RE: Taken Private?29 Nov 2016 00:24
Old but great read .
Sinopec Group Buys Data Package For 8 Syria Blocks -Source By David Winning Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec Group, has purchased the data package for all eight onshore blocks offered by Syria in an international bid round, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Sinopec has formed a team in Beijing to evaluate the blocks technically but hasn't decided yet if it will bid, the person told Dow Jones Newswires on condition of anonymity. The move underscores how Chinese energy companies are still hunting for opportunities abroad despite completing deals worth a record $16 billion last year, as they capitalized on low corporate valuations triggered by a collapse in oil prices and tight access to credit. China has also signed a string of multibillion dollar oil-for-loans deals with resource-rich countries such as Russia, Brazil, Venezuela and Kazakhstan to secure preferential access to the energy supplies it needs to fuel an economy growing around 10% annually. Sinopec already has a toehold in Syria's oil sector. Its $2 billion acquisition of Toronto-listed Tanganyika Oil Ltd. in September 2008 secured it operating interests in two Syrian oil blocks--Oudeh and Tishrine. Gross output from these blocks in the first half of 2008 was 16,670 barrels a day. Syria's ministry of petroleum and mineral resources is offering production-sharing contracts to explore blocks 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 14, 16 and 18, located mostly in the eastern and northern parts of the country. The closing date for receiving offers is by 1400 local time on Sept. 15, 2010 and companies should submit qualification documents by June 1, 2010, according to the ministry. Syria aims to boost its crude oil production, which has declined from 590,000 barrels a day in 2006 to 380,000 barrels a day currently. Its natural gas production stands at 25 million cubic meters a day. Sinopec--the state-owned parent of Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP)--has struggled to maintain oil output from the fields it acquired via the Tanganyika Oil deal. Both the Oudeh and Tishrine fields are carbonate reservoirs containing heavy oil--the sludgy, thick crude that most refineries can't process unless it is blended with lighter grades. Syria has become a target for Chinese oil companies seeking access to Middle East oil supply and markets. China National Petroleum Corp., which entered the country in 2002, has a production sharing contract for the Gbeibe oil field and a stake in the Al-Furat project. CNPC is the parent of PetroChina Co. (PTR), China's largest listed oil company by capacity. Sinochem Corp, China's fourth-largest oil company, acquired Emerald Energy PLC last year for GBP532.1 million. This deal gave it a 50% stake in Syria's Block 26, which contains the Khurbet East field, which is producing around 16,700 barrels of oil a day. International oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), Total S.A. (