BHP considers big offshore project

Article Excerpt

BHP BILLITON LTD. ADRs $42 (New York symbol BHP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $67.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bhpbilliton.com) is a leading producer of iron ore, copper, coal, and oil and natural gas. It operates in Australia, the U.S., Chile, South Africa and the U.K. The company recently agreed to team up with Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex to develop the Trion oil offshore field in the Gulf of Mexico. BHP will have a 60% stake in Trion and operate the project. The company will make an upfront payment of $62.4 million. It has also agreed to spend up to $320 million on Trion’s initial development phase. If the partners decide the project is viable, full development of this field would cost them $11 billion and could come into operation by 2023. Its reserves of 485 million barrels would last roughly…