Mr Mcfarlane said the new program, dubbed 'The Australia-China Technology Partnership Fund', would subsidise the training of Chinese gas workers through workshops and training exchanges.
"It demonstrates our desire for a long-term partnership with energy," he said.
The federal and West Australian governments will each contribute $7.5 million to the fund. The seven North West Shelf consortium partners will provide $10 million.
The program was revealed at the formal signing of the $25 billion Guangdong LNG deal in Canberra last week, which will see Australia ship about 3.3 million tonnes of LNG a year to China for 25 years, starting in late in 2005.
At the signing, the president of Australian LNG (NWS consortium's Chinese marketing arm), Arthur Dixon, denied reports that some of the partners were angry over the low price the Chinese had been offered.
Critics say the price - as yet undisclosed - may not be enough to generate profit and will strengthen the hand of the Japanese when long-term supply contracts with them are renewed.
