On December 3, 2010, Sinopec, China’s largest oil company and Asia’s largest oil refiner, signed a transaction with Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy) for the acquisition by Sinopec of Oxy’s Argentine oil and gas business, including 23 concessions located in three Argentine provinces.
The transaction is valued at 2.45 billion dollars and will result in Sinopec’s increasing its reserves to help China meet its growing demand. The transaction is indicative of China’s expansion of its reach in the oil and gas industry.
The U.S. based firm of Andrews Kurth LLP and the Argentine firm of Alfaro Abogados advised Sinopec on the transaction, while the U.S. based firm of Vinson & Elkins LLP and the Argentine firm of Pérez Alati, Grondona, Benites, Arntsen & Martínez de Hoz (h) advised Oxy. The transaction is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2011.
“The transaction was very complex and multi-faceted, involving many issues to be addressed. While the issues were many and included contractual, regulatory, tax, labor and other legal matters, they were not unusual for the Argentine oil and gas industry,” said Doris Rodríguez, Partner, Andrews Kurth. “Generally, we were comfortable that the issues would be resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties, and that an agreement would be executed.”
Andrews Kurth LLP and Partner Doris Rodríguez first became involved in the Argentina oil and gas industry and familiar with the concessions in 1993 with the Andrews Kurth representation of YPF, S.A. in its privatization.
Related Posts:
- None Found