China’s second-largest oil refinery, Maoming Petrochemical Corp, is expected to maintain near full operating rate in January, a Chinese industry official has said.

The January rate, planned at 1.1 million tonnes, or 261,000 barrels per day (bpd) or slightly higher, would be 97 per cent of the plant’s capacity of 270,000 bpd.
“The plant has been running near its limit for most of 2004. There is little room for further increase,” said the official from the city of Maoming, in the western part of southern Guangdong province.
Meanwhile, China’s largest oil refinery, Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co Ltd, will start the year operating at full steam, as it did in December, after 2004 throughputs jumped by 17 per cent, Chinese industry sources said.
Zhenhai, a unit of China’s second-largest oil major Sinopec Corp, plans to process 1.42 million tonnes of crude in January, or 343,500 bpd, slightly below December’s estimated rate at 1.44 million tonnes.
“The aim is to keep the operating ratio at the highest possible throughout the new year,” said the source who is familiar with the operations of the refinery.
Located in the eastern port of Ningbo, China’s largest oil terminal, Zhenhai boosted its 2004 crude throughput by 17 per cent from a year ago to about 15.9 million tonnes, or 327,000 bpd, said a second industry official.