China National Chemicals Import and Export Corp (Sinochem) and France's Total have agreed to form a joint venture to set up an oil product marketing network in east China, according to information published on the website of the State Council's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) yesterday.

According to the statement, the two companies signed an agreement in Beijing on September 29 to establish Sinochem-Total Oil Co Ltd.

Sinochem is one of China's four major oil firms and Total is the world's fourth largest oil and natural gas group.

Through the deal, the two companies will put nearly US$100 million into the joint venture, with Sinochem holding a 51 percent stake.

A Sinochem official said there is market potential for finished oil products in the economically developed Yangtze River Delta area, and the joint venture would bring the advantages of both companies into full play.

A decade ago, Sinochem and Total co-sponsored Dalian West Pacific Refinery, the first of its kind in China. Last October, they jointly invested 800 million yuan (US$98 million) to set up an oil product sales network in north China.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2005)