LNG

Warren Buffett, one of America’s most followed investors, has taken his stake in Occidental Petroleum to more than 19 percent, in a varied portfolio of energy shares and stakes acquired by the man known as the “Oracle of Omaha”.

Dominion Energy, a shareholder in the Cove Point LNG export plant in Maryland supplying Asia and Europe, has closed the sale of Questar Pipelines to Southwest Gas Holdings Inc. in a transaction valued at almost $2 billion, including the assumption of $430M of existing debt.

Southwest Gas Holdings Inc. is rejecting continued attempts by activist investor Carl Icahn to buy up outstanding stock for $75 per share, calling the move opportunistic and not in the best interest of shareholders.

Burckhardt Compression, the LNG equipment maker, has had a shareholder agreement with a management buy-out group from 18 years ago extended until 2026, underlining corporate stability amid steady expansion.

The MBO shareholder group who participated in the management buyout transaction in 2002 and who initiated and conducted Burckhardt Compression’s initial public offering of shares in 2006 has informed the company that it will extend its shareholder agreement, ahead of schedule, for another five years.

The previous MBO shareholder agreement was concluded in 2016 with its term running until May 2021.

“We greatly appreciate that Burckhardt Compression can continue to count on the commitment of this stable anchor shareholder group,” said Ton Büchner, Chairman of the Board.

The stake held by the MBO shareholder group amounts to 12.3 percent of outstanding shares.

Valentin Vogt, representative of the MBO shareholder group, said it was happy with the current direction of the firm.

“With the renewal of the shareholder group agreement for another five years we reaffirm our long-term dedication as shareholders of Burckhardt Compression,” said Vogt.

The history of Burckhardt Compression began in April 2002 when the Swiss Sulzer Corporation decided to divest the Sulzer Burckhardt division through a management buyout.

Five members of Sulzer Burckhardt’s management together with the financial investor Zurmont acquired the company.

The former Sulzer division has since operated under the name Burckhardt Compression.

In June 2006, Zurmont sold its entire stake in Burckhardt Compression through an IPO.

At the time of the IPO, the five members of management, who then owned 20.9 percent of the company’s shares, concluded a shareholder agreement, which has now been extended since those days.

Burckhardt offers a variety of compressor solutions for fuel gas compression that have been specifically designed for marine applications.

Its M-Type Electronically Controlled-Gas Injection (ME-GI) compressor systems are designed for boil-off gas management on LNG carriers equipped with MAN Energy Solutions ME-GI two-stroke engines.

Burckhardt also provides its Laby brand compressors for LNG carriers with X-DF propulsion systems and other marine compressors for vessels such as bunkering ships.

Burckhardt’s most recent order was disclosed in early December and consisted of eight low-pressure systems for boil-off gas (BOG) management.

The compressor solutions are destined for two 14,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) and two 690 FEU (forty-foot equivalent units) container vessels ordered by C-LNG Solutions, a Singapore-based leader in LNG fuel gas solutions and LNG cargo handling.

Winterthur-based Burckhardt said all the ships would be equipped with WinGD X-DF propulsion systems and will be built at a Chinese shipyard with an option for 16 more vessels.

Burckhardt has been steadily moving into other markets through acquisitions over the past several years.

The Swiss manufacturer continued its global expansion by agreeing in 2020 to acquire the 40 percent of Chinese company Shenyang Yuanda Compressor it didn’t already own.

Burckhardt had its initial 60 percent of Shenyang Yuanda, based in northeast Liaoning Province, in March of 2016.

The Swiss company has previously taken over US and Japanese companies. US subsidiary Arkos Field Services was fully acquired in November 2019.

Burckhardt also in April 2020 completed a deal to acquire the global compressor business of Japan Steel Works Ltd.

Occidental Petroleum Corp., the largest acreage holder in the prolific Permian Basin and the winner of the bidding last year for Anadarko Petroleum, has entered into an agreement with US activist investor Carl Icahn and is taking three Icahn-designated directors onto its board.

The bidding battle last year between Occidental Petroleum and Chevron Corp. for Anadarko Petroleum and its prized Mozambique LNG stake has brought a sharp change in fortunes for winner Occidental.

Tellurian Inc., the developer of the Driftwood LNG plant in Louisiana, said that Cheniere Energy, the largest US exporter, had permanently dismissed all claims against Tellurian Chairman Charif Souki, the former Cheniere Chief Executive, and Tellurian Vice Chairman Martin Houston.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. recorded a fall in second-quarter profits as it advanced with its takeover of Anadarko Petroleum whose shareholders are scheduled to vote on the deal on August 8, deciding the final destination of a major stake in Mozambique LNG.