Regional LNG: CNOOC ends talks with Chevron on Gorgon LNG sale

Chinese oil firm CNOOC Ltd. has called off talks with Chevron over buying LNG from the U.S. firm's Australian Gorgon project in Australia, a senior CNOOC executive said on Friday as quoted by Reuters.

Senior Vice President Cao Yunshi did not say why discussions had terminated, but sources said last year that talks between China's top offshore oil firm and Chevron had stalled over pricing.

"Gorgon is finished," said Cao Yunshi, senior vice president and general counsel.

Chevron has a 50 percent interest in the Gorgon project, with the balance split equally between Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

China has not secured any new LNG contracts since two big deals in 2002, casting a cloud over the future of as many as 18 new import terminals it is considering building.

But on Friday, CNOOC's Chief Financial Officer, Yang Hua, reiterated that the company was in talks with a number of potential natgas suppliers, which could include Chevron.

"We have been talking to every possible partner. I guess they (Chevron) are not excluded," he said without elaborating.(*)