ExxonMobil starts up Fujian joint venture refinery

ExxonMobil Corp. started up a US$4.5 billion refining and petrochemical complex in China’s Fujian Province and recently opened its first gas station on the mainland. It plans to operate at least 750 gas stations in China, even as it is selling all its company-owned stations in the U.S. “There’s no question that China is going to continue to be an increasing percentage of the total global petroleum market,” said Sherman Glass, head of the Irving, Texas, company’s global refining operations. To gain a foothold in Fujian, Exxon is partnering with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), Saudi Aramco and the Fujian provincial government. The company is undertaking a strategic shift to boost its Asian fuel-manufacturing business. In addition to the new complex, located in the city of Quanzhou, it is spending several billion dollars to expand its refining and petrochemical facility in Singapore. When complete in 2011, this will be Exxon’s largest manufacturing complex in the world, a distinction held for decades by its plant in Baytown, Texas. (November 12, 2009)