China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced this morning that it has successfully acquired Canada-based PetroKazakhstan Inc. (PK) through its wholly-owned subsidiary CNPCI.

The Queen's Bench Court in Calgary, Canada granted an unconditional final order yesterday to allow the acquisition after Lukoil, a Russian firm, claimed it had first right of refusal to buy a 50 percent stake in Turgai Petroleum, a joint venture between it and PK.

Lukoil did not appeal the ruling, and CNPC said its US$4.18 billion bid, the largest overseas takeover by a Chinese company, had been transacted.

Premier Wen Jiabao met Kazakhstan Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Moscow yesterday, and they both expressed their support for cooperation between CNPC and Kazakhstan's state oil corporation KazMunaiGaz over PK.

According to CNPC, the handover of business is underway, PK's operations are being maintained and its employees are unaffected.

PK is an international energy company registered in Canada, with all of its assets, such as oilfields and refineries, in Kazakhstan. Its total annual production capacity of crude oil exceeds seven million tons and it owns twelve oil fields, and exploration licenses in six blocks in Kazakhstan.

CNPC said it is confident that taking advantage of its strength in capital, technology and management, as well as valuable experience in Kazakhstan, the production capacity of PK will be increased.

It said it would provide the Sino-Kazakhstan oil pipeline expected to be completed at the end of this year with a reliable supply.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2005)