TAIPEI, 27 June 2005 — The UAE-based International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC) has signed a letter of intent with Taiwan’s Chinese Petroleum Corp. (CPC) to buy 20 percent ($2.32 billion) stake in a $11.6 billion petrochemical project under the name of Kuo-Kuang Petrochemical Corp. in western Taiwan led by CPC, Kuo Chin-tsai, chairman of CPC said at a national energy conference in Taipei last week. The venture, located in Yun-Lin on western coast of Taiwan, will include a 300,000 barrels-a-day crude oil refinery, a plant that turns naphtha, an oil product, into ethylene and dozens of units that produce other chemicals for plastics and textiles, CPC Vice President Roy Chiu said.