Reuters: PetroChina Plans Big Gas Grid Stake Sale Under Reform Push

PetroChina is discussing selling a stake in domestic gas pipelines worth an estimated $47 billion in total, sources told Reuters, in a move seen as a prelude to Beijing's plans to break the state giant's near monopoly and boost spending on energy infrastructure.

The sale could attract domestic interest from Chinese institutions, asset managers and private equity investors, sources familiar with the matter said.

PetroChina produces two-thirds of China's natural gas and controls nearly 80 percent of the country's patchy 90,000-kilometre gas pipelines, a bottlenecked grid that has prevented greater use of a fuel with half the greenhouse gas emissions of China's biggest energy source, coal.

Beijing is expected to unveil a sweeping reform package within weeks that targets its vast energy sector, part of a broader restructuring drive to boost efficiency and bring in private investment. MORE