SEOUL, Oct 9 - State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said on Friday it was eyeing five to ten oil companies overseas, each producing 50,000-100,000 barrels per day, for a possible acquisition "soon".
"We will make an acquisition soon," KNOC CEO Kang Young-won said in a parliamentary audit, without elaborating.
A KNOC statement submitted to the parliamentary audit said for such acquisition, KNOC had been in talks with management teams, conducted asset due diligence and submitted preliminary proposals.
Kang also said KNOC and its partners would complete raising 1 trillion won ($860 million) in funds overseas by end-October, which would help ease any concerns about the financial impact of its investments.
South Korea, the world's No.5 crude oil importer, said last year it would invest 19 trillion won in KNOC to help the firm raise daily production capacity six times to 300,000 barrels by 2012.
KNOC said in the statement it was currently producing about 72,000 bpd from a total of 10 domestic and overseas oil fields.
The statement said KNOC considered this year the right time for acquisition as global stock markets had weakened due to the financial crisis.
The statement said KNOC had prioritised regions in the orders of Middle East, central Asia, South America, Australia and other Asian countries, Russia and Western Africa.
In February, KNOC agreed to pay half of the $900 million price tag for a 50 percent stake in Petro-Tech, owned by private U.S. firm Offshore International Group, has shallow-water offshore blocks in Peru covering more than 5 million acres. [ID:nN10308942]
KNOC also pursued a bid for Swiss oil explorer Addax Petroleum Corp. (AXC.TO) but was trumped by Sinopec (600028.SS), China's top oil refiner, which agreed to buy Addax in June for $7.24 billion.
"We will make an acquisition soon," KNOC CEO Kang Young-won said in a parliamentary audit, without elaborating.
A KNOC statement submitted to the parliamentary audit said for such acquisition, KNOC had been in talks with management teams, conducted asset due diligence and submitted preliminary proposals.
Kang also said KNOC and its partners would complete raising 1 trillion won ($860 million) in funds overseas by end-October, which would help ease any concerns about the financial impact of its investments.
South Korea, the world's No.5 crude oil importer, said last year it would invest 19 trillion won in KNOC to help the firm raise daily production capacity six times to 300,000 barrels by 2012.
KNOC said in the statement it was currently producing about 72,000 bpd from a total of 10 domestic and overseas oil fields.
The statement said KNOC considered this year the right time for acquisition as global stock markets had weakened due to the financial crisis.
The statement said KNOC had prioritised regions in the orders of Middle East, central Asia, South America, Australia and other Asian countries, Russia and Western Africa.
In February, KNOC agreed to pay half of the $900 million price tag for a 50 percent stake in Petro-Tech, owned by private U.S. firm Offshore International Group, has shallow-water offshore blocks in Peru covering more than 5 million acres. [ID:nN10308942]
KNOC also pursued a bid for Swiss oil explorer Addax Petroleum Corp. (AXC.TO) but was trumped by Sinopec (600028.SS), China's top oil refiner, which agreed to buy Addax in June for $7.24 billion.
