Partex

Partex is an oil and gas holding group whose origins are linked to the Armenian-British businessman and oil investor Calouste Gulbenkian. The organization developed from companies created to hold and manage Gulbenkian's interests in the international petroleum industry. Its name derives from Participations and Explorations Corporation, incorporated in Panama in 1938 as a vehicle for his oil-related assets. Gulbenkian had played an important role in the formation of the Turkish Petroleum Company before the First World War. Following changes in ownership and political conditions, that enterprise became the Iraq Petroleum Company. Gulbenkian retained a five percent interest in the consortium, giving rise to his famous sobriquet, "Mr. Five Percent." A 1928 agreement involving Shell, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Compagnie Française des Pétroles, Near East Development Company and Gulbenkian helped shape the structure of petroleum cooperation within the former Ottoman territories. The historical relationships associated with that agreement later influenced Partex's interests in the Middle East. Gulbenkian spent the final part of his life in Lisbon and died there in 1955. His will placed his oil interests and art collection under the stewardship of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, a Lisbon-based institution subsequently associated with the ownership and governance of Partex. The group's historical portfolio was built around upstream oil and gas activities, including exploration, field development, production and sales through concessions, joint ventures and related operating companies. The Iraq concession was nationalized in 1972, ending that part of Partex's direct historical involvement. The group nevertheless continued to participate in petroleum ventures elsewhere, particularly in Abu Dhabi and Oman, as well as through interests and exploration activities reported in Kazakhstan, Algeria, Brazil and Portugal. Its structure has comprised a holding company, regional or sub-holding entities, concession companies, management units and service companies. These entities have provided technical, financial, managerial and human-resources support to joint ventures and operating businesses in line with group strategy. Partex was sold by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to PTT Exploration and Production, a Thailand-based state-controlled petroleum company, under an agreement announced in June 2019. The reported transaction value was $622 million, approximately €555 million at the time. The acquisition transferred control of Partex to PTTEP and expanded the Thai group's exposure to international upstream assets. Partex therefore represents both a legacy investment platform created around Gulbenkian's petroleum interests and an operating oil and gas group within the wider PTT corporate ecosystem.

Partex's history is rooted in the international oil investments of Calouste Gulbenkian. Before the First World War, Gulbenkian helped establish the Turkish Petroleum Company, a consortium that later became the Iraq Petroleum Company. His five percent holding in the company earned him the nickname "Mr. Five Percent" and made him a significant participant in the development of Middle Eastern petroleum concessions. In July 1928, Shell, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Compagnie Française des Pétroles, Near East Development Company and Gulbenkian entered into an agreement governing cooperation within the former Ottoman Empire. The arrangement, commonly associated with the Red Line Agreement, influenced the subsequent organization of oil interests in the Middle East. Partex's later interests in Abu Dhabi and Oman can be understood within this broader historical legacy of concession-based petroleum development. In 1938, Gulbenkian incorporated Participations and Explorations Corporation in Panama to hold assets connected with his oil activities. The abbreviated name of that company provided the basis for the Partex name. After Gulbenkian died in Lisbon in 1955, his will transferred responsibility for his oil interests and art collection to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which was established in Lisbon. The foundation subsequently became the owner associated with Partex for many decades. Partex operated as a holding and participation group rather than as a single-field producer. Its companies held interests in concessions and joint ventures involved in exploration, development, production and sales of oil and gas. The group also maintained management and service entities that supplied technical, financial, administrative and human-resources capabilities to the ventures in which it participated. Its geographic portfolio included significant historical interests in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, together with reported concessions or exploration positions in Kazakhstan, Algeria, Brazil and Portugal. The nationalization of the Iraq concession in 1972 removed the group's historical Iraq position, but Partex continued its international upstream activities elsewhere. The group reported access to oil and gas resources according to its ownership shares in participating concessions. A published figure for the end of 2005 placed its attributable resources at 215 million barrels of oil equivalent, although that figure is historical and should not be treated as a current reserve estimate. In June 2019, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation agreed to sell Partex to PTT Exploration and Production, a Thai state-controlled oil and gas company. The reported price was $622 million, approximately €555 million. The transaction ended the foundation's long association with the oil group and placed Partex within the wider PTT Group. Under PTTEP ownership, Partex remains associated with international upstream oil and gas interests and concession-based operations.

• 2019

  PTTEP agrees to acquire Partex

  [1]Partexen.wikipedia.org

  The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation agreed to sell Partex to PTT Exploration and Production for a reported $622 million.

• 2005

  Reported attributable resources reach 215 million barrels of oil equivalent

  [1]Partexen.wikipedia.org

  Partex reported access to approximately 215 million barrels of oil equivalent based on its ownership shares in participating concessions at the end of the year.

• 1972

  Iraq concession nationalized

  [1]Partexen.wikipedia.org

  The Iraq concession associated with Partex's historical petroleum interests was nationalized.

• 1955

  Gulbenkian's oil interests pass to his foundation

  [1]Partexen.wikipedia.org

  Following Gulbenkian's death in Lisbon, his will assigned his oil interests and art collection to the Lisbon-based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

• 1938

  Participations and Explorations Corporation incorporated

  [1]Partexen.wikipedia.org

  Calouste Gulbenkian incorporated a Panama-based company to hold his oil-industry assets; its name supplied the origin of the Partex identity.

An internationally oriented upstream oil and gas investment and operating group built around concession and joint-venture interests rather than a consumer-facing fuel brand.

• Energy commodity

  Crude oil

  Crude oil produced through Partex's upstream concession and joint-venture interests. The group has historically participated in exploration, development and production activities in several international petroleum regions, with sales handled through the relevant operating or concession structures.

• Energy commodity

  Natural gas

  Natural gas associated with Partex's upstream oil and gas portfolio. Rather than marketing a standardized consumer product, Partex's gas activities arise from its ownership interests in concessions and joint ventures engaged in field development and production.

• Oil and gas operations

  Upstream oil and gas services

  Partex's group structure has included management and service companies providing technical, financial, managerial and human-resources support to participating concessions and operating ventures. These capabilities support exploration, development, production and related petroleum operations.

• 2019

  Sale of Partex to PTT Exploration and ProductionM&A

  Background

  The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation had owned Partex for decades through the legacy of Calouste Gulbenkian's oil interests. It agreed to transfer the group to a strategic upstream oil and gas buyer based in Thailand.

  Action taken

  The foundation signed an agreement to sell Partex Oil and Gas to PTT Exploration and Production for a reported consideration of $622 million, approximately €555 million.

  Aftermath

  PTTEP became Partex's owner, bringing the group into the wider PTT Group and ending the foundation's ownership of the oil and gas business.

  Transaction value. $622 million, approximately €555 million (June 2019)

  Source

1. 1Partexen.wikipedia.org