By an OGJ Online Correspondent
BEIJING, Jan. 7 -- PetroChina Co. plans to buy a southern China refinery for 2 billion yuan ($240 million) in order to cut the cost of supplying gasoline stations in Guangdong province.
The 1.5 million tonnes/year Dongxing refinery is at the port city of Zhanjiang in the west of Guangdong. It is owned by a joint venture of local Zhanjiang authorities and an overseas entity.
PetroChina plans to expand the refinery to 5 million tonnes/year by 2006.
It expects the purchase will cut the cost of transporting products to its 100 Guangdong gasoline stations.
All of PetroChina's refineries are in the northeast and northwest, far from the large eastern and southern markets. It ships oil products by sea to Guangdong from its northeastern refineries.