- PetroChina (PTR) and its CNPC parent could spin off its massive natural gas and crude oil transportation system, which stretches from China’s remote borders with central Asia to major coastal cities, as soon as this year, analysts at Bernstein and Jefferies tell Bloomberg.
- “While timing is unclear, there is a sense that management is in favor of such a spinoff,” says Bernstein's Neil Beveridge, who has a Buy rating on the stock and estimates the assets are worth 585B yuan ($85B). PTR’s preferred option is an IPO that would leave it with a controlling stake.
- Monetizing pipeline assets is one of the few options PTR still has to raise funds and attract investors under the current low oil price environment, says Jefferies' head of Asian oil and gas equities Laban Yu.