Re Joint Venture

BP Amoco PLC
20 March 2001





March 20, 2001   11/01







              BP SELECTED FOR EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATIONS TO FINALISE

               PARTICIPATION IN CHINA'S FIRST LNG IMPORT SCHEME





BP announced today that it has been selected to enter exclusive negotiations
to secure the position as the foreign partner in the JV tasked to develop
China's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and associated
pipeline.  The Chinese sponsors and BP will jointly conduct a Feasibility
Study which, once approved by Chinese authorities, will lead to the formation
of a JV company responsible for the construction and initial operating phase
of the new plant.



The Guangdong project in southern China will consist of an LNG
re-gassification terminal near the city of Shenzhen, with a capacity of three
million tonnes a year, together with 300 kilometres of associated pipeline
linking the terminal to the region in its first phase. It is due on stream in
2006.



A successful finalisation of the negotiations will lead to BP taking a 30 per
cent equity stake in the project, partnering with a coalition led by the China
National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) (33 per cent), local Guangdong
companies (31 per cent) and two Hong Kong energy companies (6 per cent).



'This is a significant new step in expanding our China operations, and an
excellent strategic fit with our Asia-Pacific gas reserves,' BP chief
executive Sir John Browne said.



'The Guangdong project will cement our position as a leading global partner
for China's rapidly growing gas markets and provides a platform for further
growth for the BP Group in the province of Guangdong. China is the world's
largest energy market outside the US with a market expanding with continued
economic deregulation.  As China moves to cleaner fuels, gas demand will
increase more rapidly still, and we now have the strongest possible access to
the markets being created by that growth.'



BP's Phase 1 investment is estimated at some $180 million.  An anticipated
Phase 2 expansion is envisaged, to be on stream in 2008. This will add a
further 2 million tonnes a year of LNG re-gassification capacity and 180 more
kilometres of pipeline.



Gas currently meets just two per cent of China's energy needs, but this number
is projected to increase to between seven and eight per cent by 2010.







For further information, please contact: Toby Odone, London: [phone]

                                         Yi Min, Beijing: [phone]







Notes to Editors:



BP is one of the world's largest energy and petrochemicals groups and has so
far invested over US$3 billion in China. To date, BP employs over 700 people
in China and is involved in joint ventures that employ over 2,200. BP has a
wide range of existing investment and business activities in China, working
with the country's three major integrated oil companies.



In March 2000, BP acquired a 2.2 per cent equity position in PetroChina, a
major integrated oil and gas company, through its IPO. This was followed in
September 2000 by a US $400 million investment in Sinopec through its IPO.  A
framework joint venture agreement was signed by BP and PetroChina in August,
2000 as a first step aimed at jointly developing the gas market in the
Shanghai region.



The other partners in the Guangdong project are China National Offshore Oil
Corporation (CNOOC), which will hold a 33 per cent stake.  Guangdong companies
Shenzhen Investment Holding Corporation (14 per cent), Guangdong Electric
Power Holding Company (6 per cent), Guangzhou Gas Company (6 per cent),
Dongguan Fuel Industrial General Company (2.5 per cent) and Foshan Municipal
Gas General Company (2.5 per cent).   The remaining 6 per cent will be shared
equally between two Hong Kong firms - Hong Kong Electric Holdings, Ltd. and
The Hong Kong & China Gas Company Limited.



                                   - ENDS -