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Rosneft, China Plan to Sign Oil Deal

Russian and Chinese state-run oil firms Rosneft and CNPC plan to sign a 15-year oil supply deal within days, ending months of dispute over pricing, industry sources said Friday.

The deal could become part of the program of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's to Moscow next week, they said.

Rosneft and CNPC, whose current long-term oil supply deal expires in 2010, have long been negotiating the terms to extend the agreement, which Rosneft has said no longer suits it.

Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko met with the head of China's National Energy Administration, Zhang Guobao, in Moscow on Thursday.

Shmatko said after the meeting that Rosneft and CNPC have agreed on the price formula for the new contract, which will be for at least 15 years, and are likely to sign the new deal in a month or six weeks' time.

Russia is currently exporting crude to China by rail but plans to open a major pipeline to China next year.

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