Sinopec Luoyang to up capacity by August

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.’s Luoyang unit, a major refinery in central China, plans to expand its refining capacity by 25% to 200,800 barrels a day by August to meet robust fuel demand locally, a senior executive said. The planned expansion of the refinery includes adding a 2.6-million-ton-a-year diesel hydrotreater. This will ensure its diesel output will meet Euro 3 emission standards when it becomes operational in October, said Wei Wenbo, party secretary of the Henan-based refinery. Luoyang’s crude throughput capacity was already lifted by a third in mid-2009 when it added several new units to produce gasoline conforming to Euro III emission standards. It plans to process 7.7 million metric tons of crude this year, up 8.6% from 2009’s actual throughput of 7.09 million tons. (March 11, 2010)