Itochu, Citic to Scout for Oil, Gas Projects Together

Japan’s Itochu and China’s Citic Resources have agreed to work together in scouting for opportunities in oil and gas space.

According to report by Nikkei, Itochu is looking take advantage of low resource prices and reactivate its alliance it formed last year with Citic Ltd. -- Citic Group's Hong Kong-listed core unit -- and Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group.

Itochu and Citic Resources Holdings will now consider acquiring stakes in relatively low-risk projects. Each company would invest about 100 billion yen ($946 million) or more per project, Nikkei said. The two parties have signed a MoU regarding this.

Itochu has oil and natural gas interests in such areas as the U.K. North Sea and Russia's Sakhalin. Citic Resources has oil and gas interests in Kazakhstan, China and elsewhere.