China's largest oil producer, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), agreed to invest in a joint venture oil refinery near the capital of Chad, state media reported on 6 October. A subsidiary of CNPC, the CNPC Service and Engineering Ltd, has signed an agreement with the central African country's government to jointly invest in a refinery company to the north of the capital N'Djamena, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting a company announcement. The CNPC subsidiary will take charge of the construction and will use Chinese design, manufacturing standards and equipment in the refinery, the report said. CNPC did not give financial details of the investment nor did it indicate when the project will start. Since its first cooperation on oil exploration with Sudan in 1996, China had invested in 27 major oil and natural gas projects in 14 African countries by the end of 2005 including Sudan, Algeria, Angola and Nigeria 1.

• 1. “China’s CNPC invests in oil refinery in Chad”, AFP, October 6, 2008, at http://asianenergy.blogspot.com/2008/10/chinas-cnpc-invests-in-oil-refin...