China firm in preliminary deal to buy Chevron's Bangladesh gas fields

BEIJING: China’s state-run Zhenhua Oil has signed a preliminary deal with Chevron to buy the US oil major’s natural gas fields in Bangladesh that are worth about US$2bil, two Beijing-based Chinese oil executives said.

Zhenhua is a subsidiary of China’s defence industry conglomerate NORINCO. A completed deal would mark China’s first major energy investment in the South Asian country, where Beijing is competing with New Delhi and Tokyo for influence.