Exxon Mobil, Saudi Aramco and China Petroleum & Chemical, China’s largest refiner, are spending US$3.5 billion to triple the size of an existing oil refinery and build a chemical plant in Fujian province.
Aramco is also considering investing in a $1.17 billion refinery with Beijing-based China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec) in Shandong province. The plant would process 200,000 barrels of crude a day from 2007, according to the Sinopec web site.
Back in Saudi Arabia, Aramco is also involved in a major new project on the Red Sea coast, partnering with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation to build a US$4.3 billion refinery and chemical plant.
In the US, Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC is studying $1.15 billion in projects to expand plants in Detroit and Kentucky.
In Europe, the association of petroleum companies operating in France, L'Union Française des Industries Pétrolières (UFIP), said five refiners—Total, BP, Royal Dutch/Shell, Agip, and a unit of ExxonMobil—plan to invest €2 billion ($2.6 billion) in European refinery upgrades during 2005-09.
These upgrades were largely aimed at meeting new European regulations for low-sulphur diesel, according to the Green Car Congress website.
The US$11 billion of new refinery projects announced during the past 10 months will be spread out over the next six years.
