Chinese oil refining capacity goes up

China would see more than 50 million tons per year (tpy) additional oil refining capacities go into operation in 2009 and 2010, which may put greater pressure on the lessening of oil product supplies in China. An expert from Sinopec anticipated that the oil product oversupply problem would not be solved until the second half of 2009. Meanwhile, the government expects that China’s newly added refining capacities, estimated to be about 53.5 tpy, would sharpen the gasoline and diesel supply surplus. Among the newly added refining capacities, China National Offshore Oil Corp.’s (CNOOC) Huizhou Refinery and China National Petroleum Corp.’s (PetroChina) Qinzhou Refinery would contribute 22 tpy, and the remaining 31.50 million tons would be from facility upgrades, including Fujian Refinery, Wuhan Refinery, Changling Refinery and Tianjin Refinery, which are managed by China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), and PetroChina-run Fushun Refinery and Dushanzi Refinery. Owing to the global financial crisis, China’s oil supply market has been suffering from oversupply since the fourth quarter of last year. (April 13, 2009)