China's largest refiner Sinopec Corp has not made a bid for Geneva-based oil producer Addax Petroleum Corp, Tuesday's China Daily quoted Huang Wensheng, a spokesman from the Chinese company, as saying.

The UK's Sunday Times reported earlier that Sinopec bid 4.8 billion pounds (7.9 billion U.S. dollars) for Addax Petroleum without saying where it got the information.

Domestic media also reported last week that the Beijing-based Sinopec prepares talks with Addax for an estimated 8 billion U.S.dollars takeover.

Xu Dongmei, manager of overseas cooperation projects for Sinopec Group, told the newspaper that she has no knowledge of the bid and her department is not in charge of making the offer.

The Geneva-based Addax, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, said on June 9 that is was conducting preliminary talks with third parties expressing an interest in a "potential transaction" with the company.

China is seeking to increase investment in overseas petroleum fields as acquiring overseas energy assets became cheaper due to a 51 per cent oil prices slump from a July record.

Despite denying the Addax bid, one company source, declining to be named, told the newspaper Monday that Sinopec is now in talks with "several overseas companies for deals".

Given relatively low crude oil price, China's oil producers have speeded up the pace of developing overseas market.

The country's largest oil company PetroChina earlier announced it would acquire 45.5 per cent of Singapore Petroleum Co (SPC) from Keppel Corp for 6.25 Singapore dollars (4.25 U.S. dollars) a share. The deal is still subject to approval from the Chinese regulator.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2009)