Sinopec’s board has approved plans to build a 1.2-million metric tons per annum ethylene plant and downstream units in the Nangang area of the port of Tianjin, China, according to an announcement posted on 4 December.
Sinopec estimates the cost of the project at 28.8 billion renminbi ($4.4 billion).
Sinopec announced in November that it had signed a framework agreement with the Tianjin authorities to invest about 70 billion renminbi ($10.7 billion) at Nangang in 2021-25 to build capacity for petrochemicals and other products.
Ethylene is a major product processed from crude oil. In China, over half of the chemical is used to make polyethylene, a key ingredient for plastics used in a wide range of everyday goods and home appliances.
As the Chinese government calls for reduced dependence on chemical imports amid rising geopolitical tensions, state-owned and private oil firms are racing to boost domestic capacity in the world’s top chemical consumer.
China’s total ethylene capacity is forecasted to grow over 50 million tons by 2025, an expert at oil giant, China National Petroleum Corp said.
Sinopec operates 1 million metric tons per annum ethylene plant and downstream complex in the Dagang district of Tianjin in a 50/50 joint venture (JV) with Sabic called Sinopec Sabic Tianjin Petrochemical. The JV announced in 2019 that it would invest 1.5 billion renminbi ($230 million) to expand ethylene capacity by 300,000 metric tons/year for completion in 2021.
Sinopec also has a wholly-owned 240,000- metric tons per annum ethylene plant at Dagang, operated by its Sinopec Tianjin Co. subsidiary. Nangang and Dagang are both in Tianjin’s Binhai New Area development zone.