China Energy Tentacles Strengthen In Latin America BP Venture

2017-09-13 Viewed:281

Source:Barrons

British oil producer and refiner BP (BP) said it form a new joint venture partly backed by Chinese oil-and-gas producer Cnooc (0883.HK and CEO).

The new venture will combine Argentina's Pan American Energy (PAE), which is 60% owned by BP, with Axion Energy, which operates more than 755 gas stations in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay that were formerly part of ExxonMobil (XOM), according to Reuters and the FT. Axion is owned by Bridas Corp., which is 50% owned by China's state-controlled Cnooc, Reuters reported. Axion is one of Argentina's largest refiners and gasoline sellers, the FT reports.

In 2010, Cnooc established a joint venture with Bridas Energy Holdings, outlined in a PDF, an "important step' in Cnooc's globalization plan. Cnooc is China's largest producer of offshore oil and natural gas, and is a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil.

The Latin American joint venture will include PAE's production -- averaging 262,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day -- and its interests in the large Vaca Muerta shale region in Argentina.

As exploration in the region heats up, the Chinese and Russian governments have provided financial lifelines to oil producer Venezuela, whose economy is crumbling despite massive oil reserves. The FT reports:

"PAE in July agreed to invest $1.15 billion, together with partners including Total (TOT) of France and Argentina’s state-run YPF (YPF) oil group, to increase production from Vaca Muerta, which covers an area the size of Belgium in the Patagonian province of Neuquen. ExxonMobil  this month revealed plans to invest $200 million in the region ..."


Disclaimer: The above content was edited by Energy China Forum (www.energychinaforum.com), please contact ECF before reproduce.

Author:    News Time:2017-09-13

Back
Top
Message

Please leave your comment

Name*
Tel*
Email*
Company*
Message*
提交