Sonat

Sonat, Inc., was a large Fortune 500 American energy holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The company was founded in 1928 and was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "SNT". Sonat was primarily involved in natural gas transmission and marketing and oil and gas exploration and production. The company was also involved in contract offshore drilling until 1995 when the offshore business became Transocean.[1] Sonat was a leader and pioneer in natural gas transmission and offshore drilling, establishing many industry firsts in both sectors. In 1999, Sonat merged with El Paso Corporation.

History

Southern Natural Gas Corporation, 1928–1970s

Sonat was founded in Birmingham, Alabama, as Southern Natural Gas Corporation in 1928 by Christopher Chenery. In 1953, the company spun off its natural gas utility division, forming Birmingham-based Alabama Gas Corporation which later became

Former divisions

revenue	$4.17 billion (1998)

num employees	2,107 (1998)

Sonat Offshore/Transocean

Sonat Offshore was formed in 1953 by Southern Natural Gas when it established The Offshore Company to own mobile jackup rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The company's name was changed to Sonat Offshore Drilling in 1982. In 1993, Sonat took Sonat Offshore public. Sonat fully divested itself of Sonat Offshore in 1995. In 1996, Sonat Offshore acquired Norwegian Transocean ASA and adopted the name Transocean Offshore to differentiate itself from its former parent company. Today Transocean is one of the largest offshore drilling contractors in the world.

Sonat Marine

Sonat Marine was formed in 1981 when Sonat purchased Interstate Oil Transportation Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for $109 million.[8] Interstate had been the nation's largest independent marine transporter of petroleum products. In 1987, a group of Sonat Marine executives and managers formed a partnership to acquire the company from Sonat for $234 million.[9]

Teleco Oilfield Services

Sonat acquired Teleco Oilfield Services for $141 million in 1984 to expand its existing oilfield services business.[10] Teleco provided measurement-while-drilling services to the offshore drilling industry through a system it had developed where it could communicate data about conditions thousands of feet underground to the surface without interrupting the drilling process.[11] Sonat exited in the oilfield services business in 1992 when it sold Teleco to Baker Hughes for $400 million and a 5 percent royalty payment for five years on certain technology revenues.[12] During Sonat's ownership, it tripled Teleco's annual revenue from $51 million in 1983 to $153 million in 1990, grew headcount to over 1,300 employees worldwide, and deployed its technology to offshore drillers in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Middle East, Africa, and Asia.[13]

Southern Forest Products

Southern Forest Products was formed in 1968 to manage the company's more than 800,000 acres of timberland and natural resource holdings in the southeast.[14] The division also owned a 50% interest in Boise Southern, the company's pulp and paper mill operations in Louisiana that were a joint venture with Boise Cascade. Sonat sold its interest in Boise Southern to Boise Cascade in 1984.[15] After the sale of Boise Southern was completed, Sonat reorganized Southern Forest Products into Sonat Minerals and Sonat Minerals Leasing which continued to manage the company's land holdings and mineral rights.

type	Corporation
fate	Merged
successor	El Paso Corporation
foundation	1928 as Southern Natural Gas Company
founder	Christopher Chenery
location	AmSouth-Sonat Tower Birmingham, Alabama, US
key people	Ronald L. Kuehn, Jr., Chief Executive Officer and President
industry	Energy
products	Natural Gas Transmission and Exploration

History

Southern Natural Gas Corporation, 1928–1970s

Southern Natural Resources, Inc., 1970s–1980s

Sonat Inc., 1980s–1999

Merger with El Paso

Merger with El Paso

Sonat divisions

Southern Natural Gas Company

Sonat Marketing

Sonat Exploration