Sinopec starts up US$6 bn petchem/refinery project in China

China’s state refiner Sinopec Corp has started up a US$6 billion new refinery and petrochemical plant in south China, making it the country’s third integrated complex to start operations in the past 18 months or so.

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The Sinopec venture, situated in coastal city of Zhanjiang, comprises a 200,000 barrel per day (bpd) crude oil refinery and an 800,000-tonne/year ethylene facility, built at a cost of US$6.2 billion.

Two other complexes with combined refining capacity of 800,000 bpd have started up since early 2019, one built by privately-controlled Hengli Petrochemical Corp and the other by Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp.

Sinopec said its project would bring new investment worth 200 billion yuan to Guangdong province and thousands more jobs by supporting the manufacture of high-grade plastics, electronics and chemicals.

The new plant operates a 300,000 tonnage crude oil terminal and also berths that can dock vessels with capacity to carry 100,000 tonnes of refined products, Sinopec said.