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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: techguerrilla who wrote (5887)	1/28/2005 6:11:29 PM
From: SiouxPal	Respond to of 360941

....and a fine rant that was. Lock 'n load.

To: techguerrilla who wrote (5887)	1/28/2005 6:16:27 PM
From: Patricia Trinchero	Respond to of 360941

Good rant.....says it like it is!!! eom :>) Pat

To: techguerrilla who wrote (5887)	1/28/2005 6:37:54 PM
From: T L Comiskey	Respond to of 360941

'and sell the dumb ass Chinese our stupid t-bills.' Pretty soon..the Chinese will be telling our reps .. how to vote (Mom and Pop...might want/need to learn Mandarin) Chinese firm may bid $13B for Unocal Sources say oil and gas company CNOOC shopping for a big acquisition; Unocal shares rise on news. January 7, 2005: 8:27 AM EST SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Top Chinese offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd. is in talks to buy the Asian assets of a foreign oil company, sources close to the parties said Thursday. The sources declined to name the company, but a report suggesting early-stage talks on a possible $13 billion bid for U.S. producer Unocal Corp. (Research), which has a strong portfolio of assets in Asia, drove its shares up nearly 8 percent Thursday. Industry watchers have said Chinese oil companies are eyeing several foreign oil firms or their assets. The Financial Times reported that CNOOC (Research) is considering bidding more than $13 billion for Unocal, but the deal was at a very early stage and detailed talks had yet to take place. One Wall Street analyst, however, said it was unlikely Unocal would sell its entire operations for $13 billion, since it would not represent a large-enough premium over its current market capitalization of roughly $11.7 billion. Instead, any potential deal would likely involve paying out $13 billion for Unocal's Asian assets alone, while its U.S. assets -- for which CNOOC would find another buyer -- would command another $5 billion, said Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit. Oil companies can command about a 25 percent premium on market value in this environment, Gheit said, as oil and gas prices remain at high levels. Unocal spokesman Barry Lane said the company does not comment on market rumors or speculation. CNOOC, which raised $1 billion from a convertible bond issue last month, is poised to dip into its $3 billion war chest for an acquisition to boost its production and natural gas business, the sources told Reuters. "They are looking very seriously at a very big international trade," one source said, adding that a deal could materialize as early as April. The foreign company has a "wide portfolio in Asia," a second source said. CNOOC executives were not immediately available for comment. Unocal, which is involved with or operates projects in countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Myanmar, has the largest exposure to Asia among its U.S. peers. Long a laggard within the U.S. oil and gas sector as it struggled with production declines, the mood on Wall Street now is that Unocal's performance may finally be turning a corner, Gheit said. "In the last few months, they're beginning to see glimpses of hope that things may be turning around," said Gheit. "Like anything else, people say there must be light at the end of the tunnel." Woodside target? Bankers have previously said Royal Dutch/Shell Group's 34 percent stake in Australia's top oil company, Woodside Petroleum Ltd., was a likely target for CNOOC. Woodside's exploration chief said Dec. 1 the company had not been approached about a possible sale of the stake, which would be worth about $3.5 billion at current market prices. CNOOC and bigger domestic rivals PetroChina Co. Ltd. (Research) and Sinopec Corp. (Research) have been trying to increase their reserves through overseas acquisitions as China's demand for oil soars on rapid economic growth. CNOOC, which has spent more than $1 billion buying oil and gas fields in Indonesia and Australia, is also trying to use overseas acquisitions to shake off an image as a poor relation of Sinopec and PetroChina, the second source said. "They are still sort of the so-called stepsister of Sinopec and PetroChina. They are looking for this deal to really transform them into a 'pari passu,' or equal partner," he said. "They feel they have the kind of international management culture to assimilate a deal like that." CNOOC, which targeted 2004 output of 140 million to 145 million barrels of oil equivalent, wants to use a major overseas acquisition to cement its position as the king of China's fledgling liquefied natural gas market, the first source said. "They are already the LNG connoisseur of China," he said. "They see a clear niche for themselves in the Asian gas market."