The President of LUKOIL, Vagit Alekperov signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in Beijing yesterday. The deal, was announced originally on 8th September, but formalised yesterday during the state visit of Dmitry Medvedev to China. 

As part of the agreement LUKOIL and CNPC have agreed to cooperate on existing projects including Kumkol and Severnye Buzachi in Kazakhstan. The agreement also paves the way for the companies to work together on upstream projects in Russia, China and other countries and includes the potential for asset swaps. Also under consideration is supplying oil to China via China National Petroleum Company.