White House oil meeting includes independents and has strong ties to Denver
On Friday, the White House will be inviting oil executives to meet with them in order to discuss possible investment in Venezuela. While the list of attendees includes some big names from American oil, such as Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron, it also contains smaller independents, private equity-backed companies, and other players.
Only the largest U.S. An oil industry source said that oil producers in Venezuela have the experience and scale to operate there. It is noteworthy that smaller companies from Venezuela were included in the meeting, given that most of them operate in the U.S.
Continental Resources will also be there, and HKN Inc. (formerly Harken Energy), which claims to be the largest privately-owned oil and natural gas producer in the world. Denver, Colorado is the home of Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy, and has a small oil and gas hub compared to the rest of the United States.
According to the latest U.S. data, oil production in PADD 4, which includes Colorado, totaled 1,02 million barrels a day in October. Energy Information Administration. PADD 3, which includes states such as Texas and New Mexico produced 10,28 million bpd in that month.
Raisa Energy is a Denver-based company that acquires nonoperated stakes of energy assets. Its CEO is Venezuelan. Citadel and Ares Management are its investors.
Tallgrass Energy, a midstream firm with assets such as pipelines and terminals in the U.S. Rocky Mountains, and Oklahoma, and Aspect Holdings, whose independent director is former Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, are both based in Denver.
The Department of Energy didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Raisa Tallgrass and Aspect didn't immediately respond to questions regarding any previous discussions they had with Venezuela prior to the Friday meeting. Some of the smaller companies and independents might not have had as much experience with heavy crude oil, which is typical for Venezuela. However, they are familiar with lighter oil near Lake Maracaibo, and with shale, that hasn't yet been tapped.
They don't have as much capital, but they are known for moving much faster. They have a lower cost structure, which allows them to drill wells at a much lower price than majors," said the person.
(source: Reuters)
