China Knowledge reported that China Ministry of Environmental Protection said it plans to approve the application of PetroChina Co the country largest oil producer to build a crude oil processing joint venture in Guangdong Province with Petroleos de Venezuela.

Approval from the environmental authority will help PetroChina ease a major roadblock before it secures the final approval from the central government. Last year, the MEP rejected China Petroleum & Chemical Corp application to set up a refinery and petrochemical complex with Kuwait Petroleum Corp in Guangdong Province, as the original location of the project was located in the Nansha District, Guangzhou an area with higher population density.

The environmental authority on Wednesday said on its website that the planned JV between PetroChina and Petroleos de Venezuela will be located in Jieyang, Guangdong Province. The investment is estimated to be valued at CNY 57.34 billion. Upon the completion of the project, it will be able to process 20 million tons of heavy oil per year.

(Sourced from China Knowledge)