The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) on Sunday secured an eight-percent share in an onshore oil concession in Abu Dhabi in a deal worth 1.77 billion U.S. dollars.
The Chinese oil giant signed a deal with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for a stake in the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations which operates the 40-year concession, ADNOC said in a statement.
CNPC chairman Wang Yilin said he hoped the deal would, "lead to further opportunities to participate in the UAE's energy sector".
CNPC is China's largest oil and gas producer and supplier, responsible for more than half of China's crude oil output and 71 percent of its natural gas production.
The company also has oil and gas projects in 37 countries in Africa, Central Asia and Russia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
The United Arab Emirates is China's second-largest trading partner in the Middle East, with commerce worth 60 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.
The Emirati company has sought for partners for the remainder of the concession. British oil giant BP secured a 10 percent share in the same oil concession last year, while France's Total won a further 10 percent out of the total 40 percent earmarked for foreign companies. Inpex Corp. of Japan secured five percent and South Korea's GS Energy three percent.
