The five petroleum companies, three Chinese - Sinopec, PetroChina, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC); and two British - BP and Royal Dutch Shell, are reported to be in talks with a privately-owned oil company in the commercial southern hub to buy its service stations.
An official at Shanghai Xingcheng Oil Company confirmed talks were taking place with the five firms.
"We are in touch with each of the five giant companies, but I cannot predict when there will be further developments in the deal," said the official, who refused to be identified.
CNOOC and Shell representatives said on Friday they were not aware of the deal. BP, PetroChina and Sinopec declined to comment.
Shanghai Xingcheng, established in 1996, has 20 service stations in the Shanghai region and a 10,000-cubic-metre oil tank.
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3 Chinese and 2 British Oil Giants to Fight For Shanghai Oil
An official at Shanghai Xingcheng Oil Company confirmed talks
