Sinopec plans major oil refinery expansion

Already China's and Asia's largest oil refining company, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, broadly known as Sinopec, recently announced plans to dramatically expand its oil refining plant in the Xinjiang region, according to Reuters.

Sinopec is a relatively minor player in Xinjiang, with rival PetroChina Co. operating three oil refineries in the region, each at least as large as Sinopec's lone Tahe oil refinery.

However, the company now plans to double the output of its refining plant to 200,000 barrels per day by 2015. Sinopec plans to spend 53 billion yuan, or $8.41 billion, on the project.

The Tahe refining plant currently uses only crude oil from the Xinjiang region and Sinopec intends to expand crude oil production in the area to account for the refinery's increased demand.

All told, China expects to increase its oil refining capacity to 700 million metric tons per year by 2015, more than a 21 percent increase from this year's projected total of 578 million metric tons.

Further information on the oil refining industry in China can be found at PennEnergy's Research area.