BP to sign £11.8bn Gas deal with China's China National Offshore Oil Corporation[CNOOC]

BP is to sign a deal with China National Offshore Oil Corporation worth about $20bn (£11.8bn).

The oil giant will supply its Chinese peer with liquefied natural gas (LNG), BP chief executive Bob Dudley said at a conference in Moscow.

 

Mr Dudley said the deal would be signed in London.

Prime Minister David Cameron will announce trade deals to coincide with a three-day visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

"It is a 20-year supply agreement on LNG. It is a fair price for them and a fair price for us. It is a good bridge between the UK and China in terms of trade," Mr Dudley said.

BP already supplies CNOOC with LNG from Indonesia.

Iraq clashes

Mr Dudley also said his firm's operations were largely unaffected by the fighting in Iraq, as BP's operations are in the south of the country, away from the violence.

Iraqi government forces are engaged in heavy clashes with Sunni Islamist militants, who have made major advances in the past week.

Reports say parts of the city of Baquba - just 60km (37 miles) from Baghdad - have been taken over by the rebels.

The US is deploying up to 275 military personnel to protect staff at its huge embassy in the capital.

The prime minister of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region has told the BBC he thinks Iraq may not stay together.

BP has evacuated people who are not essential to production, Mr Dudley said.

Asked if he was concerned about the Iraqi government's control over the country, he said: "The people we are dealing with appear to be very much in control of the oil communications that we have."