DALLAS, Dec. 13 -- Caltex Petroleum Corp. a refining and marketing giant owned by U.S. oil giants Chevron and Texaco, said Wednesday it will join a Chinese group in setting up the largest liquefied petroleum gas business in China at a cost of $125 million. The Dallas-based Caltex said the venture will be with Shantou Ocean Enterprises Petroleum and Petrochemical Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the Chinese government's industry ministry in Shantou City, which is already among the largest LPG importers in that country.
Caltex said the venture will be called Caltex Ocean Gas and Energy Co. Ltd. and will build and operate a high technology LPG terminal in Shantou City in Guangdong Province. The terminal, which will begin operations by mid-1998, will include three ocean berths, two mined caverns and eight tank truck bays for importation, storage, manufacturing and distribution of LPG. Caltex said the facility is an important part of China's ninth five- year plan. The announcement said the initial storage capacity of the LPG caverns will be 100,000 metric tons. The terminal will meet the current and future demands of South and East China. Caltex does not conduct any business in the United States except to maintain its headquarters. All its operations are overseas, accounting for earnings of $432 milion on revenues of $14 billion last year. Last week, Caltex announced it will sell its 50 percent stake in Nippon Petroleum Refining Co. to its partner, Nippon Oil Co. for about $2 billion (200 billion yen). The sale is part of Caltex's strategy to focus on high-growth areas throughout the Pacific Rim. The company has been expanding aggressively in China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia. The company plans to invest about $8 billion through 1999.
