A joint oil refinery project, [Hong Kong company registration]between China and Venezuela, in the coastal county of Huilai, Guangdong province, is scheduled to come into operation by 2018, sources with the local government said.

The refinery project, a joint investment by China National Petroleum Corp and the Petroleos de Venezuela SA, has an annual processing capacity of 20 million metric tons, or 400,000 barrels a day, making it one of the country's biggest integrated refining complexes.

"The project will help build a world-class refinery industrial chain in Jieyang and secure fresh long-term crude supply for processing into much-needed fuels to power the local economy," [Hong Kong Company Formation]said Chen Lvping, Party chief of Jieyang city, eastern Guangdong.

Construction started on the project in 2012 with initial investment of up to 58.6 billion yuan ($9.45 billion).

The China-Venezuelan project has seen a number of power, refining, chemical and LNG projects developed in a petrochemical industrial zone in Huilai of Jieyang, said Chen.