Chinese oil giant Sinopec has agreed a £720million deal to snap up Lukoil’s assets in Kazakhstan.
The Beijing-based firm will take the Russian producer’s 50% stake in Caspian Investment Resources, which holds shares in four projects in the central Asian nation.
The deal will give Sinopec full control of the project, after already obtaining the other 50% of Caspian, opening up more than 10million barrels of oil equivalent in resources.
The purchase highlights the push by China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, to secure diverse energy assets abroad to meet rising demand at home.
Sinopec said last year it was looking to build on its dwindling overseas reserves by moving into potentially lucrative new frontiers in Russia, Colombia and Kazakhstan.
The deal, which is subject to approval by Kazak regulators, is expected to be completed before the end of the year.