In-depth article ‖ An exploration of Yunnan’s 13 million tons per year oil refining project, including the facilities and process technologies!

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In-depth article ‖ An exploration of Yunnan’s 13 million tons per year oil refining project, including the facilities and process technologies! Join hands with Petrochemical Destiny to create a better future! Introduction: Yunnan is located in the southwestern part of China; it is connected to the Silk Road Economic Belt to the north and to the Maritime Silk Road to the south. It is the only province in China that can establish land connections with Southeast Asia and South Asia, making it an important node in the Belt and Road Initiative. Yunnan is also the \"throat\" of the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline, which is China’s fourth-largest oil and gas import route, giving it great strategic importance. CNPC invested in Yunnan to establish a large-scale refining company, Yunnan Petrochemical Company, which is primarily responsible for the construction of the refining project in Yunnan as well as its operation once it is completed. Next, join Shihua Yuan to learn about the detailed information and latest progress of the Yunnan Petrochemical Refinery Project! 1. Project Overview: Yunnan Petrochemical was registered on May 25, 2011, and is primarily responsible for the construction of the oil refining project in Yunnan Petrochemical as well as its operation once it is completed. The Yunnan refining project, officially known as the Sino-Saudi Aramco joint venture Yunnan 13 million tons per year refining project, is an important supporting facility for the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline. The construction site is located within the Anning Industrial Park in Yunnan Province, covering a total area of 300 hectares. The estimated total investment approved for the feasibility study amounts to 29.207 billion yuan. On July 23, 2016, the Yunnan Provincial Development and Reform Commission approved the project. As a large-scale oil refining enterprise invested in and built by CNPC, Yunnan Petrochemical is primarily responsible for the construction of the Yunnan oil refining project as well as its subsequent production and operations. More importantly, it serves to ensure the ** petroleum supply. Yunnan Petrochemical is China’s largest modern refinery with a capacity of 10 million tons, featuring the most comprehensive processes, a full range of facilities, and the most advanced technology (learn about the early stages of this project). Using crude oil transported via the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline as raw material, the new refinery is able to supply high-quality refined products to five provinces and municipalities in the southwest region, including Yunnan, on an annual basis. This helps to fill the local gap in refined products and meets the needs of social and economic development in this area. Upon completion and operation, the oil refining project will stimulate the development of related industries such as downstream petrochemical industries, railway and road transportation, pipeline transport, oil product sales, electricity, and warehousing. 2. Process technology and plant configuration: The Yunnan refining project adopts a full hydrogenation process route and is a fuel-type refinery. The entire plant comprises 17 main units, including atmospheric and vacuum distillation, light hydrocarbon recovery, catalytic cracking, combined dewaxing, gas fractionation, MTBE production, wax oil hydrocracking, residue hydrodesulfurization, straight-run diesel hydrorefining, gasoline and diesel upgrading, aviation fuel hydrogenation, catalytic gasoline hydrogenation, continuous reforming–aromatics combination, isomerization, delayed coking, hydrogen production combination, and sulfur recovery combination. The main process equipment utilizes first-class technologies from home and abroad. For atmospheric and vacuum distillation, vacuum deep stripping technology is employed; the fast separation system in the catalytic cracking riser uses UOP’s VSS technology. The residue hydrogenation process makes use of Chevron’s technology, while hydrocracking, isomerization, and continuous reforming utilize UOP technology. The hydrogen production process relies on Dehongib technology, and the sulfur recovery process employs KTI technology. Key technical and economic indicators such as the comprehensive commodity rate and energy consumption per unit are at an advanced level in China. The Yunnan refining project adopts a fully hydrogenated processing route that includes atmospheric and vacuum distillation, residue hydrodesulfurization, catalytic cracking, and hydrocracking. It is also the first PMC project for a refining and petrochemical facility undertaken by China Petroleum Engineering Construction Company (CPECC). As the key unit under CPECC, CNPC First Construction Company is primarily responsible for the construction of major facilities such as the residue hydrodesulfurization unit, heavy oil catalytic cracking unit, wax oil hydrocracking unit, Section I of the product storage area, flare systems and flare gas recovery facilities, as well as electrical, instrumentation, and telecommunications projects across the entire plant. This project mainly produces clean fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and aviation kerosene that meet National Standard V, serving primarily Yunnan Province and extending its impact to the southwestern region. Designed with a processing capacity of 13 million tons per year, the gasoline-to-diesel ratio is 1.8 as per the original design; this ratio can be reduced to 1.46 after process optimization. Approximately 3.76 million tons of gasoline are produced annually, 5.48 million tons of diesel, and 1.2 million tons of aviation fuel. The maximum production capacity for aviation fuel can reach 1.8 million tons per year. 3. Latest Progress of the Yunnan Refining Project On July 11, 2016, six major construction components of the Yunnan Petrochemical storage and transportation area (crude oil tank area, intermediate tank area, product tank area, pressure tank area, and foam station) as well as the chemical warehouse passed the fire safety inspections successfully, indicating that the Yunnan Refining Project is gradually moving from the construction phase to the commissioning stage. On July 23, 2016, all 16 approval procedures for documents such as the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and the Feasibility Study Report for Yunnan Petrochemical’s refining project were completed, and the project was approved. On August 27, 2016, 15 projects at Yunnan Petrochemical’s 13-million-ton-per-year oil refining project, including the heavy oil catalytic cracking unit, reached the handover stage. Among them, the catalytic cracking unit with an annual capacity of 3.3 million tons, the residue hydrodesulfurization unit with an annual capacity of 4 million tons, and the wax oil hydrocracking unit with an annual capacity of 2.1 million tons, all constructed by China National Petroleum First Construction Company, have entered the stage of production preparation, testing, and commissioning. It is understood that out of the 50 procedures required to get started, 30 have already been completed. Three additional procedures – namely, the industrial product production license, the procedures for opening the railway line, and the qualifications needed for transporting hazardous goods – need to be handled after trial production is completed and the railway line is finished. Due to the timing associated with obtaining the inspection certificate for pressure pipelines, it is expected that these procedures will be completed by March 2017. In terms of the units, aside from the sulfur treatment complex being affected by foundation settlement, and the residue hydrogenation unit not yet completing water flushing and water commissioning due to construction delays, all other units have completed water flushing, water commissioning, and preliminary airtightness testing ； The atmospheric and vacuum combined unit has completed the heating-up of the atmospheric furnace and the vacuum furnace; tasks such as steam purging, pressure testing, airtightness checks, thermal tightening, and vacuum pumping are currently in progress ； The catalytic complex is currently in the process of drying the linings of the two reactors ； The reforming complex and the hydrogenation complex are undergoing furnace drying operations ； The hydrogen production complex has completed catalyst loading and is ready for furnace drying ； Out of 77 large units, 57 have completed their trial operations; testing of the turbines individually and combined testing of the compressors is currently in progress. Meanwhile, according to sources familiar with Yunnan Petrochemical, the project is scheduled to become operational in the second quarter of 2017. At that time, production of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel is expected to exceed 10 million tons. Besides meeting Yunnan’s domestic demand, the output will also serve neighboring regions such as Guizhou and Sichuan. During the project construction phase, the **\"National Standard V\" was introduced**, and in line with the requirements of the latest emission standards, the project was promptly optimized and adjusted, with all necessary approval procedures completed. In addition, Yunnan Petrochemical has also made a significant contribution to the economic growth of Yunnan Province. It is understood that during the construction phase, Yunnan Petrochemical has paid 340 million yuan in taxes to local authorities. Once the Yunnan oil refining project becomes operational, if it operates at its full capacity of 13 million tons per year, it is expected to pay approximately 18 billion yuan in taxes to both central and local governments each year. 4. Is there a PX project associated with the Yunnan oil refining project? The question of whether a 500,000-ton/year PX plant will be built as part of the Yunnan oil refining project (a comprehensive overview of currently operational, under construction, and planned aromatic projects) has drawn attention from Kunming residents. On May 4, 2013, PetroChina’s oil refining project in Kunming, with an annual capacity of ten million tons, raised concerns among locals regarding the surrounding environment; some citizens peacefully expressed their concerns on the streets of downtown Kunming. The safety of PX does not equate to the safety of PX projects. In the petrochemical industry, the probability of accidents having a significant impact on the environment is 1×10^-5 per year. However, due to the potential environmental and safety risks associated with PX facilities, there has always been considerable controversy surrounding their construction. In reality, within the entire petrochemical industry, PX is considered relatively safe. Meanwhile, Yunnan Petrochemical has repeatedly addressed public concerns, stating that the entire project does not include a PX facility nor does it produce any PX products. 5. Environmental protection approach of the Yunnan refining project: It is reported that Yunnan Petrochemical has invested 3.824 billion yuan in safety and environmental protection measures. During the design phase, an advanced and reliable DCS centralized control system was adopted to minimize the emission of sulfur dioxide. Comprehensive measures have been planned to address air pollution, water pollution, and solid waste pollution. For example, in terms of air pollution control, the advanced world-class CLAUS+RAR technology is employed, which increases the total sulfur recovery rate to 99.8%. Regarding water pollution control, a \"three-tier prevention and control system\" has been established: first, dikes are built in the tank areas and plant areas to prevent any leaked substances from spreading outside those areas ； Second, oil contamination collection ponds should be established around each production unit ； Thirdly, an accident water tank and two accident tanks have been installed for collection purposes, ensuring that all pollutants discharged from the entire plant during the final stage are collected. This prevents any discharge of wastewater exceeding permissible limits into the surrounding water bodies in case of an accident. The water consumption and wastewater discharge indicators per ton of processed product under this project far exceed the requirements set by the **first-level criteria for clean production. The wastewater storage capacity reaches 130,000 cubic meters, and during normal operation, millions of cubic meters of rainwater can be reused each year, thereby minimizing the consumption of fresh water. It has established a reliable and comprehensive emergency response system for safety and environmental protection, and was the first in the domestic oil refining industry to introduce specialized environmental emergency response teams. In addition, Yunnan Petrochemical has established a long-term communication mechanism with the public; it has also set up a Green Co-construction Committee together with local residents, local authorities, and NGO organizations. The company regards this committee as a supervisory and advisory body that possesses the rights to be informed, to participate, and to supervise, thereby enabling the achievement of multiple benefits such as corporate self-discipline, governmental oversight, and social supervision. 6. The significance of the Yunnan refining project: As an important supporting project for the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline, the Yunnan refining project will improve the overall layout of China’s refining and petrochemical industry, alleviate the supply and demand imbalance of refined oil in the southwest region, reduce the transportation costs of refined oil, and at the same time promote the development of infrastructure in that region. Once the project is operational, the transportation of refined oil across the various cities and prefectures in the province is expected to gradually shift to pipeline transportation, which will lead to a significant reduction in transportation costs. At the same time, Yunnan Province will further promote the implementation of a unified sales price for refined oil across the province, in order to reduce the burden of fuel costs in remote areas. The production process of PetroChina’s Yunnan oil refining project meets National Standard V. Once the project becomes operational, vehicles in Yunnan will be able to use gasoline that meets even higher standards, which will help effectively reduce air pollution caused by vehicle emissions. As a central enterprise, it has paid over 340 million yuan in taxes to the local authorities during the project construction phase ； Once the Yunnan refining project is completed and put into operation, if it operates at full capacity with a processing volume of 13 million tons per year, it will pay approximately 18 billion yuan in taxes to the ** government and local authorities each year. The products manufactured by this project can meet the demands of Yunnan, and at the same time supply refined oil to surrounding regions such as Guizhou and Sichuan.