Chevron Said to Narrow Bids for $3 Billion Asian Geothermal Sale

Chevron Said to Narrow Bids for $3 Billion Asian Geothermal Sale

China General Nuclear Power Corp., the country's biggest nuclear power
operator, has been invited to make a second-round bid for Chevron Corp.'s
Asian geothermal energy assets, which could fetch $3 billion, according to
people with knowledge of the matter.

Jakarta-based PT Medco Power Indonesia is considering joining a separate
shortlisted consortium that includes Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp.
and Philippine energy producer Aboitiz Power Corp., said the people, who
asked not to be identified because the information is private. Citigroup
Inc., Chevron's adviser on the sale, will call for second-round bids later
this month, the people said.

Chevron, the largest U.S. oil producer after Exxon Mobil Corp., has slashed
jobs, canceled drilling projects and sought assets sales to counter a slump
in energy prices. The San Ramon, California-based company is aiming to sell
its main Asian geothermal holdings, which generate energy from the earth's
heat, in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Chevron's Indonesia Salak field, one of the world's largest geothermal
operations, supplies a power plant that has 377 megawatts of total capacity,
according to its website. It also has a 40 percent stake in Philippine
Geothermal Production Co.

Bidding Partners

"Medco Group is considering partnering with a Japanese company and a
Philippine company," Medco Power President Director Fazil Alfitri said by
phone Friday. He declined to name the potential partners.

Representatives for Marubeni, Aboitiz and Citigroup declined to comment,
while a representative for China General Nuclear didn't respond to a
Bloomberg inquiry. A Singapore-based spokesman for Chevron said the company
doesn't comment on market rumor or speculation concerning mergers,
acquisitions, or divestitures of its assets.

Aboitiz said earlier this month that it partnered with Marubeni, while Medco
said in August the Indonesian firm had submitted a bid to buy a stake in the
Chevron assets. Sovereign fund China Investment Corp., Malaysia's power
producer Malakoff Corp., Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. and Ormat Technologies
Inc.were among companies that considered making offers, people familiar with
the situation said in April.

Asset Sales

Chevron has said it plans to raise $5 billion to $10 billion through next
year from sales including the geothermal unit and assets in Hawaii, Canada,
Myanmar and South Africa.

In July, the company reported its third straight quarterly loss, the longest
slump since at least 1989, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The
industry is struggling with a persistent glut of oil that's sunk prices and
forced companies to shrink drilling programs and cut spending.

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Ref:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-16/chevron-said-to-narrow-bid
s-for-3-billion-asian-geothermal-sale

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com