Brunei Gives Nod To Chinese Refinery

The oil-rich state of Brunei has approved the construction of a refinery and chemical complex by a Chinese company. Zhejiang Hengyi, a Zhejiang-based producer of synthetic fibers, plans to spend $2.5 billion to build a 135,000-barrel-per-day refinery and an aromatics complex producing p-xylene and benzene in the state, which shares the island of Borneo with Malaysia and Indonesia. About 30% of the stock in the facility will be held by Bruneians. In a second phase, Hengyi plans to spend $3.5 billion to expand the refinery and build an olefins-based petrochemical complex. Sinopec Engineering will conduct a feasibility study for the project over the next 12 months.