Sinopec Group Wants to Sell Stake in Canada Shale Assets

Chinese state owned energy major Sinopec Group wants to sell half of its two biggest shale gas acreages in Canada to spread costs and accelerate their development, a company executive told Reuters.

“We are not only buyers, but also actively seek joint venture partners to optimize assets,” said Feng Zhiqiang, newly appointed chairman of North America operations of Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp, Sinopec Group's main acquisition vehicle.

According to Reuters, it is rare for a Chinese state owned energy firm to sell overseas asset.

“There is no such thing that a state-owned company's job is only to obtain resources. Scale is important, profitable scale is more so,” Feng told the news agency in an interview.

The shale assets that the company wants to sell a part of are Montney and Duvernay, part of Daylight Energy that Sinopec acquired in 2011 for more than $2 billion and later expanded.

Sign-up for our free weekly newsletter update via email here