BRIGHTOIL Petroleum Holdings Ltd, a Chinese fuel-trading and shipping company, plans to acquire oil and natural gas fields and may use a credit facility of more than US$3 billion to fund the purchases.

"There is no limit on where we can acquire assets," Raymond Sit, Brightoil's billionaire chairman, said in an interview in Hong Kong yesterday. "In three to five years, income from our upstream businesses will account for a large chunk of annual sales."

Brightoil, which relies on marine-fuel sales for almost all of its revenue, is exploring for gas in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with PetroChina Co's parent to tap Chinese demand for the fuel. State-run China Development Bank Corp agreed in January to provide US$4 billion in standby financing to help the company buy tankers, expand its trading business and acquire overseas assets.

"About US$600 million has been used in trade-related business, and most of the remaining US$3.4 billion will be used in acquiring upstream assets," said Sit, 44, who owns 68.45 percent of Brightoil. "Oil-storage facilities and bunker services provide steady cash-flows, but the upstream business will provide us with long-term growth."

Sit was ranked by Forbes magazine this year as China's 19th-richest person, with net worth of US$2.8 billion. Brightoil had HK$2.4 billion (US$308 million) in cash as of June 30, the company said on September 23.

The oil trader and shipper said on November 11 it will acquire Win Business Petroleum Group Ltd, also controlled by Sit, for HK$581 million to gain exploration and development rights for the Dina gas field in Xinjiang. Brightoil will issue 322 million new shares to Sit at HK$1.80 each under the deal.

Source:shanghaidaily