China's second largest oil company, Sinopec Corp, yesterday signed its first purchase deal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) with US oil major ExxonMobil, in a move to expand its share in the rapidly growing domestic gas market.

The two companies entered into a preliminary agreement for the long-term supply of 2 million tons per annum of LNG from ExxonMobil's project in Papua New Guinea. The two sides are working together to finalize a binding sale and purchase agreement this year, Sinopec yesterday said in a statement.

The LNG will be supplied to Qingdao, Shandong province, where Sinopec will build an LNG receiving terminal, Wang Zhigang, senior vice-president of Sinopec Corp, said yesterday.