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SINGAPORE, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Unipec Asia, the trading armof Chinese oil major Sinopec , is in talks tobuy more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Exxon MobilCorp-operated Papua New Guinea project, five industrysources told Reuters.
The supply deal will likely start ahead of this winter andit will be for about three years, two of the sources briefed onthe matter said. They spoke on condition of anonymity as theywere not authorised to speak with media.
The exact volumes under discussion were not immediatelyclear but project holder Oil Search said in itshalf-yearly results statement in August that negotiations areongoing to contract the project's final batch of mid-term supplytotalling 0.45 million tonnes per annum (mmtpa).
The Papua New Guinea project has a total contracted volumeof 7.5 mmtpa so far, according to Oil Search. The project hassigned mid-term LNG sale and purchase agreements with PetroChinaand oil major BP, and has sold 6.6 mmtpa under long-termcontracts to Japanese trading giant JERA, Osaka Gas,Sinopec and Taiwan's CPC Corp.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Exxon is also currentlyin talks with other potential buyers of Papua New Guinea LNG.
An Exxon spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the companydoes not comment on commercial matters. A Sinopec spokesman didnot comment.(Reporting by Jessica JaganathanEditing by Kenneth Maxwell)
