BEIJING, People?s Republic of China, December 17, 2004 ? Fujian Petrochemical Company Limited (a company owned 50% by China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and 50% by the Fujian Government) (FPCL), ExxonMobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical Company Limited (ExxonMobil) and Aramco Overseas Company B.V. (AOC B.V.), have signed Project Management Contractor (PMC) contracts with Sinopec Engineering Inc. (SEI) and ABB Lummus Global Inc. (ABB).  The SEI-ABB consortium will manage the front end loading (FEL) design and related activities of the Fujian Integrated Project under the direction of an Owners? Project Management Team of the joint venture partners.

The partners in the project -- FPCL, ExxonMobil and AOC B.V. -- are working to develop a multi-billion dollar world-class refining and petrochemical complex,  involving the expansion of an existing refinery from 80,000 barrels per day (4 million tons per year) to 240,000 barrels per day (12 million tons per year) with significant product upgrading capability.  The upgraded refinery will be designed to refine and process sour Arabian crude.  In addition, the project involves construction of new 800,000 tons-per-year ethylene steam cracker, polyethylene and polypropylene units, and a new 700,000 ton-per-year paraxylene unit.  Currently, project start-up is targeted for  2008.

The PMC consortium has the advantage of ABB's experience in managing international engineering projects and SEI?s rich local engineering and project management resources as a leading Chinese engineering company. ABB, as the international partner in the PMC consortium, was selected following a competitive bidding process and after thorough evaluation by the three partners

The signing of the PMC contracts initiates the implementation of the FEL work, an important step in developing this major integrated complex.  The FEL activities include completing initial engineering and design, assisting in the selection of various engineering, procurement and construction contractors, finalizing the project cost estimate and pre-ordering long-lead-time equipment.  

The Fujian Integrated Project Joint Venture will be a Sino-foreign venture among FPCL (50%), ExxonMobil (25%) and AOC B.V. (25%).  This venture, when formed, will be the first fully integrated Sino-foreign project designed to meet China?s rapidly growing demand for petroleum and petrochemical products.