By an OGJ Online Correspondent
BEIJING, Jan. 9 -- China National Petroleum Corp. has acquired Ningxia Dayuan Refining & Chemical Corp., which owns a 50,000 b/d refinery in Ningxia province.
The provincial government previously owned Ningxia Dayuan, which also owns a 36,000 b/d catalytic cracking unit. Under a government ruling, the acquisition cost CNPC nothing because both companies are state-owned.
Last year, oil prices caused the refinery, the only one in the province, to operate at 50% of its capacity. Crude supplies come from CNPC's Changqing oil field in Shaanxi province.
CNPC has no immediate plans to expand the refinery.
With the acquisition, CNPC will bring the Ningxia operation under its unified crude allocation and oil products sales system.
