CNOOC Ltd (中國海洋石油), China’s biggest offshore energy explorer, and Sinochem Group (中國中化) may bid US$3 billion for a 40 percent stake in a Brazilian oil field owned by Norway’s Statoil ASA, two people with knowledge of the companies’ plans said.
The stake in the Peregrino field off the Brazilian coast may fetch between US$2.5 billion and US$3 billion, sources said asking not to be identified because of the confidential nature of the process. Statoil, Norway’s largest oil and gas producer has told potential buyers to tender an offer by today, they said.
REDUCE RISK
Statoil’s Chief Financial Officer Eldar Saetre said in November that the company was considering cutting its stake in Peregrino to reduce risk and accumulate funds for the development of other projects.
The Stavanger-based company, which has operations in 40 countries, took control of the oilfield in March 2008 after acquiring the remaining 50 percent from Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
Statoil is targetting crude oil output at Peregrino early next year when it will also start drilling wells. The field, 85km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, has an estimated 460 million barrels of recoverable oil, company spokeswoman Mari Dotterud said on Oct. 20.
Statoil, which has operating rights on about 80 percent of Norway’s oil and gas production, is expanding abroad to counter dwindling North Sea reserves. The company is 67 percent owned by the Norwegian government.
Restaurant chain Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) today announced it is to close 14 stores in northern China, completely exiting the market by the end of October. Beijing Hengtaifeng Catering Co (北京恆泰豐餐飲), which operates Din Tai Fung restaurants in northern China, said its 20-year operating license expires this year. As the board was unable to reach a consensus on continuing operations, its 14 restaurants in the region are to close by Oct. 31, it said. The company apologized for the inconvenience and disappointment the news would cause among its customers, and said it would provide compensation for its workers. “We continue to be optimistic about
EXPANDING: The European Commission has contributed 5 billion euros in state aid to TSMC’s 12-inch wafer fab in Dresden, Germany, which broke ground on Tuesday Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) on Saturday said that it has received a total of NT$62.5 billion (US$1.95 billion) in subsidies from China and Japan since 2022. In the first half of this year, TSMC received NT$7.96 billion in subsidies from China and Japan after receiving about NT$47.55 billion last year and obtaining NT$7.05 billion in 2022, financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed. The company, which makes about 90 percent of the world’s high-end semiconductors, said the subsidies were used to finance its investments in Kumamoto, Japan, and Nanjing, China. TSMC owns a 12-inch wafer fab in
STRATEGIC SHIFT: Diversifying away from the volatile flat-panel industry, AUO aims to boost sales contribution from non-panel business to half of total revenue by 2027 AUO Corp (友達) yesterday said it has agreed to sell its idled manufacturing facility and land in Tainan to Micron Technology Inc for NT$7.4 billion (US$231.8 million) as the company shifts strategy to reduce the impact from the boom-and-bust flat-panel display industry. The company expects to book NT$4.17 billion in disposal gains from the sale, it said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing. The Tainan factory produced color filters used in monitors, notebook computers and flat-panel TVs before being shut down last year, as AUO sought to optimize its asset utilization. The company has been striving to diversify and broaden its business
Micron Technology Inc has reportedly set its sights on two facilities owned by flat-panel maker AUO Corp (友達) after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) recently clinched a deal to buy a facility and equipment from Innolux Corp (群創), another major flat-panel maker. Micron, the world’s third-largest memorychip maker, is expected to purchase two AUO plants in Tainan to expand its advanced chip packaging and testing services and high-bandwidth memory production, local media reports said. The two plants were shut down in August last year and AUO is seeking to dispose of the facilities, the reports said. They are expected to cost Micron