China Oilfield Services, a subsidiary of energy giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), was set to buy all shares in Norwegian firm Awilco Offshore after getting the go-ahead from government regulators, state media said Friday.
China Oilfield (COSL) announced in July its offer to buy shares in the Norwegian oil firm in a deal worth 2.5 billion US dollars.
COSL said the deal would now be completed within two weeks after getting the green light from all relevant Chinese authorities, the Xinhua news agency reported Friday, and after receiving approval from shareholders in August.
Awilco's major shareholders, who own around 40 percent of the company, had also agreed to the sale and the board was recommending that shareholders accept it, CNOOC said in a statement at the time the offer was announced.
The deal would increase the number of COSL's operating rigs from 15 to 22, creating the world's eighth largest rig fleet, Xinhua said.
The move is the latest attempt by China to feed its rapidly increasing demand for energy using overseas acquisitions and partnerships.
It has extensive oil interests in Africa, most notably in Sudan and Angola, while a three-billion deal oil agreement between state-owned China National Petroleum Corp and Iraq was announced last month.
CNOOC, China's third largest oil company, has been linked to potential stakes in both Canadian-based Talisman Energy and Australian oil and gas company Santos, reports earlier this year said.
COSL has been looking to take stakes in overseas rivals to boost its operating capacity. It previously failed in an attempt to buy a stake in Russia's STU.
Awilco, based in Oslo, operates jack-up rigs and two accommodation units in Norway, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and the Mediterranean, giving China Oilfield access to several international markets, according to the CNOOC statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in July.
