History
The Company started trading in 1934 as the Caribbean Oil Company with the intention of pursuing oil and gas exploration and production activities in Trinidad. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1936 as Premier (Trinidad) Oilfields For the next two decades, the Company concentrated its attention on oil production in Trinidad. The Company acquired its first interest in the North Sea in 1971; it expanded its operations in the UK Continental Shelf throughout the 1970s, merging with the Ball and Collins North Sea Consortium in 1977 to gain significant interests in the North Sea as well as properties in Sudan and West Africa. In 1984, the Company took a 12½% stake in the onshore oilfield at Wytch Farm in Dorset. This acquisition transformed the company's reserve base and cash flow and, even today, continues to make an important contribution to Premier's revenues, thanks to large scale expansions which have only become technically feasible with modern technology.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Premier enjoyed a series of exploration successes, notably the discovery of the Qadirpur gas field in Pakistan in 1990, the Fife and Angus fields in the UK Continental Shelf and the Yetagun gas field in Myanmar in 1992, as well as the offshore extension to Wytch Farm. The Yetagun transaction involved Premier entering into a deal directly with the Myanmar government.
In 1995, Premier acquired Pict Petroleum. As a consequence, Amerada Hess which had a substantial stake in Pict came to hold 25% of Premier's enlarged equity. From this point, Premier was participating in numerous North Sea oil and gas fields, including Fife, Fergus, Galahad and Scott.
In 1996 the Company diverted its attention to the Far east acquiring Sumatra Gulf Oil Limited, which had interests in Indonesia, and in 1997 went further buying Texaco's interests in Myanmar.
In 1998, Premier and Shell brought together their exploration and production interests in Pakistan to form a joint venture company, PSP (Premier & Shell Pakistan). In May 2001, Premier announced an asset swap with Shell which dismantled the partnership and, in September 2001, the formation of a new joint venture with Kufpec called Premier Kufpec Pakistan (PKP). Premier and Kufpec unwound the PKP joint venture in July 2007.
Petronas, the Malaysian oil company, decided to invest significant cash in the Company in 1999 buying a 25% stake.
A restructuring took place in 2002 which saw Petronas and Amerada Hess each give up their 25% holdings in Premier Oil in return for taking various Premier assets. Petronas received the Group's interest in Myanmar as well as stakes in Indonesian interests. Amerada Hess received a 23% stake in a key Natuna oil field in Indonesia.
In 2004 the Company acquired a 75% stake in an oil interest in Vietnam.
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