Royal Dutch Shell has pulled out of a US$9 billion joint venture refinery project with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) and Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person close to the negotiations. The move reflects Shell’s broader strategy to move away from downstream refining operations in favor of upstream oil and natural gas production. Hussian Ismaiel, president of Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), said that talks are already at an advanced stage with another international oil company interested in joining the project. He said that Sinopec would likely retain its 50% stake in the venture, with the new partner taking a portion of the 50% now in KPI’s hands. Kuwait will supply all the oil to the refinery, which is to be based in Guangdong province and will produce 300,000 barrels of oil a day. It will also produce 1 million metric tons of ethylene each year.
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