Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings, Ltd. has been awarded significant new construction and marine cargo business with the Fujian Refining and Ethylene Project (FREP).

A $4 billion equity joint venture by Fujian Petrochemical Company Limited (a company jointly owned by Sinopec and Fujian provincial government), Aramco Overseas Company BV and ExxonMobil (China) Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, FREP is the largest world-class foreign refining and petrochemicals project in China to date.

Based in the Fujian Province on China's southeastern coast, the construction of this project will expand annual capacity at the existing refinery from four million tonnes of oils and chemicals to twelve million tonnes. In addition to upgrading the refinery, the project includes the construction of a number of additional facilities that support the refinery process.

In addition to this important new business news, the company has established an office in the northeastern coastal municipality of Tianjin, China. Tianjin's urban area is the third largest city in Mainland China, with a rapidly growing economy. Major industries include petrochemicals and textiles.