Gazprom, CNPC fail to agree gas deal at St Petersburg forum

Russia's Gazprom and China's oil and gas corporation CNPC have failed to agree on a price for gas deliveries from Russia to China and will not sign a long-awaited contract at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Gazprom export head Alexander Medvedev said on Friday.

"We are not going to sign anything this time," Medvedev said on the sidelines of the forum.

President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that Russia and China were finalizing talks on the price of gas under a 30-year supply contract, which could amount to $1 trillion in value.

The contract, under which Gazprom was to deliver up to 68 billion cubic meters of gas to China, was expected to be signed at the forum, which Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese leader Hu Jintao opened on Friday.

Beijing wants Gazprom to set a lower price than it sells the blue fuel to Europe for, to which Gazprom is opposed.