PetroChina eyes US$10b stake in Russian gas fields

PetroChina is seeking to invest in Russian gas fields as part of efforts by China and Russia to conclude gas-supply negotiations that have dragged on for almost a decade, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

The publicly traded unit of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) was interested in spending at least US$10 billion for a minority share of eastern Siberian gas fields operated by Gazprom and Rosneft, said three of the people, who asked not to be named because the deliberations were pri- vate.

"PetroChina is willing to promote all-round co-operation with Russia's oil companies and hopes to invest in Russia's upstream oil-and-gas exploration and development businesses," spokesman Mao Zefeng said.

The two countries are seeking to complete a deal that would see Russia supply as much as 68 billion cubic metres of gas a year, helping to meet the energy needs of Asia's biggest economy. A US$10 billion acquisition would be PetroChina's biggest-ever purchase abroad.

Gas-supply talks between Russia and China started in 2004 and have dragged on as the countries disagreed over price. Two people familiar with Gazprom's thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the firm would be reluctant to sell stakes in its eastern Siberian fields.

Mao said China's biggest oil and gas producer did not have any more information to disclose on its Russian plans.