Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) yesterday announced the promotion of Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油) vice president Chen Po-lang (陳寶郎) to the presidency of the nation's biggest refiner, replacing Pan Wenent (潘文炎), who will become a senior counselor for the refiner.
Pan is also expected to take over the chairmanship of Kuo Kuang Power Co (國光電力), Ho said at a press conference. Kuo Kuang Power is an independent power producer partly owned by Chinese Petroleum and Pan has served as its second in command since 1997.
Chen, 61, has worked in many of the company's divisions, including oil refining and petrochemicals.
"With Chen's experience in factory jobs, we believe he is more suitable for the post than the other candidates," Ho said, referring to Chinese Petroleum vice president Roy Chiu (邱吉雄), who has specialized in financial management.
Chinese Petroleum's board may meet on Tuesday to ratify Chen's appointment, said Liao Tsang-long (
Chinese Petroleum is 100 percent owned by the government. It has a refinery capacity of around 770,000 barrels per day, representing about 64 percent of the nation's production.
Besides taking on the task of helping to expand Chinese Petroleum's business, Chen is also faced with the challenge of relocating its No. 5 naphtha cracker, Ho said.
The government promised Kaohsiung residents 10 years ago, when the plant was being built, that it would eventually be moved.
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