China wins Myanmar gas bid, beats India

China won the rights to natural gas from Myanmar's biggest field, beating stakeholder India in the race for resources among the world's two-fastest growing major economies.

Daewoo International Corp, the operator of the field, picked a Chinese company as the preferred bidder to extract the gas, the Seoul-based company said in a regulatory filing, without naming the possible buyer.

State-owned Indian companies own 30 per cent of the field, which holds as much as 7.7 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Gas commands a premium for fuel-hungry Asian nations as crude oil prices hover near $100 a barrel. India and China are competing for oil and gas to supply the world's two most populous nations.

The Korean company is the operator of the A-1 and A-3 offshore blocks, in which it has a 60 per cent stake. Korea Gas Corp owns 10 per cent of the areas, GAIL India (Ltd) holds 10 per cent and Oil and Natural Gas Corp owns 20 per cent.

"Gas from the field has to be sold and if Daewoo has chosen China, in-principle, I see nothing wrong with it,'' Oil and Natural Gas Chairman R S Sharma said in an interview from New Delhi. "GAIL was dealing with the bit relating to getting the gas to India.''

China, India, Thailand, South Korea and Japan are competing for a share of Myanmar's gas supply as discoveries increase. The southeast Asian country had about 19 trillion cubic feet of reserves last year, BP Plc said in its annual energy report.

Energy consultant Gaffney, Cline & Associates certified that Myanmar's A-1 and A-3 areas hold as much as 7.7 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Daewoo International is in talks to sell the gas to PetroChina Co, the Korea Economic Daily reported on November 27, citing Daewoo International's Chief Executive Kang Young Won.

Daewoo and PetroChina are in discussion over the price and may reach an agreement soon, Kang said in an interview.