Monday, July 9, 2012

Money Flowing Into American Oil and Gas From Overseas

We hear very little about the large investments foreign companies are making in oil and gas exploration and production activities in the United States.  I don't know why this is not talked about much in the news, but during these difficult economic times, we Americans should be grateful.
Peter

Big overseas investors supply momentum for North American shale growth

 

July 5, 2012
Don Warlick, Warlick International
Entities outside the US and Canada are funding a surprisingly large share of development in unconventional oil and gas plays -- and that trend should continue.
Typically these are IOCs (international oil companies), state-backed investment groups or other foreign-based entities investing not only for financial gain but also to acquire technical knowledge about unconventional oil and natural gas development that can be applied in undeveloped shales in their own countries. In return US and Canadian energy companies receive funding to develop important shale plays and establish new reserves.

These investments are significant -- in a recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 191 M&A deals worth $187 billion were announced in 2011. That was an increase over 2010 which had 196 deals worth $139 billion. The average deal in 2011 was $979 million (up more than 38%, on average over 2010).
Who is making these investments? Companies based in France, China, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Norway and Australia are among recent investors making financial commitments. Some examples:

Continued here: http://www.ogfj.com/articles/2012/07/big-overseas-investors-supply-momentum-for-north-american-shale-growth.html