Statement by Fu Chengyu, Chairman and CEO of CNOOC Limited
Beijing (ots/PRNewswire)
We are extremely pleased that Unocal has indicated today they will begin engaging in talks concerning our all cash offer. We are prepared to start immediately. As we indicated upon announcing our bid, we believe this offer brings superior value to Unocal shareholders. It is important to know that 70 percent of Unocal's current reserves are located in Asia, and that is one of the reasons why this transaction makes sound business sense for our company. Substantially all of the oil and gas produced by Unocal in the U.S. will continue to be sold in the U.S. The development of properties in the Gulf of Mexico will provide further supplies of oil and gas for American markets. I want to re-emphasize our commitment to retain the jobs of substantially all of Unocal's employees, as opposed to Chevron's plan to lay off employees, especially in the United States.
In preparing our bid, CNOOC Limited always anticipated that our merger with Unocal would be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS). We are fully prepared to participate in a CFIUS review of the transaction and we have proactively made assurances to Unocal to address concerns relating to energy security and ownership of Unocal assets located in the United States.
CNOOC Limited has said that we are prepared to sell or take other actions with respect to Unocal's minority pipeline interests and storage assets so long as such a sale does not cause substantial economic harm to Unocal, and we will reiterate this commitment to the CFIUS committee when appropriate. We are also open to discussing with CFIUS placing non-E&P assets under American management through arrangements that CFIUS has approved often in the past.
We are prepared to enter into talks with the CFIUS committee to discuss these issues as soon as the committee is ready to do so.
Advisors
CNOOC Limited is advised by Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. and J.P. Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd. N M Rothschild & Sons (Hong Kong) Limited also assisted the board's non-executive directors in their review of the transaction.
More information about the transaction can be found through CNOOC Limited's website ( www.cnoocltd.com ) and through CNOOC Limited's transaction microsite ( www.transactioninfo.com/cnooc ).
Important Notice:
This document contains statements about expected future events and financial results that are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following important factors could affect future results and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements: whether a transaction with Unocal will occur and the terms and conditions of any such transaction; the extent and timing of our ability to realize synergies from the transaction; the effect of the transaction on employees, customers and other persons that have a material commercial relationship with CNOOC Limited or Unocal and our ability to maximize the value of those relationships; the possibility that the anticipated benefits from the acquisition cannot be fully realized; the possibility that costs or difficulties related to the integration of Unocal operations will be greater than expected; the impact of competition; the parties' ability to obtain required regulatory and other approvals in connection with the transaction; and other risk factors relating to our industry as detailed from time to time in each of CNOOC Limited's and Unocal's reports filed with the SEC. In addition, future results could also differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Unless legally required, CNOOC Limited undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts:
Investor
Xiao Zongwei
Tel: +86-10-8452-1646
CNOOC Limited (Beijing)
Media
Hong Kong
Tim Payne or Ray Bashford
Tel: +852-3512-5000
Brunswick Group
Beijing
Caroline Jinqing Cai
Tel: +86-10-8580-5203
Brunswick Group
New York
Steve Lipin or Michael Buckley
Tel: +1-212-333-3810
Brunswick Group
Washington, D.C.
Mark Palmer
Tel: +1-202-419-3557
Public Strategies, IncWeb sites: http://www.cnoocltd.com http://www.transactioninfo.com/cnooc
Contact:
Xiao Zongwei, +86-10-8452-1646, of CNOOC Limited (Beijing); Tim Payne
or Ray Bashford, +852-3512-5000, Caroline Jinqing Cai,
+86-10-8580-5203, Steve Lipin or Michael Buckley, +1-212-333-3810, of
Brunswick Group, for CNOOC Limited; Mark Palmer, +1-202-419-3557, of
Public Strategies, Inc, for CNOOC Limited