(EnergyAsia, June 27 2013, Thursday) — China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said a fully owned subsidiary has agreed to pay US independent Marathon Oil Corp US$1.52 billion for its 10% stake in an offshore oil and gas field in Angola.

Subject to government, regulatory and third party approvals, Sonangal Sinopec International Ltd will acquire the Houston-based firm’s stake in Block 31 to add to its existing 5% stake which was acquired from France’s Total.

BP owns a 26.67% stake in Block 31 through operator BP Exploration Angola. Its partners include Angola state-owned Sonangol E.P. (25%), Sonangol P&P (20%), Statoil Angola AS (13.33%) and SSI Thirty-One Limited (5%).

The block, which is though to hold more than 530 million barrels of oil reserves, is CNPC’s third major purchase this year.

Last week, the state-owned company said it will acquire a 20% stake in the US$20-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Yamal project in northwestern Siberia. Three months earlier, CNPC agreed to pay US$4.2 billion for a stake in a natural gas field off the coast of Mozambique.