China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, the world's largest refiner by volume, has agreed to establish a joint venture with Russia's Novatek and Gazprombank to market natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in China, Sinopec said on Thursday.

The agreement, which aims to sell LNG produced by Novatek in the Arctic, was signed following talks in Moscow between Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President, Xi Jinping.

The agreement will be of considerable economic and social benefit and will further diversify China's natural gas imports, while meeting ever-increasing gas demand in the country, said Dai Houliang, China Petrochemical Corp president.