Tongkun, Xinfengming Build Petrochemical Complex in North Kalimantan

Two Chinese polyester fiber makers are seeking Beijing's approval to build a US$10 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Indonesia. East China-based Tongkun Group and Xinfengming Group are planning a refinery-petrochemical complex in North Kalimantan Province, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, to produce feedstocks for chemical fiber.

Led by Tongkun, the proposed petrochemical complex would include a 200,000 barrels-per-day refinery and an 800,000-ton-per-year ethylene unit, which could be expanded in the future, said two of the sources. The project would be part of a planned industrial park in North Kalimantan where companies broke ground on a US$2.6 billion hydropower project last month to attract aluminum, battery, and electric vehicle manufacturers.

A Tongkun investor relations official said the Indonesia refinery project is at an early planning stage but declined further comment. A Xinfengming investor relations official declined to comment.