SinoLatin Capital Releases a White Paper on Chinese NOCs Strategic Positioning in Latin America at Oil & Gas Outlook LatAm 2010 Conference

SHANGHAI, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Rafael Valdez Mingramm, one of SinoLatin Capital's Partners, was a keynote speaker at the Oil and Gas Outlook LatAm Conference that took place on November 3-5, 2010 in Houston, Texas. He presented his white paper "China, Oil & Latin America" and spoke about China emerging as an international player in LatAm's oil and gas developments.

The white paper seeks to explain the need China has in securing sustainable sources of oil. The objective of this paper is to highlight China's interest in positioning itself as a premier investment and strategic partner not only for National Oil Companies (NOCs) but also private firms in Latin America. "China is one of the world's most important players in the Oil & Gas sector today," said Valdez. "It is the 5th largest in terms of production and the 2nd largest in terms of consumption. However, with only 1% of the world's proved oil reserves, the country has no option but to strategically secure sustainable supply sources elsewhere."

Valdez emphasized features of China's energy supply and demand as well as China's 'go-global' policy and investments, and discussed key transactions that have taken place in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. The white paper explains how these countries seek growth, political and commercial links, as well as bi-lateral trade agreements.

Each country is different and offers a unique set of assets. For instance, in Argentina, CNOOC recently acquired a 50% stake in Bridas, an Argentina-based wholly-owned subsidiary of BEH; in Brazil Sinochem, China's biggest chemicals trading firm, acquired 40% of the Brazilian offshore Peregrino field; in Colombia, Sinochem acquired UK-based Emerald Energy; and in Venezuela, CNPC, China's largest energy company, agreed to pay signing bonuses to develop the Junin 4 oil block.

As China grows the only way to reduce dependency on imports is to directly invest in oil companies or acquire blocks overseas, either in OPEC or non-OPEC countries that have a significant upside potential. In that context, Latin America has gradually become one of China's preferred investment destinations; the region continuously presents opportunities for Chinese NOCs but also for service oriented firms and equipment manufacturers that are also interested in expanding operations overseas.

About SinoLatin Capital

Headquartered in Shanghai's financial district with offices in New York, SinoLatin Capital is the first merchant banking firm focused exclusively on cross border transactions between China and Latin America. The Firm has two core businesses: financial advisory and private equity.

SOURCE SinoLatin Capital