Regional update: Asian downstream industry

China

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. has announced that its refining margins held at a steady rate throughout July and August, an improvement on the low levels of the second quarter.

PetroChina Ltd. has announced that its first half profits rose by 29% year on year from 2009. China’s biggest oil and gas producer believes this has been due to higher oil prices helping offset weak refining margins. The company’s total profit for the first half was US$ 9.6 billion.

India

Kuwait Petroelum Corp. and PT Pertamina are carrying out a feasibility study on the Balongan refinery, Java. The two companies are considering tripling the capacity of the facility to 425 000 bpd.

HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL), a joint venture company held by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Mittal Energy Investments Pte Ltd has awarded a contract to IBM. This contract will make IBM a strategic partner in the design and implementation of a manufacturing execution system at the zero residue refinery that is currently under construction. The joint venture is investing US$ 4 billion in the green refinery which will be constructed in Bathinda, Punjab and have the capacity to process 180 000 bpd.

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