Analysis: climbing oil prices partly hinders Chinese oil firms' overseas acquisi

In response to the recent failures encountered by Chinese oil firms in overseas acquisitions, market experts generally reckon that the climbing oil prices should take part of the blame.

The failures include CNPC's bid for Canadian Verenex Energy, and CNOOC and Sinopec's joint efforts to acquire the US-based Marathon Oil Company.

In the bidding for Verenex Energy, the assets of which are mostly in Libya, CNPC's offer fails to get approval from the Libyan government because the local oil firm has priority to purchase Verenex.

It was the same with CNOOC and Sinopec's efforts to acquire a 20-percent stake in an Angolan oilfield held by Marathon Oil Company. In this case, the Angola state-run oil firm Sonangol enjoyed the purchasing priority.

Another CNPC deal, to purchase the oil assets in Mangystau province, Kazakhstan, has been also delayed.

"It is easier for an oil firm to acquire overseas assets when the oil price remains low, but the current price, at 70 to 80 US dollars/barrel, does bring some difficulties to the negotiations," said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Energy Economic Research Center (CEERC) of Xiamen University.

Lin also reckons that some countries tend to inflate energy deals into a political issue -- another important factor leading to the Chinese oil firms' failure.

But Wan Zhen, executive director of the CEERC, thinks that there is no necessity to make a fuss about the temporary failure, pointing out that the success rate of Chinese oil firms in overseas acquisitions has been 60 to 70 percent in recent years, higher than the international average of 50 percent.

Wan added that it is normal for companies enjoying priority rights to compete with Chinese oil firms.

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