China National Petroleum Corp announced two major overseas acquisitions in mid-December as the oil giant continued its accelerated pace of global expansion.
State run CNPC said December 12 it would buy a 10.2% stake in the Browse liquefied natural gas project in Australia for USD 1.63 billion from the mining company BHP Billiton.
Just two days later, CNPC announced that it had partnered with Canadian natural gas producer Encana Corp to develop shale gas fields in northern British Columbia. The Chinese company paid nearly USD 2.2 billion for a 49.9% share in a joint venture with Encana.
These agreements and deals earlier in the year brought total overseas oil and gas acquisitions by Chinese companies to USD 34 billion in 2012, according to the CNPC Economics Technology Research Institute.
CNPC plans to continue its shopping spree for at least two years. The company wants its foreign wells to produce 200 million tonne of oil a year by 2015, or about twice its 2012 overseas production level.
A CNPC investor relations official said the company is especially keen on investing in politically stable, low-risk countries such as Australia and Canada. He said the latest deals involve projects that will complement the company's existing businesses.
