Yahoo!: Shell says considering developing gas field in north China with PetroChina (ShellNews.net) 19 Nov 04
BEIJING (AFX) - Royal Dutch/Shell Group (LSE: SHEL.L - news - msgs) is considering jointly developing a gas field in northern China with the country's top oil producer PetroChina Co Ltd (HK 0857; NYSE PTR), a Shell spokesman in China said.
'We are considering investing in the Changbei gas field, but have yet to make the final decision,' Nick Wood told XFN-Asia.
A letter of intent for the joint effort was signed in 1999 between Shell and PetroChina's state-owned parent, China National Petroleum Corp, according to a PetroChina official, and both have been evaluating the project since then.
The gas field, located in Shaanxi province and the Inner Mongolia region, is expected to deliver 3 bln cubic meters of natural gas each year for 20 years, the official said.
Media reports say Shell and PetroChina will each take a 50 pct stake in the field, set to start operating in 2007, but both firms declined to confirm the stake sizes or timing.
The Changbei facility is part of Changqing oil and gas field, which spreads across four northern provinces and regions, and also includes Ningxia and Gansu. Proven natural gas reserves at Changqing account for around a quarter of the country's total, according to PetroChina's website.
The Chinese oil major also owns three other oil fields - Daqing, Xinjing, Liaohe and a gas field in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/041119/323/f6y1x.html