JX launches tie-up talks with Sinopec

JX Holdings Inc., Japan’s largest oil refiner, has launched tie-up talks with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) to make a foray into emerging markets. With the tie-up, JX plans to build factories in Shanghai and other cities where it will produce high-performance lubricants for automotive engines and production machineries. The company aims also to build lubricant plants with major oil firms in Russia and Brazil, the sources said. JX is expected to invest billions of yen in factories, aiming to produce hundreds of thousands of kiloliters of lubricants a year, according to sources. (July 8, 2010)