China National Chemicals Import and Export Corp (Sinochem) and France's Total
have agreed to form a joint venture to set up an oil product
marketing network in east China, according to information published
on the website of the State Council's State-owned Assets
Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC)?yesterday.
According to the statement, the two companies
signed an agreement in Beijing on September 29 to establish
Sinochem-Total Oil Co Ltd.
Sinochem is one of China's four major oil firms and
Total is the world's fourth largest oil and natural gas group.
Through the deal, the two companies will put nearly
US$100 million into the joint venture, with Sinochem holding a 51
percent stake.
A Sinochem official said there is market potential
for finished oil products in the economically developed Yangtze
River Delta area, and the joint venture would bring the advantages
of both companies into full play.
A decade ago, Sinochem and Total co-sponsored
Dalian West Pacific Refinery, the first of its kind in China. Last
October, they jointly invested 800 million yuan (US$98 million) to
set up an oil product sales network in north China.
(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2005)