China based firm Sinopec has signed a binding agreement for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a new project in Papua New Guinea. The firm, also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, would get two million tonnes of gas which would be shipped to Sinopec's new LNG terminal in the north-eastern province of Shandong.

Senior ExxonMobil Official Ron Billings hailed the move and added, "This is a key milestone in the project's schedule." He further informed that the capacity of its LNG terminal, in the port city of Qingdao, is intended to raise up to five or six million with the development of the market.

Mr. Wang Zhigang, Senior Vice-president of State-owned Sinopec Corp added, "This LNG terminal will provide long-term and reliable clean natural gas resources to the Shandong market." However, he declined to provide full details of the transaction.

The PNG project is supported by partners ExxonMobil, Oil Search, Santos and Nippon Oil and it would have all facilities like pipelining, processing and filtration.

Sinopec is second-biggest oil and Gas Company in China and one of the biggest oil refiners by volume in Asia. It had also signed a deal worth $41 billion for getting oil from Gorgon fields of Australia.