India, China win joint bid for oil field: report
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-12-21 19:41

China has been regularly outbidding its neighbour, most recently in August, when India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp lost out in a offer for Kazakhstan's third-largest oil producer, Petrokazakhstan, also a Canadian firm.

India initiated the idea of jointly bidding for some projects. It imports nearly 70 percent of its oil needs while China relies on foreign producers for more than a third of its oil, analysts say.

Given their growing needs, the Indian government is keen to avoid cut-throat competition with Chinese oil firms.

"It's an important milestone. We have been working on this for quite some time. Instead of competing wherever possible, we should work together," said Indian Petroleum Secretary S.C. Tripathi.

ONGC and CNPC are both stakeholders in an oilfield in Sudan alhough they did not bid for it jointly.

The announcement came shortly before Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar's visit to Beijing slated for January.

Aiyar is expected to be in China for about a week starting January 10 to look for more collaborations between the two countries in the energy sector.

Teaming up would give Indian and Chinese more negotiating muscle as they buy up far-flung oil and gas fields, analysts say. Both countries have been scouting for oil around the world to meet their soaring energy demands.

Some analysts, however, have voiced doubts about whether a partnership between two neighbours can work.