Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Limited (Brightoil) is in talks with U.S. oil companies Anadarko Petroleum (Anadarko) and Newfield Exploration (Newfield) over the possible purchase of their China operations, Reuters reports, citing anonymous sources.

Houston-based Anadarko has reportedly been considering the sale of its Chinese holdings, including parts of oil and gas projects in China's Bohai Bay and the South China Sea, which are said to be worth about $1 billion.

Newfield has previously announced plans to exit China as part of a push to focus on its U.S. assets, Reuters has reported.

Brightoil announced the suspension of its shares Tuesday, citing a pending announcement of a "very substantial acquisition."

The bunker supplier said more than a year ago that it was working to increase its upstream and Chinese holdings.

(shipandbunker.com Feb 17, 2014)