China is in talks to buy Papua New Guinea gas (International Herald Tribune) Updated: 2005-12-05 22:09 China National Petroleum, the
biggest Chinese oil company, is in talks with the Papua New Guinea government
about buying natural gas, Petroleum and Energy Minister Moi Avei of Papua New
Guinea said Monday.
An initial accord may be signed between the government and the Chinese
company during a planned visit by Avei to China early next year, the minister
said. China National Petroleum may import the fuel in the form of liquefied
natural gas through a plant the company may build in northern Papua New Guinea,
he said.
China and its state-controlled oil companies are seeking oil and gas supplies
abroad as energy prices reach records. China National Offshore completed an
agreement last year to buy a stake in Australia's North West Shelf gas reserves
as part of a plan to buy LNG from the venture.
In June, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and
Resource Economics estimated that China's LNG demand might surge from zero to
18.3 million tons a year by 2015 as the government promotes the use of
cleaner-burning fuels. China currently relies on coal and oil for 90 percent of
its fuel needs.
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