The UK Government said yesterday it would not stand in the way of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s takeover of Nexen.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change said it had been in talks with both companies and would approve the £9.4billion acquisition, which would give CNOOC control of the Buzzard field and the £2billion Golden Eagle development in the North Sea. It comes days after the Canadian government approved the takeover, but the US must still make a decision because Nexen has Gulf of Mexico assets.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of fellow Canadian operator Talisman Energy said he was pleased with the Canadian government’s new restrictions on foreign ownership of firms with global reach based in the country, despite his company having sold 49% of its UK assets to Chinese group Sinopec recently.