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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tomas who wrote (87129)	2/13/2001 8:02:38 PM
From: excardog	Respond to of 95453

SLB fans my response to this piece is why do the deal then? Schlumberger says Sema not ideal takeover By Lucas van Grinsven, European technology correspondent LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Schlumberger chief executive Euan Baird on Tuesday dismissed doubts over the takeover of Anglo-French information technology company Sema (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: SEM.L), but acknowledged it may not be an ideal acquistion. ``This may not be the best takeover that Schlumberger ever did, but it is certainly the friendliest,'' he told a small group of journalists here. New York-based Schlumberger said on Monday it had agreed to buy troubled Sema for $5.2 billion in cash. Baird said that oil industry analysts who cover his company had always opposed the firm's venturing into other areas such as smart cards and semiconductor testing, but Baird justified this acquisition by saying that ...``the information technology is just beginning and we want to be part of it''. Baird, who is in London with Sema chief executive Pierre Bonelli to rally investors behind the proposed takeover, said it would be successful if integration was achieved of three vertical units: telecoms, utilities and networking activities. ``That's the low hanging fruit,'' Baird said. It would still take two years to pick that fruit, because Baird said on Monday that the takeover would dilute earnings before amortisation of intangible assets in 2001 and 2002, and would become neutral in 2003. ``It takes time to find baskets and get that fruit,'' he remarked. He described the takeover as ``fast and friendly'', aimed at retaining key Sema personel. But he also said that Schlumberger had not rummaged through all the closets in its 10 days of due diligence. ``It was actually a bit longer than 10 days because we had been talking for a while. We didn't look in all the closets, but tell me an acquistion in which a company has done,'' said Baird. Sema's main problem, stemming from the poor performance of last year's takeover of mobile phone billing company LHS which failed to grow, was looked at. ``The conclusion was: 'Yes, Sema had problems with LHS, but it has been stabilised and will be well in 2001','' Baird said. Bonelli said Sema would benefit from the postponement of third generation mobile phone networks as it would be able to milk its existing second generation billing technology, and extensions for 2.5 generation mobile networks. ``For 2.5G we're in pretty good shape,'' Bonelli said. SYNERGIES? Analysts have difficulty seeing synergies between Schlumberger, an oil exploration technology company which also has a smart card business, and Sema, which is big in IT services for telecom companies, banks, governments and transport firms. Only a few months ago, that view did not appear dissimilar to Schlumberger's own. In fact, Baird said that Schlumberger had only seen opportunities for one or two joint ventures when it was talking to Sema last year, before Sema had to give up the notion of independence after it issued a profit warning on 25 November. ``We (Baird and Bonelli) discarded a couple of ideas, but we retained utilities and telecoms as the most attractive,'' Baird said. Schlumberger wanted to expand its only major non-oil business, the smart card unit, with services. With these it could offer complete solutions to public transport companies looking for automated payment services and telecom operators who want to sell personalised mobile phones. Schlumberger was also looking for integration and outsourcing skills to complement its oil services. In networks it saw some potential synergies, as Schlumberger was already pioneering security smart cards, and needed services to implement entire systems. NO TAKEOVER INTENDED Schlumberger had not intended to buy Sema. ``We wanted to take a stake. 20 percent would be appropriate,'' Baird said. However, after Sema's profit warning shareholders wanted to realise the value that was still in it, and urged to put it up for sale. Schlumberger stepped in to cut off rival bids. ``We did not want the company to fall in the hands of others, and the corporate culture is very similar,'' Baird said. Both companies have multi-national headquarters, are technology-focused and are led by engineers. ``It would have been difficult to find this fit with one of our competitors,'' Bonelli said. Sema had also talked to Cap Gemini, and Schlumberger has held talks with PricewaterhouseCoopers, U.S. service providers and SAIC.

To: Tomas who wrote (87129)	2/13/2001 8:22:33 PM
From: BigBull	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

Thanx Thomas, still want to see what the DOE says. Based on the two year averages published by the DOE there are some interesting time offsets developing in crude and product wrt the seasonal build that warrant commentary. Ideally, I'd like to see another weeks data sets to come to a conclusion about the possible nature and character of this seasons build. Still this weeks numbers should be sufficient to bring forth something reasonable.

To: Tomas who wrote (87129)	2/13/2001 9:55:38 PM
From: isopatch	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

CA declares Stage 3 alert for Wed. "Stage Three Extended for Day 30 Conservation is Crucial as Power Supply Remains Limited FOLSOM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 2001--The California Independent System Operator (California ISO) has declared tomorrow, Wednesday, February 14th a Power Watch Day. The state will remain in a Stage Three Electrical Emergency, with operating reserves remaining at or near 1.5%, through midnight Wednesday. Conservation efforts by the state's residents are critical to the ISO's ability to keep the state's power grid balanced and avoid customer outages. Increased conservation efforts are especially important during the peak usage hours of 5-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. A total of 10,000 megawatts is offline throughout the state due to maintenance issues. Wednesday's peak demand on the ISO-controlled Grid is expected to reach 30,986 megawatts at approximately 6 p.m. Power Watch is a public awareness campaign sponsored by the California ISO to communicate the current electricity resource outlook, in light of the rising demand for power in California. By providing regular updates on system conditions and peak demand forecasts, the California ISO hopes to convey the importance of using electricity wisely on days when electricity reserves may run low. Incorporated under California law (AB 1890), the not-for-profit California ISO is chartered by the state to manage the flow of electricity along the long-distance, high-voltage power lines that make up the bulk of California's transmission system. Following restructuring of the state's electricity industry, the California ISO's mission is to keep the open market power grid in California reliable, safe, competitive and accessible. Information about the California ISO control area's electricity supply and the current demand is available on the web at www.caiso.com. For questions relating to the electrical distribution systems that carry electricity directly to homes and businesses, please contact your local utility. Energy Conservation Tips for Winter Keep your thermostat at 68(Degree); lower at night and when not at home Minimize power usage during peak hours of 5-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. Curb hot water usage Turn off lights, computers, and other electronics when not in use Stage 1 Consumers are urged to reduce their use of electricity voluntarily to avoid more severe conditions. Stage 2 Voluntary interruption of service to select customers is required to avoid more severe conditions. Stage 3 Consumers are advised that rotating outages are possible." biz.yahoo.com