Carlos Slim Continues to Invest in American Oil and Gas Companies
By Alex Kimani of OilPrice.com
Latin America’s richest man, Carlos Slim, has been increasing his investments in American energy companies this year, aligning with other global tycoons who are still bullish on fossil fuels.
Slim recently added $602 million to his stake in Parsippany, New Jersey-based refiner PBF Energy, bringing his ownership to 25%. Additionally, he purchased $326 million worth of shares in Houston-based oil producer Talos Energy.
Last year, Slim’s Grupo Carso SAB acquired PetroBal SAPI’s stake in two oil fields in Campeche, Mexico, for $530 million, further expanding its energy production portfolio.
Grupo Carso now holds a 50% stake in the Ichalkil and Pokoch oil fields, which produce approximately 16,350 barrels of crude oil equivalent per day. The announcement of the deal led to record highs in Carso’s shares. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador supported the deal despite his previous skepticism towards energy reforms allowing private investment in exploration.
“Why do I celebrate this? Because it stays in the hands of Mexicans and I’m sure that they’re going to invest to extract crude. I consider that to be good news,” the president said at a news conference.
Obradors’ nationalist policies have caused tensions with foreign companies operating in Mexico, as seen with Trafigura scaling back its oil trading business due to government fuel subsidies.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has also been expanding its oil and gas investments. Recently, the company purchased an additional 8.9 million shares of Occidental Petroleum, boosting its total stake to 260 million shares valued at $12 billion.
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