A USD6.4 billion gas project being built by Chevron Corporation in China is facing further delays due to disagreements with partner PetroChina. The two parties were reportedly debating on how to develop the technically tricky fields.

According to Reuters, the Chuandongbei project could not deliver gas until the second half of 2014. It has been nearly seven years since Chevron and PetroChina signed a 30-year deal to produce 7.6 billion cubic meters of gas annually. 

The latest setback follows a series of delays for Chuandongbei. The Chinese government had now suspended its approval for the development plan for the second of the three-stage gas project, the report said. 

Chuandongbei is a 2,000 square-kilometer block in Sichuan basin in southwest China. It has been proven that the location has gas reserves of 176 billion cubic meters, Reuters said. 

Chevron is the operator of the project and holds a 49% stake. PetroChina owns the rest of the holding in Chuandongbei. 

Reuters said that Chevron won the deal in December 2007, beating rival bidders Royal Dutch Shell and Total. Chuandongbei had cost CNY12.6 billion (USD2.1 billion) as of February this year.