Sinopec gains approval for Galp deal


The Chinese government has approved the $3.54 billion bid for Galp's Brazil-based unit.

In yet another major South American energy deal, China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec has been given the the go-ahead from Beijing to complete its $3.54 billion acquisition of the Brazilian unit of Portuguese major, Galp Energia.

Sinopec, Asia’s biggest refiner by volume, agreed last November to buy a 30% stake in the Brazilian operation, acquiring a large amount of deep-sea oil blocks. The state-owned company has now also agreed to subscribe to new shares and assume shareholder loans, taking its total cash investment to $5.18 billion.

In total, Portugal's largest oil company owns four offshore blocks across Brazil’s Santos Basin and has a 10% stake in Lula, the largest crude discovery in the Americas since Mexico’s Cantarell field in 1976.