CNOOC's first oil refinery is on track to start operating in October and the Chinese state oil firm plans to add more processing facilities to establish itself as the country's third-largest refiner, company officials said.
The parent of listed CNOOC Ltd has also signed a preliminary deal to invest in eastern Shandong province and has set its eyes on acquiring some of China's remaining independent plants, which are clustered there. CNOOC, China's main offshore oil firm, is sticking to its schedule for the 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) Huizhou refinery in the south, even as severe weather and slow equipment delivery are set to delay the opening of a refinery in north-west China being built by rival PetroChina.
"We are still firmly targeting September 30 as the date of full completion and October for the start of trial run," said a senior plant manager from the southern province of Guangdong. After China suffered a serious fuel crunch late last year, Chinese oil firms are being closely watched for signs they can deliver planned refining facilities to a country expected to log a near 6 percent growth in fuel demand this year.
With PetroChina's delay of its 100,000-bpd Dushanzi refinery in the remote north-west by nearly a year, CNOOC's 21.8 billion yuan ($3 billion) Huizhou plant is set to be one of a few major new suppliers this year. CNOOC's Huizhou plant, which is set to supply the thriving Guangdong market, and the company's plans to acquire independent oil plants, put it firmly on the road to becoming a fully integrated oil firm to take on the country's oil duopoly of Sinopec Corp and PetroChina.
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