MOSCOW, October 13 /TASS/. The Russian oil giant Rosneft and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have agreed to further develop their strategic partnership, Rosneft said on Monday.

The document was signed by Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and CNPC Vice-President Wang Dongjin in the presence of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The agreement stipulates specifying current and potential areas of strategic partnership and giving an impetus to the development of cooperation in these directions.

Specifically, Rosneft and CNPC intend to continue cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration and extraction in Russia and oil refining in China at the Tianjin refinery and other areas.

Both companies are set to make an investment decision on the construction of the Tianjin refinery in March 2016. The refinery’s construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

Rosneft and CNPC also intend to take efforts to develop LNG projects, including the potential supplies of Russian liquefied natural gas to China.

“Russia and China are interested in deepening and expanding oil and gas cooperation. Our companies have created a favorable basis for interaction, and we count on further expanding long-term and mutually advantageous cooperation,” Rosneft CEO Sechin said after the signing ceremony.

Current cooperation between Rosneft and CNPC includes Rosneft’s crude oil supplies to China under a long-term contract.

Along with that, the joint venture Vostok-Energy established by Rosneft and CNPC is exploring and extracting hydrocarbons in the Irkutsk Region in East Siberia while the joint venture Vostok-Petrochemicals was set up to build the Tianjin refinery and sell refined oil products in China and on Asian markets.