Berry Petroleum Company

Berry Petroleum Company is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of LINN Energy in the industry of crude oil and natural gas exploration and production.^[2] Berry Petroleum Company was founded in 1909 by Clarence Berry.

The company's headquarters is in Denver, Colorado. Its operation areas include 46% in California, 23% in the Permian basin, and 13% in the Uinta basin.

History

Berry Petroleum Company first started its exploration in 1909 in California. In August 1996, Barry Petroleum agreed to buy Tannehill Oil and its affiliates for $25.2 million. ^[3] Then, in 2003, it started exploring the Uinta basin in northwestern Utah.^[4]

In February 2013, Linn Energy agreed to buy the Berry Petroleum Company for about $2.5 billion in stock.^[5] In November, Linn Energy increased the number of shares to be issued to 1.68 for each share of Berry outstanding before the merger.^[6]

On February 20, 2013, Berry, LinnCo and LINN entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, which was subsequently amended on November 3, 2013 and November 13, 2013 (as so amended, the “merger agreement”) providing for the acquisition of Berry by LinnCo through a stock-for-stock merger and the subsequent contribution of Berry to LINN in exchange for newly issued LINN units. At closing, Berry will be converted to a limited liability company named Berry Petroleum, LLC and will remain an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of LINN Energy.^[7]

Oil spill

In December 1993 Berry Petroleum had a leak in one of their oil pipelines, resulting in a spill into marine waters. The company had acquired the 40-year-old pipeline from Chevron in 1990 after it had been abandoned for some ten years. The line had been used to transport natural gas, yet Berry began to pump crude oil through it without making any upgrades. Moreover, it was revealed that ten months before the oil spill occurred, a safety valve that might have prevented the leak had broken, and no one supervising the pipeline bothered to repair it.

Both Berry and the state negotiated through the press, with Berry countering prosecutors threats with talk of suing the agencies that neglected to investigate witness reports and notify company officials of the leak. Several months later Berry agreed to pay a $600,000 settlement and pleaded no contest to a single misdemeanor charge of failing to report the leak. In addition, the foreman on duty during the spill pleaded no contest to a charge of illegally releasing oil into marine water and was ordered to perform 320 hours of beach cleanup.

Although free of criminal charges, Berry still faced a civil case from the state attorney general's office. That matter was not to be settled until January 1992, when the company agreed to a $3.2 million fine.

Merger

LINN Energy, LLC LINE, LinnCo, LLC LNCO, and Berry Petroleum Company (the "Companies") announced on Nov 04, 2013 that the boards of directors of LINN Energy, LinnCo and Berry have unanimously approved an amended merger agreement. The Companies have executed an amendment to the existing merger agreement to provide for an increase in the exchange ratio that each outstanding share of Berry common stock would receive in the merger and an extension of the end date to January 31, 2014.

Berry Petroleum Company is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of LINN Energy whose ticker symbol is LINEQ.

References

External links

• Berry Petroleum Company website