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euro adhoc: BP PLC
BP STEPS UP INVESTMENT IN CHINA (E)

  Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc.
  The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
May 11, 2004
BP STEPS UP INVESTMENT IN CHINA
BP announced today that it has signed a number of agreements covering
investments totalling around $1 billion which will deepen its
presence in the growing Chinese energy market.
"China, as one of the most rapidly expanding economies, offers
significant opportunities for the BP Group, particularly its
customer-facing businesses," said Lord Browne, BP chief executive. 
"We have already demonstrated the benefit
of combining our experience in operating world-class retail service
stations and our world-leading petrochemicals technology with the
local market knowledge of Chinese partners and we look forward to
expanding this through new projects in the future."
Building on the highly encouraging results from the BP and Sinopec
acetic acid joint venture in Chongqing where the capacity is already
being increased from 200,000 tonnes a year to 350,000 tonnes a year,
BP today signed a heads of agreement to build a 500,000 tonnes a year
acetic acid plant in Nanjing, Jiangsu
province, through a 50/50 joint venture with Sinopec.  The plant,
which will incorporate BP's Cativa technology, is expected to come on
stream by the end of 2006 and supply acetic acid for use in such
products as fibres, paint, adhesives, pharmaceuticals and printing
inks in eastern China.
The company also signed a letter of intent to examine the viability
of expanding production at the BP Zhuhai PTA plant from 350,000
tonnes a year to 1.2 million tonnes a year.  The plant, which is
located at Zhuhai in the Pearl River Delta, is a joint venture
between BP (85 per cent) and the Fu Hua Group (15 per cent)
and came on stream in September 2003.  Both petrochemical projects
fall within the 'advantaged products' portfolio which BP has said it
intends to develop further, focussing on China and growth markets in
Asia.
BP's two Chinese retail service station ventures also took a step
forward with the signing of the joint venture contracts and articles
of association for both the BP Sinopec Zhejiang Petroleum Company
Limited and the BP PetroChina Petroleum Company Limited.  These joint
ventures will each acquire, build and operate 500 retail service
stations in the Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces 
respectively by 2007.  BP has an initial 40 per cent stake in the BP
Sinopec Zhejiang Petroleum Company and a 49 per cent holding in the
BP PetroChina Petroleum Company.
In a separate move, BP also announced that it has agreed to be a
partner in a hydrogen vehicle demonstration project being established
by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.  Drawing on the
experience it has gained through participating in similar hydrogen
projects around the world, BP will design,
construct, operate and supply hydrogen refuelling facilities for the
project which will see hydrogen powered vehicles operating in Beijing
and Shanghai.
The Ministry of Science and Technology, which is developing and
co-funding the project together with the United Nations Development
Programme and the National hydrogen programme, is still in the
process of finalising details with other potential project partners
but it is envisaged that it will become operational in mid 2005.
Notes to Editors:
·  BP has been operating in China since the early 1970s and has
invested over $3 billion in commercial projects.  Its activities in
China include production and import of natural gas, supply of
aviation fuel, import and marketing of LPG, fuels retailing,
lubricants blending and sales, and petrochemical manufacturing
·  BP employs over 3,000 staff in China, either directly or through
joint ventures.
·  BP's biggest single equity investment in China is the SECCO (50/50
joint venture with Sinopec) $2.7 billion integrated petrochemical
complex under construction outside Shanghai which is expected on
stream in 2005.  The complex will have a capacity of around 2.3 mtpa
of various products.  BP is committed to continuing this development
which will form part of a new olefins and
derivatives petrochemicals entity.
·  BP's Gas, Power and Renewables business is a 30 per cent partner
in the development of the Guangdong LNG import terminal and
associated pipelines.  BP also has a contract to supply China's
second LNG import terminal at Fujian.
·  BP is the biggest importer of LPG into China and has a number of
storage, bottling and marketing operations.
·  Air BP is the only foreign company participating in China's
aviation fuels business, supplying fuel at Shenzhen airport and 16
airports across south and central China.
·  BP also has a 40 per cent holding in the recently commission
Nansha oil terminal in Guangdong.  The terminal has over 360,000
cubic metres of storage space for oil and chemical products and a
80,000 dwt jetty.
- ENDS -
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
end of announcement        euro adhoc 11.05.2004

Further inquiry note:

Further information:

BP Press Office, London, tel: +44 (0)207 496 4358/4827/4708/4624

Branche: Energy
ISIN: GB0007980591
WKN: 850517
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