CNPC signs agreements with Russian counterpart

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the country's largest oil and gas company, on Thursday signed agreements with Russia's top independent gas producer, Novatek, to buy a 10 percent stake in its new liquefied natural gas project, Arctic LNG 2.

Wang Yilin, CNPC chairman, said the deal is a major milestone in the LNG 2 project, as well as a continuation of the cooperation between CNPC and the Russian company.

Previous cooperation in the LNG project between CNPC and the Novatek has laid a solid foundation for future work, he said.

"China represents one of the key consumer markets for our LNG sales," Novatek CEO, Leonid Mikhelson, said in a statement.

"Arctic LNG 2 will be a game changer in the global gas market," he said.

CNPC has pledged to further deepen cooperation with countries and regions participating the Belt and Road Initiative, primarily in major project investment, oil and gas trade, engineering services, and new energy.

Wang said the east line of the China-Russia natural gas pipeline will go into operation this year, while the company is also actively pushing forward the restructuring of the Shymkent Refinery in Kazakhstan.