PetroChina Co, the nation's biggest oil producer, won state approval to build a refining and petrochemical venture in the southwestern province of Sichuan, Chairman Jiang Jiemin said.

The government reassessed and approved PetroChina's refinery plan after the Sichuan earthquake in May, Jiang said in an interview in Beijing yesterday. The 10-million-metric-ton-a-year refinery and 800,000-ton-a-year ethylene plant will be located at Pengzhou, near the epicenter of the May 12 temblor.

(Shanghai Daily September 25, 2008)