Chinese expansion in Nigeria:
Cnooc, the giant state-owned Chinese energy company, said Monday that it would pay nearly $2.3 billion in cash to acquire a large stake in a Nigerian oil and gas field, one of the biggest overseas acquisitions by a Chinese company.
With the deal, Cnooc would acquire almost half of an oil field in the Niger Delta, one of the world’s largest oil and gas basins. The field is believed to hold more than one billion barrels of oil and is operated by the French oil company Total, which also has a large interest in the project. Cnooc has also committed itself to spending $2.25 billion over the next few years to help develop the field.