China offshore oil company set to invest $3bn in Nigeria

The Management of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has expressed readiness to invest additional $3billion in its existing stakes in offshore oil and gas operations in the Nigerian jurisdiction.

Leading a team of CNOOC top executives to the corporate headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Yuan Guangyu, Chief Executive Officer of the Beijing based corporation, described its investment in Nigeria as the most strategic and important overseas business undertaking.

He said CNOOC had invested over $14 billion in its Nigerian operations, even as he called on the management of the NNPC to seek common grounds of beneficial interest with CNOOC for enhanced productivity.

Yuan Guangyu said Nigeria remained the largest investment destination for CNOOC.

Responding, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC Maikanti Baru, who was represented by Victor Babatunde Adeniran, Chief Operating Officer (COO), 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.

Founded in 1982, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation is one of the three big Chinese national oil entities. CNOOC is originally focused on offshore upstreamexploration and production, whereas theChina National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is slanted towards onshore upstream exploration and production. SINOPEC, the third of the tripod, is focused on refining and marketing.

HARRISON EDEH, ABUJA