Sinopec to expand five Yangtze River refineries

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec), the world's third-largest oil refiner by capacity, plans to expand five refineries along the Yangtze River, as it shifts its focus to central provinces after largely completing development along the coast.

The company has identified for expansion facilities in Anqing, Anhui province; Wuhan and Jingmen, Hubei province; and Changling and Baling in Hunan province, company board secretary Chen Ge was quoted by Bloomberg and Dow Jones as saying after its annual shareholders meeting in Beijing.

A spokesman confirmed that the company has refinery expansion plans but would not give details.

The expansion comes as the central government is encouraging investment in the central provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi, after pushing for investment in the less-developed western region and rejuvenating the northeastern industrial rust-belt. The central region lags coastal regions economically but accounts for 25 per cent of the nation's population and 33 per cent of its agricultural output.

This is the first time Sinopec has disclosed plans to expand the five refineries, and the first time it has indicated unspecified capacity increases at its 5.2 million tonne a year plant in Changling, its six million tonne a year plant in Baling and the five million tonne a year Jingmen facility.

Anhui's government has already said that Sinopec aims to start expanding the capacity of its Anqing refinery from 5.5 million tonnes to eight million tonnes this year.