Mohammad al-Baseeri said the deal was struck after Shell withdrew from talks in the $9 billion refinery and petrochemical complex, Al-Jarida newspaper reported.

KPC's international arm, Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) and China's state-owned Sinpec signed an agreement more than two years ago to build the complex in southern Guangdong province.

KPI has been negotiating with international oil majors to sell 20 percent of its 50 percent stake, or 10 percent of the total project.

Baseeri said the project is expected to come on stream in 2014 or 2015, a delay from the initial startup of 2013.

The refinery is expected to process up to 300,000 barrels per day of mainly Kuwaiti crude oil when it comes online, with its capacity rising to 500,000 bpd two years later.

A petrochemical plant attached to the refinery is slated to produce one million tonnes of ethylene.