The China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), BP and the Guangdong Province Friday signed joint contracts for the Guangdong Dapeng LNG project, which is expected to supply 5.1 billion cu m of liquefied natural gas annually by 2006.

Chinese Vice-Premicer Zeng Peiyan attended the signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. He said that China would make positive efforts to restructure its energy sector and use more clean energy, including liquefied natural gas.

According to CNOOC president Fu Chengyu, the Guangdong Dapeng LNG project will be completed and put into operation by 2006. By then, an annual 5.1 billion cu m of liquefied natural gas will be supplied to the Pearl River delta areas as well as to China's Hong Kong.

The move will effectively ease the energy strain in the above-mentioned areas, the president said.

The concerned parties have set up a special Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company Ltd. to see to the construction and management of the project, Fu added.

A total of 15 contracts have been signed Friday at the signing ceremony which included financing, LNG transport, LNG sales as well as terminal and LNG trunk line projects.

CNOOC, BP and the Guangdong Province are expected to hold shares of 33 percent, 30 percent and 31 percent of the newly-established company, respectively, said the president.

A consortium consisting of the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the China's State Development Bank have jointly provided loans totaling 5.22 billion yuan (628 million US dollars) for the LNG project.