China's No.3 oil producer to outlay US$6.6 bln in new Huizhou oil refinery; also plans to invest in downstream projects in two regions

29-Aug-08

China's third largest oil producer, CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corp) has decided to outlay CNY 45 bln (roughly US$6.6 bln) for expansion of its new Guangdong-based Huizhou oil refinery project set to start operations this October. CNOOC's plan envisages the total capacity of the Huizhou refinery to reach 22 mln tpa from the current 12 mln tpa from the period of 2011-2015. In addition, a new ethylene production plant having a 1 mln tpa capacity has to be added to the Huizhou refinery. Adjacent to the new Huizhou refinery is housed a US$4.2 bln CNOOC-Shell petrochemicals project which is an 800,000 tpa ethylene cracking plant. Besides, CNOOC further wishes to develop the downstream business and the energy supplies to the Pearl River Delta, one of the country's economic powerhouses Further, China's No.3 oil producer also expects to house some downstream projects in the Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Bay region.