Regional LNG: China may buy PNG gas

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 as quoted by Bloomberg.

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.(*)