China’s Yantai Xinchao extends shale reach in $1.3bn Texas oilfield deal

Producers Tall City Exploration and Plymouth Petroleum sell oilfields in Permian basin for around $1.3bn to Chinese firm aiming to make mark in US shale market

Yantai Xinchao said it will acquire acreage in Borden and Howard counties in west Texas. It is one of the oldest oil producing regions in the US and an area that has seen a revival with shale drilling in the Spraberry play during recent years. No reserves or production data have been released as yet, but the US Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investment has approved the deal, the Chinese firm announced in late October. Deal maker It is the second major oil deal in Texas for Yantai Xinchao after it bought Juno Energy’s business earlier this year. That deal saw Yantai acquire mature fields in the Permian Basin that held around 25 million barrels in reserves. BMO Capital had estimated the value