Word: mergers
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...Gulf-Socal merger goes through, it will be the climax of a run of takeovers that has been reshaping the oil industry. In the past 32 months five large oil firms (Gulf, Getty Oil, Conoco, Marathon Oil and Cities Service) have been swallowed up. Last week's news set off renewed speculation about which energy companies would be acquired next. Among the most frequently mentioned targets: Superior Oil, Kerr-McGee and Amerada Hess...
...bought Gulfs oil, will Socal do less exploring on its own? Since it is spending $13.2 billion on Gulf, critics argue, it is not going to have much left over for drilling. Ed Rothschild, assistant director of the Citizen/Labor Energy Coalition, maintains that the reduced competition resulting from the merger will encourage Socal to explore less and charge more for its oil. Says he: "The losers in this deal are the U.S. economy, competition in the domestic oil and gas industry and the consumer...
...merger of Socal and Gulf is not expected to receive any strong Government opposition on antitrust grounds. Said Energy Secretary Donald Hodel last week: "Politically, it's a tough issue because it is a natural reaction to say, 'My gosh, these giants are merging and there must be something bad about that.' But I don't see that it has any significant effect from an energy standpoint...
...remarkably diverse. The four largest refiners (Socal, Exxon, Shell and Standard Oil of Indiana) control only about 29% of the market. By comparison, the four top companies in the typical manufacturing industry control an average of 40%. Says a top Federal Trade Commission official: "We could conceivably stop the merger, but it would take the clearest sort of signal from Congress before it would happen...
...congressional signals are mixed. The Senate voted down two antimerger bills in February, but support for new measures may be growing. Opponents of an antimerger bill think such a step could become a popular election-year issue. Says Oklahoma Senator Donald Nickles: "An anti-merger bill could happen easily, and sentiment is much higher now after the Gulf deal...