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CNOOC, Shell to expand joint capacity

By Wang Ying (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-21 08:49

More than half the plant's output is marketed around the Pearl River Delta region in South China, said Zhai Hongxing, deputy chief executive officer of CNOOC-Shell Petrochemicals.

Even at full capacity, the plant can only supply less than 10 per cent of local market consumption in China, Lam said.

"We foresee very good market prospects in the Chinese petrochemical industry, and we want to increase production of some products with good economic returns," Zhai said.

Seeing the enormous market potential in China, Shell is diverting investment to Asia from Western nations, Liu Xiaowei, a senior Shell official, said. Shell may almost double investment in China's petrochemical market by 2010, according to Liu.

At a media briefing yesterday, Liu dismissed previous reports that the Anglo-Dutch oil giant had interest in taking a stake in a new 12-million-ton-per-year refinery that CNOOC plans to build beside the joint petrochemical complex.

Construction has already started on the 19.3-billion-yuan (US$2.4-billion) CNOOC refinery, which is expected to come on stream by 2008.

Lam yesterday refused to disclose how long it would take to see the multi-billion investment returned on the joint petrochemical plant but said its cutting-edge technology, management and global marketing would give it a competitive edge among rivals.

CNOOC-Shell Petrochemicals is a 50-50 joint investment between Shell and CNOOC, China's third biggest oil company.