The 7.9-magnitude quake on Monday destroyed many buildings, disrupted transport and communication lines as well as fuel and power supplies and had killed an estimated 15,000 people, with thousands more still believed to be buried.
BEIJING (Reuters) - PetroChina <0857.HK> is reconsidering its plan to build a $5.7 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Sichuan province after a strong earthquake hit the region this week, a company executive said on Thursday.
The 7.9-magnitude quake on Monday destroyed many buildings, disrupted transport and communication lines as well as fuel and power supplies and had killed an estimated 15,000 people, with thousands more still believed to be buried.
PetroChina had planned to complete the complex by 2010, when it would be able to refine 200,000 barrels of crude per day and produce 800,000 tonnes of ethylene a year.
"We have set a special team to review the quake's direct impact on the Pengzhou refinery project," Jiang Jiemin, PetroChina's <601857.HK><PTR.N> president, told reporters on the sidelines of the firm's annual meeting.
!ADVERTISEMENT!"We will give up the project if reviews show threats of force majeure still exist," he said, "and will push forward with the plant if evaluation results are the same as before."
He did not specify when such a review would be completed.
The proposed plant, which would be the first major facility in southwestern China, has won environmental clearance as well as a nod from the National Development and Reform Commission, China's powerful economic planning agency.
However, about 200 local residents staged a rare protest against the project early this month due to concerns that it would create air and water pollution.
($1=7.000 Yuan)
(Reporting by Jim Bai; Editing by Ken Wills)
