Sinopec and PNG LNG finalise LNG sale and purchase agreement

Important Project Milestone with Key Asian LNG buyer

LNG to Supply Sinopec’s First LNG terminal in Shandong Province

 

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, December 3, 2009 – Unipec Asia Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and Esso Highlands Limited, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation and operator of the Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas (PNG LNG) Project, today announced that Sinopec and the project participants have entered into a binding sales and purchase agreement for the long-term sale and purchase of LNG totalling approximately 2.0 million tonnes per annum.

Under the agreement, the PNG LNG Project will supply LNG to Sinopec’s LNG terminal in Shandong Province, for a period of 20 years.  

“We are pleased that the project has completed this important agreement with a key Asian LNG customer and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship between Sinopec and the project,” said Ron Billings, vice president, LNG, ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing Company. “This is a key milestone in the project’s schedule.”

"Sinopec is very pleased to reach the final sales and purchase agreement with the PNG LNG Project. The LNG we've committed will supply an LNG terminal that Sinopec is going to build in Qingdao, Shandong Province. Phase I capacity of the terminal is 3 million tons per annum. With the developments of the market, we will expand the facilities to receive 5-6 million tons per year in a Phase II stage. This LNG terminal will provide long-term and reliable clean natural gas resources to the Shandong market and will play a positive role in meeting the local demand, optimizing the energy mix and improving the local environment,” said Wang Zhigang, senior vice president of Sinopec Corp.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation ("Sinopec Corp.") is listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai, and it's also a fully integrated energy and chemical company. Its main businesses include exploration, development, production and trading of petroleum and natural gas; petroleum processing, manufacturing, trading, transportation, distribution and marketing of petroleum products; manufacturing, distribution and trading of petrochemical products. Sinopec is the largest domestic listed company based on its annual revenues in 2008, and it's also one of the major petroleum and petrochemical companies in China and Asia as well as one of the major producers and distributors of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other major petrochemical products in China and Asia.

The PNG LNG Project is an integrated development which includes gas production and processing facilities, onshore pipelines and offshore pipelines and LNG plant facilities. Participating interests are ExxonMobil (through various affiliates, including Esso Highlands Limited as Operator) 41.5%, Oil Search 34.0%, Santos 17.7%, Nippon Oil 5.4%, Mineral Resources Development Company 1.2 %, and Petromin PNG Holdings Limited 0.2%. 

(Participation will change when the PNG State nominees join as equity participants at a later date).

Sinopec Media Contact: Wang Tao Phone: (86 10) 59969809 Email: wtao@sinopec.com  

Media Contact: Miles Shaw Phone: (675) 322-2133 Email: miles.j.shaw@exxonmobil.com