Sinopec Group's Oil-Processing Capacity Surpasses 4 Million Barrels per Day

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--China Petrochemical Corporation's (Sinopec Group) (Beijing) oil-processing capacity grew 289,000 barrels per day (BBL/d), and the group's comprehensive oil-processing capacity surpassed 4 million BBL/d in 2008. Of this, the processing capacity of crude oil with high sulfur content surpassed 1.48 million BBL/d; the processing capacity of crude oil with high acid content surpassed 214,000 BBL/d. In 2008, the amount of Sinopec Group's total processed crude oil increased 4.34%. The output of gasoline and diesel increased 9.03% year over year, and its primary processing capacity jumped to the top three in the world. The information was disclosed by the Oil Refining Business Unit of Sinopec Group on January 15, 2009.

In 2008, Sinopec Group's comprehensive capability on oil refining improved through continuously updating the company's infrastructure facilities. Qingdao Oil Refinery was successfully commissioned. Renovations of its oil refining facilities in Gaoqiao, Wuhan and Luoyang were put into operation. Preparation of large oil-refining projects in Fujian, Tianjin and Zhenhai also progressed. Presently, the maximum capacity of Sinopec Group's atmospheric vacuum distillation unit has reached 10 million metric tons per year, and the maximum capacity of catalytic cracking devices reached 3 million metric tons per year. Both the total oil-processing capacity and the average capacity of single units continued improving.

In 2008, Sinopec Group's processing capacity of inferior crude oil was largely improved. So far, Sinopec Group has eight bases for processing crude oil with high sulfur content in operation, including Zhenhai, Maomen, Jinling and Guangzhou. In 2008, Sinopec Group's processing volume of crude oil with high sulfur content and high acid content increased 20% and 35% respectively. Although the percentage of imported low-quality oil increased by 5%, the percentage of premium gasoline in Sinopec Group's total gasoline output improved 8%. The ratio of heavy oil and bitumen dropped 1.5% year over year.

Structural adjustment and technical innovation make Sinopec Group's industrial layout more reasonable. So far, Sinopec Group has established three large and integrated enterprise clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the Bohai Bay Area. In 2008, the number of Sinopec Group's processing enterprises with an annual capacity of more than 107,000 BBL/d reached 18, and the number of 214,000-BBL/d refining bases increased from four to nine.

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