ChevronTexaco acquired Unocal today in a stock and cash transaction valued at about $18 billion.
The full integration is expected to be complete in six months.
“ChevronTexaco and Unocal share common roots in the oil fields of California, and we believe we have highly compatible business cultures and values,” said Dave O’Reilly, ChevronTexaco chairman and CEO. “A very attractive element of this combination is the opportunity to integrate two highly capable groups of employees to continue to drive world-class performance.”
The combined oil companies will produce an estimated 3 million barrels per day in 2006. Unocal’s reserves of 1.75 billion barrels would increase ChevronTexaco’s reserves, as of the end of 2004, by 15 percent.
For the past several years, “Unocal has been highly successful in building a portfolio of major international and deepwater assets and prospects,” said Charles Williamson, Unocal chairman and CEO. Combining that portfolio with ChevronTexaco’s will maximize the potential of both companies, Williamson said.
The merged company will be especially strong in the Asian Pacific region and in the Gulf of Mexico, and will have the second-largest interest in the Azerbaijan International Operating Co. in the region of the Caspian Sea.
