Sinopec Kuwait Refining Project

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The large-scale refining and chemical plant jointly built by Sinopec and Kuwait’s **KPC in Guangdong is becoming increasingly prominent. Reporters from the Daily Economic News obtained confirmation from relevant sources yesterday that Kuwait signed an agreement with China on Monday to establish a large-scale refining and chemical plant in Guangdong. The project is expected to require an investment of between $8 billion and $9 billion, making it the largest joint venture in the oil and gas sector. This project is also the largest Sino-foreign joint venture in the petrochemical industry in Chinese history. It represents Kuwait’s first move from being a crude oil supplier to making direct investments in China’s petrochemical downstream industries, which is why it has attracted significant attention from the industry. 　　In accordance with the previously agreed plan, Kuwait will jointly invest with China between $8 billion and $9 billion to build China’s largest petrochemical complex, with a refining capacity of 15 million tons and an annual production of 1 million tons of ethylene. On Monday this week, Kuwait’s Oil Minister Al-Sabah told the Kuwaiti News Agency that the plant would be completed in 2013, with the capacity to process 300,000 barrels of Kuwaiti crude per day; this would enable Kuwait to increase its daily exports of crude oil to China by 500,000 barrels. 　　It is understood that Kuwaiti **Oil Company will hold 30% of the shares in the joint venture, while Sinopec will hold 50%; additionally, Royal Dutch Shell and Dow Chemical will each hold 10% of the shares in the joint venture. It is said that the site has been chosen in Zhanjiang to build the factory