China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec) said on Tuesday it would reduce ethylene output by 65,000 tons this month to increase oil supplies for quake relief and reconstruction efforts, the summer grain harvest and the Olympics.

The move would allow the company, Asia's largest oil refiner, to raise oil output by 200,000 tons. Meanwhile, it would also cut production of arene by about 8 percent to make way for oil production, said an official with Sinopec's production management department.

The company would stop production or bring forward maintenance at its Zhongyuan, Dongfang and Shanghai ethylene units while reducing production at other units, said the official.

It would import about 2 million tons of oil in the second quarter and ask small local refiners to process some 1.3 million tons of crude during the period, he said.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, said Monday it would increase its diesel production by 7 percent in June month-on-month, and it would continue its suspension of diesel exports to guarantee domestic supply. The oil producer stopped diesel exports in September.

Tian Jinghui, vice president of the refining and marketing division of PetroChina, said the company was scheduled to import more than 2.4 million tons of diesel this year.

The company had shipped 351,800 tons of oil products to quake-stricken Sichuan Province and provided 24-hour filling services in the worst-affected quake zones, said Wang Yilin, vice general manager of the China National Petroleum Corp., the parent company of PetroChina.

Wang said the oil product reserve stood at 630,000 tons on Sunday at gas stations in quake zones, including Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi and Gansu, which would meet the needs of the regions for 12 to 18 days.

The State Council, or cabinet, last week ordered PetroChina and Sinopec to guarantee oil supply to the quake zone.

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2008)