Japan, China companies sign oil, gas deals

Tokyo, Apr 12: Japanese and Chinese companies said they signed business agreements in the energy sector today which may lead to possible joint development of oil and gas projects in the future.

The deals were struck at a Japan-China energy seminar in Tokyo during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit here.

Nippon Oil Corp. and China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) signed an accord for long-term cooperation, including overseas oil and natural gas resources development.

''The agreement will cover many things,'' Nippon Oil Chairman Fumiaki Watari told a small group of reporters after the signing.

''We will have to discuss specifics.'' Nippon Oil also expects to expand bilateral trade in crude oil, oil products and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Mitsui&Co's UK unit and China Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) signed an accord on liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot trading at the seminar, where Japanese and Chinese business and government officials gathered as Premier Wen makes his first visit to Japan.

The energy sector and the environment are high on the agenda during Wen's stay this week.

He and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe said in a joint statement yesterday that China and Japan, the world's second and third largest oil users, will closely cooperate in the energy sector and work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Reuters

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