According to the Wall
Street Journal, Pacific Exploration & Production Corp. was thrust even
closer to bankruptcy last week when EIG Global Energy Partners withdrew its
offer for company. The Canadian oil company, which has most of its assets in
Colombia, is hoping to find a buyer in order to avoid a bankruptcy filing. EIG
reported that it had offered just 16 cents on the dollar for $4.1 billion worth
of Pacific E&P’s senior bonds.
In addition to troubled Pacific E&P, oil industry
observers in Colombia are also worried
about the country’s state-owned oil company Ecopetrol. Although the country’s
finance ministry denied that the government was interested in selling its
ownership stake, a group of senators representing the entire Colombian
political spectrum has assembled to fight a possible sale of the company. The group will look to organize demonstrations
and debates and also explore legal strategies to defend the oil company.
In other news related to Ecopetrol, Seeking
Alpha reported that the overhaul of Ecopetrol’s Reficar oil refinery should
improve the company’s throughput and margins. The report noted that the significant
cost overruns in the project will hurt the initial profitability of the Reficar
project, Ecopetrol’s new refinery capacity will allow the company to look
beyond Colombia to international markets for its refined oil products.
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