Outokumpu has signed a strategic partnership agreement with China's Sinopec Group, the country's largest energy and chemical company, on material development and deliveries of stainless steel, the Finnish stainless steelmaker said Thursday.

As part of the one-year agreement, Outokumpu is supplying Sinopec subsidiary China Petrochemical International with duplex stainless steel rolled billets produced at its plant in Degerfors, Sweden.

Local seamless pipe fabricators will use the rolled billets to produce seamless pipe for use in one of the largest oil refineries in the world, as well as in liquefied natural gas plants, the company said.

"The intention of the parties is to extend the partnership after this one-year agreement," Outokumpu said in a statement.

An Outokumpu spokeswoman declined to give details of the tonnage of billets to be supplied, or of the value of the deal.

In China, Outokumpu focuses on special stainless steel grades in the natural resource, energy, gas and oil industries, as well as in architecture, building and constructions, heavy transportation and the paper industry.

The company serves the Chinese market through its service center in Kunshan and cold-rolling mill in Shanghai.