CHINA National Petroleum Corp said it has signed a deal with Syria's government to build a five-million-ton-a-year joint venture oil refinery in the Middle Eastern nation.
"This marks that Sino-Syrian petroleum cooperation has further expanded into the downstream sector," beyond exploration, Beijing-based CNPC said in a statement on its Website yesterday.
CNPC didn't reveal investment figure or the venture's share structure.
According to Syrian media last week, the five-million-ton-a-year, or 100,000-barrel-a-day, facility will cost US$1.5 billion. CNPC will fund 85 percent of the construction cost, and Syria the rest.
The refinery, in east Syria and to treat mainly Syrian crude, will start production by the end of 2011.
The two sides initially planned a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day for the plant. Syria is building up oil processing capacity to reduce imports of oil products.
Meanwhile, CNPC said it signed a framework deal with the Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to cooperate in the Middle East nation's petroleum sector.