STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Want to send this story to another AOL member? Click on the heart at the top of this window. HK & China Gas seeks talks on PetroChina pipeline By Alison Leung HONG KONG, June 29 (Reuters) - Hong Kong & China Gas <0003.HK> said on Friday it will soon hold talks with PetroChina <0857.HK> on whether to bid for a stake in a massive gas pipeline project on its own or with Royal Dutch/Shell <RD.AS><SHEL.L>. Hong Kong & China Gas managing director Alfred Chan also said longstanding plans to invest HK$2 billion ($256 million) in China over the next five years were due for a revision, saying "that's an old figure that has been in the market for a year." The estimate, widely reported in Hong Kong newspapers on Friday, was a "ballpark figure" not based on any solid investment commitments in China, Chan told Reuters by telephone. On Wednesday, PetroChina invited Hong Kong & China Gas and the Russian consortium of PJSC Gazprom and PJSC Stroitransgaz to join talks for a 4,200 km west-east pipeline which will transport gas from the western region of Xinjiang to Shanghai. Hong Kong & China Gas, known locally as Towngas, has said previously it would team up with Royal Dutch/Shell to bid on the project. "At this time we're still in a partnership with Shell," Chan said. The company would decide whether to stay in the partnership after discussing the issue with PetroChina, he added. A senior PetroChina official said Hong Kong & China Gas had not formally told the Chinese oil giant it intended to bid jointly with Shell, but PetroChina had no objections. "Up until now, Hong Kong & China Gas has not formally handed in its joint operation agreement to form a consortium with Shell to bid for the pipeline project," said Liu Kaixin, deputy director general of PetroChina's planning department. "If it forms a consortium with Shell, or if they have a joint agreement, PetroChina has no objection to their cooperation," he told a news conference in Beijing. SMALL SHARE EITHER WAY Chan did not reveal how much Hong Kong & China Gas would like to invest in the project, but said it would be the same whether the company bid on its own or with Shell. Earlier this month, he said the company would only seek a "very small share" in the project. A Hong Kong & China Gas spokeswoman said the company's major interest lay in the downstream business, or retail distribution of gas in China. "We are interested (in seeking) a presence in the mid-stream business, or pipeline business, but we will not make a massive investment there," she said. Earlier this month, PetroChina selected three of the world's top oil majors for talks on building the pipeline, including Royal Dutch/Shell, which initially bid on its own. BP plc <BP.L> leads a consortium that includes Japan's Mitsubishi <7011.T>, Itochu <8001.T>, Nissho Iwai <9961.T> and Malaysia's Petronas, while Exxon Mobil <<A HREF="aol://4785:XOM">XOM.N</A>> bid with China Light and Power <0002.HK>. Hong Kong & China Gas has plenty of cash on hand and is planning to buy back up to HK$4.12 billion in shares starting on July 5. Local newspapers reported on Friday that even after the buyback, the company would still have HK$2.8 billion in cash or cash equivalent. Shares of Hong Kong & China Gas closed up 1.03 percent at HK$9.80 on Friday. ($1=7.799 Hong Kong Dollar) (Additional reporting by Bill Savadove in Beijing) 05:00 06-29-01 Copyright 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
