Syria and China are discussing jointly building a $1 billion oil refinery in eastern Syria, state media reported yesterday.
Syria's deputy premier for economic affairs, Abdullah al-Dardari, discussed the proposed refinery with Premier Wen Jiabao Tuesday during a visit to Beijing, the Xinhua news Agency and China Daily newspaper reported.
The China Daily quoted Syria's oil minister, Sufian Allawy, as saying a deal would be signed after a feasibility study is carried out.
China's state-owned oil industry has been investing heavily abroad in hopes of security energy supplies to fuel its booming economy.
The refinery would have a daily capacity of 70,000 barrels of crude, according to the China Daily. It would be financed by China's biggest state-owned oil company, the China National Petroleum Corp., and a Syrian petroleum company, Xinhua said, citing Dardari.
(The Associated Press)