The flagship state energy firms of China and India, normally arch-rivals in the race for overseas oilfields, are teaming up for the first time to bid for a $1 billion package of assets in Syria.

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) are bidding for Petro-Canada’s interest in a major Syrian oil and gas joint-venture with Royal Dutch Shell, a person close to the situation said.
There are other bidders for the assets, the source said, without elaborating.
It is the first time the Chinese and Indian oil firms have joined forces in their efforts to secure reserves to feed their booming economies, which require ever-increasing supplies of imported oil, raising the prospects of an Asian giant rivalling Western majors in a world of shrinking opportunities.
But analysts say they do not believe the partnership between ONGC and CNPC – probably the most high-profile emerging national oil companies on the global stage in the past year – would be of a strategic nature given the two country’s insatiable demand for oil.
“This would be something one-off. It does not represent a major strategic partnership. But it is an interesting development,” said Gavin Thompson, China country manager for Wood Mackenzie.
The source close to the bidding process said the move was partly aimed at assuaging the Indian parties after ONGC had been beaten this year by China’s state oil giants in the $4.2 billion takeover of PetroKazakhstan and the $1.4 billion Ecuador oilfield sale by North American producer EnCana.
Agreeing, Thompson said: “I think it is probably a relationship-building issue. I don’t see a great future in it (the partnership). The minute they turn their backs they will be back to competition with each other in different parts of the world.”
Indian officials have made visits to Beijing this year calling for collaboration between the two country’s oil sectors.
ONGC has formed partnerships with various companies for acquisitions, including the Mittal group, which runs the world’s largest steel maker Mittal Steel, and Korea National Oil Corp.
Petro-Canada said in September it might sell its 38 per cent stake in the Shell-operated Al Furat venture in Syria, which accounts for about 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent of the company’s daily output.
The Al Furat venture pumps as much as 50 per cent of Syria’s output, Petro-Canada’s website said. It produces oil and gas from 36 fields with 220 wells in three concession areas.
The Syrian assets being sold by Petro-Canada are valued at about $1 billion or more, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. This is higher than some analysts’ estimates.
The assets could fetch $800 million to $900 million in proceeds, Scotia Capital analyst Greg Pardy wrote in a note to clients in September.