Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corp. said it will cut about 80 jobs fromits headquarters staff and transfer about 150 positions to arecently formed subsidiary as part of a broad cost-cutting plan.The move, which reduces headquarters staff by more than half,follows the announcement in September that the company wouldeliminate 210 jobs at its Bakersfield, CA-based oil and gasdrilling subsidiary.

Same story, different company. That summarizes third quarterresults reported recently by Anadarko Petroleum. Like everyoneelse, Anadarko suffered from lower gas and oil prices last quarter,and the hurt shows plainly in its financials.

Anadarko Petroleum said its annual energy production is expectedto grow at an average rate of 18% per year, from 48 million energyequivalent barrels (EEBs) in 1998 to an estimated 92 million EEBsin 2002. The company said the new production forecast is based ondevelopment of known fields and does not include any newexploration discoveries.

Ultramar Diamond Shamrock and Phillips Petroleum signed a letterof intent to combine all of the operating assets of UltramarDiamond Shamrock and the North American refining, marketing, andtransportation (RM&T) operations of Phillips into a jointventure company named Diamond 66. The deal will not affect Phillipsnatural gas activities, a spokeswoman said.

Occidental Petroleum’s oil and gas drilling subsidiary laid off80 employees in Bakersfield, CA, on Wednesday, and will eliminateanother 130 jobs as part of a restructuring triggered by low crudeoil prices and its poor stock price performance. The subsidiary’swork force at its Bakersfield headquarters will be pared down to135 by eliminating 210 jobs and transferring another 50 employees.The company’s stock price plummeted last month to a new 52-week lowof 17 3/4 from a high of 30 3/4. It’s stock closed up 9/16 onWednesday following the announcement, but fell 1/8 Thursday to 221/8.

Tesoro E&P Company L.P., a wholly-owned affiliate of TesoroPetroleum Corp., announced earlier this week it purchased a 50%working interest from Sheridan Energy in the Stiles Ranch Fieldnorth of Amarillo, TX.

Anadarko Petroleum lamented low oil prices when it reportedsecond quarter net income that was about one-fifth what it was inthe same period last year. For the second quarter net incomeapplicable to common stockholders was $2.7 million Revenues were$137.6 million. By comparison, net income for the second quarter of1997 was $13.8 million on revenues of $139 million.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. reported a $28 million increase innet income for the second quarter compared with 2Q97. Resultsreflected a $290 million pretax gain from the sale of certain oiland gas assets. Earnings before special items were $47 million forthe second quarter of 1998, compared with $138 million for the sameperiod in 1997, reflecting lower crude oil prices.

Dynegy Inc., formerly NGC Corp. has purchased ComptonPetroleum’s Canadian midstream assets, including 78 miles ofpipelines, and the 82 MMcf/d Mazeppa and 15 MMcf/d Gladysprocessing plants in southern Alberta, for C$60 million. The dealalso includes a transportation, processing and revenue sharingagreement whereby Compton is assured processing and transportationcapacity at set rates and is paid a fee for bringing in new wellsand production.