Kuwait to pour more money into China oil
(New York Times)
Updated: 2005-12-23 16:18

China and Kuwait signed a preliminary agreement on Dec. 5 to build a $5 billion refinery and petrochemical plant in Guangdong Province. Sheik Ahmad said negotiations were continuing with PetroChina and the Guangdong provincial government on the terms of a deal.

The refinery is expected to have a daily capacity of 200,000 barrels to 400,000 barrels, according to the Kuwaiti News Agency.

Sheik Ahmad said OPEC and the Beijing authorities had agreed on Thursday to work together to secure energy supplies and assess Chinese demand. With OPEC supplying about 40 percent of the world's oil, soaring demand from China has become a major factor in the group's planning for production.

China's oil imports have risen at an annual average of 24 percent in the last decade, after being a net oil exporter until 1993. Of the 6.7 million barrels of oil a day that China consumed in 2004, almost half came from imports. The United States imported about 10 million barrels a day in 2004.