Page 12 - AsianOil Week 16 2021
P. 12
AsianOil EAST ASIA AsianOil
China “reluctant” to barter jet
fighters for oil and gas
POLICY BEIJING is reportedly reluctant to let Iran have pressure on Tehran to hold on to hard currency
its J-10C lightweight fighter jet in a barter trade whenever possible.
for oil or natural gas. An earlier report from Sina News speculated
Reports of Tehran’s interest in the jet have that Iran might buy 36 Chinese fighter jets using
been circulating on Chinese social media plat- half of $3bn in financial help from Qatar, sup-
forms for months given the expiry in October posedly offered by the Emir of Qatar Sheikh
last year of the UN’s 13-year arms embargo on Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani when he met Ira-
Iran buying foreign weapons like tanks and nian President Hassan Rowhani in Tehran in
fighter jets. January last year.
“The key problem is Iran can’t pay dollars or Closer security ties are meant to be part of the
euros in cash to China, they prefer using oil and 25-year economic and security cooperation agree-
natural gas to exchange weapons,” Zhou Chen- ment signed in March between Beijing and Tehran.
ming, a researcher with the Yuan Wang think The J-10C is an upgraded version of Chi-
tank, a Beijing-based military science and tech- na’s single-engine, lightweight, multi-role J-10,
nology institute, told the South China Morning which was designed for air-to-air combat. The
Post. “However, China has accumulated too advanced version is billed as powered by a
much energy reserves… business is business, all modified engine designed for stealth and thrust
arms deals want to make money. It’s impossible vectoring.
for China to get a bad bargain.” Analysts say that besides the J-10C, Iran
The severe depreciation of Iran’s currency, the could also be considering Russia’s MiG-35, Su-35
rial, during the recent years of US sanctions puts and Su-30SM fighter jets.
OCEANIA
Exxon starts up new
Australian gas field
PROJECTS & US super-major ExxonMobil has started pro- The super-major said the AUD400mn
COMPANIES ducing natural gas from a new project offshore ($311.3mn) project, which it described as one
eastern Australia. of the largest proven undeveloped gas fields
ExxonMobil’s local unit, Esso Australia, said off the country’s south-eastern coast, would
on April 20 the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture provide “much-needed gas supplies to help
(GBJV) – a 50:50 venture including BHP Billiton curb the potential gas shortfalls predicted for
– had commissioned the West Barracouta pro- Australia’s southern and eastern states as early
ject off the coast of Victoria. as 2023”.
P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 16 22•April•2021
