China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the country's
largest oil producer, is to invest in a joint venture refinery in
Chad.
The CNPC Service and Engineering Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of CNPC, has signed an agreement with the Chadian government to
jointly invest in a refinery company to the north of N'Djamena, the
capital of Chad, according to an announcement on the website of
CNPC.
The subsidiary will take charge of all engineering construction
and will adopt Chinese design specifications, manufacturing
standards and mechanical equipments, said the announcement.
CNPC has not revealed how much it will invest or when the
project will start.
Chad began to produce oil in 2003 and has found 13 oil fields so
far. It has no refineries in the country and has to import refined
oil from overseas.
The CNPC subsidiary has inked overseas service contracts worth
US$3.09 billion in 2006, up 22 percent from the previous year.
Since its first cooperation on oil exploration with Sudan in
1996, China had invested in 27 major oil and natural gas projects
in 14 African countries by the end of 2005, including Sudan,
Algeria, Angola and Nigeria.
(Xinhua News Agency October 6, 2007)
