PetroChina puts sprawling pipeline assets into $12b firm

Chinese energy giant PetroChina Co is putting a sprawl of pipeline operations into a single company with a registered capital of 80 billion yuan ($12.4 billion), saying it wants to improve efficiency and boost the value of the businesses.

Assets that were spread across three units are being consolidated into PetroChina Pipelines Co, PetroChina said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. PetroChina will own 72.26 percent of that company when the transaction closes on Dec 31, it said.

The government is looking to spin off oil and gas pipelines from its energy companies into independent businesses as part of overhaul of State-owned industries. PetroChina and its parent, China National Petroleum Corp, are seeking to complete asset sales before the end of the year to help meet government-set annual profit goals, people familiar with the matter said.

In the statement, PetroChina said that a streamlined structure would improve management efficiency and cut operating costs.

Currently, three companies - PetroChina Eastern Pipelines Co, PetroChina Northwest United Pipelines Co and PetroChina United Pipelines Co - run different parts of the nation's west-to-east gas transmission pipelines.

After the transaction, shareholdings in the company with the assets will include: Guolian Fund, 5.33 percent; the National Council for Social Security Fund, 4.4 percent; Taikang Life Insurance Co, 4.08 percent; Baoshan Iron & Steel Co, 3.52 percent, and New China Life Insurance Co at 3.46 percent, according to the statement.