S&P maintains ‘Buy’ opinion on units of Buckeye Partners

S&P has reduced its 2012 earnings per unit estimate for Buckeye Partners to $3.49 from $3.75 based on lower revenues at its natural gas storage segment due to low gas prices, and a higher share count.

S&P kept its 2013 estimate of $3.99. It sees BPL gaining from its pending acquisition of Chevron's New York Harbor marine terminal as it should help position BPL to meet Northeast refining supply challenges. S&P kept its target price at $75, based on a target yield of 5.7percent on its forward projected distribution, in line with peers.

Williams Partners signs agreements with Hess, Chevron for Gulfstar FPS™

TULSA, Okla. - Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) announced on Oct. 25 that it has signed multiple agreements with Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) to provide production handling, export pipeline, oil and gas gathering and gas processing services in the Tubular Bells field development located in the eastern deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Hess and Chevron, owners of the Tubular Bells leases, will utilize Williams Partners' proprietary floating production system, Gulfstar FPS™. Williams Partners expects Gulfstar FPS to be capable of serving as a central host facility for other deepwater prospects in the area.

A Letter of Award for the project was announced in a May 24, 2011, news release.

Williams Partners will design, construct and install its Gulfstar FPS with a capacity of 60,000 barrels of oil per day, up to 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (MMcf/d) and the capability to provide seawater injection services. The facility is a spar-based floating production system that utilizes traditional three-level topsides mated to a classic spar hull. This standard design approach will allow customers to reduce their cycle time from discovery to first oil.

From sanctioning the project to completion, Gulfstar FPS is expected to be delivered in 30 months.

"This agreement demonstrates the value that deepwater producers place on reducing cycle time and costs. It also reflects the commercial benefit of our reputation for reliability and our commitment to safety - both in our deployment of innovative solutions and in our operations. We are delivering a solution that has positive, meaningful bottom-line impact for producers," said Rory Miller, president of Williams Partners' midstream business.

This Gulfstar FPS will be the first spar-based floating production system with major components to be built entirely in the U.S. Gulf Coast area.

"This project will create approximately 1,000 U.S. jobs for 30 months," said Miller. "These jobs are spread from coast to coast across more than 20 states."

Atlas shareholders approve company's sale to Chevron

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Atlas Energy Inc. shareholders have approved Chevron Corp.'s $3.58 billion takeover bid, clearing the way for Chevron's first U.S. shale-gas purchase.

Almost 100 percent of shareholder votes were cast in favor of the takeover, which is expected to close "promptly," according to a Feb. 16 statement from Atlas. The company, based in Moon Township, Pa., is one of the largest leaseholders in the Marcellus Shale gas field, controlling 622,000 acres.

Chevron's cash-and-stock bid valued the company at $43.34 a share when it was announced Nov. 9, a 37 percent premium to the previous day's closing price. Based on current prices, the offer is worth $45.48 a share.

Mumbai-based Reliance Industries Ltd., which has a joint venture to drill in the Marcellus Shale with Atlas, said in a Jan. 10 letter to Atlas's board that it should have been given a chance to make an offer.

Korean pension fund offers $847 million for 23.44 percent of Colonial

SEOUL, Korea - National Pension Service, South Korea’s biggest investor, said it’s in talks to buy into a U.S. oil pipeline to diversify its portfolio.
The Korea Economic Daily reported that the pension fund was picked as a preferred bidder to buy Chevron Corp.’s 23.44 percent interest in Colonial Pipeline Co. for about 1 trillion won ($847 million).
National Pension denied the company was picked as the preferred bidder. Colonial’s other stockholders have rights of first refusal whenever a block of stock is on the market. Colonial stockholders would be polled one by one to ask if they wished to buy the block. If none of the other stockholders was interested, Chevron could sell the block to National Pension Service.
South Korea has said pension and sovereign wealth funds may invest in overseas energy assets as Asia’s fourth-largest crude importer competes for natural resources with China and India.
Chevron Midstream Investments holds Chevron's 23.44 percent stake in Colonial, which transports fuels from refineries in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to marketing terminals, according to Colonial’s website.
National Pension, which had 295 trillion won in assets as of June, is investing in overseas stocks and real-estate from Australia to the U.K. to diversify from domestic fixed-income holdings. The fund plans to boost its overseas investments to at least 20 percent of assets by 2015, from about 11 percent now.

UK says it won't rescue BP; U.S. says it won't stop ExxonMobil or Chevron from buying the rogue company

LONDON - BP is negotiating to sell $12 billion worth of holdings, including some in Alaska, mainly to Apache, as it braces for a possible takeover attempt by Exxon Mobil Corp. or Chevron, according to media reports.
A deal with Apache, an independent oil and gas company known for its numerous acquisitions, would go a long way toward securing the money BP has pledged to put toward the cleanup costs. The two companies have struck deals together in the past, including BP’s sale of 18 Gulf of Mexico oil fields to Apache in 2006.
Some analysts have estimated that BP’s total liability may rise to $70 billion.
Among the assets that may be sold is BP’s 26 percent stake in the Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska’s North Slope, the largest oil field in North America.
BP’s chief executive, Tony Hayward, has been traveling around the world to bolster support from major stakeholders.
BP has already said that it will sell about $10 billion worth of assets as part of its financing strategy. It has already suspended its dividend to help conserve about $8 billion in cash, and plans to cut capital spending by several billion dollars. The company has been lining up financing from a group of banks as well, though it has also said it does not plan to issue new equity to potential new investors.
The company is also considering asset sales elsewhere in the world, including Vietnam and Algeria, according to another person briefed on the matter.
The U.S. Department of Justice has already asked BP for advance notice of major asset sales or cash transfers.
Oil-industry sources said the White House gave assurance that it wouldn't block either ExxonMobil or Chevron from trying to take over or merge with BP.
BP said it will use its second-quarter earnings call on July 27 to unveil a plan to amass $40 billion in funds.
Meanwhile, a British official has indicated that oil companies pursuing a deal with BP would not encounter opposition from the government.
"Takeovers and mergers are commercial matters for companies," said a spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Anadarko Petroleum has informed BP that it is holding back payments for costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said spokesman John Christiansen. But Anadarko, which owns a 25 percent stake in the ruptured well, is in discussions with BP to try to come to an agreement, he added.

Chevron installing massive solar system at Kern River

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Chevron is adding a solar system to power the pumps and pipelines at its Kern River oil field.
The 7,700 solar panels are expected to produce about 740 kilowatts of electricity, according to Reuters.
Chevron is using an eight-acre site for “Project Brightfield,” a testing grounds. The company is testing various sizes of panels and types of technology from seven companies.
The goal is to see which types of solar will be best suited for applications at other Chevron facilities worldwide, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The company said it plans to spend more than $2 billion on renewable energy and related research over the next three years.

U.S. businessman gave recording of corrupt Ecuadorian judge to Chevron

SAN RAMON, Calif. - Chevron Corp., battling a $27 billion environmental lawsuit in Ecuador, said it may pay the legal bills of a U.S. businessman whose secret recordings of meetings with the judge on the case led the jurist to step down.
Californian Wayne Hansen used a pen equipped with a tiny camera to record meetings he had in May and June with Judge Juan Nunez in Ecuador, Chevron admitted on Aug. 31.
Hansen told the judge he was seeking contracts for his company to clean up oil contamination if Nunez ruled Chevron was responsible for environmental damage in the Amazon Basin, according to Chevron’s translation of the conversations, which were in Spanish.
Chevron alleges that Nunez disclosed his intention to rule against the company at the meetings. Ecuador Prosecutor General Washington Pesantez said on Sept. 8 that the recordings, which Chevron provided to the government, show Nunez told Hansen that he would have to wait until Nunez issued a decision to find out the ruling. Pesantez said he’s investigating the matter.
If Hansen “incurs future legal costs related to this matter, it would only be fair that we consider assisting him,” Kent Robertson, a Chevron spokesman, said in an e- mailed statement.
Chevron paid for Ecuadorean contractor Diego Borja, who also attended and recorded the meetings with Hansen, to leave Ecuador and is providing him with financial support, Robertson said on Sept. 1, without disclosing specific amounts.
Borja and Hansen were asked to pay a $3 million bribe by a political operative in Ecuador’s ruling party to get pollution cleanup contracts, Chevron says the recordings show.
Hansen declined to comment and referred questions to San Francisco criminal defense attorney Mary McNamara, who confirmed that she’s representing him.

Chevron, Enbridge plan $500 million ultra-deep “growth pipeline”

Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. and California-based Chevron have announced plans to build a $500 million pipeline gathering system in the Gulf of Mexico.
A letter of intent was announced July 30 for the offshore pipeline.
Under terms, Enbridge will construct, own and operate the Walker Ridge Gathering System and provide gas-gathering services for the potential Chevron’s Big Foot, Jack and St. Malo ultra-deepwater developments in the Gulf.
Walker Ridge gathering will boost the economics of Enbridge's Manta Ray and Nautilus offshore pipeline while forming a “strategic base for future growth opportunities in the ultra-deep Gulf of Mexico,” according to the joint news release.
The new network could see 100 million cubic feet of gas per day travel the 300 kilometers of 8-inch,10-inch or 12-inch diameter pipeline laid at 2,000-meter water depths.

59,000-gallon Chevron crude leak in Utah was from three-inch line

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Chevron Pipe Line Co. crews were working on Jan. 9 to clean up about 59,000 gallons of crude oil that leaked from a ruptured pipeline south of Vernal on Jan 7-8.
A Chevron official said a three-inch feeder pipeline ruptured near Bonanza, 30 miles south of Vernal, allowing about 1,400 barrels of crude to leak onto the frozen ground, which is BLM land.
The event may have been related to the cold temperatures in the Uinta Basin.
Cold air jells the oil and keeps it from flowing far, said Houston-based Chevron spokesman Mickey Driver. "It's not free-flowing, so it's not going anywhere."
The three-inch line - which connects to the major pipeline that travels from the Uinta Basin to Chevron's Salt Lake City refinery - was shut down when the leak was detected early Jan. 8.