The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have jointly reached
an agreement with Petro-Canada to buy its oil assets in Syria, CNPC
sources said yesterday.
It is the first joint bid made by a Chinese and an Indian
company for overseas oil assets, said an official from CNPC,
China's largest oil producer.
According to information published on Petro-Canada's website,
both companies will buy assets for 484 million euros (US$576
million).
Al-Furat Petroleum Company operates the assets in Syria, a joint
venture owned by the Syrian Petroleum Company, Syria Shell
Petroleum Development B.V. (Shell) and Petro-Canada.
After the transaction, CNPC and ONGC will together hold the 38
percent of Al-Furat's assets currently held by Petro-Canada.
The deal is expected to close in early 2006, subject to the
approval of the Syrian government, according to Petro-Canada.
ONGC was a major rival of CNPC during its bid for Canada-based
PetroKazakhstan Inc. CNPC announced the successful close of the
acquisition this October, the largest overseas acquisition ever
made by a Chinese company.
During his visit to India this April, Premier Wen
Jiabao signed a joint statement with Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, which includes a statement that both countries will
cooperate in the field of energy security and conservation by
encouraging engagement in the survey and exploration of petroleum
and natural gas resources in third countries.
The visit of the Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Mani Shankar Aiyar to China next January is expected to further
enhance such cooperation.
(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2005)