China to invest in Chad refinery

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- China’s quest for energy projects in Africa now include Chad, where the China National Petroleum Corp. plans to invest in a refinery joint venture.

The Xinhua news agency reported CNPC, China’s largest oil producer, and its wholly-owned subsidiary Engineering Ltd., have signed an agreement with the government of the landlocked oil-producing central African country to invest in a refinery north of the capital N'Djamena.

The report gave no financial or other details about the project other than saying the CNPC subsidiary will be responsible for all engineering construction.

Chad, whose neighbors include Libya and the Sudan, began producing oil in 2003 and has discovered 13 oil fields so far, the report said. The country has no refineries.

Since 1996 when it signed its first African oil exploration project in Sudan, China has invested in 27 major oil and natural gas projects in 14 African countries, Xinhua said.