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CNPC of China Signs a Contact  With Chad Oil Refinery

09-25-2007

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Chadian Oil Refinery signed a joint venture deal during a visit by Chad President Idriss Deby, Chinese state media reported.

There were no details on the value of the agreement between CNPC, parent of PetroChina  and China's largest oil and gas producer, and the Chad refiner.

Chad became an oil producer in 2003 with the completion of a $3.7 billion pipeline linking oilfields to terminals on the Atlantic coast.

Last month, PetroChina said it had found at least 100 million tonnes of oil at a new project in the landlocked central African country. Chad cut ties with Taiwan last year and switched allegiance to mainland China, which considers Taiwan part of its own territory. It was a coup for Beijing as it pushes to secure access to Africa's vast reserves of minerals and oil to feed its booming economy.

After meetings between Deby and Chinese President Hu Jintao, China agreed to provide preferential loans to Chad and offer facilities for water and power supplies, the China Daily newspaper reported.

Deby was also expected to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao .

China will provide humanitarian aid to Chad, which borders the war-ravaged Sudanese region of Darfur and faces a spillover of refugees, rebels and militiamen, spawning ethnic violence and a humanitarian crisis.

China is also a key ally of Sudan, where it sells arms and is one of the biggest investors in its oil industry.