Chevron 'satisfied' with Unocal offer

Chevron 'satisfied' with Unocal offer

Agence France-Presse, New York

U.S. oil giant Chevron said on Thursday it was "satisfied" with its bid for exploration firm Unocal and expressed confidence it would prevail over a new offer from China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).

"We are satisfied with the bid we have on the table," Chevron vice chairman Peter Robertson told CNBC television.

Asked if Chevron would consider raising its offer, Robertson repeated the statement and added, "We are going to see our process through. We look forward to getting this closed."

Although the Chinese state-run firm was offering US$18.5 billion, roughly $1.5 million more than Chevron's bid, Robertson said, "they are not the same bids," noting that Chevron was offering shares as part of its bid.

"When you do the math, I think you will find the Chevron offer is competitive," he stated, adding that there was "a high degree of uncertainty" about the CNOOC offer, including a long regulatory approval process.

Robertson also expressed concern about the Chinese government involvement in CNOOC, saying "we are not competing with this company, we are competing with the Chinese government."

Robertson said the Chevron plan has already cleared some regulatory hurdles including approval by the Federal Trade Commission. He said the deal needs approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and then shareholders.

"We're moving down the pike the way we started out," he said. "It's going very well. We've had a lot of support. We've worked well with all the agencies. We think we're shortly going to be able to consummate this transaction."

Unocal said in a statement late Wednesday that its recommendation in April on the merger plan with Chevron "remains in effect," but that the Unocal board "intends to evaluate the CNOOC proposal in a manner consistent with the board's fiduciary duties and its obligations under the Chevron agreement."