【Major News】Top 10 News Stories in China’s Petroleum and Chemical Industry in 2016

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Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, 2016 has passed. Looking at the development of the petroleum and chemical industries over the past year, it has been a period of great changes and fluctuations. China Chemical Industry News reviews the development of the petroleum and chemical industry in 2016, helping you summarize the achievements of that year as we welcome 2017. Here, please follow our lead as we take a look at the top ten news stories in the petrochemical industry in 2016. 1. The development and application of a complete set of aromatic hydrocarbon technologies won the **Special Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress. On January 8, 2016, the project \"Development and Application of High-Efficiency, Environmentally Friendly Aromatic Hydrocarbon Technologies\" submitted by Sinopec Group was awarded the **Special Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress. Our country has become the third country, after the United States and France, to fully master this technology. 2 Sinochem’s $43 billion bid to acquire Swiss agrochemical and seed company Syngenta On February 3, 2016, Sinochem Group announced its intention to acquire Syngenta, the Swiss agrochemical and seed company, through a public offer at a cost of $43 billion, making it the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese company to date. 3**Strict control over the establishment of new petrochemical and coal chemical projects in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. On February 23, 2016, the **National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued the \"Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Prevention, Control, and Management of Environmental Pollution in the Yangtze River’s vital waterway,\" which explicitly called for strict controls on the construction of new petrochemical and coal chemical projects in the areas along the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. 4 Chinese independent refineries join forces to gain more influence in crude oil procurement. On February 29, 2016, 16 companies that already had or were applying for the qualifications to import and use crude oil announced in Jinan the establishment of the China (Independent Refineries) Petroleum Procurement Alliance. This alliance aimed to create a platform for centralized procurement of imported crude oil, enabling unified purchasing, collective negotiations, consistent pricing, centralized settlement, centralized financing, and usage based on each company’s allocated quota. 5 sets of industrial demonstration units for super suspended bed technology were successfully commissioned. On April 15, 2016, Beijing Sanju Environmental Protection New Materials Co., Ltd. officially announced that the first set of domestically developed industrial demonstration units for super suspended bed technology in China, jointly created by Sanju Environmental Protection and Beijing Huashi, was successfully commissioned and operated continuously and stably, marking China’s entry into the ranks of world leaders in heavy oil processing technology. 6 China plays a leading role in formulating international standards for controlled-release fertilizers. On April 15, 2016, the international standard for fertilizers and soil conditioners titled \"Controlled-Release Fertilizers\", with the designation ISO 18644, was officially issued and put into effect. This is the first international standard for a fertilizer product developed under China’s leadership. 7 The China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Science Popularization Alliance was established. On June 5, 2016, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Science Popularization Alliance was founded in Beijing, triggering positive responses and widespread attention from all sectors of society as well as within and outside the industry; it was described as \"marking the beginning of a new era in science popularization within the petroleum and chemical industry.\" 8 chemical industrial parks were identified by the central environmental inspection team. **With intensified environmental inspections, in 2016, chemical-related industrial parks such as the Lingang Industrial Zone in Guanyun County, Lianyungang City, the Chemical Industry Park in Guannan County, the Yifeng Industrial Park in Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, the Leping Industrial Park in Jingdezhen City, and the Fengchao Industrial Park in Wannian County were criticized by the central environmental inspection team due to pollution issues. 9 China’s first large-scale outdoor tire test site achieves a breakthrough. On October 18, 2016, the Central Asia Tire Test Site, built by Linglong Group at a cost of 1.133 billion yuan, became operational in Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province. Thus, China has achieved a breakthrough from zero in terms of large-scale outdoor comprehensive tire test sites. 10 Oil products produced by the Shenhua Ningxia Coal Indirect Liquefaction Project
On December 28, 2016, the 4-million-ton-per-year coal indirect liquefaction demonstration project of Shenhua Ningxia Group began producing oil. This is currently the world’s largest coal indirect liquefaction project in terms of total investment, scale of the facilities, and ownership of independent intellectual property rights.