BEIJING, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- China and Iran are reportedly close to concluding a multibillion dollar oil deal.
Under the deal, China's state-owned Sinopec Group would have a 51 percent stake in the Yadavaran oil field, on Iran's southern border.
Caijing, a Beijing business magazine, quoted Sinopec official Mou Shuling as saying Chinese officials are expected to visit Iran next month to sign an agreement.
According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, the deal is being concluded in haste as both parties want business concluded before increasingly likely international sanctions are placed on Iran.
In addition to developing Yadavaran, China has committed to buying 10 million tons of liquefied natural gas a year for 25 years from 2009.
The Yadavaran oil field is estimated to have a maximum output capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, and has more than 3 billion barrels of known reserves.
India's state-owned Oil & Gas Corp. will have a 20 percent stake in the field, and Iran's National Iranian Oil will hold the remaining 29 percent.
The Chinese deal is believed to be worth as much as $100 billion.
