China set to begin work on refinery projects this year

The provincial government of Guangdong has announced that construction on three major refining projects in the southern Chinese province will begin this year. The work will form part of a plan to increase the area’s refining capacity by 2015, which could further boost China’s appetite for crude imports, due to Guangdong’s location away from the country’s expansive oilfields.

The three projects include two joint venture plants, one between Sinopec and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC), and another between PetroChina and Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The third is an expansion of an existing refinery operated by China National Offshore Oil Corp, doubling the capacity to 442 000 bpd.

The prospective 300 000 bpd project between Sinopec and KPC will cost approximately US$ 9 billion and has been approved by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Kuwait will supply the crude feedstock for the refinery.

The ministry has also approved the US$ 8.7 billion PetroChina-PDVSA facility, which will specialise in processing high sulfur Venezuelan crude at a rate of 401 644 bpd.

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