China National Petroleum Corporation and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, two giants of China' petroleum industry, have announced the signing of a crude oil mutual supply agreement to withstand the decline of oil prices and help China in its energy needs.

The two groups say that they will enhance their cooperation and work to overcome the current difficulty and make contributions to China's national energy safety and market stability.

However, the parties have not disclosed the detailed content of their agreement. Insiders quoted in local media say that with the decline of demand for oil, some oil fields may have surplus crude oil. By mutually supplying crude oil, the two companies can realize a reasonable resource allocation and cost optimization. China imported 13.36 million tons of crude oil in November, which was 17.3% less than that of October and represented a 1.8% down over the same period of last year.

China National Petroleum Corporation is a world-leading energy company with businesses covering oil and gas upstream and downstream operations, oilfield services, engineering and construction, petroleum material and equipment manufacturing and supply, capital management, finance and insurance services, and new energy operations.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation is a listed company with integrated upstream, midstream and downstream operations, strong oil & petrochemical core businesses and a complete marketing network.