Brightoil Plans New Upstream Acquisition

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday August 18, 2014

Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Ltd. [HKG:0933] (Brightoil) says it is planning another major upstream acquisition within the next year, after completing its $1.05 billion purchase of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s oilfield stakes in China earlier this month, Reuters reports.

"We are trying to emulate what we have just done," said CEO Bruce Yung.

Yung said the company, which has been working to refocus from oil trading and bunkering to the upstream business, is in talks for potential acquisitions of oil- and gas-producing assets in China.

The company would fund any purchases with debt and equity capital and could issue new shares to help with the financing, he said.

Yung said Brightoil is taking advantage of US companies' desire to sell oilfield stakes in China as they shift focus to shale projects in North America.

The sales are also driven by the expiration of some of their oilfield production sharing contracts, which would force them to shift operations of the oilfields to China

"This is offering us a great window of opportunity," Yung said.

Brightoil's Anadarko acquisition included an interest in two oil producing blocks in Bohai Bay.