Korea ready for an acquisition oil spree
KNOC the South Korean state run National Oil Corporation announced it is in the market for possible acquisitions for five to ten overseas oil companies very soon. These target companies would each be producing 50,000-100,000 barrels per day,
According to Reuters this morning, the KNOC CEO Kang Young-won said without elaborating, “We will make an acquisition soon.”
The statement went on to say that KNOC considered this year to be the right time for acquisitions as global stock markets had weakened due to the financial crisis. South Korea, is the world’s 5th largest crude oil importer.
KNOC have prioritized regions in the order of Middle East, central Asia, South America, Australia and other Asian countries, Russia and Western Africa.
KNOC pursued a bid for Swiss oil explorer Addax Petroleum Corp. (AXC.TO) but was beaten to the post by Sinopec, China’s top oil refiner, which agreed to buy Addax in June for $7.24 billion, according to Reuters.
Will we now see some frantic positioning by investors trying to guess which companies to jump into in time for some action?
a virgin trader
