PetroChina to open 18 new areas

PetroChina to open 18 new areas

SHANGHAI (AFP): China's leading oil company PetroChina will
open 18 new areas for oil and gas exploration and development by
foreign firms, state media said Friday.

Zhang Xiangning, an official in PetroChina's foreign
cooperation administration department, told the China Daily the
company would offer blocks in the Tarim Basin, the Ordos Basin
and the Songliao Basin to foreign participation.

This is the first time China has offered so many blocks, areas
of unspecified size designated for oil exploration, for foreign
firms to develop, the paper reported.

Along with the 23 pockets of oil and gas already under
negotiation with foreign companies, the potential production of
areas under foreign management is expected to account for 20
percent of PetroChina's total production, the paper quoted Zhang
as saying.

The 18 blocks, which include Kela II gas field in the Tarim
Basin -- one of China's largest and richest gas fields, located
in a desert area in the country's westernmost region of Xinjiang
-- will be offered for public bidding in one or two months, Zhang
said.