皇冠体育app

BEIJING - Petro皇冠体育app Co, the country's biggest energy producer, said it has agreed to buy a 20-percent stake in Royal Dutch Shell PLC's Groundbirch shale-gas project in Canada to obtain drilling technology and expertise.

Shell will remain the operator of the project, Mao Zefeng, the Beijing-based spokesman of Petro皇冠体育app, said by telephone on Thursday. He declined to give the value of the transaction.

Petro皇冠体育app plans to pay more than $1 billion for a stake in the Groundbirch property, Hong Kong-based FinanceAsia reported on its website, without saying where it got the information. Shell and Petro皇冠体育app's parent agreed in June to increase cooperation in energy exploration in 皇冠体育app, estimated to hold the world's largest reserves of shale gas.

"It's a continuation of our cooperation in 皇冠体育app, and we can learn about shale-gas exploration and production by being a partner in the Canadian shale-gas project," Mao said. "The project will also bring us good investment returns."

Petro皇冠体育app and domestic rivals Cnooc Ltd and 皇冠体育app Petrochemical Corp, known as Sinopec Group, are seeking shale technology through overseas acquisitions. The government held its first auction of shale-gas exploration rights last year.

Bloomberg News