Canadian Court Approves CNPC Takeover of PetroKazakhstan

Canadian court approves CNPC takeover of PetroKazakhstan OTTAWA, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) — PetroKazakhstan’s 4.2-billion- US dollar takeover by China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) has won court approval in Canada, the company said early Wednesday.

Calgary-based PetroKazakhstan said it was pleased with the decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.

PetroKazakhstan said it plans to close the takeover deal on Wednesday as soon as possible after the judge’s order has filed in court. The court ruling quashed a bid by Russian oil giant Lukoil to delay the offer from China’s largest oil company. Lukoil argued that it had right of first refusal to buy PetroKazakhstan’s stake in Turgai Petroleum, a joint venture holding one-fifth of the Canadian company’s reserves.

The Russian company said Tuesday it would match the CNPC offer if the Alberta court declined to approve the transaction.

PetroKazakhstan stockholders voted 99 percent on Oct. 18 to accept CNPC’s offer of 55 US dollars per share in cash.

The company, formerly Hurricane Hydrocarbons, has been working in Kazakhstan for eight years and owns a major refinery as well as oil reserves estimated at 550 million barrels.