The construction of a $5 billion China-Russia crude oil refinery in the northern port city of Tianjin will begin in the second half of this year, paving the way for its operations by 2015, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.
"The project is a priority for construction. We hope it can start operation by 2015," Xinhua quoted Wang Junming, general manager of the Nangang industrial zone in the city, where the project is located, as saying.
Oriental refinery is expected to generate an annual revenue of 60 billion yuan ($9.2 billion), Xinhua said.
China aims to build a complete industrial chain from oil refining to petrochemical engineering in the zone, Xinhua said.
Russia and China agreed in September to forge ahead with the joint-venture refinery to boost supply to fuel hungry Beijing but the key question for Russia.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin joined Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan to lay the cornerstone of the 13-million-tonne per year (260,000 bpd) refinery, which was expected to be completed in two years.
The refinery is a joint venture between China National Petroleum Corp and Russia's top oil producer, state owned Rosneft .
Russia is looking for Chinese investment in sectors such as energy and telecoms, while resource-hungry China has been eager to secure long-term oil and gas supplies from Russia, the world's biggest energy producer.
