text: newmyer on behalf of Jackie NewmyerTuesday September 29 2009 11:20 AMHnew Iran-China oil deal reported in Iran (in English) and in China (in Chinese)B6B6Secretary ClintonJust wanted to make sure that you saw the news about one of China's oil conglomerates and the Iranian National OilCompany over theweekend:Iran China sign a major oilfield deal Mon 28 Sep 2009 15:05:09 GMT China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has signeda contract with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for the development of Iran's South Azadegan oilfield. The Chinesecompany will buy a 70 percent share of the whole project according to an agreement signed Sunday in LausanneSwitzerland between CNPC and NIOC's overseas investment subsidiary Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO) that coversa 90 percent stake in the project.A likely explanation would be that this deal has been long in the making. Still Tehran's motivation for releasing thisinformation in English at this time is worth considering.The whole story from an English-language Iranian outlet is pasted in below and I found three Chinese-language sourceswith corroborating reports (nothing in English from China though):http://business.sohu.com/20090929267094148.shtmlhttp://money.163.com/09/0929/14/5KCSKN5F002524SO.htmlhttp://finance.sina.com.cn/world/gjjj/20090929/18566807524.shtmlJackiePress TVIran China sign a major oilfield dealMon 28 Sep 2009 15:05:09 GMTChina National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has signed a contract with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for thedevelopment of Iran's South Azadegan oilfield.The Chinese company will buy a 70 percent share of the whole project according to an agreement signed Sunday inLausanne Switzerland between CNPC and NIOC's overseas investment subsidiary Naftiran lntertrade Company (NICO)that covers a 90 percent stake in the project.CNPC which won a bid in January to develop the North Azadegan oilfield now holds a 70 percent share of the projectwith NICO holding 20 percent and Inpex of Japan having the remaining 10 percent.The South Azadegan project is slated to produce 260000 barrels of crude oil per day and its development will costaround $2.5 billion.The field along the Iraqi border holds reserves estimated at approximately 42 billion barrels of oil one of the world'slargest finds in the last 30 years.Iran provides 14 percent of China's demand for oil.The deal is couched in buy-back terms in which CNPC will hand over the operation of the field to NIOC afterdevelopment and will receive payments from the oil production for a few years to cover its investment.China's investment in Iran's energy sector has increased as some western countries led by the US have sanctioned Iranover its peaceful nuclear program.Jacqueline NewmyerPresident Long Term Strategy Group12 Eliot St. Cambridge MA 02138617-661-1620 (ph)617-661-1626 (fax)www.ltstrategy.com