China to build 9 refining bases in 3 years

Friday, Feb 27, 2009

China, the world's No. 2 enegy consumer, plans to build nine crude oil refining bases in coastal areas during the next three years, local media reported Thursday, citing the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency.

According to China Knowledge news service, under the country's petrochemical stimulus plan, three of the new bases, each designed with refining capacity of 30 million tons of crude oil annually, will be built in coastal cities of Ningbo, Nanjing and Shanghai.

The other six bases, with annual crude oil refining capacity of 20 million tons each, will be constructed in such as Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Tianjin. In 2011, China's annual crude oil refining capacity is expected to total 440 million tons and the total oil reserve capacity to reach 44.60 million cubic meters, the report said.

In order to meet rising domestic demand for these essential fuels, besides the construction of large refineries, China will also push for joint-venture refinery projects with companies from Venezuela, Qatar and Russia, the state-run China Daily reported last week.