Shell, Qatar sign LoI with PetroChina

Shell, Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) and PetroChina have signed a letter of intent (LoI) to conduct joint preliminary studies to assess the viability of building a refinery and petrochemical complex as well as marketing of products in China. PetroChina would have a 51% share in the project, QPI 24.5%, and Shell 24.5%, Shell said in a statement. The LoI was signed in Doha on June 23 by Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah, Jiang Jiemin, president of PetroChina’s parent company China National Petroleum Corp. and Linda Cook, executive director of Shell. “The integrated refinery and petrochemical complex will have world-class production capabilities to produce refined fuels and petrochemical products,” Shell said. CNPC plans to import crude oil from Qatar and refine it at the complex, which is projected to have an annual processing capacity of 10 million tons when it begins operating possibly in 2013. Guangdong, Hainan and Zhejiang provinces are among the candidate sites for the complex.” This step will help draw up a road map for setting up economic bridges between Qatar and China and opens investment opportunities,” according to Attiyah. CNPC’s Jiang Jiemin said, “By building the integrated refinery and petrochemical complex jointly with QPI and Shell, the cooperation in the petrochemical sector between CNPC, and Qatar QPI and international oil companies will be further strengthened and promoted.” (July 7/14, 2008)