CNPC to develop Venezuela oil fields

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) signed an agreement with the Venezuela state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), to develop and manage Venezuela's Zumano oilfields in the eastern part of the country, state media reported, citing PDVSA's website. The Zumano area has 400 million barrels of light and medium crude and 4 billion cubic feet of gas reserves, according to PDVSA. Venezuela said last week it expects to supply about 15-20% of China's oil import by 2012, or 300,000 barrels of crude a day to China, from the current level of 68,800 barrels a day. The two companies are also studying a possible refinery project in China, PDVSA said. Separately, PDVSA set up a branch office in Beijing this month.