The Amu Darya project is an offshore natural gas field development between CNPC and the Turkmenistan government on a production sharing basis, PetroChina said in a statement filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late Sunday. CNPC’s subsidiary CNPC International Ltd signed a PSC agreement with Turkmenistan for the Amu Darya gas project in mid-2007, it added.

The Amu Darya project’s PSC covers a 14,300 sq km area, which is split into Block A and Block B. Block A covers about 1,000 sq km, and is explored and developed to a greater extent than Block B. There is a separate set of commercial terms for each of the blocks. The term of the PSC is 35 years, PetroChina said.

It is expected the Amu Darya project will begin operation by end-2009, the Chinese integrated oil giant added.

CNPCI, the Turkmenistan government and a subsidiary of the Chinese integrated oil giant PetroChina International already signed an agreement in June this year which stipulates that gas produced from the two blocks will be sold to PetroChina International and moved by a long distance trunkline, the Trans-Asia gas pipeline, to the northwestern border of China neighboring Kazakhstan.

A major attraction of the Amu Darya project is its rich oil and gas resources and the area’s low level of exploration and development, PetroChina said. The acquisition will help PetroChina build a new business platform in the Central Asia region and facilitate its goal of internationalization, the statement noted.