PetroChina Company Limited and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (“Sinopec”) have reached a joint research framework agreement (“the Agreement”) regarding the Tarim Basin, Junggar Basin and Sichuan Basin, involving 81 prospecting rights of both parties, with an area of 305,800 square kilometers. Under the Agreement, the subsidiaries and affiliated companies of the two parties have also signed three agreements, signaling the two companies have entered a new stage of cooperation in oil and gas exploration technology. Mr. Zhang Wei, Vice Chairman of PetroChina and General Manager and Deputy Party Secretary of China National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Hou Qijun, Executive Director and President of PetroChina, and Deputy General Manager of China National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Ma Yongsheng, General Manager and Deputy Party Secretary of Sinopec, and Mr. Liu Zhongyun, Deputy General Manager and Senior Vice President of Sinopec, attended the signing ceremony.

The signing of the Agreement is a significant initiative for PetroChina and Sinopec to comprehensively implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's new energy security strategy of “Four Revolutions and One Cooperation.” The Agreement is a concrete action exemplifying the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and actively implements the seven-year action plan to vigorously enhance oil and gas exploration and development. It is an important way to promote the sustainable and healthy development of the oil and gas industry in China.

Tarim Basin, Junggar Basin and Sichuan Basin are rich in oil and gas resources, and they are the main battlefield for oil and gas reserve and production growth in China. According to the Agreement, PetroChina and Sinopec will conduct in-depth and systematic joint research in the three major basin cooperation zones based on the principle of “equal voluntariness, complementary advantages, legal compliance, mutual benefit and win-win”, by sharing data, achievements and technology, thus achieving strong cooperation, intelligence gathering and joint innovation, further promoting high-quality exploration and efficiency development, and accelerating the pace of oil and gas reserve increase and production build up.

Both PetroChina and Sinopec attach great importance to this cooperation, and will make full use of joint research opportunities, strengthen communication and learn from each other, increase joint research, achieve sharing and collaboration, and jointly promote oil and gas to accelerate reserves and production, thus guarantee national energy security.