CHINA/KUWAIT: GUANGDONG REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 002635 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2019 TAGS: ECON EINV ENRG EPET PREL SENV PGOV CH KU SUBJECT: CHINA/KUWAIT: GUANGDONG REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICAL PLANT DEAL MOVES FORWARD BUT DISTRIBUTION DISPUTE REMAINS REF: A. KUWAIT 478 ¶B. 08 GUANGZHOU 246 Classified By: Economic Minister Counselor William Weinstein. Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary and Comment: The USD 10 billion deal between Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and Chinese state-owned refining giant Sinopec to build a petrochemical plant and oil refinery in Guangdong Province could be derailed by a dispute over distribution rights, according to a KPC executive in Beijing. Given Guangdong officials' August announcement of a new site for the project, the KPC executive is optimistic that the deal will eventually get approval and move forward, but he said the company was frustrated by five years of difficult negotiations with Chinese officials and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). If the deal is approved, construction would begin as early as 2011 and be completed in 2013, after which up to 20 percent of Kuwait's oil exports would go to China. Given the deal's up-and-down history and complexity of negotiating with opaque Chinese bureaucracies and SOEs, further setbacks seem likely. However, China's growing energy needs in its heavily-populated southern region and political pressure from the highest levels of both governments will almost certainly lead to the eventual completion of the project. End Summary and Comment. Deal Reached but Distribution Unresolved -------------- ¶2. (C) China's reluctance to grant KPC market access for distribution could be a deal-breaker, Chief Representative of KPC's Beijing office Meshari Al-Mahmoud (protect) told EconOff August 28. He said KPC presented authorities with a proposal to grant KPC a "market envelope," a region within Guangdong Province in which KPC would have exclusive distribution rights. Sinopec has fought against KPC receiving exclusive access, arguing that KPC should have to compete with other companies if KPC were allowed into China's lucrative gas distribution network. Al-Mahmoud gave no indication that an agreement was imminent. Nevertheless, he expressed optimism that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) would approve the deal in early 2010 and that political pressure would keep the deal moving forward. Construction could begin as early as 2011 and be completed by 2013, although Al-Mahmoud cautioned that, given the �0A;up-and-down history of the deal, further setbacks would likely cause unforeseen delays. Kuwaiti IOC Member Helps Overcome PRC Bureaucracy -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) The KPC-Sinopec deal dates back to 2004, when Kuwait Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah met President Hu Jintao in Beijing and reached a political agreement to pursue the deal. Progress was slow at first, as KPC was unable to establish its representative office in Beijing for more than a year because the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) held up registration of the company. The company also encountered some opposition to the deal from Guangdong provincial officials. Al-Mahmoud said a key player in pushing the deal forward was Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheik Ahmad Al-Sabah. As a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Sheik Ahmad enjoyed close ties to Beijing officials who were eager to maintain his continued support for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Al-Mahmoud said these Beijing officials, along with the mayor of Guanghzhou, pushed MOFCOM and Guangdong provincial officials to support the deal. In 2005, KPC entered into a multi-billion dollar joint venture with oil giant PetroChina Co., one of China's largest SOEs, to build a 240,000 barrel per day refinery and 1,000,000 tons per year ethylene cracker in the Nansha district of Guanghzhou. JV Partner Switch Catches KPC by Surprise -------------- ¶4. (C) Al-Mahmoud said the deal encountered another bump in the road when China unexpectedly switched KPC's JV partner. After working closely with PetroChina for nearly a year on the feasibility study and other preparatory work, KPC received a visiting delegation of officials from another Chinese SOE, Sinopec, who informed KPC that Sinopec would BEIJING 00002635 002 OF 003 replace PetroChina as its JV partner. Al-Mahmoud said the news caught KPC by surprise because PetroChina had not given KPC any indication that it had been replaced. A month later, KPC sent a delegation of officials to Guangdong, where Guangdong provincial officials officially informed KPC of the change in its JV partner but offered no explanation. Scandal and Environmental Concerns Jeopardize Deal -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) The deal encountered another setback in 2007, when a corruption scandal involving Sinopec Chairman Chen Tonghai brought chaos to the company and nearly derailed the deal, according to Al-Mahmoud. When news of the arrest broke, KPC was unable to reach any Sinopec employees for weeks, and all work on the project was put on hold. One Sinopec employee reportedly told Al-Mahmoud that the authorities ordered Sinopec employees to write down incriminating evidence against Chen and other corrupt officials and threatened the employees with arrest if they refused to cooperate. Later, this Sinopec employee told Al-Mahmoud that, before his arrest, Chen had actually prevented the company from moving forward on the deal. Once he was removed, the deal moved forward until 2008, when environmental issues surfaced. The newly-established Ministry of Environmental Protection and local environmental officials opposed the deal and recommended that large refinery projects not be built in the "ecologically fragile" Nansha area. Political Pressure from Above Moves the Deal Forward -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) When Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited Beijing in May 2009 to meet with President Hu, his number one priority was to end the deadlock on the KPC-Sinopec deal. Al-Mahmoud reported that the Emir expressed his dissatisfaction with Hu's vague promises of support for the deal. Hu responded by instructing NDRC Chairman Zhang Ping to ensure the project moved forward. The Guangdong Vice Governor who had previously declined meetings with Al-Mahmoud now agreed to a meeting and pledged his support for the project. Within a few months, Guangdong Province offered the Donghai Island in Guangdong's Zhanjiang district as the new site for the JV refinery, and the two sides agreed to move forward with planning for the new site. NDRC pledged to expedite the approval process and have it completed by March 2010. Al-Mahmoud predicted that, even if NDRC approved the deal quickly, construction would not begin until 2011 and would take at least two years to complete. Given strong political support from the highest levels of both governments, Al-Mahmoud expressed optimism that the KPC-Sinopec deal would eventually be finalized and the oil refinery and petrochemical plant would be built. Shell, Dow Chemical Get Cold Shoulder from China -------------- --- ¶7. (C) According to Al-Mahmoud, KPC wanted to include other international companies to share the risk and provide technology and know-how that KPC lacked. After reaching the initial agreement with Sinopec, KPC invited Dow Chemical and Royal Dutch Shell to join the deal, with KPC owning a 30 percent stake and Dow and Shell 10 percent each. To KPC's surprise, Sinopec and PRC officials expressed opposition to Dow and Shell's participation and refused to allow their representatives to attend any meetings with Sinopec. One Beijing official told Al-Mahmoud that "these foreign companies refused to help China when we needed them and now just want to profit off China." Recognizing the need for Dow's technology, Sinopec eventually "warmed up" to Dow and allowed their representatives to join the meetings. Sinopec continues to refuse to include Shell in talks, arguing that Shell's technology and know-how are not necessary for the project. Kuwait's Oil Exports to Shift from Japan/Korea to China -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Once completed, the Guangdong oil refinery is projected to process up to 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day. According to Al-Mahmoud, KPC is also planning to build an oil refinery in Fujian Province that would process up to 240,000 barrels of crude oil per day. (The Fujian oil refinery deal was approved by the provincial government and BEIJING 00002635 003 OF 003 is awaiting central government approval.) Kuwait currently exports 140,000 barrels a day to China, accounting for approximately 4 percent of Kuwait's 3.5 million barrels of daily oil production. Completion of the oil refineries in Guangdong Province and Fujian Province would increase that total to nearly 700,000 barrels a day, or 20 percent of Kuwait's daily production, offsetting shrinking markets in Japan and Korea, where approximately 40 percent of Kuwait's oil is currently sold. HUNTSMAN