CNOOC targets oil refineries in Shandong

A senior manager from China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) – the country’s largest offshore oil and gas producer by capacity – is visiting Shandong province in an attempt to acquire local oil refiners, China Business Net reported. “We will sign some strategic deals with some firms in the province,” Wu Zhenfang, vice general manager of CNOOC, said. He was reported to have already visited Hengyuan Petrochemical Group in Dezhou city, one of the largest local corporations. Authorities in Dongying city said the assets of Shandong Zhonghai Chemical Industry Corp and Fuhai Group are being assessed and cooperative agreements with CNOOC will be signed in July when the appraisals are completed. CNOOC will also build a 30-square-kilometer CNOOC Industrial Park in the port city of Dongying, which will be able to handle one million tons of crude oil a year. CNOOC said Thursday its 2007 net profit rose just 1.1% to US$4.45 billion (RMB31.26 billion) on US$13 billion (RMB90.7 billion) in revenues, which were up just 2% due to minimal increases in output and a large jump in the windfall tax on oil sales.