 Refinery study agreement inked
By Wan Zhihong (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-25 07:50 PetroChina Co, the country's largest oil company, has signed a letter of intent with Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) and Shell (China) Ltd to assess the feasibility of setting up a refinery and petrochemical complex in China. The integrated refinery and petrochemical complex will have world-class capabilities to produce refined fuel and petrochemical products. PetroChina will take a 51 percent stake in the project, while QPI and Shell will each take a 24.5 percent stake. The letter of intent was signed in Doha, the capital of Qatar, during Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping's official visit. Jiang Jiemin, president of PetroChina's parent China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), said: "By building the integrated refinery and petrochemical complex jointly with QPI and Shell, the cooperation in the petrochemical sector between CNPC and Qatar (QPI) and international oil companies will be further strengthened and promoted." QPI CEO Nasser al-Jaidah said: "This project is a significant addition to QPI's portfolio. By associating with strong partners like PetroChina and Shell, we are confident this petrochemical project by QPI will rank among the top projects in China and in the world." Both PetroChina and Shell yesterday declined to disclose further details on the deal. Previous media reports said the complex might be located in Hainan province. China's rising demand for petrochemicals is attracting investments from major oil producers from the Middle East. During Xi's visit, Saudi Basic Industries Corp signed a deal with Sinopec, the country's largest oil refinery, to expand the scope of their partnership with a petrochemical complex under construction in Tianjin municipality. The Tianjin complex, a 50-50 joint venture, would cost more than $2.5 billion. Chinese oil companies are increasing their production of petrochemicals to meet the rising demand at home. Sinopec said in May it planned to tie up with SK Energy Co, the biggest oil refiner in South Korea, to construct an ethylene project in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. The project will be the largest South Korean investment ever in China. According to the framework agreement, Sinopec and SK will sign the contract for joint investment this year. SK will hold a 35 percent stake in the project, which has an estimated investment of more than 14 billion yuan. Also in May, CNPC signed an agreement with Nippon Oil Corp to build a refinery, which will have a processing capacity of 115,000 barrels per day. (China Daily 06/25/2008 page14) |
