China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) will start operating a 5 million-ton oil refining project at its Ningxia plant in late October, nearly 10 months ahead of schedule, the Ningxia Daily reported Monday.

The project broke ground on June 28, 2010. The project is intended to help western China better exploit its crude oil resources and speed up the redistribution of the country’s refining business.

The project will reportedly supply 1.67 million tons of gasoline and 2.29 million tons of diesel for Ningxia and its surrounding markets each year. The annual output of the Ningxia refinery will exceed 30 billion yuan (US$4.7 billion), a steady support for the region’s economic development.