China’s state-controlled oil firm Sinopec is ramping up purchases of crude oil ahead of the scheduled trial runs of its 200,000 bpd greenfield refinery at Zhanjiang in southern Guangdong province at the end of this month.
Sinopec has received delivery of the second cargo of Middle Eastern crude in June. The first cargo was taken last month at its new Zhongke port which is equipped with a VLCC berth. The crude is likely stored at a 5-million barrel storage facility that is part of the Zhanjiang refinery.
The $5.6-billion complex is designed to process Kuwaiti crude oil and will include an 800,000 tons/year ethylene plant. It is expected to enter commercial service by July 20. The startup of the ethylene plant will follow soon after the startup of the refinery. Sinopec began supplying gas to the refinery at the end of May through a 76-kilometre pipeline with a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic metres/year.
