Refineries in China appear to have escaped largely unscathed from the earthquake that yesterday struck Sichuan province, an area where there are no large oil processing plants but several major gas fields.

PetroChina's 200,000 barrel-per-day Lanzhou refinery, the largest in western China and most likely the closest major plant to the quake's epicenter, was shaken but appeared undamaged, a source from the company said yesterday.

Sinopec and PetroChina, which operate fields and pipelines in the area, could not immediately be reached for comment.

A number of fixed telephone lines to parts of Sichuan province near the quake appeared to be down.

Other major plants including PetroChina's Jinling and Sinopec's major Maoming, Zhenhai and Gaoqiao refineries were unaffected by the tremor, officials at those facilities said.

Ports including the key Ningbo crude receiving terminal were also operating normally, sources at the ports said, although the earthquake was felt along much of the coast.

The Three Gorges Dam, a key hydropower facility, was not affected by the quake, Hu Xing'e, an executive with the China Three Gorges Project Corporation, said.