Sinopec tables $7.9 bn offer for Addax Petroleum

Chinese state oil group Sinopec is believed to have tabled a $7.9 billion offer for London- based Addax Petroleum, which has fields in Iraqi Kurdistan and Nigeria, a move that will secure China's access to global oil reserves, media report says.

“Sinopec, the Chinese state oil group, is understood to have tabled the indicative offer last week, trumping an earlier bid by the Korean National Oil Corporation,” the Sunday Times said.

Addax, which has one of only two operational fields in Kurdistan, has seen interest from would-be buyers increase with the completion of an oil-export pipeline from the region, the newspaper said.

Sinopec's approach is a further evidence of China's determination to use its cash reserves to seize control of the raw materials it needs to sustain its rapid economic growth, the daily said.

In recent years China has struck a string of deals in Africa and Asia, but has not been so successful elsewhere.

America blocked an $18.5 billion takeover of Unocal, an oil and gas group, four years ago, while last week, a combination of shareholder unrest and Australian nationalist sentiment scuppered plans for a Chinese group to take a large stake in the miner Rio Tinto.