Oil giant Sinopec will on Thursday ink China's second-largest gas purchase agreement, worth around $85 billion over 20 years by one estimate, in a deal that will also give it 15 percent of an Australian gas-export project, a source said. Sinopec is taking the stake in the $35 billion Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas (LNG) project being developed by U.S. energy firm ConocoPhillips and Australia's Origin Energy , finalising a preliminary deal signed in February. A source familiar with the matter said the signing would take place on Thursday at a joint news conference to be overseen by Australian Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, in a sign that the deal has Canberra's explicit blessing. Australia has around $200 billion in LNG projects on the drawing board. Much of their exports are destined for China, which is looking to lock in supplies to feed its rapid growth and cut its reliance on polluting coal energy.
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