China's CNPC will sign a deal to develop a gas field in Turkmenistan during an upcoming visit to Beijing by the Turkmen president, an official close to the deal said Friday.
The Chinese state firm has signed a draft contract for the Turkmen field, said the official, who declined to disclose the size or value, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
The report comes amid a flurry of deals by Chinese government oil and gas companies to explore for and develop energy sources in former Soviet republics, Africa and elsewhere.
An agreement is to be signed when Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov visits Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Turkmenistan has proven commercial reserves of 2.8 trillion cubic meters.
China is in talks to buy 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan over 30 years.
Turkmenistan and China signed a deal in April 2006 to build the pipeline and are negotiating prices.
Iran and Turkmenistan will pump 30 bcm of gas per year to Europe via Turkey, leaving no need for alternative supplies to the Nabucco pipeline project, a senior Turkish energy official said Saturday.
On top of this, Turkey and Iran have agreed that the Turkish Petroleum Corporation will produce 20 bcm of gas in the three phases of Iran's South Pars gas field, the official said, requesting anonymity.
Iran and Turkey have signed a preliminary agreement to pump Iranian gas to Europe via Turkey, Iran said earlier Saturday.
"The agreement signed between Turkey and Iran paves the way for the Nabucco project and we no longer need any other supplies to meet the Nabucco gas requirement," the official said.
Turkey had sought Russian gas for the 4.6 billion euro ($6.3 billion) Nabucco project that will cross its territory. It is backed by the European Union partly as a means to diversify from reliance on Russian gas by opening access to central Asian gas.
Tags: China,Turkmenistan,Iran
