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On March 22, Sinopec signed a framework agreement on the ethylene refining and chemical integration project in the Yueyang area with Hunan Province, jointly opening a new chapter in corporate-local cooperation. The construction of a 1.5 million tons per year ethylene refining and chemical integration project in the Yueyang area is in line with Sinopec’s development strategy as well as the industry trend of reducing oil production and increasing chemical production. Sinopec has ranked this project among the top three ethylene projects to be implemented during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Since the beginning of this year, state-owned refining and petrochemical companies, including Sinopec, have embarked on a campaign to expand their capacity, announcing the construction of multiple large-scale ethylene plants. State-owned enterprises are pushing to expand their production capacity. On March 16, the \"National Standard 4\" unit of the Tianjin Nangang ethylene project began operations. This project cluster consists of 11 different projects, including the Tianjin Nangang ethylene plant with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons, as well as a cluster of high-end new material industries, and key projects such as the pilot production facility of the Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Technology. Nangang Ethylene is expected to be completed in 2023, with the entire project cluster set to be finished by 2025. On March 10, Saudi Aramco announced that it had made a final investment decision to cooperate with Northern Industrial Group and Liaoning Panjin Xincheng Group to develop a large-scale integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in northeastern China. As originally designed, the project will process 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day (SAUDI ARAMCO supplying 70% of the required crude oil), along with the production of 1.5 million tons of ethylene and 1.3 million tons of p-xylene per year. On the same day, Fujian Zhongsha Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Fujian Energy Chemical Group and the global petrochemical giant SABIC, was officially established. This company will invest in the construction of the SABIC Gulei Ethylene Project at the Gulei Petrochemical Complex, which includes an ethylene production facility with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons, along with a range of downstream processing units. Not long ago, the Light Hydrocarbons Comprehensive Utilization and New Material Transformation Project of Nanjing Yangzi Petrochemical Co., Ltd. was included in the \"2022 List of Provincial Key Projects\" issued by Jiangsu Province. The project will build a steam cracking unit for ethylene production with an annual capacity of 1 million tons, an HDPE production unit with an annual capacity of 350,000 tons, an LLDPE production unit with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons, and a PP production unit with an annual capacity of 400,000 tons. Construction is scheduled to begin by March 30, 2022, with Phase 3 being fully completed and put into operation by December 2027. On February 8, the transformation and upgrading project of PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Company—one of the key projects under China National Petroleum Corporation’s and Jilin Province’s 14th Five-Year Plan—was launched in Jilin City. The main components include: building 21 refining and chemical plants, including ones with a capacity of 1.2 million tons per year for ethylene and 600,000 tons per year for ABS; upgrading 9 plants; and shutting down 7 plants, including one with an ethylene production capacity of 150,000 tons per year. 10 million tons of new production capacity will be added within two years. In 2021, China’s ethylene production capacity was 41.68 million tons per year, with a production volume of 37.47 million tons; the consumption of ethylene equivalent was 58.32 million tons, giving a self-sufficiency rate of around 64%. Although the new production capacity has set a record, the degree of dependence on external sources remains high. By the end of 2021, China had around 60 ethylene production enterprises. In terms of the participants, an industrial competition landscape has emerged in recent years, with Sinopec and CNPC playing a leading role, while other companies also take an active part in this industry. In 2021, China’s imports and exports of ethylene both increased. In 2021, China’s ethylene imports increased by 4.6% on a year-on-year basis ； Export volumes increased significantly, by as much as 103.2%. China remains a net importer of ethylene. China’s ethylene consumption structure is diversified. In 2021, polyethylene remained the largest consumer of ethylene in China, serving as the key sector driving ethylene consumption, followed by areas such as ethylene glycol, ethylene oxide, and styrene. Between 2022 and 2023, 12 new ethylene production facilities will come online in China, adding a capacity of nearly 10 million tons per year. With large private petrochemical companies such as Zhejiang Petrochemical, Shenghong Refining & Chemical, and Hengli Petrochemical accelerating their entry into the industry, the market share of the two national oil companies is gradually being eroded. Will these new expansion plans by state-owned enterprises lead to another round of reshuffling in the petrochemical industry? Striving to capture the high-end market, Sinopec has also intensified its efforts in developing high-end specialty materials amid fierce market competition. The development directions for specialty materials by several major companies in 2021 are as follows: Development directions for polyethylene specialty materials by Shanghai Petrochemical in 2021 (5): ● Films: MH902, a specialty material for matte films; specialty materials for linear low-density films used in heavy packaging, as well as materials for soft packaging of batteries ； ●Hollow: Medical hollow materials ； ●Pipe material: Large-diameter pipe, black material YGH041T ； Development directions for Yanshan Petrochemical’s polyethylene-specific materials in 2021 (3): ● Cables: MPE E332H, a material specifically designed for metalized waterproof membranes ； ●Diaphragm: Special high-molecular-weight polyethylene material dedicated for lithium battery diaphragms ； ●Photovoltaic: EVA photovoltaic material C28V25 ； Development directions for polyethylene-specific materials at Qilu Petrochemical in 2021 (1): ● Building materials: mPE E332H, a material specific for metallocene-based waterproofing membranes ； Development directions for polyethylene specialty materials at Yangzi Petrochemical in 2021 (5): ● Packaging: Metallocene medium-density heavy packaging film material mPE F331F, metallocene heavy packaging film mPE-L F181F, stretch-wrapped film material mPE-L F184P ； ●Pipe material: Heat-resistant uncrosslinked polyethylene pipe material mPE P3806R ； ●Photovoltaic: EVA photovoltaic material ； Development directions for polyethylene specialty materials at Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd. in 2021 (4): ● Cables: Specialty insulation material for low-voltage cables, PE-L J182 ； ●Films: ZF4523ZC, a special material for high-temperature and high-permeability film; 4527D, a special material for aluminum-coated films; 2420K, a special material for LDPE composite films ； Development directions for polyethylene specialty materials at Maoming Petrochemical in 2021 (8): ● Cables: High-density polyethylene communication cable material TR210 ； ●Hollow: Special material for blow molding medium-sized hollow containers suitable for stacking, HXM50100N ； ●Films: Special material 2420H for low-crystal-point electron protection films, repackaging film mPE F331F, heat-shrink film mPE F3306S, transparent film for food packaging 2420K, composite film for food packaging 2430K ； ●Agricultural film: Greenhouse film mPE F181ZR ； Development directions for polyethylene-specific materials at Tianjin Petrochemical (5): ● Films: Ultra-low density polyethylene LX-1612, LX-0505, LX-1010, LX-0820, LX-0840 ； Development directions for polyethylene specialty materials at Zhongyuan Petrochemical in 2021 (1): ● Films: High melt index PE-L M2750.