Sinopec concludes $1bn expansion works at Chinese refinery

China Petroleum & Chemical, also known as Sinopec has concluded $1bn expansion at a refinery located in Jiangxi province in eastern China.

The company said in a report that the Sinopec Jiujiang refinery is expected to process 20% more crude oil in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015.

As part of the expansion, the company added 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude unit, with further plans to increase throughput during the fourth quarter.

The expansion process, which was expected to be completed in September, got delayed due to various internal issues, the company said.

Other plants that were added at the refinery included a residue fuel hydrotreating unit with a 1.7 million tonne-per-year capacity in addition to a 2.4 million tpy hydrocracking unit that has been designed to produce higher grade fuels.

Sinopec is believed to have invested around $7.78m on new environmental facilities and further plans to invest around $3.86m soon.

Recently, the company secured approval from China for the construction of a $20bn coal-to-gas pipeline.

The pipeline, which will run 8,400km from Xinjiang to the manufacturing hub of Guangdong province, would carry up to 30 billion m³ gas annually.

Eventually, it could also transport conventional gas, shale gas and coal-bed methane, according to the company’s statement.

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Image: Sinopec headquarters – 22 Chaoyangmen North Street, Chaoyang District,Beijing, China. Photo: courtesy of WhisperToMe