FACTBOX: China’s oil and mineral deals in Africa

•August 2009 – State-owned oil firm China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) confirmed it was bidding for Kosmos Energy’s stakes in the Jubilee oilfield offshore Ghana, which could be worth between US$3 billion to US$5 billion.

•July 2009 – CNOOC and Sinopec Group, parent of Sinopec Corp, agreed to purchase a stake in an oil block offshore Angola from Marathon Oil for US$1,3 billion. Angolan state firm Sonangol later exercised a pre-emption right, blocking the Chinese purchase.•June 2009 – Sinopec Group bought Swiss oil explorer Addax Petroleum Corp for US$7,2 billion, gaining access to high-potential oil blocks in West Africa and Iraq.•June 2009 – State-owned Nonferrous Metal Mining Corp (CNMC) pledges to invest US$400 million in Zambia’s Luanshya Copper Mines after formally taking over running the mines.•April 2009 – China granted Niger a US$95 million preferential loan for the Somina uranium mining operation, a joint venture between China National Uranium Corporation and the Niger government. Their mine is due to come on line in 2010.•January 2009 – China Union signed a US$2,6 billion contract to develop Liberia’s Bong iron ore deposits, estimated at 300 million tonnes of low-grade ore. The first iron ore pellets are expected in mid-2010.•June 2008 – Top Chinese oil and gas firm CNPC struck a US$5 billion deal with Niger’s government to pump oil from the Agadem block within three years, and lay a 2 000-km pipeline to export it. CNPC also said it would build a 20 000 barrels per day oil refinery, Niger’s first.•June 2006 – Sinopec Group acquired some offshore blocks in Angola for about US$1 billion.•April 2006 – CNOOC bought a stake in a Nigerian deepwater oil field for US$2,7 billion.•July 2005 – China and Nigeria signed an US$800 million crude oil sale deal between Petrochina International and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to supply 30 000 barrels of crude oil per day to China.•December 2004 – Sinopec and the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company agree to drill for oil in the Niger delta.•October 2004 – Sinopec secured a 50 per cent interest, shared with state firm Sonangol, in Angola’s Block 18.•July 2004 – Algeria grants three exploration blocks to China’s top two oil groups CNPC and Sinopec in a licensing round.•Jan/Feb 2004 – Total Gabon signed a contract with China’s Sinopec to sell Gabonese crude oil to China.•Before 2004 – CNPC had a 40 per cent interest in Sudan’s 300 000 bpd Unity fields in the south. It also had a large share in the Melut Basin fields. – Nampa-Reuters