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China to boost oil refinery capacity
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-17 20:58

China plans to increase its refining capacity by about one-third by 2010 as it races to keep up with surging demand for oil and refined products, the government says.

At the same time, it aims to double its production of ethylene, a chemical in short supply domestically that used in a wide range of products, including plastic containers and tubing.

Meanwhile, oil producer PetroChina said it is stepping up exploration of both onshore and offshore oil fields and expects "major breakthroughs" in the next few years, domestic report said.

In the past decade, China's consumption of crude oil has more than tripled, to 2.2 billion barrels last year, from 644 million barrels in 1985. With crude oil prices surging, the government is encouraging domestic oil producers to boost production to help reduce demand for costly imports. It is also pushing refiners to boost capacity to help bridge shortages of fuel and other oil products.

The plan issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, which is in charge of industrial policy, calls for adding at least 90 million tons annually of new refining capacity by 2010, up 31.6 percent from the 285 million tons of crude oil refined in 2005.

New oil processing centers are to be built in Guangxi, in southwestern China, and in Sichuan, to the north of Guangxi, to handle domestic crude oil output, the commission said.

Small and inefficient refiners with an annual capacity of about 20 million tons will be closed down, according to a version of the plan posted on the commission's Web site.
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