China National Offshore Oil Corp, the nation's third-biggest oil producer, recently signed a deal to cooperate with Indonesia's PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources & Technology and Hong Kong Energy (Holdings) Ltd to develop a $5.5 billion renewable energy project.

The partners have agreed to develop a bio-diesel plant using crude palm oil as feedstock and to pursue a sugarcane or cassava-based bio-ethanol project in Indonesia. The Indonesian plantation company said the investment will be made in eight years and the project will be developed in three phases.

Indonesia is the world's second-largest palm oil producer. However, investors didn't disclose how much each member of the partnership will contribute to the US$5.5 billion project, which is thought to be one of the largest investments in the bio-fuel industry worldwide.

Overseas investment

PetroChina Co Ltd (PetroChina) says it has bought a 67 percent interest in PetroKazakhstan (PKZ) from its parent China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The transaction was completed through CNPC Exploration and Development, a joint venture of PetroChina with CNPC. PetroChina paid about $2.735 billion for the stake in PKZ.

CNPC bought a 67 percent stake in PKZ in 2005 for $4.2 billion, the largest overseas acquisition ever made by a Chinese company.

1

2

3

4

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)