China's top oil and gas producer PetroChina plans to build its second refinery in southern China, the official Xinhua news agency said, quoting a company official.

The planned plant, which would have capacity of more than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), will be located in Zhuhai in Guangdong province, neighbouring Macao, Xinhua said in its bi-weekly energy newsletter dated Aug 15.

The report did not say whether PetroChina had submitted a proposal for the refinery to the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic regulator, for approval, but quoted the company official as saying "there will be no problem getting approval from the state".

PetroChina is also building a 200,000-bpd refinery in Qinzhou in Guangxi region, which it hopes to complete by 2009. It will be the company's first major foothold in a booming southern China market that is dominated by rival Sinopec.

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), PetroChina's parent, recently inked a deal with Zhuhai to run gas networks in the city.