Sinopec to Buy Share in Angolan Oil and Gas Field for $1.52 Billion

The largest refiner in Asia, China’s Sinopec Group, has announced that it will buy Marathon Oil Corp’s share in an Angolan offshore oil and gas field for $1.52 billion.

Dependent on the approval of the Chinese and Angolan governments, Reuters reported that, a subsidiary of the giant Asian refiner, Sonangal Sinopec International Ltd., declared on Friday that they will buy Marathon’s 10% stake in the Block 31 field, increasing their own share to a total 15%.

Block 31 in Angola is run by BP, and according to Sinopec, is estimated to hold reserves of 533 million barrels of oil.

Related Article: Angola and Brazil Work Together on LNG Production

Chinese energy companies have been investing in energy projects and developments around the world in a search to secure energy resources to meet the growing demand of the world’s second largest economy.

In March, CNPC, another giant, Chinese energy company, agreed to buy a stake in an offshore natural gas field in Mozambique for $4.2 billion, and then last week announced it would buy 20% of Novatek’s $20 billion Yamal-LNG project in northwest Siberia.

Reuters claims that the $1.52 billion sale to Sinopec is part of Marathon’s $3 billion asset disposal target, that they hope will help them to create a healthier balance sheet, and fund other exploration and development projects in the future.

By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com