The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), a public-listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market, has been granted approval to purchase Pioneer Natural Resources Canada Inc (Pioneer) and PrimeWest Energy Trust (PrimeWest).

The purchase will be made by Taqa’s wholly-owned Canadian subsidiaries, Taqa North Ltd and Alberta Ltd.

The final approval was granted under the Investment Canada Act after the Canadian Minister of Industry decided the deal would be to the net benefit to Canada. 

'We  are  pleased  that  both  of these transactions have received Industry Canada  approval,  and  we  look  forward  to moving ahead with our plan to integrate  Pioneer and PrimeWest into TAQA North,” said Taqa’s CEO Peter Barker Homek.

Taqa  announced  the  $540  million  purchase of Calgary-based Pioneer, a Canadian  oil  and  gas  exploration company with operations in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, on August 23, 2007.  The Pioneer acquisition is expected to close by November 30, 2007.

The  C$5.0  billion  acquisition  of  PrimeWest, a conventional oil and gas royalty  trust that actively acquires, develops, produces and sells natural gas,  crude  oil  and  natural  gas liquids, was announced on September 24, 2007. 

The PrimeWest acquisition is now expected to close by January 31, 2008.

As part  of  the  integration process, Taqa expects to achieve up to C$700 million ($711 million) in operational efficiencies and capital savings over the next three years.

Following the completion of the Pioneer and PrimeWest transactions, Taqa North will rank among the top 10 companies in Canada in terms of net proven natural gas reserves and in the top 12 companies in terms of oil and gas production.

“Taqa  is the first state-backed enterprise to become a top 10 oil and gas company  outside  its  country of origin, and we believe that it can become the  model for how such enterprises conduct themselves in foreign markets,” added Mr. Barker-Homek.

“Though we’re a global company, we pride ourselves on acting locally, and are quickly earning a reputation as an exemplary corporate  citizen - as  measured by transparency, accountability, health and safety standards and social responsibility - in every market we enter,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service