China's largest oil producer PetroChina has gone into partnership with Royal Dutch Shell and Qatar to build an 80 billion yuan ($11.71 bln) refining and chemical complex in Taizhou city, eastern China's Zhejiang province, media reported yesterday.

The three parties have submitted the project plan to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, for regulatory approval, according to Taizhou city government officials.

The first phase of the complex includes an oil refinery with capacity of 400,000 barrels per day and an ethylene unit of 1.2 million tons per year that would be built on reclaimed land in Luqiao district, and a crude oil wharf on Dachen Island 23km away to dock very large crude oil carriers.

Shell previously said it hoped the project would be approved by the NDRC by the end of this year. Under an earlier agreement, PetroChina will hold 51% of the joint venture, while Shell and Qatar will own 24.5% each.

Sinopec, PetroChina's domestic rival, owns the similar-sized Zhenhai refinery in Ningbo city, Zhejiang provice, some 200km from the proposed Taizhou project. Zhenhai is China's largest refinery by output.