BP says confident will win China LNG supply deal

[BP is bidding to supply gas from the giant Tangguh field in Indonesia]

SHANGHAI, March 28 (Reuters) - Oil major BP Plc <BP.L> said on Thursday it was confident of winning a coveted, long-term deal to supply gas to China's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal due to start operations in 2006. 

BP holds a marginal edge over two other bidders by virtue of its 30 percent stake in the $616 million terminal Guangdong province in southern China, said Gary Dirks, president and chief executive for BP China. 

"We are confident of the strength of our bid and we believe we will be selected as the supplier," Dirks told reporters at the groundbreaking of a separate petrochemical venture in Shanghai. 

BP's stake in the high-profile LNG terminal, which would have capacity of three million tonnes per year, would hand the British oil giant a slight advantage over rival bidders, he said. 

"At the margin I think that it does," Dirks told Reuters. "But the reality is that it's a very transparent process that's being run, and everything is being done by the Chinese side to make sure that the playing field is level," he said. 

State giant China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) shortlisted three bidders early this year, including BP Gas in Indonesia, Australia LNG Pty Ltd and Qatar's Ras Laffan Co. The three will put in their bids on April 21, Dirks said. 

BP is bidding to supply gas from the giant Tangguh field in Indonesia. 

The terminal, in which China's third-largest oil conglomerate CNOOC holds a controlling 33 percent stake, is due to be finished in 2006. It might be expanded to handle eight million tonnes per year by 2008, sources have said. 

"It is the pilot for what undoubtedly will be more terminals around China in future," Dirks said. "Very good progress has been made on the completion of the feasibility reports, and the whole terminal project is on schedule." 

CNOOC, which is leading a consortium of Chinese and Hong Kong firms that will build the terminal with BP, has said it would select a supplier by the end of July. 

A supply contract would last at least 20 years, CNOOC officials have said.