Norway's Statoil buys US shale gas land

AP ^

[chessplayer]

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norwegian energy company Statoil ASA says it has bought 70,000 acres of land rich in gas and liquid gas in West Virginia and Ohio.

[chessplayer]

I will never understand why it's not illegal to sell US land to other countries.

[staytrue]

I think the US expanded by the Louisiana purchase, buying Alaska, and the Gadsden purchase in Arizona.

Goose, Gander I guess.

[knarf]

Hold on thar ... buy the land or the mineral rights?

Y'want gas, you want rights ... not land.

And I don't think there's a hoopie worth his salt that wouldn't die keepin' them revenooers off'n his land !

[ltc8k6]

Statoil is one of the companies who started moving oil by rail to get around Obama.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/statoilbakken-20120830.html

[knarf]

I moved from Boston to WV in '76 and soon discovered there was a whole bunch'a land that had unlimited lifrtime gas rights with the deed.

Seems them dumb hillbillys told them oil people a century ago, they couldn't have no oil less'n they got the gas.

It was smelly, dirty burning and pretty much good for nuthin' (so the companies thought ..)THEN someone discovered how to carburate it ... THEN someone invented the heat pump, and them dumb hillbillys had lifetiome free, heat and refrigeration (ROGERS refrigerator ... heatpump) ... OH yeah ... and along came mantle burning lights ... all the comforts of home ... for nuthin' !

dumb hillbillys

The rest is ... as they say ... history.

[Milton Miteybad]

The author of the article has a very meager understanding of the type of interest Statoil acquired, obviously. They acquired and became the operator on leases totaling some 70,000 acres. Statoil did not purchase this acreage in fee, as incorrectly stated in the article. Rather, they acquired an interest in the oil and gas leases covering said 70,000 acres.

This is merely more proof (as if any more were actually necessary) that reporters are universally ignorant, and in most cases, just plain stupid.

[MichaelCorleone]

Don’t know much about the energy business, but if the hydrocarbons under that land are so valuable, why didn’t Exxon or Phillips 66 or Bill Gates or Warren Buffett buy it first?

This smells of the beginings of the handing over America to the UN.

[Milton Miteybad]

Don’t know much about the energy business, but if the hydrocarbons under that land are so valuable, why didn’t Exxon or Phillips 66 or Bill Gates or Warren Buffett buy it first?

In order of presentation:

Exxon: Already has unconventional shale liquids exposure through its acquisition of XTO Energy.

Phillips 66: Actually a refiner, not an E & P concern.

Bill Gates: You're kidding, right?

Warren Buffett: Isn't in the E & P biz. Somewhat surprisingly, the list of companies owned by Berkshire Hathaway shows no E & P concerns listed at all.

[SeminoleCounty]

Statoil is the govt run petroleum corporation in Norway...and are the largest fuel seller in Scandinavia. They have money up the yazoo and need to spend it

[LifeComesFirst]

Why should it be illegal? Isn’t it good that the land is being put to good use?

[GeronL]

Why are we allowing foreign governments to do this crap??

67% of Statoil shares are owned by the Norway government

[GeronL]

I think it should be illegal for foreign governments to do it

[LifeComesFirst]

You are unreasonably paranoid. This is about turning a profit by exploiting a resource, not ending sovereignty.

[Digger]

I will never understand why it's not illegal to sell US land to other countries.

Then one won't understand that America is not really a soverign nation anymore. Find out who really owns our so-called sovereign nation. Find out why these pukes are putting more land into government ownership. Find out that when we default that this land is the collateral for China & others. Find out that we are a totally sold out piece of land.

[FreedomPoster]

There are those that think that “getting around Obama” was designed to put money in the pockets of Warren Buffet and Bershire Hathaway, since they apparently own a lot of the key railroads. I never looked into it closely, but it seemed plausible. Warren has a lot of rent-seeking behavior in his interactions with government.

[MichaelCorleone]

Re: post #8

I was just using Gates’ and Exxon’s name to mean people and/or corporations with the means to buy the land and invest the money to get to those resources.

[Justa]

It’s because political contributions from foreign corporations are not subject to the same regulations and reporting requirements as US corporations. Example: British Petroleum.

[MichaelCorleone]

“You are unreasonably paranoid. This is about turning a profit by exploiting a resource, not ending sovereignty.”

Sure, from Statoil/Norway’s perspective.

But the report said they purchased the land in order to drill for oil/natgas.

But aside from that, you wouldn’t find it alarming to find out our state or federal gov’t allowed the sale of our land to a foreign government? Regardless of the alleged reason for the purpose of the sale?

It’s a moot point now because it looks like it didn’t happen this way, but the implications of a foreign government, whether friendly or not, gaining ownership of our land go far beyond simple economics.

I don’t think that would be an irrational fear.

[Roccus]

I wonder how this purchase of O&G rights got by Mike Ross?

[Milton Miteybad]

But the report said they purchased the land in order to drill for oil/natgas.

But the report is incorrect in one or more material respects. Statoil didn't buy the acreage in fee. What they got was an undivided interest in oil and gas leasehold covering this 70,000 acres. There is a difference.

Under the leases in which they acquired an undivided interest, Statoil has the right to drill and to use as much of the surface as is reasonable necessary to explore for and produce the hydrocarbons. They have the right to do this under one or more oil and gas leases, which last for a term of years and as long thereafter as oil or gas is being produced in paying quantities. But they didn't buy the real estate itself; they bought an interest in an oil and gas leasehold covering some 70,000 acres. The report makes it sound like Statoil came in and just bought up the countryside, dispossessing anybody who happened to be on the land they were buying, which most assuredly did not happen.

For those who are unaware, mineral production almost always occurs pursuant to the terms of some sort of lease. Oil and gas companies don't purchase land in the same way you or I might buy 40 acres out in the country. They acquire leases or permits that authorize them to explore for and produce the minerals they're looking for.

It isn't that unusual for a foreign-owned company to acquire working interests in oil and gas ventures in the U.S., either. For instance, Chesapeake Energy sold an undivided 1/3rd interest in its Eagle Ford shale holdings to China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) for $2.2 billion in 2010. Other domestic companies have brought in foreign partners into their ventures, as well. Through merger and acquisition, BP became the largest player on Alaska's North Slope, and a primary player in the gulf of Mexico.

Myself, I would view the CNOOC purchase (it's the Chinese, after all) with greater caution than anything involving Statoil, which is Norwegian.