PETROCHINA Co will build a 10-million-ton-a-year oil refinery in the northeastern Liaoning Province, the local government has said.
A feasibility report on the project in Huludao has been approved by China National Petroleum Corp, PetroChina's parent, and other relevant parties, the provincial government announced on its Website yesterday.
When completed, the refinery project will boost Huludao's refining capacity to 17 million tons a year from seven million tons, and turn the city into one of China's key refining bases, said a statement.
PetroChina, the nation's second-largest oil refiner, aims to expand its oil refining capacity by 52 percent to 170 million tons annually in 2010 from 111.7 million tons at the end of 2006, a company official has said.
PetroChina, and rival Sinopec Corp, Asia's largest refiner, are proposing massive 10-million-ton-a-year refineries.
PetroChina is also constructing, or proposing, refineries in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Chongqing, and in Weihai, Shandong Province.
The Liaoning government's statement gave no time frame or investment figure for the Huludao project, which will be run by PetroChina Kinxi Petrochemical Co. For comparison, the 10-million-ton-a-year Qinzhou refinery, which is being constructed, requires a total investment of 15.3 billion yuan (US$2.15 billion).