Monday, Oct 19, 2009

(Adds comments, details, closing share price.)

ABU DHABI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA.AD), better known as Taqa, will focus on growing its existing portfolio of assets after a two and a half-year spending spree, signaling a change in the state-backed company's short-term strategy, Taqa's new chief said Monday.

"I think our short-term focus has changed. We're in a period now of focusing more intently on opportunities around our existing portfolio," said managing director Carl Sheldon, who serves in the newly-created position as chief of Taqa since former chief executive Peter Barker-Homek announced his resignation Friday.

"Our focus will shift away from acquisitions and more towards growth of our existing portfolio," Sheldon told analysts on a conference call.

Taqa has made nine major acquisitions all over the world over the past two and a half years, he said.

The energy firm is one of a growing number of Persian Gulf private and sovereign investors that have spent heavily in recent years on acquiring foreign assets to extend their influence outside the Middle East and to gain access to know-how and technology.

"The outlook is very positive. Our financial situation is very strong," Sheldon said. "We are intending to change our leverage, drive it down. Our dynamics are very robust, liquid, and we will be expecting to reduce our debt burden."

Taqa announced Friday that Peter Barker-Homek was stepping down as the company moved into a new phase of development.

"When I took on this role a little over three years ago, the board tasked me to identify key acquisitions which would establish Taqa as a global company and give it a critical mass in three distinct segments," Barker-Homek said in Friday's statement. "With this first phase of development now largely complete, I have decided to pursue other career ambitions."

RELATIONSHIP

Sheldon, who served as deputy general manager and general counsel at Taqa, joined the company in March 2008 from the energy practice at law firm Allen and Overy LLP, where he ran its German and U.S. operations.

"During the past 18 months, I've spent a lot of time going around a lot of the Taqa businesses and I've built a good relationship with the people in these business," he said. "In my new job I will continue to travel around the company because I think it's important for senior management to be seen out in the businesses, the places where we make money."

Taqa is majority owned by the Abu Dhabi government and has 24.9% of its shares listed on the Abu Dhabi stock market. Taqa's shares closed unchanged at 1.66 United Arab Emirates dirhams ($0.45) on the Abu Dhabi bourse Monday.

The company holds AED86 billion in worldwide assets in power generation, water desalination, upstream oil and gas, pipelines and gas storage, and last year recorded revenues to the tune of AED16 billion, according to its Web site.

Upstream oil and gas projects are "a critical part" of Taqa's revenue base, making up about 40% of revenue, Sheldon said, adding that "next year's capex [capital expenditure] budget will be overwhelmingly spent in upstream."

Taqa will continue spending on its existing North Sea assets, where a drilling program in the acreage acquired from Royal Dutch Shell PLC and ExxonMobil Corp. in 2008 has boosted production by nearly 15,000 barrels a day of crude.

"That capital expenditure program will continue," Sheldon said.

Separately, Taqa is moving ahead with its power projects around the world, with plans to expand its Jors Lasfar power plant in Morocco for which it expects engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, bids next week.

"We're going to add 700 megawatts of power generation capacity there, and we're expecting bids for EPC contracts on that next week," Sheldon said.

The firm is also expanding its power plant in Ghana, he added.

-By Nour Malas, Dow Jones Newswires, +9714 364 4960; nour.malas@dowjones.com

Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Co.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

19-10-09 1322GMT