Tianjin the choice for development of CNPC-Rosneft joint-venture refinery
The long-awaited 1 million-ton refining joint venture between China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and Russia’s Rosneft will be developed in northern Tianjin’s Lingang Industrial Area, an official with the Tianjin Development and Reform Commission told Interfax today.
The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that no official contracts have been signed yet, but that the refinery’s location has been agreed to.
“Once the necessary contracts have been signed, the project will need to be approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, and so construction could start in the second half of next year at the earliest,” the official said. If construction work goes smoothly, the plant is expected to come online in 2011.
“The joint-venture refinery will use crude oil imported from Russia through Tianjin Port for feedstock,” the official said.
Rosneft president Sergei Bogdanchikov and former CNPC president Chen Geng signed a protocol in March 2006 laying out the principles for establishing joint oil extraction and refining operations in Russia and China.
In October last year, the two companies established the Vostok Energy joint venture in which Rosneft holds a 51 percent stake and CNPC a 49 percent stake. The joint venture was formed to explore, extract and sell mineral resources, and in July this year, it won an auction to develop two hydrocarbon fields in the Irkutsk region.
The two company’s joint operations in China are expected to refine at least 10 million tons of oil each year and involve the operation of around 300 service stations.
Oil giants from Russia and other resource-rich countries in the Middle East have gained special favor with the Chinese government in recent years in regards to oil-related investment as their ability to provide long-term supplies of crude oil and naphtha, the most important feedstock for petrochemicals, have fit comfortably with Beijing’s quest to improve the country’s energy security.
Tags: CNPC, oil, Petroleum