Gas: China and Chevron in joint venture

China's biggest oil and gas producer, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), has signed a 30-year contract Chevron Corp. to jointly develop a large gas field in southwest China's Sichuan province.

Xinhua reports the 1,969-square-kilometer gas field, located in the northeastern part of Sichuan, has proven reserves of 175.97 billion cubic meters, making the CNPC-Chevron cooperation China's largest inland exploration project participated by a foreign explorer, said a statement from CNPC.

CNPC will hold a 51-percent interest of the project, while Chevron takes 49 percent, according to the product-sharing contract.