Page 8 - AsianOil Week 05 2023
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AsianOil INVESTMENT AsianOil
CNOOC puts sale of UK North Sea
business on hold
CHINA CHINA’S largest offshore oil and gas producer Canada’s Nexen for $15bn in 2013. This was its
CNOOC Ltd has put on hold the intended sale largest ever overseas acquisition, which helped
CNOOC will wait for of its UK North Sea assets, Bloomberg reported turn the company into a major global oil and
market conditions to this week. gas producer. However, managing the assets has
improve. Initial offers for the portfolio did not live up to proved challenging owing to red tape and high
CNOOC’s expectations, but a sale process could operating costs compared with oil and gas oper-
be resumed if market conditions improve, the ations in developing countries.
news agency said, citing sources. The Norwegian press reported in October
Reuters had reported in April last year that last year that CNOOC was mulling the sale
CNOOC was preparing to divest its operations of its UK business to Norway’s Equinor, with
across the US, UK and Canada. The news agency the potential deal price cited as NOK20-30bn
attributed this to fears that the assets in those ($1.9-2.9bn).
countries could become subject to Western CNOOC holds interests in a number of
sanctions. UK North Sea fields, including Buzzard, one
CNOOC’s assets in the US, UK and Canada of the largest in the region, as well as Golden
include stakes in projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Eagle, Scott and Telford. According to Norway’s
the North Sea and the Alberta oil sands. Accord- Dagens Naeringsliv newspaper, Equinor was
ing to Reuters calculations, they produce a com- “one of at least two companies” bidding for the
bined 220,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day assets. Analysts have previously speculated that
(boepd). Harbour Energy, NEO Energy, Waldorf Pro-
The North Sea assets – along with the stakes duction and Ithaca Energy would be among the
the company owns in projects in the US and likely contenders. Buzzard in particular is seen as
Canada – were acquired when CNOOC bought a promising acquisition target.
P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 05 04•February•2023
