(EnergyAsia, June 21 2013, Friday) — Brazil’s state energy firm Petrobras said it has signed a letter of intent with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp or Sinopec build a 300,000-b/d oil refinery in South America’s largest country.

Petrobras, which is looking to build four similar-sized refineries to meet rising domestic fuel demand, said the two companies will study the feasibility of establishing a joint venture to build and operate the proposed US$20 billion Premium Refinery 1 in the northeastern state of Maranhao.

Petrobras, which is targeting to raise Brazil’s 1.9-million b/d refining capacity to three million b/d by 2020, has also signed an agreement with South Korea’s GS Energy to study the feasibility of building a 300,000 b/d in another part of the country.