The Wall Street Journal: CHINA PRESS: China OKs Refinery Project: Originally proposed as a joint venture with Shell, the approved refinery is to be solely funded by China National Offshore Oil Corp

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Posted 24 July 2004

BEIJING -- A 16 billion yuan ($1=CNY8.28) refinery proposed by China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC, has been approved by state authorities, Information Times reports Friday.

The refinery, which will have an annual capacity of 12 million metric tons, will be built near CNOOC and Shell Nanhai Ltd.'s existing petrochemical project at Daya Bay in Guangdong province, the newspaper reported.

Originally proposed as a joint venture with Shell , the approved refinery is to be solely funded by CNOOC, the report said. The proposed site is about 120 kilometers from CNOOC's Huizhou offshore oil field, it said.

Revenue and profit from the refinery is expected to surpass the CNOOC and Shell joint venture ethylene project in Daya Bay, the report said.

CNOOC is one of China's three state-run oil producers and lists some of its assets in New York and Hong Kong as CNOOC Ltd. (CEO).

Newspaper Web Site: http://dailynews.dayoo.com

-By China Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; (8610) 6588 5848; djnews.beijing@dowjones.com