OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2011. PetroChina has commenced construction of refining units to process the crude with a high sulfur content at its Qinzhou plant in Guangxi province.

The addition of new units is estimated to cost around CNY7bn (USD 1.1bn).

The company is installing new units including hydro treaters for gasoline and diesel to allow the refinery to process the sour-crude grades.

The Qinzhou plant with a capacity to process 200,000 barrel-a-day started operating last year and was originally designed to process Sudan crude, a lower- sulfur grade.

It currently processes more than ten grades of low-sulfur oil.

Construction of the new units is expected to be complete by the end of 2012, reports Bloomberg.