OREANDA-NEWS. July 11, 2011. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Corp, and South Korea's SK Engineering and Construction Co. are interested in financing a part of the USD 11.77 billion Refineria del Pacifico project, said the project's general manager.

The new refinery project is key for Ecuador, which has to import such processed petroleum products as gasoline because of a lack of domestic refining capacity.

Additionally, many of the new oil discoveries in Ecuador are heavy crude and cannot be processed at the country's three existing light-crude refineries.

Refineria del Pacifico will be owned 51% by Ecuador's state-run Petroecuador and 49% by Venezuela's state-run Petroleos de Venezuela, or PdVSA. Together those two companies will finance 30% of the project until the end of next year.

The project was announced in 2007, but Ecuador is still seeking investors to fund the other 70%.

In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Carlos Proano, the project's general manager, said Sinopec is interested in financing the construction of the refinery units, while SK has proposed financing the power plant.

Sinopec could finance between USD 3.5 billion to USD 5 billion, while SK could finance about USD 1.9 billion. Neither company could be reached for comment.

Last month, after a meeting between Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, Proano said the Refineria del Pacifico would need another partner.

Asked if Sinopec will give a loan or is interested in being a partner of the project, Proano said, "We are trying to define what the future will be."

Meanwhile, persons close to the project said SK is interested in financing the power plant through a build-operate-transfer, or BOT, model but they didn't provide further details.

China has become the largest source of financing for Ecuador, following its default on global bonds in 2008.

Proano added that a list of a potential partners will be ready by the end of the year and a third partner for the Refineria del Pacifico could come by the end of 2012.

The Refineria del Pacifico project, to be built in the coastal province of Manabi, will include a refinery to process 300,000 barrels of oil per day, a basic petrochemical plant to produce benzene, xylene and polypropylene, and marine facilities onshore and offshore.

The plant is scheduled to go online in 2015 and to reach full production capacity in 2016.

Basic engineering is being carried out by SK Engineering. About 83% of that has been completed.

Proano also said companies from India and Germany are interested in financing the project, but he didn't elaborate.

"Last year, Ecuador imported about USD 3.5 billion of oil products. The new refinery is a strategic project to gain energy sovereignty," Proano said.