CHINA’S offshore oil and gas major CNOOC Ltd. plans to raise money by listing new shares in Shanghai after the New York Stock Exchange said it would delist the firm earlier this year following U.S. sanctions.

CNOOC plans to raise 35 billion yuan (US$5.4 billion) by listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Sunday.

The driller will issue up to 2.6 billion new shares and will use the proceeds for project development, with excess funds to be used for working capital, it said.

The funds will be used to finance key projects such as the Payara oilfield in Guyana, its first wholly owned deepwater gas project Lingshui 17-2 and oilfield Liuhua 11-1/4-1, both in the South China Sea.

The move opens a new capital market for CNOOC after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in February said it would delist the firm’s American depository receipts after the Trump administration added it to a blacklist, restricting its access to U.S. technology without specific permission.

CNOOC appealed earlier this year for the NYSE to overturn its decision, but the company’s ticker no longer appears among NYSE listings on its website.

The planned Shanghai issue represents 5.82 percent of the share capital of the company as of Sunday’s announcement. Upon completion, the issue would represent 5.5 percent of the enlarged share capital of the company, CNOOC said.

The proposal, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, carries an over-allotment option of 15 percent of the initial issue size, the company said. The shares would carry the same voting rights, dividend and return of assets as the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares. CITIC Securities Co. is the sponsor and lead underwriter.

CNOOC, whose shares have gained around 12 percent this year, reported a 221 percent jump in its first-half profit as global oil markets recovered from the pandemic.

(SD-Agencies)