FUJIAN, February 28, SPA -- The QingLanShan crude oil terminal at the Fujian Refinery in China was inaugurated recently with a ceremony and the arrival of the first cargo of Saudi crude oil, according to a latest report carried by Saudi Aramco's web-site.
The QingLanShan terminal is the crude-oil receiving port of the Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (FREP) joint venture. The terminal was built to handle very large crude carriers, those with a 300,000-ton capacity.
Officials from the local Fujian government, Sinopec and shareholder representatives, including Saudi Aramco representative Ibrahim Q. Al-Buainain, attended the inauguration of the ceremony of the QingLanShan terminal.
FREP is developing a world-class integrated refining and petrochemical manufacturing complex. It is being developed jointly by Fujian Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Saudi Aramco Sino Co. Ltd. (SASC) and Exxon Mobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical Co. Ltd, a joint venture established March 31, 2007.
The 900,000-barrel cargo of Arabian Extra Light was carried by the tanker Cosbright Lake from Ras Tanura to the QingLanShan terminal, in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian.
The project, which includes a 240,000-barrel-per-day refinery and will produce 2.2 million metric tons of petrochemicals a year, is in its final stage of construction.
The FREP expansion is expected to be on-stream during the first half of this year.
Officials from the local Fujian government and Sinopec, and shareholders' representatives attended the ceremony.
On behalf of Saudi Aramco, Ibrahim Q. Al-Buainain, director of Asia Joint Ventures, delivered a speech to the assembled dignitaries, congratulating the FREP-JV team on the successful operation of the terminal.
"With the inauguration of this deep-water terminal, FREP-JV is demonstrating its readiness to help meet China's domestic oil demand as well as future demand.
The arrival of the Arabian crude oil to this terminal signifies Saudi Aramco's supply commitment as a shareholder, and I would like to assure you that a stream of Saudi Arabian crude is now making its steady flow to Fujian Province and that it will continue for many generations," Al-Buainain said.
© Saudi Press Agency 2009
