PetroChina partner in China-Kuwait energy JV
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-06 20:25

PetroChina is the partner in a planned refinery and petrochemical complex under study between Kuwait and China, an official at state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) said on Tuesday.

Kuwait and China signed an agreement on Monday to study setting up the oil refinery, which would have a capacity of 200,000-400,000 barrels per day, and a petrochemical plant in Guangdong province at an estimated cost of $5 billion.

"PetroChina is the partner," a KPC official said.

The state-run firm is China's second-largest refiner.

A Kuwait Energy Ministry statement had said that Kuwait Petroleum International and Petrochemical Industries Co will represent KPC in the venture. It said a major Chinese oil firm would represent China but did not name it.

The ministry said approval was expected to be secured in 2006 and that the project execution period would be four years.

Kuwait's energy ministry said international oil firms would be invited to take part in this project.

Big oil firms like Royal Dutch/Shell and BP have been lining up to do business in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer where surging demand for gasoline and other fuels has pushed world oil prices to their highest inflation-adjusted level in a quarter century.

Shell and KPC signed a deal to work together in China back in March. A week before that KPC's overseas arm KPI agreed with BP to seek investment opportunities in the world's most populous nation.