China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec), Asia's largest oil refiner, said it would cut ethylene output to increase oil production this month to ensure supply for the summer grain harvest.

The company planned to cut ethylene output by 65,000 tons, which would raise oil output by 200,000 tons.

It also decided to cut output of kerosene and gasoline and increase diesel oil output to guarantee supply for summer grain harvest.

Meanwhile, Sinopec was to speed up final work on the Qingdao refinery project to put it into operation as soon as possible. The refinery was designed with a processing capacity of 10 million tons per year, the largest of its kind in the country.

The company also planned to import 1 million tons of oil products this month, double the figure it announced earlier.

Sinopec said it has worked out measures to ensure oil supply for summer harvest operations in provinces of Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi, major grain producers of China.

Due to rising domestic demand, fuel shortages were reported in some areas in the country.

Sinopec's refined oil supply is expected to rise 18.5 percent year-on-year and its refined oil output by 8.9 percent in the first half of this year, according to the company.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2008)