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CHINA’s top three oil giants are competing for a 20% Angolan oil field stake being sold by US energy company Marathon Oil Corp with the goal of increasing their overseas oil output.

The Houston based energy company is selling two thirds of its 30% holding in Angola’s offshore Block 32. At the time of writing, bidding has concluded and the deal is now at the negotiation stage, which could end within days with the final price likely to be closed at $2b, according to a source close to the matter.

China’s second- and third-largest oil refiners, Sinopec and CNOOC, have joined to offer a price of $1.1–1.5b, while China’s top oil producer China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), made a separate bid of an unknown amount.

Niu Ni of the Economic Analysis Department at the National Information Center says Sinopec is teaming up with CNOOC and drawing upon the latter’s offshore oil exploration experience and is in a strong position to compete with CNPC.

An source close to the matter said that in addition to China’s three oil giants, India’s Oil & Gas Corp and Brazilian deepwater specialist Petrobras were also bidding, adding that the competition will be fierce since other stakeholders of the block 32 have priority rights in buying the 20% stake Marathon is holding with the final agreed price.

Other stakeholders of block 32 include France’s Total(30%), ExxonMobil (15%), Sonangol (20%), and Petrogal (5%), but at the moment none of the holders have publicly expressed an interest in using their priority rights.

Sinopec had previously acquired stakes in three other Angolan oil fields via Sonagol Sinopec International (SSI), a joint venture between Angola’s state oil firm Sonangol and Sinopec. Sinopec owns a 75% stake of the joint venture.