CITIC buys oil company stake for $1.91B

BEIJING – China, which is aggressively seeking overseas energy assets to fuel its booming economy, said Sunday that one of its biggest conglomerates has bought the Kazakhstan oil assets of a Canadian company for $1.91 billion.

China’s CITIC Group bought the oil assets of Canada’s Nations Energy Company Ltd. and granted KazMunaiGas, Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil company, an option to a 50 percent interest in Nations Energy, the official Xinhua Agency said.

CITI’s bid for Nations Energy’s Karazhanbas oil field had been opposed by some in the former Soviet Central Asian republic, and the option for KMG may have been one way to win approval from Kazakhstan’s regulatory authorities.

China’s economy has seen double-digit growth in recent years, accompanied by increased demand for energy assets to improve its energy security. Kazakhstan possesses the largest oil deposits in the Caspian Sea region and produces about 1.3 million barrels a day.

AP