Regional LNG: China's Zhenrong signs $20 B LNG MOU with Iran: Report
Thursday, March 18 2004 - 07:53 AM WIB
Chinese state-owned oil trading company Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp said on Thursday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran to import more than 110 million tons of liquefied natural gas over 25 years for $20 billion.
"This is only an MOU," Zhenrong spokeswoman told Reuters by telephone from Beijing.
"We have yet to negotiate for an upstream stake (in Iran) and secure gas offtakers in China," she said, adding that Zhenrong signed the MOU with the National Iranian Gas Exporting Co.
"We will make a more detailed announcement in the second half of this year," she said.
Zhenrong was set up in 1994 specifically to import crude from Iran, which overtook Oman to become China's top crude supplier. Over the last two years, Saudi Arabia has overtaken Iran to become China's largest crude imports supplier. Zhenrong supplies its Iranian crude imports to refineries under China's state oil group Sinopec. (*)