Beijing, November 10:

Russian oil giant Rosneft said on Friday it will set up a joint venture refinery with its Chinese counterpart CNPC that will include the opening of up to 300 petrol stations in China. Fifty-one per cent of the company will be owned by the China National Petroleum Co (CNPC) and 49 per cent by Rosneft, Rosneft chairman Sergey Bogdanchikov told journalists.

The refinery will be able to produce up to 70 million barrels of oil a year, he said. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

Last month the two oil giants established another joint venture in Russia, Vostock Energy Ltd, that will deal with oil prospecting and extraction. Bogdanchikov was in Beijing as part of a business delegation traveling with visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. The announcement comes as China seeks to secure Russian oil and gas supplies for its booming economy.