CNOOC, Shell to double Nanhai ethylene capacity

Partners to add facilities adjacent to current plant in Guangdong province

China's largest offshore oil producer CNOOC reached an agreement with its partner Royal Dutch Shell Plc to expand the existing ethylene cracker in their joint venture, amid a rapid growth in the ethylene demand in the world's second-largest economy.

The pair set up the joint venture CNOOC-Shell Petrochemicals Co Ltd in 2000 and currently operate a $4.1 billion petrochemical complex known as Nanhai, in the Daya Bay of Huizhou in Guangdong province.