OREANDA-NEWS. April 13, 2011. The city of Xian (People's Republic of China) hosted another round of commercial negotiations between the delegations of Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The delegation of Gazprom was led by Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Company's Management Committee, while Wang Dongjin, Vice President of CNPC headed the Chinese delegation.

Based on the previous negotiations, the parties formed a joint working group to ensure successful resolution of technical and commercial issues. According to the agreements reached, Gazprom and CNPC will sign the Gas Purchase and Sale Contract in mid-2011.
Background

CNPC is the largest state-owned petroleum company in China (the Government holds a 100 per cent stake) and is one of the world's leading integrated oil and gas production companies.

Gazprom and CNPC signed the Agreement of Strategic Cooperation on October 14, 2004. Among other things, the Agreement covers examination of the issues relative to the arrangement of natural gas delivery from Russia to China by Gazprom. The opportunities are also being explored for joint gas processing and gas chemical projects in eastern Russia and in third countries.

In June 2009 the Russian Government and their Chinese counterparts signed the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the natural gas sector.

In October 2009 Gazprom and CNPC inked the Framework Agreement on major terms and conditions for natural gas supply from Russia to China. In December 2009 the Basic Major Terms of Gas Supply from Russia to China were signed.

In March 2010 Gazprom and CNPC entered into the Agreement on developing the feasibility study for gas processing and gas chemical projects.