CNPC's GM to visit London

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) General Manager Jiang Jiemin will travel to London this week to confer with BP's top management about the two oil giants' landmark co-operation in Iraq, a CNPC official confirmed Monday.

British energy giant BP and China's CNPC International Ltd succeeded in their bid for the giant Rumaila oil field in southern Iraq on Jun. 30. The companies were announced as the first foreign firms in decades to win contracts to invest and develop Iraq's war-battered energy sector.

Their winning bid promises to increase Rumaila's oil production from 1.1 million barrels per day to more than 2.8 million, with a payment of $2 per barrel.

According to a senior manager of CNPC who is close to transaction, said the consortium of BP and CNPC had made the preliminary confirmation of the shares before the bid, with BP holding the largest amount at 50 percent and CNPC and Iraqi Southern Oil Company each with 25 percent.

Christof H. Ruehl, BP's vice president and chief economist said in an interview with Caijing in Beijing on Jul. 17 that BP and CNPC might split their joint venture 50-50 to develop Iraq's Runamila oil field.

But another senior manager in charge of CNPC's international business noted the companies have yet to agree on the share arrangement.

"The share-holding will not be finalized until the three parties sign a contract scheduled at the end of October, with CNPC likely to take a larger stake than BP," the manager added.

Jiang's London visit will also cover a possible joint venture to build a refinery in China.

An advocate of "going global", Jiang also plans to tour BP's oil production facility in Scotland during his visit.

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