OREANDA-NEWS. August 30, 2013. Herbert Smith Freehills has advised China National Petroleum Corp. on a USD 4.2 billion investment in a offshore gas field in Mozambique.

CNPC bought a 20 percent share of the so-called Area 4 gas field through the purchase of a stake in Eni East Africa SpA, a subsidiary of Italian oil and gas company Eni SpA.

Eni East Africa will retain a 50 percent majority holding in the field, with the remaining minority positions owned by state-owned Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos de Mozambique, Korean state-owned Kogas, and Portuguese energy conglomerate Galp Energia.

Hong Kong partner David Clinch, London partners Isaac Zailer, Anna Howell and James Quinney, and Brussels partner Kyriakos Fountoukakos led the Herbert Smith Freehills team acting for CNPC. Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Capelli & Partners acted as Italian counsel to the Chinese state-owned enterprise.

Linklaters served as counsel to Eni. The partners who advised the company were not available at press time.