CNOOC to invest in asphalt and lube oil project

The CNOOC Group plans to invest 8 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) in a three million metric ton-per-year (mtpy) asphalt and 600,000 mtpy special lube oil project in the Taizhou branch of China Offshore Oil & Gas Development & Utilization Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC. China Offshore Oil & Gas mainly produces bitumen, lubricating base oil, low sulfur fuel oil and LPG. CNOOC has completed the design phase of the project and plans to start on the expansion within two years. The Taizhou refinery’s feedstock will come mainly from Bohai Bay, which produces heavy crude oil, the CNOOC Group said. China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is one of China’s largest state-owned oil companies, and the largest offshore oil and gas producer in the country. The refining capacity of the Taizhou branch would stand at 1.2 million mtpy by year-end. Sales revenues could reach 4.2 billion yuan (US$630.63 million), the report said. (November 22, 2010)