Fujian expansion gets okay

China’s National Development Reform Commission has approved a joint venture project between ExxonMobil Corp. (25%), Saudi Aramco (25%) and Fujian Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (50%), in Fujian’s coastal Quanzhou city. Fujian Petrochemical is a 50-50 JV between China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) and the Fujian provincial government. The refinery/petrochemical project is expected to triple Fujian Petrochemicals current 4-million-metric-ton-per-annum (MTPA) refining capacity to 12 million MTPA (240,000 bpd). The complex was also designed to incorporate new petrochemical plants, including an 800,000 MTPA ethylene steam cracker, a 650,000 MTPA polyethylene plant, a 400,000 MTPA polypropylene plant and a 1 million MTPA aromatics unit. The paraxylene plant, which would be linked with the construction of an aromatics facility, is part of a plan to fine tune downstream integration of the US$3.77-billion project, the NDRC statement said. The facilities are expected to be on stream by 2008. (January 31, 2007)