China, Russia sign new oil deal

China's biggest oil and gas producer, China National Petroleum Corporation, has released details of a new oil deal it signed with Russia. In a statement posted online, it says that the company's future crude oil imports from Russia will eventually hit 46.1 mln tons annually.

According to the contract, supplies coming through the Sino-Russia pipeline will double to an expected 30 mln tons per year by 2018. Other supplies will come through the Sino-Kazakshstan pipeline, with additional supplies being channelled to a joint venture refinery in north China's Tianjin Municipality, when the plant becomes operational.

The agreement will last 25 years and can be extended for another five years. Meanwhile, CNPC has also signed a framework agreement with Russia's second largest natural gas producer Novateck, to buy a 20-percent stake in the Yamal liquefied-natural-gas project.