Maxus Energy A 700Million Dollar Corporation

Maxus Energy is a $718 4 million Corporation having present Staff Strength of around 1939 approx. and HQ at 717, North Harwood Street, Dallas, Texas, USA. The Company has dominant presence as a Crude Oil and Natural Gas Exploration & Production Company in the mid-continent & Gulf of Mexico regions of North America, Indonesia and Thirteen other countries

Maxus Energy Corporation owes its origin to the split of parent Diamond Shamrock Oil & Gas Company in 1987. Interestingly, Diamond Shamrock was formed in 1967 by virtue of a merger of Diamond Alkali Corporation –a chemical Company and Shamrock Oil & Gas Company-a relatively small Oil Company.

Raymond F. Evans, the grandson of one of the founders had the vision to understand that in mid 1960s petrochemical sector would be the up-coming business line. So he approached smaller Oil Company namely Shamrock Oil & Gas Company for a merger. In 1967 the two companies merged in 1967 to become Diamond Shamrock Oil & Gas Company. Shamrock Oil & Gas Company was small but profitable enough to be a take-over target of major oil producing companies. Much later in 1967 Diamond Shamrock Oil & Gas Company was split into Maxus Energy & Diamond Shamrock by the then CEO William H. Bricker.

It was decided then that Maxus Energy would hold oil, natural gas and coal production assets and Diamond Shamrock would hold refining and marketing. It was Charles L. Blackburn who hailed from Shell Oil & later became the Chairman, President and CEO set his clear goals & took some harsh decisions to put Maxus Energy Corporation on the rails of dynamic & profit making company.

His clear goals were: all non-exploration & non-production operations were to be divested. As a first step the coal company under Maxus Energy was sold. So were the geothermal assets and non-oil & gas business. His second goal was to cut the overhead cost drastically by $ 20 million and non-essential activities & non-strategic assets were to be eliminated. He achieved these by closing offices & eliminating non-essential activities. His third objective was to confine North American Exploration to proven basins to reduce risks & costs. He set to broaden international exposure of the company with matching resources. He also wanted to consolidate activities in oil trading & gas marketing.

1990 was the first year Maxus Energy made profit for the first time. In 1991the company made losses again but the company consolidated its position by selling Rock Mountain and Permian Basin Assets and with the money it purchased gas reserves in Texas Panhandle. Canadian Operations and some shares of its lease in Indonesia were sold for to reduce debt balance of the company. In International Operations largest oil discovery in Indonesia &second largest gas reserve in Texas Panhandle has now made Maxus Energy Corporation a big producer in domestic natural gas and international oil. Answers