Completed Commercial AidData Chinese Aid

CPFHK provides loan for acquisition of 35% ownership stake in Syria Shell Petroleum Development from Shell

$1.6M USD

Funder	CNPC Finance (HK) Limited
Recipient Organization	China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)
Country	Syrian Arab Republic
Start Date	May 01, 2010
End Date	Mar 06, 2028
Duration	6,519 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`96317`

Grant Description

CPFHK provides loan for acquisition of 35% ownership stake in Syria Shell Petroleum Development from Shell On February 22, 2010, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) concluded a share purchase agreement with Shell in which CNPC agreed to acquire a 35 percent ownership stake in Syria Shell Petroleum Development (SSPD), a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, for $1.6 billion.

At the time, SSPD had interests in three production licenses -- Deir-Ez-Zor, Fourth Annex and Ash Sham -- that are operated by the Al Furat Petroleum Company (AFPC), in which Shell had a 31.25 percent ownership stake. CNPC Finance (HK) Limited (CPFHK) issue a loan to CNPC to facilitate the acquisition.

Then, in May 2010, the acquisition was completed.

In December 2011, in compliance with international sanctions on Syria, including European Council Decision 2011/782/CFSP, Shell suspended all exploration and production activities in Syria.

📋 Staff Comments

This project is also known as the Euphrates Project. The Chinese project title is 中东地区叙利亚幼发拉底项目 or 敘利亞幼發拉底項目.
CNPC Finance (HK) Limited is identified by official sources as the financier of the acquisition. AidData assumes for the time being that the face value of the acquisition (overseas investment) loan (境外投资项目案例) from CPFHK was worth approximately 75% of the the total cost of the acquisition ($1.2 billion or 75% of $1.6 billion). This issue warrants further investigation.

📚 Sources & References

中石油获壳牌叙利亚油气开发公司35%权益
China National Petroleum Corporation Finance (HK) Limited Annual Report 2018
中石油实施国际化战略 2010年海外产量要翻番
CNPC acquires 35% interest in Shell's Syria subsidiary
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 Royal Dutch Shell plc
Asian Legal Business (North Asia) Jul 2010
China Legal Business 7.6
Finance Company - Centralized Management of Funds
China Petroleum Finance Co Annual Report 2018
中国石油海外业务发展形势喜人
中石油：一季度海外油气产量显著提升
CNPC Buys 35% Stake In SSPD
Stibbe advises China National Petroleum Company Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.