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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greywolf who wrote (2561)	6/23/2001 1:34:38 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2742

Lundin Deal Puts Petro-Can Back in African Oil Scene By Jeffrey Jones CALGARY, Alberta, June 21 (Reuters) - Petro-Canada's $75-million purchase of Libyan oil assets from Lundin Oil AB puts the company back on the North African oil scene just four months after it appeared to be winding up efforts there. Petro-Canada, the country's third-largest oil producer, refiner and marketer, said on Thursday it agreed to buy Lundin's 25-percent interest in the En Naga block in Libya's Sirte Basin, which contains two proven but undeveloped oil fields. It said it did not expect to be targeted by U.S. sanctions aimed at foreign oil firms operating in Libya. The deal is part of a larger restructuring of Sweden's Lundin, which also included the sale of most of its other assets, excluding those in Sudan and Russia, to another Canadian energy heavyweight, Talisman Energy Inc. In early March, it appeared Petro-Canada's days in North Africa were numbered when it said it broke off talks with Algeria aimed at developing a major natural gas project. The two sides had been in discussions for about two years. The move came after Petro-Canada sold its interests in Norway to concentrate on its Canadian offshore oil, oil sands and natural gas holdings. "We are still interested in North Africa, and we always maintained we'd evaluate international opportunities as they arose, and that's what happened with this," Petro-Canada spokesman Chris Dawson said. The fields, which are 75-percent owned by the National Oil Co. (NOC) of Libya, contain reserves currently estimated at 84 million barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. Petro-Canada believes that number could rise. "There's two fields that have been established by three wells and defined by seismic. But we feel that ultimate reserves won't be determined until there is a more thorough delineation program," Dawson said. The United States has threatened to punish foreign oil companies operating in Libya under its Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, but the company said it believed its investments would be too small to run afoul of the legislation, which is due to be renewed by August. The Libyan project represented good opportunities for short-term production growth at an attractive price and keeps Petro-Canada operating in the region should it resume talks with Algeria for the gas project, said Martin Molyneaux, analyst with FirstEnergy Capital Corp. "It's doable and profitable with very little downside risk," Molyneaux said. "You keep that team intact and working with the hope that the Algerian stuff comes together one way or another." Petro-Canada continued to have a good relationship with the Algerian government and the national oil company Sonatrach, Dawson said. The two sides had been discussing a regional gas project encompassing 23 gas fields producing a total of up to 400 million cubic feet a day before Petro-Canada walked away from the table. The deal with Lundin Oil is slated to be closed during the third quarter, pending NOC's approval of Petro-Canada becoming operator, the company said. Petro-Canada shares closed off C$2.30 at C$39 in Toronto on Thursday, down from their 52-week high of C$43.65. ($1=$1.53 Canadian)

To: Greywolf who wrote (2561)	6/23/2001 2:36:17 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

Lundins search for the big score, wherever that leads. Not giving up on Sudan Financial Post, June 22 Drew Hasselback VANCOUVER - The Lundin family takes great pride in sticking to its strategy of investing where the resources are, no matter what the political environment is. The search for the big score has led the family to seek out controversial projects, including in war-torn Africa. "We go where the big resources are," Lukas Lundin said in an interview yesterday after it was announced a friendly deal had been reached to sell Sweden-based Lundin Oil AB to Talisman Energy Inc. of Calgary. Both Talisman and Lundin have come under fire for their investments in Sudan, where a 18-year-old civil war has killed an estimated two million people. "If there was more stuff in Canada, we'd do more here," said Lukas, one of two sons of Adolf Lundin, who founded the family's investment empire. The Talisman deal should not be seen as a sign the Lundins are giving up on the Sudan, he said. "There's 250 million barrels there." The Lundin family is separating the oil firm's assets in Sudan and Russia from the Talisman deal and folding them into a new company to be called Lundin Petroleum AB. The Lundin investment empire was founded by Lukas' father, Adolf Lundin. The senior Lundin was born in Sweden in 1932 and is now based in Geneva. But he has also spent about 30 years financing a range of Vancouver-based oil and mining companies. Lukas was born in Switzerland, but has lived in Vancouver for the past 12 years. The family has also invested in a copper development in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Civil war in that country forced a Lundin's company, Tenke Mining Corp., to declare force majeure and suspend payments to a development partner. Despite the set-back, the company is still looking for ways to advance the project. Despite the swashbuckling nature of the family's investments, the Lundins prefer to keep a low profile. "We don't go out and call the media every five minutes," Lukas said. Friends and business associates of the Lundins in Vancouver describe the family as creative and imaginative risk takers. They are also known for their self-depreciating wit. Adolf Lundin once joked that he gave no choice to his two sons, Lukas, born in 1958, and Ian, born in 1960. He said they could do whatever they wanted in life, provided one became a mining engineer and the other a petroleum engineer. The boys ignored the order and both studied petroleum engineering, an act of defiance the senior Lundin has always found amusing. When asked about the supposed act of defiance, Lukas said "I don't know why. It was an easier subject, I guess." While their father may not have got his wish regarding his sons' educations, the boys have at least partitioned their business interests along oil and mining lines. Lukas settled in Canada, where he oversees a Vancouver office and the family's mining investments. Ian manages the oil business from an office in Stockholm. dhasselback@van.nationalpost.com nationalpost.com