CNPC's Unit Put Gas Assets on Sale      

Shenzhen Petroleum Industrial Co., Ltd., the wholly-owned subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), has put its natural gas assets on sale at the Beijing Equity Exchange. The assets include its 100% interests in Shenzhen Huayou Industrial Development Co. and 26.5% in Huayou Natural Gas Co., with a listed price of RMB117.6755 million and RMB260.1511 million respectively.
   Shenzhen Huayou engages in the manufacture and sales of double-layer polyethylene pipes and fittings, plastic and rubber pipes, plastic pipe welding machines and plastic pipe special materials. The company, which mainly serves gas units under CNPC, has operations in 18 city gas projects now. It has four production lines for underground plastic pipes.
   The company was valued at RMB117.6755 million as of September 30th, 2009. It had an operating income of RMB35.4396 million in the first nine months of 2009, and reported a loss of RMB28.6962 million the same period.
   Shenzhen Petroleum requires a buyer must be a state-owned or state-controlled company, with registered capital of no less than RMB1 billion.
   Huayou Natural Gas focuses on the outsourcing business that supports oil and gas exploration as well as the manufacture and marketing of gas. It is 26.58% owned by Shenzhen Petroleum and 51.01% owned by CNPC (Hong Kong) Holding Co., Ltd. Huayou Natural Gas has participated in the Guang'an gasification project in Sichuan province, the gas liquefaction projects in Dengkou county, Inner Mongolia, and Ansai, Yan'an in Shaanxi province, and operates about 60 compressed natural gas stations from Sichuan province to Shandong province.
   As of August 31st, 2009, Huayou Natural Gas had operating income of RMB395.8021 million, net profit of RMB57.1337 million and net asset of RMB788.1227 million.
   Shenzhen Petroleum, the wholly-owned CNPC unit, has become major in natural gas exploration and production, urban gas pipeline business and CNG vehicle development as well as petrochemical products. Its non-core businesses include gas pipeline manufacture, pipeline construction, and the supplies and international trade of oil and gas equipment.
   Market analysts speculated that CNPC (Hong Kong) will probably be the buyer of these assets as CNPC, which is consolidating its gas assets, will not let go of its gas business to outsiders.