Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 23 -- ExxonMobil Corp. has signed a preliminary agreement on principles with China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) for the supply of natural gas from the Russian Sakhalin-1 project.
An ExxonMobil spokesman said the agreement, which defines the obligations of both parties and the principles of price formation, calls for gas to be delivered to northeastern China, but he did not identify the quantities involved, pricing, or when deliveries would begin.
The deal resulted from a November 2004 memorandum of understanding, and the representative said the preliminary document is expected to lead to an official agreement.
Earlier, ExxonMobil said it is ready to deliver 8 billion cu m/year of gas to China.
Currently, gas is delivered in small amounts, as much as 1 billion cu m, to enterprises in Russia's Khabarovsk territory.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
