication yards in South Texas.

The Heerema Hermod heavy lift vessel installed the two wellhead platforms in March 2010. The two jacket substructures for platform A and B were installed in 2009.

Hermod installed the two wellhead platforms.

In addition, ClampOn equipped the subsea production manifolds in 8,200 ft of water with their subsea sand and pig detectors. And BW Offshore delivered and installed the completed submerged turret production (STP) buoy, including swivel stack, and mooring system. First Subsea provided 10 Ballgrab ball and taper connectors, which were attached around the side of the buoy ahead of tow out in December 2009, thus simplifying buoy lifting and tow out operations. Once in buoy was in position, the male Ballgrabs and mooring lines were connected subsea with assistance by ROV, with no need for divers.

The offshore construction vessel Boa Deep C installed the FPSO's mooring systems in early 2010.

Keppel then delivered the converted Maersk Peregrino in Q3 2010. Keppel converted the Maersk FPSO according to stringent requirements to handle heavy crude and operate in the challenging environment off Brazil.

Nils S. Andersen, Group CEO of Maersk, said, "Tailoring the FPSO to meet the requirements of the Peregrino field (was) a complex undertaking. We (chose) Keppel Shipyard for this massive project due to the skills and competencies of the Keppel yards."

Work on Maersk Peregrino involved the marine conversion of a newbuild VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier); the installation and integration of the topside modules; the assembly, installation and integration of the APL internal turret; the fabrication and installation of the flare tower, process piperack and helideck; and the upgrading of the accommodation quarters.

The Maersk Peregrino has a storage capacity of 1.6 MMbbl, and processes 100,000 b/d.

Maersk Peregrino

Statoil started production at the Peregrino field in early April 2011. Production is expected to ramp up to 100,000 boe/d. The discovery made Statoil an important long-term operator and partner in Brazil's growing oil and gas industry.

"With the Peregrino field in full operation Statoil will be the second-largest operator in Brazil, and it offers us an excellent opportunity for future growth in the country. The Peregrino field is a legacy asset and will contribute significantly to both Statoil and Brazil's oil production for many years to come," said Helge Lund, president and CEO of Statoil.

Less than two weeks later, Statoil announced that it had found a new oil find adjacent to the Peregrino field. An exploration well drilled by the Blackford Dolphin in 120 m of water in the Peregrino South structure a few kilometers south of Peregrino encountered oil in sandstones of the Carapebus geological formation. A significant gross oil column of 130 m was proven in the well and further work was performed to confirm the volumes.

"The results confirm the significant potential in the Peregrino area and underline the beliefs we have had in the upside," said Tim Dodson, executive vice president for Exploration in Statoil.

"The results will indeed be implemented into our plans for further development of the field," said Kjetil Hove, head of Statoil's Brazil activities and vice president in the company's Development and Production International business area.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

TAG Reports More Taranaki Success

TAG Reports More Taranaki Success

Friday, May 06, 2011
TAG Oil Ltd.

TAG Oil Ltd. on Friday reported that the Sidewinder-4 exploration well, located in TAG Oil's 100%-controlled New Zealand Petroleum Exploration Permit 38748, has been confirmed as a light oil and gas discovery. Along with the three previous Sidewinder discoveries, it is TAG Oil's fifth exploration success in the Taranaki Basin in the past six months.

The results from the Sidewinder-4 well indicate that the targeted oil-and-gas-charged Mt. Messenger Formation sandstones extend significantly to the east of the Sidewinder-1 discovery well. As TAG Oil noted in an April 5, 2011, announcement, the Sidewinder-3 discovery well suggested that the Mt. Messenger Formation sandstones extend significantly south of the original Sidewinder-1 discovery as well.

The interpreted total hydrocarbon column at Sidewinder now exceeds 60 meters (196 feet) in thickness, with no water column evident in any of the Sidewinder wells. Together, the four Sidewinder wells drilled to date indicate that the size and scope of the Sidewinder discovery area is much larger than originally anticipated. Furthermore, the entire permit remains lightly explored and prospective for further oil and gas discoveries, with numerous drill-ready prospects.

The Sidewinder-4 well, which was sidetracked to a location down-dip of Sidewinder-3, targeted a fault-bounded 3-D anomaly, which intercepted a gross 29 meter-thick (95 feet) sandstone reservoir. The total depth of Sidewinder-4 is 1410 meters (4,626 feet), with 19 meters (62 feet) of net oil-and-gas-charged sandstones, with electric logs indicating hydrocarbon charge to the base of the sandstone. Free oil was observed over the shakers during the drilling operation from the target zone. And consistent with all of the Sidewinder wells drilled to date, the oil-and-gas-charged sandstones encountered in Sidewinder-4 have excellent porosity and permeability.

TAG is now preparing to commence the flow testing of the Sidewinder-2, Sidewinder-3 and Sidewinder-4 wells in a few weeks' time. All wells will be placed onto production through the Sidewinder Production Station, currently under construction with anticipated completion by mid-year 2011.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

EnCore Repeats Success with Additional Cladhan Pay

EnCore Repeats Success with Additional Cladhan Pay

Tuesday, April 12, 2011
EnCore Oil plc

EnCore provided an update on the Cladhan appraisal well 210/30a-4 located in UK North Sea Block 210/30a.

The appraisal well was drilled as a deviated well to a Total Measured Depth of 12,252 feet and encountered oil bearing Upper Jurassic sandstones in two separate reservoir intervals. No Oil Water Contact was observed. The Upper reservoir sequence had a gross True Vertical Thickness (TVT) of 18 feet and a net sand of 13 feet TVT. The sand has an average porosity of 16 percent. and hydrocarbon saturation of 82 percent. Pressures suggest that this reservoir is in a separate pressure regime from the Lower reservoir. In the Lower reservoir sequence, the main reservoir in previous Cladhan wells, the well encountered a gross TVT of 256 feet and a net sand of 21 feet TVT. The sand has an average porosity of 16 percent. and hydrocarbon saturation of 75 percent. Initial pressure data indicates that the lower sand is in pressure communication with, and is part of the original Cladhan discovery. The well has proven an Oil Down To of 10,447 feet True Vertical Depth Sub Sea (TVDSS), giving a minimum hydrocarbon column of over 1,200 feet.

Upon completion of operations at well 210/30a-4, the Transocean Prospect semi-submersible rig will commence the first planned side-track, 210/30a-4z to evaluate the Upper Jurassic sandstones significantly down dip from the 210/30a-4 well in an attempt to define oil water contacts for both the upper and lower reservoir units, as well as investigating the potential for thickening of the upper unit. It is expected that this side-track will take approximately 20 - 25 days subject to weather or operational delays.

Commenting on the latest well result, Graham Doré, EnCore's Exploration Director said, "This is an important result for Cladhan. The well has confirmed both the presence of a large oil column in the main Cladhan reservoir as well as a new hydrocarbon bearing reservoir sequence, and has yet to find an Oil Water Contact. The next side-track to the east will evaluate the fan structure some 1,000 feet deeper, and has the potential to encounter improved net to gross as well as establishing Oil Water Contacts for both reservoir sequences. This will be followed by a side-track to the south which is designed to confirm the presence of oil in the Central channel."

The equity in the Cladhan joint venture partnership is as follows: EnCore Oil plc (16.6 percent.), Sterling Resources Ltd (39.9 percent., Operator), Wintershall (UK North Sea) Limited (33.5 percent.) and Dyas (10 percent.).

Graham Doré B.Sc. (Hons.) in Geology and M.Sc. in Petroleum Geology and EnCore's Exploration Director, who has over 25 years' experience in the oil exploration and production industry, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.

Mulva Reveals 3 Keys to ConocoPhillips' Success

Mulva Reveals 3 Keys to ConocoPhillips' Success

Friday, March 25, 2011

by  Jaime Kammerzell

Rigzone Staff

James Mulva, president and CEO of ConocoPhillips, believes that saving money, cutting capital spending, and maintaining a level of transparency in his business decisions is the key to the company's success. In 1999, when Mulva became CEO, ConocoPhillips' combined assets were about $75 billion. By the end of Q1 2004, he had secured an income of $1.9 billion for the company and brought its debt down to 32% of its capital. More recently, ConocoPhillips reported Q4 2010 earnings of $2.0 billion, compared with Q4 2009 earnings of $1.3 billion.

Mulva, whose total compensation in 2010 was $11.26 million, never dreamed of working in the oil and gas industry while growing up in central Wisconsin. He attended the University of Texas and earned his BBA in finance in 1968 and an MBA in business administration in 1969. After graduation he entered the US Navy and was stationed on Bahrain Island. That's where he learned about the oil and gas industry. "The production side of the business as well as the financial aspect intrigued me," Mulva said. When he completed his tour of duty in 1973, he searched for a financial job in the oil and gas industry.

Mulva joined Phillips Petroleum Co. in the treasury department later that year. He was soon promoted to assistant treasurer and manager of foreign exchange and investment. In 1980, Mulva was then promoted to vice president and treasurer of Europe/Africa - a position he held for four years. With a strong financial background, Mulva analyzed investments and new technologies with an eye on the bottom line. His assessments allowed him to predict the long-term financial impact of each proposal. His understanding of the global market also helped him to build up the company's long-term security and assets. This strategy paid off for Mulva as well as Phillips as he helped the company meet and exceed corporate goals through his many positions with the company.

Going Green

Mulva was known to be a hard worker and had a knack for finding profitable solutions for Phillips. While CEO at Phillips, Mulva took a hit to his reputation when a K-resin chemical tank exploded in March 2000 at a Phillips Petroleum plant in Pasadena, TX. The blast killed Rodney Gott, a 45-year-old supervisor, as well as seriously burning four employees and injuring 65 others. The fire produced a huge plume of black smoke that spread over the Houston Ship Channel as well as neighboring residential areas. The tank was out of service for cleaning at the time of the explosion, and had no pressure or temperature gauges to alert the workers to the danger. This blast was the third in 11 years at that particular plant.

Phillips paid a hefty fine to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for safety violations. The explosion motivated Mulva to ramp up plant safety inspections, provide safety training for his employees, and implement stricter safety measures.

After that incident, Mulva focused Phillips' efforts on reducing its environmental impact while continuing a successful exploration and production program. Mulva worked to position Phillips as a leader in finding cleaner energy sources, and later he saw clean energy as the key to ConocoPhillips' long-term growth.

ConocoPhillips, under Mulva's leadership, believes that a secure energy future depends on utilizing a diverse mix of energy sources that are reliable, available, and environmentally responsible. This includes traditional hydrocarbon products, as well as alternative and renewable sources made available through improved technology. When considering future energy solutions, ConocoPhillips examines all the factors that impact energy -its use, cost and availability. Though new technology promises to change the future nature of energy supply, the company acknowledges that there still is work to be done to ensure minimal impact to the environment from the production, storage, and transportation of these energy sources.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Mulva knew that clean energy alone would not propel Phillips into the big leagues with supermajors ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco. Thus, he set out to make the company more competitive through increased E&P and through mergers and acquisitions.

Phillips acquired the Alaskan production assets of the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) in March 2000 for $7 billion. At the time of the announcement, Mulva said, "The acquisition of Arco's Alaskan assets represents a significant step in our strategy of growing our exploration and production business. We gain a substantial position in the two largest fields in North America, immediately form a new production center, and become a major merchant supplier of crude oil to the West Coast."

In July 2000, Phillips and Chevron merged their chemical and plastic operations to create the Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. A board of directors governs this 50/50 venture, which is composed of two members from each parent company. The company name was determined in a coin toss to settle which parent company name would be first.

Today, Chevron Phillips Chemical is one of the world's top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. The company produces chemical products that are essential to manufacturing over 70,000 consumer and industrial products.

In February 2001, Phillips announced that it would acquire the Tosco Corporation, an oil refiner and retailer that marketed gasoline under the 76 and Circle K brands, for $7 billion in stock.

The transaction created the nation's second-largest refiner and fifth-largest gasoline retailer. While many other large oil companies were disposing of their refineries, Phillips under Mulva's leadership, in adding them to its oil exploration and production, made a move to become a more fully integrated oil company.

However, the most notable merger under Mulva's leadership occurred in August 2002, when Phillips merged with Conoco. In this $15.1 billion deal, ConocoPhillips became the largest refiner and the third largest energy company in the US behind Exxon Mobil Corp. and ChevronTexaco Corp. The merged company was worth about $35 billion.

At the time of the merger, ConocoPhillips controlled or had stakes in 19 refineries worldwide with a capacity of 2.6 MMb/d and joint oil reserves were about 8.7 Bbbl.

In comparison, at year-end 2009, ConocoPhillips was the second-largest refiner in the US, with crude oil processing capacity of approximately 2.0 MMb/d, and the world's fourth-largest nongovernment-controlled refiner, with crude oil processing capacity of nearly 2.7 MMb/d globally. Its total oil reserves were 8.4 Bboe and total worldwide production was 1854 Mboe/d.

http://www.conocophillips.com/EN/Pages/index.aspx