China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s largest oil company, won Chinese state approval to buy 35 percent of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s oil and gas unit in Syria, China’s National Development and Reform Commission said.
The country’s top economic planner also announced today approvals for 11 other oil and gas projects, including China National Offshore Oil Corp.’s purchase of a stake in Australia’s Curtis liquefied natural gas venture from BG Group Plc and joint exploration of two oil blocks in Bohai Bay with Chevron Corp.
Chinese companies spent a record $32 billion on mining and energy acquisitions last year, securing oilfields, coal and metal mines in Africa, Asia and Australia to meet demand in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. CNPC, as China National Petroleum is known, announced in May the purchase of Shell’s Syria assets after operating in the country since 2002.
The Syria unit has interests in three production licenses covering about 40 oilfields.
Cnooc Group, or China National Offshore, will gain access to BG’s gas fields in Queensland under an agreement to buy LNG from the Curtis venture. BG and Cnooc Group signed an accord on March 24 for the supply of 3.6 million metric tons annually for 20 years.
Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group Corp., a privately held oil company, also got approval from the NDRC to explore the L31/50 block in Thailand, the Chinese economic planner said today, without giving details.
--Winnie Zhu, Jing Jin in Shanghai. Editors: Ryan Woo, John Chacko.
To contact the reporter on this story: Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at wzhu4@bloomberg.net
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