INTERNATIONAL NEWS
ChevronTexaco Corp. confirmed the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Muanda International Oil Co., in the Democratic Republic of Congo to a subsidiary of Perenco SA, a European independent exploration and production company.
MIOC holds a 50 percent interest in, and is operator of, the DRC's 390-square-mile offshore concession, from which approximately 19,000 barrels of oil per day are currently produced from seven fields. The other concession partners are Teikoku, with 32 percent, and ODS Ltd., with 18 percent.
ChevronTexaco, through its subsidiary ChevronTexaco Oil Congo S.A.R.L., will retain an office in Kinshasa to handle ongoing business in the DRC and to consider potential new opportunities.
George Kirkland, president of ChevronTexaco Overseas Petroleum, said, "This is the latest in a number of sales we have completed around the world as part of our drive to further enhance the quality of our portfolio and allow us to refocus resources and capital on core properties and future opportunities -- including those in other parts of Africa -- that can add the most value to ChevronTexaco."
In other international news, Royal Dutch/Shell -- the largest oil company in Nigeria -- named Nigerian Basil Omiyi to head its largest African subsidiary, an appointment that industry analysts said was a bid to appease unions and ethnic groups threatening production shutdowns.
Omiyi becomes the first African to hold such a senior post for an oil multinational. His promotion comes as multinationals increasingly turn to oil-rich West Africa as an alternative supplier to the Middle East.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil exporter, the world's seventh-largest oil exporter and the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports. The 58-year-old Omiyi will become managing director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd. on Sept. 1.
MIOC holds a 50 percent interest in, and is operator of, the DRC's 390-square-mile offshore concession, from which approximately 19,000 barrels of oil per day are currently produced from seven fields. The other concession partners are Teikoku, with 32 percent, and ODS Ltd., with 18 percent.
ChevronTexaco, through its subsidiary ChevronTexaco Oil Congo S.A.R.L., will retain an office in Kinshasa to handle ongoing business in the DRC and to consider potential new opportunities.
George Kirkland, president of ChevronTexaco Overseas Petroleum, said, "This is the latest in a number of sales we have completed around the world as part of our drive to further enhance the quality of our portfolio and allow us to refocus resources and capital on core properties and future opportunities -- including those in other parts of Africa -- that can add the most value to ChevronTexaco."
In other international news, Royal Dutch/Shell -- the largest oil company in Nigeria -- named Nigerian Basil Omiyi to head its largest African subsidiary, an appointment that industry analysts said was a bid to appease unions and ethnic groups threatening production shutdowns.
Omiyi becomes the first African to hold such a senior post for an oil multinational. His promotion comes as multinationals increasingly turn to oil-rich West Africa as an alternative supplier to the Middle East.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil exporter, the world's seventh-largest oil exporter and the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports. The 58-year-old Omiyi will become managing director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd. on Sept. 1.