CITIC Pac inks $1.3 bln gas deal for Australian mineTue Jan 6,...

CITIC Pac inks $1.3 bln gas deal for Australian mine
Tue Jan 6, 2009 5:06am EST HONG KONG, Jan 6 (Reuters) - State-run Chinese conglomerate CITIC Pacific (0267.HK) said on Tuesday it signed a $1.3 billion contract with Apache Corp (APA.N) and Santos Ltd (STO.AX) to supply natural gas for its Australian iron ore mining operations.

Under terms of the deal, Apache and Santos will supply CITIC Pacific's Sino Iron project in Western Australia with 154 billion cubic feet of gas over 7 years beginning in the second half of 2011 from the Reindeer gas field being developed by Apache and its joint venture partner Santos.

The $1.3 billion contract value is based on an assumed oil price of $50 a barrel, and is subject to periodic adjustments.

U.S.-based Apache owns 55 percent of the field and Australia's Santos owns 45 percent, Apache said.

(Reporting by Tony Munroe, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)