Russia's LUKOIL said on Tuesday it had signed a deal with Chinese Sinopec to supply it with three million tonnes of crude oil over the next yea.
The contract was signed as Russia is boosting its economic ties with resource-hungry China, which has been splashing out massive loans for Russian companies.
LUKOIL, Russia's biggest non-state oil company, said oil from its new Arctic field of South Khylchuyu will be exported to China -- whose annual consumption amounts to almost 400 million tonnes -- by 80.000-tonnes to 140.000-tonnes tankers.
The pricing of the deal was not disclosed.
The deal is valid from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, "or till the contract will be paid in full," LUKOIL said. The cargoes will be shipped by LITASCO, a trading arm of LUKOIL.
"China is one of the biggest crude oil and fuel oil importers; that's why the Chinese market is of major interest to LUKOIL," the statement quoted LUKOIL's first executive vice president Ravil Maganov as saying.
He added that LUKOIL was ready to discuss a possible cooperation with Chinese partners in the upstream segment.
Earlier on Tuesday, a Sinopec executive told Reuters that the company's plan to boost production at its largest overseas oilfield, Russia's Udmurtneft, of which it owns 49 percent, were rebuffed by partner Rosneft ROSF.MM.
The contract was signed as Russia is boosting its economic ties with resource-hungry China, which has been splashing out massive loans for Russian companies.
LUKOIL, Russia's biggest non-state oil company, said oil from its new Arctic field of South Khylchuyu will be exported to China -- whose annual consumption amounts to almost 400 million tonnes -- by 80.000-tonnes to 140.000-tonnes tankers.
The pricing of the deal was not disclosed.
The deal is valid from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, "or till the contract will be paid in full," LUKOIL said. The cargoes will be shipped by LITASCO, a trading arm of LUKOIL.
"China is one of the biggest crude oil and fuel oil importers; that's why the Chinese market is of major interest to LUKOIL," the statement quoted LUKOIL's first executive vice president Ravil Maganov as saying.
He added that LUKOIL was ready to discuss a possible cooperation with Chinese partners in the upstream segment.
Earlier on Tuesday, a Sinopec executive told Reuters that the company's plan to boost production at its largest overseas oilfield, Russia's Udmurtneft, of which it owns 49 percent, were rebuffed by partner Rosneft ROSF.MM.