Chinese Oil Giants Join Forces in Exploration
China National Offshore Oil Corp., the country’s largest offshore oil producer, said it would explore for oil and gas in waters off Kazakhstan with China National Petroleum Corp. in the first overseas tie-up by the two mainland oil giants.
CNOOC, which dropped its bid for U.S.-based Unocal Corp. last month, said it signed a memorandum in Beijing on Aug. 31 to cooperate with CNPC and Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz on jointly exploring oil and gas in the northern Caspian Sea.
The news came two weeks after CNPC said it was buying PetroKazakhstan Inc.
Analysts expect this to be a precursor of further possible cooperation among Chinese oil firms eager to gain more leverage in bidding for overseas oil assets.
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