ExxonMobil, Sinopec, Aramco ink $5bn deal

30 March 2007 07:28  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--ExxonMobil and its partners Sinopec, Saudi Aramco and the Fujian province have received Chinese government approval and business licences to operate their $5bn refinery-cracker joint venture.

The Chinese government has approved their joint venture contracts and granted business licences for the two joint ventures Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co and Sinopec SenMei (Fujian) Petroleum Co, the US major said in a statement.

Sinopec SenMei (Fujian) will manage and operate about 750 service stations and a network of terminals in Fujian province, it added.

It will be owned by Sinopec (55%), ExxonMobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical (22.5%) and Saudi Aramco Sino Co (22.5%).

ExxonMobil and its partners signed the joint venture contract in late February for the project to start up in early 2009.

The partners are to expand an existing refinery in Quanzhou, Fujian province, to 12m tonnes/year from 4m tonnes/year.

The upgraded refinery will primarily refine and process sour Arabian crude.

The project also includes an 800,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker, an 800,000 tonne/year polyethylene (PE) unit, a 400,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) unit and an aromatics complex to produce 700,000 tonnes/year of paraxylene (PX) and 300,000 tonnes/year of benzene.

Support facilities including a 300,000-tonne crude berth and power cogeneration will also be built, it added.

By: Florence Tan
+65 6780 4359

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