Indian and Chinese groups court testy authorities with bids for Canadian firm
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is set to lock horns with India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) in a battle to acquire Canada's PetroKazakhstan.
The two suitors, the largest oil producers in the world's fastest-growing major economies, have reportedly both submitted bids for all of Calgary-based PetroKazakhstan, which owns assets in the Central Asian country.
CNPC, parent of PetroChina, put in a bid of US$3.2 billion late on Monday, while ONGC submitted a US$3.6 billion offer.
The move comes less than a month after CNOOC lost out to global oil giant Chevron Corp in a bidding war for Unocal Corp, the United States' ninth-largest oil firm.
Spokesmen for CNPC adviser Citigroup and PetroKazakhstan adviser Goldman Sachs declined to comment. CNPC's own spokesman could not be reached.
But a PetroChina spokesman said the company would not be involved in the bidding, although if CNPC won, PetroChina would have the preferential right to buy the acquired assets from CNPC.
