CHINA Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), the country’s largest oil refiner, is looking to list its retail unit after completing a private sale of some of the business, sources familiar with the matter said Friday.

    Sinopec said earlier this year that it plans to introduce partners into its retail business by June. The newly created subsidiary that holds Sinopec’s retail operations, Sinopec Easy Joy Sales Co., houses more than 30,000 gas stations owned by Sinopec as well as 23,000 convenience stores that accompany some of those fuel stations. The company plans to list the unit, the sources said, but there is currently no time frame or listing venue.

    Sinopec said in February it would allow outsiders to own up to 30 percent of the retail business, worth more than US$20 billion, according to Barclays. Potential investors could be supermarket operators, one of the sources said.

    China’s major oil companies such as Sinopec and PetroChina Co. have seen their returns decline in the past seven years, as they made a massive push to expand their investments overseas.

    To improve the performance of their shares, the two are restructuring their volatile downstream refinery and marketing businesses, including the gas stations, by introducing outside investors.

    PetroChina controls most of the country’s pipeline distribution of natural gas, and a couple of years ago sold nearly half of its third West-to-East natural gas pipelines — which run across the country — to domestic investors.

    Sinopec’s core operations is oil refining and sales, but those segments aren’t as attractive as other parts of the oil and gas business. (SD-Agencies)