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166786
Wed, 03/09/2011 - 11:29
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https://www.oananews.org//node/166786
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Chinese Mayor welcomes Kuwait''s USD 9 billion refinery
BEIJING, Mar 9 (KUNA) -- The mayor of Zhanjiang, the Southern Chinese city which will host Kuwait's USD 9 billion refinery and petrochemical complex, pledged to strive for officially putting the project into operation on the eve of the opening of the Guangdong Provincial Games in 2014.
In an interview with a group of Chinese journalists after the central government gave final approval to the proposed project, Zhanjiang Mayor Ruan Risheng expressed his pleasure with tears of excitement.
"I am really happy. This is the result of concern and support from Guangdong Party Committee and Guangdong Provincial Government toward the city of Zhanjiang.
This is also a common dream of entire 7.5 million people in our city," Ruan said, adding that the project will play a significant role in the economic and social development of whole Guangdong Province in general and the city's petrochemical industry particularly, according to the Zhanjiang Daily.
"With an eye to commence construction this year, we will immediately study the overall construction plan, including the plant layout and the initial work such as land acquisition relocation, marine use and support of the surrounding environment," the mayor said.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, granted final approval on March 4 for Kuwait to build a long-awaited refinery and petrochemical complex on Donghai Island of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province, state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) announced last Monday.
The joint venture between KPC and Sinopec entails a 15 million-ton-a-year (300,000 barrels per day (bpd)) refinery, a 1 million-ton-a-year ethylene plant and related utilities, as well as support faci lities such as a crude jetty, product oil and chemical jetties, a bulk jetty and oil product pipelines to an initial station, the Chinese government has said earlier.
"The Sino-Kuwaiti refinery project has attracted global attention as it will be China's largest-ever joint venture of its kind," Ruan said, noting that the CNY 60 billion (USD 9 billion) project is expected to boost city's revenues by CNY 11.5 billion (USD 1.8 billion).
The mayor also said his city is planning to build a 30-square kilometer petrochemical park along with the refinery and to invite one of the world's top 500 petrochemical companies to the park.
Ruan stressed that the plant will adopt world-class environmental technology in dealing with the waste discharge and disposal, same as the facilities in such countries like Singapore and the Netherlands.
The mega project also involves a downstream marketing network, including retail petrol stations in and around the province, where economy grow s more than 12 percent annually.
Kuwait will supply all the crude feedstock for the integrated plant in the world's biggest energy market.
KPC and China's downstream leader Sinopec will each hold an equal 50 percent stake in the joint venture, with KPC planning to give 20 percent of its share to their potential international partners.
Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), KPC's international refining and market unit, has been representing Kuwait in lengthy negotiations with the Chinese side.
Approvals for such large-scale projects in China's sensitive energy sector sometimes drag on for years.
Kuwait becomes the second Arab oil producer to build the refinery in China after Saudi Arabia, which put a refining and petrochemical joint venture into operations last year in the southeast China's Fujian Province.
Last November, Kuwaiti Minister of Oil and Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah held a series of talks with Chinese leaders, including R uan, in which the both sides vowed further cooperation in realizing the project at the earliest.
The final approval from NDRC clears the way for KPC to achieve its China-bound crude oil export target of 500,000 bpd. Kuwait's exports to China in 2010 stood at 198,000 bpd, up 39.0 percent from the previous year. The joint venture also reflects Kuwait's strategy to expand refining and marketing outlets in high growth strategic markets, such as China, India and Vietnam, according to KPC.
KPC-Sinopec alliance gained NDRC's preliminary approval for the project in May 2010, which officially designated Donghai Island as the site for the complex, followed by the approval of the Ministry of Environmental Protection in September.
Based on an initial deal in 2005, KPC and Sinopec originally planned to locate the facility in the Nansha district of provincial capital Guangzhou, but due to concern over the environment impact on the densely populated area, the Guangdong provincial government proposed the relocation of the plant.
During landmark visit to Beijing by H.H. the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in May 2009, Kuwait and China agreed to move the project to less crowded area within the same province, and then in August 2009, the joint venture picked up Zhanjiang City, about 400 km southwest of Guangzhou, as the new site.
In an interview with a group of Chinese journalists after the central government gave final approval to the proposed project, Zhanjiang Mayor Ruan Risheng expressed his pleasure with tears of excitement.
"I am really happy. This is the result of concern and support from Guangdong Party Committee and Guangdong Provincial Government toward the city of Zhanjiang.
This is also a common dream of entire 7.5 million people in our city," Ruan said, adding that the project will play a significant role in the economic and social development of whole Guangdong Province in general and the city's petrochemical industry particularly, according to the Zhanjiang Daily.
"With an eye to commence construction this year, we will immediately study the overall construction plan, including the plant layout and the initial work such as land acquisition relocation, marine use and support of the surrounding environment," the mayor said.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, granted final approval on March 4 for Kuwait to build a long-awaited refinery and petrochemical complex on Donghai Island of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province, state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) announced last Monday.
The joint venture between KPC and Sinopec entails a 15 million-ton-a-year (300,000 barrels per day (bpd)) refinery, a 1 million-ton-a-year ethylene plant and related utilities, as well as support faci lities such as a crude jetty, product oil and chemical jetties, a bulk jetty and oil product pipelines to an initial station, the Chinese government has said earlier.
"The Sino-Kuwaiti refinery project has attracted global attention as it will be China's largest-ever joint venture of its kind," Ruan said, noting that the CNY 60 billion (USD 9 billion) project is expected to boost city's revenues by CNY 11.5 billion (USD 1.8 billion).
The mayor also said his city is planning to build a 30-square kilometer petrochemical park along with the refinery and to invite one of the world's top 500 petrochemical companies to the park.
Ruan stressed that the plant will adopt world-class environmental technology in dealing with the waste discharge and disposal, same as the facilities in such countries like Singapore and the Netherlands.
The mega project also involves a downstream marketing network, including retail petrol stations in and around the province, where economy grow s more than 12 percent annually.
Kuwait will supply all the crude feedstock for the integrated plant in the world's biggest energy market.
KPC and China's downstream leader Sinopec will each hold an equal 50 percent stake in the joint venture, with KPC planning to give 20 percent of its share to their potential international partners.
Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), KPC's international refining and market unit, has been representing Kuwait in lengthy negotiations with the Chinese side.
Approvals for such large-scale projects in China's sensitive energy sector sometimes drag on for years.
Kuwait becomes the second Arab oil producer to build the refinery in China after Saudi Arabia, which put a refining and petrochemical joint venture into operations last year in the southeast China's Fujian Province.
Last November, Kuwaiti Minister of Oil and Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah held a series of talks with Chinese leaders, including R uan, in which the both sides vowed further cooperation in realizing the project at the earliest.
The final approval from NDRC clears the way for KPC to achieve its China-bound crude oil export target of 500,000 bpd. Kuwait's exports to China in 2010 stood at 198,000 bpd, up 39.0 percent from the previous year. The joint venture also reflects Kuwait's strategy to expand refining and marketing outlets in high growth strategic markets, such as China, India and Vietnam, according to KPC.
KPC-Sinopec alliance gained NDRC's preliminary approval for the project in May 2010, which officially designated Donghai Island as the site for the complex, followed by the approval of the Ministry of Environmental Protection in September.
Based on an initial deal in 2005, KPC and Sinopec originally planned to locate the facility in the Nansha district of provincial capital Guangzhou, but due to concern over the environment impact on the densely populated area, the Guangdong provincial government proposed the relocation of the plant.
During landmark visit to Beijing by H.H. the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in May 2009, Kuwait and China agreed to move the project to less crowded area within the same province, and then in August 2009, the joint venture picked up Zhanjiang City, about 400 km southwest of Guangzhou, as the new site.
