China National Petroleum eyeing pact with state-run ONGC

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has approached India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to form an agreement that could provide it access to India's oil and gas assets, a newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing two unnamed officials with direct knowledge.

"The government is considering the proposal, but will proceed with caution," the paper quoted an Indian government official as saying.

It said, CNPC executives are expected to visit India by February to negotiate the deal.

India, which allows 100% foreign investment in the oil and gas business, is extremely cautious about China's entry in certain sensitive sectors such as energy, ports and telecommunications, the paper said.

It said Chinese firms have joint ventures with ONGC's overseas arm, ONGC Videsh, but only in foreign countries such as Syria and Colombia.