A unit of Chinese refiner Sinopec has won mining rights to develop a coal mine in the country's Inner Mongolia region for 30.15 billion yuan ($4.36 billion), according to a company representative on Friday.
The mine will be developed by Sinopec Greatwall Energy and Chemical Co Ltd for the production of coal chemicals, according to the official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of speaking with the media.
According to a report last month by the official news agency Xinhua, the mine in Uxin Banner under Ordos city in the northwestern province has a planned production capacity of 10 million tonnes of coal per year.
It will also provide coal to Sinopec Great Wall's 800,000-tonne-per-year coal-to-olefins project.
According to Xinhua, the first coal chemicals mine in the coal-rich region will help to upgrade the traditional coal industry and extend the value chain.
Sinopec, or China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, is a Chinese oil and gas company headquartered in Beijing. It is traded in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. Sinopec Group, the parent company of Sinopec Limited, is the world's largest oil refining, gas, and petrochemical conglomerate, headquartered in Beijing's Chaoyang District.