Sinochem links up with Statoil ASA on Brazilian oilfield
Shanghai. May 24. INTERFAX-CHINA - Sinochem Group Corp., a state-owned chemical and energy company, has reached an agreement to pay $3.07 billion in cash to Norway's Statoil ASA to acquire a 40 percent stake in Brazil's Peregrino Oilfield, Sinochem announced on May 22.
Upon completion of the transaction, Statoil will retain a 60 percent stake in the oilfield and remain the field's operator. The Peregrino field is located 85 kilometers off the Eastern coast of Brazil in the Campos Basin and is projected to commence production in 2011, the announcement said.
According to the announcement, this is Sinochem's largest overseas investment to date and will significantly expand its exploration and production businesses.
Statoil sold some of its American energy development leases in the Gulf of Mexico to China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) in 2009, including a 20 percent stake in the Tucker energy lease and a 10 percent collective stake in the Cobra, Krakatoa and Logan leases.
Statoil ended its 12-year operation in the Lufeng 22-1 oilfield in the South China Sea in 2010, returning ownership of the project to CNOOC.
-TW