PetroChina, QPI and Shell to Build Refinery in Taizhou     

Following the accord signed in June 2008, PetroChina Company, Ltd., Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) and Shell (China) Limited advance their proposed joint venture refinery and petrochemical complex in China.
   Reportedly, the jv plant will be selected to be sited in Taizhou in east China's Zhejiang province. The planning and preliminary environment assessment reports have been submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top planner for approval.
   The integrated complex will include three sections - 20 million t/a refinery, 1.2 million t/a ethylene facility and related units, and 300 000 tonnage crude wharf. The refinery and petrochemical plants are initially selected to be located at Jinqing town, Luqiao district, Taizhou, connecting with the wharf via subsea pipeline, which is planned to be built on Dachen Island.
   The jv complex will be 51% held by PetroChina and 24.5% each by QPI and Shell, and processed oil will be sourced from QPI and oil sharing contract by Shell in Qatar.
   CNPC, the parent of PetroChina, is preparing for the Jieyang jv complex partnering with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, which has been approved by NDRC this February.
   Analyst says the proposed Taizhou complex is uncertain for Sinopec Corp., PetroChina's domestic rival, owns the similar-sized Zhenhai refinery in Ningbo city, also Zhejiang province, some 200 kilometers from the proposed Taizhou plant. (CCR2008 No. 19)