CITIC Resources Holdings announced on Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of a 51-percent stake in the production sharing contract (PSC) of an oil block in Indonesia.

The company said in July that it had agreed to buy from Kuwait-based Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company a participating interest in the PSC of the Non-Bula Block on Seram Island for 97.4 million U.S. dollars.

Shou Xuancheng, vice chairman of CITIC Resources, said earlier that the bid was based on the company's expectation that oil prices would remain at 40 to 50 U.S. dollars per barrel after 2009.

It expected a profit from the deal when the output of the Oseil field, a major field in the block, peaked in two or three years.

Australia-listed Lion Energy Limited has given CITIC the right to acquire a 2.5-percent stake held by Lion for 4.77 million U.S. dollars.

With the acquisition of the Lion interest, CITIC will hold an effective interest of 33.44 percent in the Seram Non-Bula Block, said the company.

A new player in the oil exploration field, CITIC Resources announced last month that its parent company CITIC had approved its purchase of the Kazakhstan oil holdings of Canada's Nations Energy Company Ltd.

The acquisition would allow CITIC to develop the Karazhanbas oil and gas field in Mangistau Oblast. It has proven reserves in excess of 340 million barrels of oil and current production is more than 50,000 barrels a day.

If successful, the purchase at a cost of 1.91 billion U.S. dollars would be the third largest overseas oil assets acquisition by China.

Incorporated in Bermuda and listed in Hong Kong, CITIC Resources is a holding company of CITIC, which holds more than 60 percent of the company.

CITIC (China International Trust and Investment Corporation), established by former Chinese Vice President Rong Yiren, is one of China's major finance companies.

Now a transnational conglomerate, CITIC owns 44 subsidiaries around the world, including companies in Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, and Australia. It also has representative offices in Tokyo and New York.

CITIC's core business involves finance, industrial investment and service industries.

Source: Xinhua