Nexen

History

Nexen started in 1969 as Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. (CanOxy), and was 80% owned by Occidental Petroleum, an oil company based in Los Angeles. In the first decade of its existence, CanOxy was fairly Canadian-oriented. During the 1980s and 1990s they increased their international holdings, first in the Gulf of Mexico, then into places like Yemen and the North Sea. Further Canadian assets were also acquired.

In the 1990s, Nexen, then known as CanOxy, purchased the assets of what once was the first state-owned oil and gas company in North America; Wascana Energy Inc., formerly known as SaskOil. Founded by Saskatchewan New Democratic Party Premier Allan Blakeney in 1973, Saskoil was privatized in 1986 by Progressive Conservative Premier Grant Devine.

Acquisition by CNOOC Limited

CNOOC Limited, a major subsidiary of CNOOC headquartered in Beijing, acquired Nexen on February 25, 2013, Nexen. Nexen's common stock shareholders received cash proceeds of USD$27.50, without interest, whereas preferred stock shareholders of Nexen received cash proceeds of CAD$26, plus accrued and unpaid dividends without interest.

Energy operations

Nexen has interests in Canada (including the Athabasca oil sands through a 7.23% ownership of Syncrude and the Long Lake project), the UK North Sea, the United States, and offshore West Africa. Beginning in February 2013, Nexen took accountability for managing approximately $8 billion in CNOOC Limited assets located throughout North and Central America.

Long Lake

The Long Lake project in the Athabasca Oil Sands was initiated in 2001. It was started in order to develop the Long Lake site using steam-assisted gravity drainage and the OrCrude process for on-site upgrading. Production capacity at Long Lake is 72,000 barrels of bitumen per day which, when upgraded, is capable of generating approximately 58,500 barrels per day. The proved reserves at the Long Lake site are 310,000,000 bbls.

On 15 July 2015, the pipeline oil spill at the Long Lake facility near Fort McMurray was discovered in the afternoon by a worker in which the factory's failsafe system was unable to detect. As of 16 July 2015, at least 5,000,000 litres (1,100,000 imp gal; 1,300,000 US gal)—or 31,500 barrels—of oil emulsion has been spilt onto an area of approximately 16,000 square metres (170,000 sq ft), although water bodies were not contaminated. Nexen said efforts were made to stabilise the leak, such as shutting down operations at the time of discovery and isolating the area. The company said the pipeline was installed in 2014 and contains an emulsion mixture of bitumen, wastewater, and oil sand. Determining the cause of the spill would take months, according to a company employee.

Efforts were made to clean up the affected area, such as vacuum trucks, and avoid further environmental impact, like affecting wildlife. On 19 July, one duck was found dead from the spill.

As of September 2015, the facility has resumed operations, but 45 pipelines still remain shut down.

Occupational health and safety

An explosion left one worker dead and another seriously injured at the Long Lake oil sands facility near Anzac, south of Fort McMurray The two maintenance workers involved were found near natural gas compression equipment used for a hydrocracker, which turns heavy oil into lighter crude, at the plant’s main processing facility, known as an upgrader.

Marketing

Nexen also has an Energy Marketing division that trades and markets proprietary and third-party crude oil, natural gas, liquid natural gas, and electrical power.