Petro-Canada employees sit and wate

.By GARRY FAIRBAIRN

OTTAWA (CP) — Like the
‘hapless soldiers of the First
World Wat, Petre Canadh's
9,00 employees are 4
jow, watching the heayyy
artillery fly overhead and

ping noshell lands an their
perricular patch of ground.

‘While Oftawa's political
ficces trade barrages over
thls week's report ad-

vocating the reorganization

“privatization” of the
aevionl all company, one
official said Thursday,
“we're just sitting in the
trenches, keeping quiet.”

In Petro-Canada’s case,
the ‘“‘trenches’’ extend from
; pe 200 miles east of

ewfoundland, through rigs
‘fh desolate Arctic. lslands
and Saskatchewan's seas of

ain, to pipelines that twiat
mountainous British
Columbia.
~ Since its creation only four
ears ago, the Calgary-
based Crown corporation has
‘mushroomed Into a far-flung
op ire, the largest
. Canadian. owned oll com.

pany and about the sixth
argest oil ‘company In
Canada. The major foreign-
owned firms are bigger.

Its activities include
almost every phase of the oil
and natural gas. industry,
from longterm frontier
exploration to petrochemical

nts.

The extent of Petro-
Canada's empire. and its
dramatic growth inspired
some employees to compose

a song to the tune of This.

Land ia Your Land.”

The song, however, also
reflects the way this growth
has been achieved; By

of existing com-

panies oe from Atlantle

Richfield to = Pacifie
Petroleums ...”’

Of the 2,000 Petro-Canada
employees, In fact, more
than half were bought In the
controversial takeovers.

Petro-Canada's large
stake in eastern offshore
exploration came primarily
from the $342 million pur-
chase of Atlantic Richfleld

ear, it gained a sub-
stantial part of Alberte’s oll
acreage with the $1,0-hillion
takeover of Pacific

Its role in the far north was
launched at high speed: with

.Petroleums Ltd.

a genarous git: The federal

goverment handed the new-
born Crown corporation all

the 4§-per-cent federal share

_in Panaretic Oils Ltd, chief

explorer in the Arctic
Talands, plus preferential
rights to federal lands.
Senaltive to charges that it
had contributed nothing to
energy resources except
altered listings in oil
directories, PetroCanada
was able, much to the relief
of its Liberal parents, to
announce two natural gas
dincoveriees just before
voters cast ballots in the last

‘federal election.
But those and several later -

discoveries were not wholly
PetroCanada's — each was
achieved in partnership with
private companies, |

“T don't think we've drilled

Canada chairman Wilbert
Hopper sald in an interview
early this year. ‘We nor-

seek out joint venture
partnérs, and bring them in

thar ‘however, was not an
admission of inadequacy but
an assertion of a well-
managed role in general
energy development,

In addition to giving
PetrooCanada the benefit of
additional opiniona on
prospective areas, Hopper
said, the. partnership ap-
proach — also followed -by
moat private firms — aids it
mission of ensuring new
energy resources for the
future: “We want to stretch
our own capital resources
and do as much ag we can. If
we can get the private sector
to come in with us, It meana
wesavesome money and put
it on someplace else,”’

Tho strategy of
beachhead
takeovers and then ex:
panding it with allies makes
Ete pat any single
ve

through

lopment that would not _

have happened anyway in
Petro-Cannda’s absence, But
it has also given the corpo-
ratlon — and the government
— a comprehensive base.

For a cost to the govern-
ment of less’ than $900
million, including the gift of
shares in Panarctic and in
the Syncrude Canada Lid.
oilsands plant in Alberta,
Ottawa now owng through
Petro-Canada:

—300 million barrels of oil
and liquid natural gas

reserve,

—4.2 trillion cubie feet of
natural gas reserves in
Weatern Canada alone, plus
vast potentlal gas resources
in the frontier areas.

—375 retail gasoline
outlets and 55 bulk gasoline
plants.

—a small refinery at
Taylor in northeast British
Columbia.

varying but substantial

gas llquid plant at Empresas,
Alto.

The future potential is
even greater. In oll and gas
resources, Petro-Canada has
a good chance to gain a large
share in any major new dis-
coveries slnce it was In-
volved in 16 of the 2 frontier
wells drilled last year.

It is also in a long-term
major project to develop
Saakatchewan 8 extensive

heavy oll reserves.

as also layed a large
part In helping plan the $7-
illionplus” meat Gas
pipeline from the Arctic, the
$1.5-billion Arctle Pilot
Project to ship Arctic gas in
tankers, and the $1-billion @
and M Pipelines Ltd. ex-
tension of gaa pipelwines to
the Maritimes. It is into
Saskatchewan uranium
exploration too, -

The corporation has also
ensured it will get a piece of
future technological bresk:

interests In Panarctle, Syn-
erude,the planned Alsands
cleans plant, B.C. pipelina

compa

throughs, investing -
various experiements in
heavy ail and ail sands

The Horald, Monday, October 22, 1979 Page 7?

construction on & $i¢-million
petroleum research centre in

Ca .
ike’ othe Canadian-based
companies large and amall,

lt is also taking a flyer on -

International hot spots,
gaining exploration rights in
the Norwegian sector of the
North Sea, the United States
and the Spanish
Mediterranean. It may also
become involved in Chinese
offshore exploration,

In total, the assets are
valued at $3.5 billimn, four
tlmea the government's
direct investment. Domestic
and foreign borrowing has
enabled Petro-Canada to fi-
nance the expansion, backed

- by government guarantees

of the debts,
Valued by earnings,
however, Petro-Canada

would scarcely seem iike a
profitable iInvestmemt,
Profits were $9.5 million in
1977, $13.7 million last year,
and a likely $3 million this

year,
To make Petro-Canada at

- Joel Bell, who tol

h it

vestment, the heavy debt
load and heavy invalvement
in Kighcost distant-payoff
frontier areas would have to
"hat ‘was spelled out by
t was spelled ou

Petro-Canada vice- dent
Alberta
financial ‘analyste early this
year that massive In-
volvement in high-risk
frontier areas ia tn-
compatible with having
privatesector shareholders:

“While each project Js
itself viable for a com-
mercial entity having a large
enough base of currently-
profitable ventures, the sum
total of projects and frontier
activities would notappeal to
& purely profit-consclous
investor.”

CEMENTING
RELATIONSHIP ‘

CHELMSFORD, England
(CP) — As a sentimental
gesture, newlywed wives at
a housing estate here are
having their wedding gowns
cemented into the threshold
of their new homes.

Co, of Canada Ltd. in 1976. a well on our own,” Petro- nies, and A natural g-_ all attractive for

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