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A high-level delegation from China will visit Kuwait next week to discuss final details of a planned $9bn refinery and petrochemical project.
According to Abdulwahab Al-Sager, the Kuwaiti Consul General in Guangzhou, the delegation, led by Zhanjiang Municipal Party Committee Secretary Liu Xiaohua, will be of “considerable importance”.
Talks are expected to focus on the final draft of the proposed joint venture and the timetable for key actions and technical issues, he said in comments published by Kuwait News Agency on Saturday.
The mega project is expected to be launched either at the end of this year or in 2012, he added.
KPI, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s (KPC) international refining and market unit, has been in marathon negotiations with the Chinese side over the project to be located in Zhanjiang in southern China.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, granted final approval in March for Kuwait to construct the refinery and petrochemical complex on the Donghai Island of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province.
The Sino-Kuwaiti venture between KPC and Sinopec entails a 300,000 barrels per day refinery, a one million tonne-a-year ethylene plant and related utilities, as well as a retail network.
Last month, Kuwait said it was in talks with BP and other major energy companies over a possible role in the refinery project.
The country, the world’s fourth-largest crude exporter, aims to more than double its crude exports to China to reach 500,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The project will secure Kuwait a solid outlet for its oil, ahead of competitors such as Venezuela, Russia and Qatar, all of which are planning refineries in China.
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