Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 12 -- China has agreed in principal to the construction of a $10 billion refinery and ethylene complex in the port city of Ningbo by a joint venture of Formosa Plastics Group, Taipei, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (PetroChina).
Described as the largest-ever foreign investment project on the Chinese mainland, the proposed facility—subject to approval by China's State Council—will have a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes/year of ethylene and 10 million tonnes/year of oil.
Chinese government officials earlier had blocked the proposed facility, saying it could conflict with another refinery project in nearby Zhenhai (OGJ Online, July 19, 2006). However, the officials approved the Ningbo project after learning it will target sales in Taiwan.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
