Sinopec Plans $15.4bn Refining Facility in China

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) plans to build a refining complex with an annual capacity to process 32 million tons in Jiangsu, China.

The project, with an investment of over $15.46bn, will be implemented in two phases, with the first involving an annual refining capacity of 12 million tons and annual production of a million tons of p-xylene.

The majority of crude oil for Sinopec’s proposed refining facility will come from overseas, reports China Daily.

Construction of the plant is expected to begin in 2013 and operations are set to start in 2016.

The project is awaiting regulatory clearance from the National Development and Reform Commission.

An decision between Sinopec and the local government on the stakes each will hold in the project is yet to be reached.

Sinopec operates 13 of China’s 20 refineries with over ten million tons of refining capacity.