China's largest oil and gas producer, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Europe's largest oil refiner Total SA, have agreed to develop a gas field in Northwest China, and set up an oil and gas reserve exploration partnership in a third country.

The two oil giants on Wednesday signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to scale up their footing in both markets through joint efforts, said a company statement on CNPC's website.

The Sino-French oil company alliance will work on the Sulige gas field, located in the Ordos Basin in Northwest China, Liu Weijiang, CNPC spokesman for overseas business on Friday confirmed to China Daily, but did not elaborate on the overseas assets that the two oil firms are eyeing.

Industry sources said the Sulige field has gas reserves of up to 602.6 billion cubic metres.

"It is only a set of framework agreements, and more follow-up projects are still under discussion," Liu said on Friday.

"The partnership with Total marks a significant advance for CNPC in forging strategic relations with foreign oil conglomerates and expanding business," the CNPC statement said.

According to the statement, the partnership allows the companies to complement each other and sharpen their competitive edge. CNPC will benefit from improved corporate management and technology, while Total aims to increase its market share.