PetroChina reconsiders pipeline sale plan, sources say

PetroChina Co Ltd is reconsidering a plan to auction off its natural gas pipeline unit and could instead sell it to an affiliate, three people who were briefed on the matter by the Chinese energy giant told Reuters.

Selling PetroChina Eastern Pipelines Co Ltd to the affiliate, which is 50 percent owned by PetroChina, would enable China's largest energy producer to maintain control over the national gas grid as well as raise cash to fund oil and gas exploration.

But scrapping the auction would pose a setback to the government's plans to open up the State-dominated energy sector to domestic private investors to improve competition and curb corruption.