China’s state-controlled oil companies have been scouring the world in search of reserves to feed the mainland’s fast-expanding appetite for oil and natural gas. So on the face of it, CNOOC’s last-minute effort to snatch Unocal away from would-be buyer Chevron for US$18.5 billion (HK$144.3 billion) in cash might seem to make sense.
Unocal, one of the biggest independent oil and gas producers left after more than two decades of industry consolidation, boasts substantial Asian gas reserves that would seem to complement CNOOC’s strategy to become the mainland’s biggest importer of liquefied natural gas. Yet it’s not at all clear that even if it wins Unocal’s hand that potential can be easily realized.
CDT EBOOKS
Subscribe to CDT
SUPPORT CDT
Giving Assistant
Anti-censorship Tools
Click on the image to download Firefly for circumvention
