China, Britain to Build Asia's Largest Petrochemicals ComplexChina Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) and BP Chemicals plan to build a petrochemicals complex that is expected to be the largest of its kind in Asia when it comes on stream in 2005.The venture is expected to be set up in mid-September, with the aim of developing the capacity to produce 900,000 tons of ethylene a year, China Daily reported Saturday. Under the 2.7-billion-dollar deal, BP Chemicals controls 50 percent of the Shanghai-based joint venture. Sinopec, 30 percent. Sinopec subsidiary Shanghai Petrochemicals Co takes the remaining 20 percent. BP, one of the foreign shareholders in Sinopec, has therefore become one of the biggest investors in China. The project is the largest joint venture between the two companies and is expected to improve the competitiveness of China' s petrochemicals industry. Earlier this week Sinopec said that it plans to build a 600,000- ton-a-year ethylene cracker in a Sinopec refinery in east China's Fujian Province, with Exxon Mobil and Saudi Aramco. Sinopec takes half the stake while the other two share the rest. Sourcing half its petrochemicals product demand from imports, China has forged links with foreign giants to help build big petrochemicals plants. The country is expected to double its ethylene capacity to about eight million tons in five to six years through the launch of several joint complexes. |
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