Oil and gas giant China National Petroleum has obtained a $US30 billion ($35 billion) loan from the China Development Bank to finance its overseas acquisitions.
The loan will support state-owned CNPC's efforts to internationalise and help ensure China's national energy security while also aiding China Development Bank's own efforts to advance into international finance, CNPC President Jiang Jiemin said today in a statement on the company's website.
The two sides signed an agreement in Beijing on Tuesday on the five-year, low-interest loan, the statement said.
The precise interest rate was not announced.
CNPC, the parent company of PetroChina, is Asia's biggest oil producer by volume and the world's most valuable company by market capitalisation after Exxon Mobil Corp.
China has aggressively sought opportunities to invest in overseas oil and gas projects, among other resources that it covets for its fast-growing economy.
PetroChina most recently made a $US1.7 billion bid for a 60 per cent working interest in Canada's Mackay River and Dover oil sands projects in north-eastern Alberta.
The company has major projects in many regions, including Russia, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.
