A new production center for rare earth catalytic cracking agents in Changting, Fujian is launched on June 30. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

China National Petroleum Corp, also known as PetroChina, is the country's largest oil and gas company. It opened a new production center with the aim of producing rare earth catalytic cracking agents in Changting, an old revolutionary base in Longyan city, East China's Fujian province, on June 30.

The production center, costing more than 1 billion yuan ($141.5 million), will be carried out in the Fujian (Longyan) Rare Earth Industrial Park. It started construction in 2017 and is a major anti-poverty project of PetroChina.

Qin Song, manager of PetroChina, said that the production center will use independent proprietary intellectual property rights developed by the company and benefit from abundant local raw materials, talent and capital, which is expected to accelerate the social and economic development of Changting and help PetroChina make major breakthroughs in the development of catalytic agents.

Authorities have said that the production center is expected to increase the company's annual sales revenue by about 1 billion yuan upon completion, with its annual net profit totaling around 140 million yuan. It will also provide more than 300 jobs for locals.