NDRC endorses Sinopec plan to build refinery in Hebei province

An advisory panel to the National Development and Reform Commission has in principle endorsed a plan by China Petrochemical Corp. or Sinopec to build a 200,000 barrel-per-day refinery in northern Hebei province, a Chinese newspaper reported. The endorsement is a step closer to securing approval for the project from China’s planning agency. The refinery will give the largest refiner in Asia more leeway to serve booming demand in the Beijing-Tianjin region and potentially aid its expansion in northeast China, a traditional stronghold of rival China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). The Caofeidian refinery, which is expected to cost 21.4 billion yuan (US$3.40 billion), would be 600 meters away from Sinopec’s new commercial oil reserve base. (February 21, 2012)