MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petrobras signs oil export contract to China

Brazil's government owned Petrobras announced Monday the signing of a contract for the export to China of 12,000 bpd of crude adding that it expects sales of petroleum products to reach a billion US dollars annually in five years.

The deal valued at 600 million US dollars was sealed with China's government managed Sinochem International Oil Company, Petrobras said in a statement.

The Chinese firm will be supplied from offshore fields in Brazil's Campos Basin, where Petrobras largest deposits are located.

"This is the first petroleum export contract to China" said the official release highlighting that so far Chinese importers have made only spot market purchases from Petrobras.

Monday's announcement did not specify when shipments would begin under the contract.

So far this year Petrobras has sold 190 million US dollars of oil and liquefied petroleum gas to China, which has jumped in less than two decades from self-sufficiency in petroleum to one of the world's largest importers of crude.

Petrobras said it expects by 2010 to be selling a billion US dollars of oil and petroleum derivatives to China.