Global petroleum company Total says that its talks with China National Offshore Oil Corp, one of the largest offshore oil companies in China, on liquid natural gas has entered its final stages and it expected that a final deal will be signed soon.

In June 2008, Total signed a framework agreement with CNOOC. According to the agreement, Total would deliver up to one million tons of LNG to CNOOC from its ten LNG projects world wide each year from 2010.

Total's statement came after Shell signed a 20-year agreement with PetroChina to supply up to two million tons of LNG to the latter earlier this week.

CNOOC is one of the three major petroleum and LNG suppliers and leading LNG undertaker in China. Based on a 25-year LNG contract for the North West Shelf project of Australia, Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company, a holding company of CNOOC successfully received the first shipment of LNG on May 26, 2006.