* Sinopec wins bid to build $1 bln Texas power project
* Sinopec to abide by U.S., UN rules on Iranian imports
* Sees no big development in shale gas in next 5 years
HONG KONG, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Sinopec Group, parent company of Asia’s largest refiner, Sinopec Corp, is working on a plan to inject its overseas assets into its listed unit, its chairman said on Monday, a move aimed at cutting the unit’s exposure to unprofitable refining at home.
Sinopec made its first, and so far only, acquisition of overseas upstream assets in 2010 when it bought deepwater oilfields in Angola from its parent for $2.46 billion. It has been looking to buy more from the parent to boost oil and gas production and counter mounting losses from selling gasoline and diesel at state-controlled prices.
“We are evaluating our upstream assets. Once it is done, we will inject them into the listed company as soon as possible,” Sinopec Chairman Fu Chengyu said, adding that the group will conduct the injections in phases.
Fu said Sinopec Corp’s current cash flow was not enough to fund the purchase of all upstream assets from the group and it would raise funds from the market to finance those acquisitions.
Sinopec Group also said it would abide by United Nations and U.S. government rules on importing crude oil from Iran, although its final import volume from the sanctions-hit Middle Eastern nation will depend on China’s demand and market prices, Fu said at a results briefing.
When asked how much crude oil Sinopec will import from Iran for the rest of the year, Fu said: “It depends on market prices and the needs of our refining business…a slowdown in China’s economy and oil demand in the first half has affected our refining throughput.”
China is Iran’s largest crude oil importer and most of the shipments are purchased through Sinopec. China’s crude oil imports from Iran fell 28 percent in July from an 11-month high in June and total shipments in the first seven months were down 22 percent from year ago.
Fu said Sinopec has also won a bid to build a $1 billion clean-energy project in Texas in what would be one of the biggest investments by Chinese companies in the U.S. power sector. He said the company was not in talks to invest in the project.
He was speaking after the state-controlled energy giant said on Sunday that it saw growing demand for its products in the second half of the year, after losses at its refining and chemicals businesses led to a 46 percent drop in second-quarter net profit.
On shale gas, Fu said China was unlikely to have many breakthroughs in the sector in the next five years due to geological and infrastructure challenges.