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Nigerian President in a State Visit in China to Meet CNOOC Officials

02-29-2008 

President Umaru Yar'Adua of Nigeria is in China to meet officials from China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC).

Yar'Adua arrived in Beijing on Wednesday with a large delegation of Nigerian officials, including Ministry of State for Petroleum Odein Ajumogobia, as part of a four-day state visit to boost ties.

CNOOC, China's third-largest oil company, paid $2.7 billion for a stake in Nigeria's deepwater Akpo field in 2006 and expects first oil this year.

President Hu Jintao welcomed Yar'Adua during a ceremony at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Thursday, pledging to boost strategic ties with Abuja.

"I'm confident that your current visit to China will further our practical cooperation in various fields and take our strategic cooperation to a new level," Hu said.

China, the world's second largest energy user, has loaned billions of dollars to Africa's largest oil producer and has been rewarded with big-ticket infrastructure tenders to build hydroelectric plants, railways and oil refineries.

But its imports of relatively expensive Nigerian crude remain marginal, and China's top oil giants Sinopec Group and Petrochina have not made significant investments, with sources citing security concerns.