TN PETRÓLEO

China`s President  Hu Jintao has flown into Africa`s biggest oil producer, Nigeria, prospecting for new energy supplies to slake the thirst of his country`s rapidly growing economy.

Analysts see Hu`s four-nation tour of Africa and the Middle East as an opportunity to strengthen ties with oil-exporting countries at a time when Chinese demand and world energy prices are rising spectacularly.

He was welcomed to Abuja airport on Wednesday by his host, President Olusegun Obasanjo, at the start of a two-day state visit during which he will hold talks with his counterpart and address a joint session of parliament.

The Chinese leader arrived on board his own Air China Boeing 747 jumbo jet, accompanied by his wife Liu Yongqing and senior officials, AFP saw.

Last week, China`s offshore operator CNOOC confirmed that it had signed a 2.7 billion dollar deal to buy a 45 percent stake in another Nigerian oil block, the firm`s largest-ever foreign investment.

And ahead of the visit, Nigerian officials said that China`s state oil company CNPC will be offered four oil exploration blocks in exchange for four billion dollars worth of repairs to a refinery and infrastructure projects.

It was not clear whether a deal will be signed during this week`s visit.

"It is part of the memorandum of understanding we have with the Chinese, who are committed to invest four billion dollars in the Kaduna refinery," said Tony Chukwueke, director of Nigeria`s Department of Petroleum Resources.

He said the two countries had agreed a draft proposal under which China will repair the outdated and rundown Kaduna refinery and undertake other investment projects in return for being given first refusal on the blocks.

Nigeria, which currently exports some 2.6 million barrels of oil per day, is due to hold an auction of oil exploration blocks around the country on May 19, and CNPC is expected to be one of the biggest bidders.

Chinese oil consumption is expected to rise from 6.59 million barrels per day in 2005 to 6.95 million this year as its once largely agrarian economy continues its rapid industrialisation and more of its citizens buy cars.

Last year, China bought 38.47 million tonnes of oil in Africa -- about 30 percent of its total imports -- nine percent more than in 2004. Its biggest African suppliers were Angola, Sudan and Republic of Congo, according to Chinese figures.

"China`s oil companies hope to become the next generation of supermajor oil firms, and at the moment Africa and Central Asia are among the few places where anyone can do significant new business," analyst Michele Billig told AFP.

"The Chinese are already investing in Africa and trying to compete in areas where the existing giants are well-established," added Billig, who is director of political risk at the PIRA energy group in New York.

In addition to being a source of oil, Nigeria is a trading partner for China, buying many manufactured goods including electronics and car parts.

Nigeria hopes to expand a relatively small-scale export of cassava chips to China, but it currently runs a huge trade deficit with its giant Asian partner.

In 2004, Chinese exports to Nigeria totalled 2.28 billion dollars while Nigeria`s exports in the other direction, including oil, came to 460 million.

Hu will stay in Nigeria overnight and leave on Thursday for Kenya, the last stop on a tour of Africa and the Middle East.