UNOCAL Headquarter Set Up in Malays

[RANGOONP@xxxxxxx]

SINGAPORE, Sept 23 (Reuter) - Unocal Corp has set up a joint global
headquarters in Malaysia, but president John Imle stressed the company was
still American. 

"We are operating a twin headquarters system," Imle, who is based in Kuala
Lumpur, told Reuters on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific
Petroleum Conference. 

Imle said Unocal's chairman and key officials were still based in Los
Angeles. 

The joint headquarters was set up in the middle of the year and partly
reflects the growing Unocal business in Asia.
The company is a major gas supplier to Thailand and is actively exploring for
gas and oil in Asia. 

Its biggest project in Asia is the Yadana gas field offshore Burma, where the
company has a 28 percent stake. 

Unocal also has plans for power stations in Indonesia. 

"It (the Kuala Lumpur headquarters) makes us more Asian in terms of our
understanding of the region and the outlook, but we are still a U.S. company.
We are no less U.S. than we were. 

"The reason to be in Asia is to get a better understanding and to be closer
to customers. You just can't do all these (things) from California," Imle
said.
02:35 09-23-97