BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China plans to raise its annual crude oil processing capacity to 405 million tonnes by 2011, the State Council, or the Cabinet, said on Monday in its restructuring and stimulus plans for the petrochemical industry.

    That would represent an increase of about 18.4 percent over its processing volume last year, which topped 342.1 million tonnes, according to the January figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.

    China is scheduled to build three to four major oil refining plants in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China and the Pearl River Delta in southern China by 2011. Each plant would be capable of processing 20 million tonnes of oil annually, according to plans published Monday by the General Office of the State Council on its official Chinese website: www.gov.cn.

    In addition to boosting processing capacity, the government wants to make existing facilities more environmentally friendly.

    Oil producers and refiners were told to improve their product mix and cut pollutants. The industry's energy intensity will be reduced by more than 12 percent, by 2011, according to the plans. Waste water and sulfur dioxide discharge will also be cut by more than 6 percent.

    In February, the Cabinet unveiled initial plans to boost the country's petrochemical industry in a bid to shore up the economy. There was no exact amount released Monday as to how much funding will be needed for the new plants and upgrades of older ones.

    China produced 189 million tonnes of crude oil last year. Net imports of crude oil totaled 175.16 million tonnes, the National Energy Administration said earlier this year.

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