A Chinese holding company signed a letter of intent to purchase oil and gas assets in the Permian basin of West Texas for $1.3 billion through a limited liability partnership. Yantai Xinchao Industry Co. filed a statement with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, saying assets in the West Texas counties of Howard and Borden will be bought from Tall City Exploration and Plymouth Petroleum, both with offices in Midland, Tex. No confirmation was immediately available as of Oct. 26 from the US independent operators. In the Oct. 24 filing, Yantai Xinchao said it had signed a letter of intent with Ningbo Dingliang Huitong Equity Investment Center, a limited liability partnership, to buy the Permian assets through a Ningbo Dingliang subsidiary, Moss Creek Resources LLC, the Associated Press reported.