- 24Nov
(Reuters) - BP Capital, the investment management firm led by billionaire energy investor T. Boone Pickens, has purchased shares of oil company BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) for the first time in nearly six years and dropped its holdings in offshore oil driller Transocean Ltd (RIGN.VX) (RIG.N), according to a quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Dallas, Texas-based BP Capital purchased $19.8 million worth of American depository receipts in BP sometime during the third quarter, after the stock price hit 21-month lows at the end of June. The last time the firm held shares in BP was in the fourth quarter of 2004, SEC filings show.The firm's holdings in Transocean were down from nearly $30 million in the first quarter of 2010 to $9.3 million in the second quarter and were not listed at all in its third quarter filing.
The oil company has endured public criticism for the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion which claimed 11 lives and subsequently led to a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP leased the rig from Transocean.
Shares of the multinational oil company fell by more than half between April 20, when the explosion occurred, and the end of June, when it traded near two-year lows of around $27 per share.
BP shares were trading around $41 on Wednesday.
Transocean's stock price slid by about $50 per share between April 20, when it was around $92 per share, and June 9 when it was trading about $42 per share. The stock was trading around $66 per share on Wednesday.
In line with Mr. Pickens' philosophy of weaning the U.S. off oil and onto domestically produced natural gas, the firm showed that it increased its number of shares in natural gas producers between the second and third quarters of this year.
BP Capital added around $4.5 million worth of Chesapeake Energy (CHK.N) shares to its portfolio; boosted its holdings in Encana Corp (ECA.TO) to $9 million from $5.7 million, and added around 15,000 shares each of Quicksilver Resources Inc (KWK.N) and Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN.N)
Investment fund managers who oversee $100 million or more in equities are required to file a Form 13F to report their securities' holdings to the SEC 45 days after the end of the quarter.
BP Capital spokesman Jay Rosser said the firm does not comment on strategies related to its portfolio.
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