India, China to bid for oilfields in Syria

CNPC, ONGC have jointly bid for Petro-Canada's $1-bn oil and gas fields in Syria.

India and China, the most aggressive shoppers for oil and gas assets in the world, have come together for the first time to put in a joint bid.

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation are jointly bidding for Petro-Canada's $1-billion oil and gas fields in Syria.

The ONGC executives confirmed the news but did not divulge details citing commercial reasons.

Petro-Canada had said in September that it might sell its 38 per cent stake in the Shell-operated Al Furat venture in Syria, which accounts for about 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent of the company's daily output.

Petro-Canada was selling the assets to reduce its political risk profile. The assets could fetch $800 million to $900 million in proceeds, Scotia Capital analyst Greg Pardy wrote in a note to clients in September. The source said the assets were worth more than the estimated numbers.

ONGC had been beaten by China's state oil giants in the $4.2 billion take-over of PetroKazakhstan and the $1.4 billion Ecuador oil field sale by North American producer EnCana. They are partners in Sudan. Both India and China with their growing appetite for oil and gas have a strategic need to diversify their energy sources from the present dependence on West Asia.

India last year imported about Rs 83,538 crore worth of crude oil constituting about 70 per cent of demand. China requires 266 million tonne oil but produces only 170 mt and imports about 91.12 mt.