Norton Rose Fulbright advises Sinopec on PSC with Sonatrach

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised SINOPEC Overseas Oil & Gas Limited (SOOGL) in relation to a 25-year production-sharing contract (PSC) with Algeria’s Sonatrach for the development of the Zarzaïtine field, in the Illizi basin.

The two companies have agreed to carry out a US$490 million development programme which should allow the production of nearly 95 million barrels of oil. Work will involve improving gas lift, the drilling of 12 new development wells and workovers on six existing wells. New development wells will be connected up and maintenance carried out on existing surface facilities. Furthermore, investment will go into refurbishment of the gas lift unit, in order to reduce CO2 emissions.

Sinopec is China’s largest oil and petrochemical products supplier and the country’s second largest oil and gas producer. It is also the largest refining company and the second largest chemical company in the world.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team who advised SOOGL was led by Jerry Li, Beijing-based partner and head of China Outbound, and project and corporate partner Simon Cudennec of the firm’s Paris office. The deal is reflective of cross-border collaboration between the firm’s China Outbound team and other offices in connection with Chinese clients’ global operations as well as the firm’s multidisciplinary cross-border energy practice.