Daqing Petrochemical Begins 600,000-Ton Expansion on Ethylene Unit

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--China National Petroleum Corporation's (CNPC) (Beijing) Daqing Petrochemical Company recently began construction on a 600,000-ton-per-annum (TPA) ethylene unit. With its existing 600,000-TPA ethylene unit, CNPC is carrying out its promised 1.2 million-ton ethylene expansion at Daqing Petrochemical in its initial public offering prospectus from September 2007. Besides doubling its ethylene production capacity, the project also includes: 300,000-TPA polypropylene; 600,000-TPA gasoline hydrocracking; 400,000-TPA aromatic hydrocarbon extraction; and 250,000-TPA and 300,000-TPA all-density ethylene production facilities. The total investment in the project is about $1.9 billion.

In the 1990s, Daqing Petrochemical expanded the production capacity of its ethylene unit from 300,000 TPA to 350,000 TPA and then again to 480,000 TPA. In 2006, the company reached a total capacity of 600,000 TPA with its two sets of ethylene units, achieving $5.2 billion in sales revenue the same year. In June 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the company's application to double its ethylene capacity.

Construction on the project is expected to take 42 months with production set to begin in 2011. Upon completion, Daqing Petrochemical will produce 610,000 TPA of propylene; 220,000 TPA of butadiene; 1.09 million TPA of polyethylene; 400,000 TPA of polypropylene; 160,000 TPA of 3-polybutadiene rubber; and 200,000 TPA of octanol.

It is estimated that the project will bring $5.5 billion GDP to Heilongjiang Province every year, contributing greatly to the nation's overall plan to revive old industrial towns in northeastern China.

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