CNPC looks over Petrobras assets worth US$2b
The state-owned giant could face competition for the South American projects, sources say
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the country's largest oil producer, is considering buying Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) assets in South America, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
The assets in Colombia and Peru could be worth about US$2 billion and CNPC may face competition from other South American producers, two of the sources said.
Brazilian state-owned Petrobras, the most indebted publicly traded oil company, has been shedding assets to help finance deep-water projects in Brazil. Petrobras sold half its African assets to Brazil's Grupo BTG Pactual for US$1.5 billion last month.
"The move is in line with CNPC's overall strategy to expand its upstream assets globally, as the company tries to grab more assets while crude prices stay relatively stable," Grace Liu, an oil analyst with Guotai Junan Securities said in Shenzhen. "CNPC and PetroChina already own many assets in South America, so adding a few more would not be as risky as venturing into a totally new region."
PetroChina is CNPC's Hong Kong-traded unit.
Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras declined to comment on the sale of the Peru and Colombia assets. CNPC's Beijing-based spokesman Li Runsheng did not answer two calls to his office.
