CNPC finally acquires PetroKazakh

China's biggest oil conglomerate China National Petroleum Corporation on Thursday announced the successful acquisition of Canada-based PetroKazakhstan

Inc, ending months of manoeuvering by its rivals, including India for the oil and gas fields in Kazakhstan.

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The announcement was made here after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met his Kazakh counterpart Danial Akhmetov in Moscow, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit.

Both Wen and Akhmetov expressed their strong support for the mutual-benefit cooperation between CNPC and KazMunaiGaz over PK after the completion of the acquisition.

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Kazakh prime minister promised to help to resolve all remaining problems of PK in Kazakhstan together with CNPC after the deal is closed, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

CNPC's rivals for PetroKazakhstan, whose fields are located in Kazakhstan, included Russian Lukoil and India's Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, which teamed up with steel baron Laxmi Mittal.

Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar had even charged investment banker Goldman Sach with "foul play" in the auction of PetroKazakhstan, saying India's ONGC Videsh-Mittal combine had bid higher than China's CNPC but the Chinese were given "unfair" chance to revise their bid.

Meanwhile, CNPC announced here that it has successfully acquired PetroKazakhstan Inc through its wholly-owned subsidiary CNPCI after a Canadian court okayed the deal.

"To date, the transaction has been completed," the CNPC announced.

According to CNPC, all formal approvals and legal procedures have been obtained and completed. At present, CNPC staff is working with PK and the hand-over of business is under way. Operation of PK is maintained as usual, and employees are unaffected.

CNPC's planned acquisition of PK through CNPCI was granted "unconditional" final order by the Queen's Bench Court, Calgary, Canada.