PetroChina 0857.HK601857.SS on Wednesday started trial runs of a key crude oil processing unit, part of its greenfield refinery complex in southern Chinese province of Guangdong, state-run China Daily reported.

The state oil and gas giant began trial operation of a 200,000 barrels per day crude oil unit No.2, part of a 400,000-bpd refinery complex newly built in the city of Jieyang.

The unit will be running at 70% of capacity for 10 days processing nearly 200,000 tonnes of crude oil, along with six other facilities such as a hydrotreating unit for naphtha, the report said.

The $10-billion Guangdong complex, which also includes a 1.2 million tonne per year ethylene plant, is PetroChina’s single-largest investment of its kind in China.

China is also set to start another greenfield refinery, the 320,000-bpd Shenghong Petrochemical in eastern Jiangsu province, which a company executive said in September was awaiting government approval for a formal launch.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Chen Aizhu, Editing by Louise Heavens)