China National Offshore Oil Corp. is nearly doubling capacity of the Huizhou refinery, while Sinopec Zenhai refinery is adding olefin capacity, and Chennai Petroleum in India is expanding naphtha cracking capacity.

Siberian petrochemical producer plans to increase olefins and polymer production. Bulgarian refiner is increasing capacity and complexity with Lukoil’s assistance.

Some refinery capacity expansion is expected in Europe in 2010, particularly in Eastern Europe. Rompetrol’s Petromida refinery in Romania is planning to increase capacity by 25%.

Petrobras is expecting a busy 2010 with refinery expansion plans. The Cartagena refinery in Columbia is also slated for improvements, while the Petrojam refinery project in Jamaica has been put on hold due to cost overruns.

Process diversification outside of traditional oil refining is evident in the Middle East, such as with the Qatar Petrochemical Co.’s new low-density polyethylene plant in Qatar. Also in the same Middle Eastern country, the first field condensate refinery recent began commercial production.

Previously announced expansions at the Consumers’ Cooperative Refineries Ltd. refinery in Saskatchewan, Canada, and the Chevron Pascagoula, Miss., facility involve contracts for “traditional” engineering and construction support. In addition, increasing volumes of non-oil based hydrocarbons are being processed through process facilities, such as the soon-to-be expanded Targa Resources Partners natural gas liquids production facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas.