Sinopec plans bond sale to fund facility upgrades

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, plans to partly fund the upgrade of five refineries and construction of new oil and gas pipelines through a convertible bonds sale it first proposed in late March. The investment required for these projects total 38.9 billion yuan (US$5.7 billion). In a statement filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Chinese integrated oil group said the five projects comprise revamping Anqing refinery to handle sour crude grades, upgrading Shijiangchuang refinery, development of the Wuhan petrochemical complex in central China, building a natural gas pipeline linking northwestern Shaanxi province to eastern Shandong province, as well as crude pipeline and storage facilities in eastern China. Sinopec plans to invest 6.1 billion yuan (US$894 million) to add seven sets of oil refining units to the 5 million metric ton per year Anqing refinery in eastern Anhui province. (May 12, 2010)