China's Sinopec has agreed to buy Canadian oil and gas company Daylight Energy for about 2.2bn Canadian dollars.

中国石化已同意以22亿加元收购加拿大石油天然气公司日光能源公司。

Sinopec is a subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation, the country's largest refiner.

The deal is subject to approval from the shareholders¹ of Alberta-based Daylight Energy.

The transaction（交易） would be the latest in a string of energy sector² deals between China and Canada.

China has been looking abroad for its growing energy needs.

"This deal highlights the firm's interest to expand globally," said Gordon Kwan from Mirae Asset Securities in Hong Kong.

However, Mr Kwan said the benefit for Sinopec was not immediately clear.

"The deal is too small to grow reserves for Sinopec, which has a market cap of over $80bn".

Shares in Sinopec fell more than 5% in early trade on Monday.

Last year, Sinopec paid $4.65bn to buy a stake in Syncrude Canada. In July CNOOC, China's largest offshore³ oil producer, announced it would spend more than $2bn to acquire bankrupt OPTI Canada.

Investors⁴ have been weary（厌烦） of Canadian oil and gas shares in recent months, as falling oil prices and high debt levels have hurt growth prospects⁵.

Daylight's share price has plummeted⁶ 54% in the last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg news agency.

The company confirmed on Sunday that its board had agreed to be acquired by Sinopec.