The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is set to bring its total investment stakes in its Nigeria offshore oil and gas operations to $17 billion as the management of the corporation has expressed readiness to invest additional $3billion.
Yuan Guangyu, Chief executive officer of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, made this disclosure when he led the top executives of the Beijing based corporation on a courtesy visit to headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), at the weekend. He tasked management of NNPC to seek common grounds of beneficial interest with CNOOC for enhanced productivity, stressing that CNOOC had invested over $14 billion in its Nigerian operations. He further disclosed that Nigeria remained the largest investment destination for CNOOC.
Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC’s spokesman while signing the agreement described CNOOC’s investment in Nigeria as the most strategic and important overseas business undertaking.
Dr. Maikanti Baru, the Group managing director of the NNPC who was represented by chief operating officer (COO), Dr. Victor Babatunde Adeniran of the Ventures Autonomous Business Unit of the corporation, thanked CNOOC for its interest in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry. He said the corporation was open to new investments and would foster meaningful and mutually beneficial relations with credible entities like CNOOC.
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation which was founded in 1982 is one of the three big Chinese national oil entities. CNOOC is originally focused on offshore upstream exploration and production, whereas the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is slanted towards onshore upstream exploration and production. SINOPEC, the third of the tripod, is focused on refining and marketing.
