Shell sells 35-per cent stake in Syria Shell Petroleum to CNPC
19 May 2010
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China's largest integrated oil-and-gas company has acquired a 35-per cent stake in Syria Shell Petroleum Development (SSPD), a wholly owned unit of Royal Dutch Shell for an undisclosed sum.
The sell-off is part of Shell's plan announced last month to sell non-core assets worth $1-$3 billion a year
SSPD has interests in three production licences including Deir-Ez-Zor, Fourth Annex and Ash Sham that are operated by the Al Furat Petroleum Company (AFPC), in which Shell has a 31.25-per cent interest.
The agreement strengthens the partnership between Shell and CNPC. Both oil majors said that they will look to continue growing and investing in attractive opportunities in Syria's upstream industry.
The licences cover some 40 oil fields, production in 2009 was 23 thousand barreels of oil equivalent daily (Shell share). Shell has a long history in Syria and has a presence in the country since the 1940s and been a shareholder in AFPC for some 25 years.
CNPC already has an interest in the production licences and in AFPC through its 50-per cent ownership of Himalaya Energy Syria BV.
Himalaya Energy Syria Bv is a joint venture between CNPC and ONGC.
