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1. Another environmental protection project at Fujian United Petrochemicals commenced construction. On the morning of December 26, the key environmental protection project of Fujian United Petrochemicals Co., Ltd. – the renovation project for transporting oily wastewater from the old factory site – officially started. This project will upgrade the existing oily wastewater system in the old refinery area, and a new oily wastewater collection tank will be built to collect oily wastewater from units such as the refinery facilities and tank farms. This wastewater is then pumped to the wastewater treatment plant for processing. The construction of this project is highly complex, with numerous coordination interfaces required. It involves collaboration among various specialties such as process piping, electrical systems, instrumentation, mechanical equipment, civil engineering structures, and water supply and drainage systems. The project covers multiple areas, including those dedicated to utilities, primary refining, storage and transportation, secondary refining, and aromatics – a total of 35 units. Fourteen new water collection tanks will be built, along with 32 additional pumps for handling oily wastewater. To ensure effective project construction management, the company’s Production Department and Mechanical Equipment Department have formed a project management team to coordinate all aspects of the work comprehensively, establish a clear construction schedule, and guarantee that the project will be completed and put into use by June 2024. Once completed and put into operation, this environmental protection project will effectively address the potential environmental hazards associated with the oily wastewater system in the old refinery area, thereby significantly reducing environmental risks. 2. Commissioning of Wanhua Chemical’s MDI project in Fujian On December 22, Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. issued a announcement. The 400,000-ton/year diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) production facility of Wanhua Chemical (Fujian) Isocyanate Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Wanhua Chemical, has been fully operational, and qualified products were produced on December 22. It is reported that Wanhua Chemical (Fujian) Co., Ltd. was established in March 2021 as a joint venture between Wanhua Chemical and Fujian Petrochemical Group Co., Ltd., with shares held at 80% and 20% respectively. The company is building a project for MDI and aniline production with an annual capacity of 400,000 tons; the first phase involves constructing an MDI plant with an annual capacity of 400,000 tons, while the second phase includes the construction of plants for *** production with an annual capacity of 480,000 tons and an aniline plant with an annual capacity of 360,000 tons. Piling for the first-phase MDI plant began in December 2020; the installation of large-scale equipment was carried out on August 21, 2021, and the plant was officially put into operation on December 22, 2022. At present, Wanhua Chemical is the only company in China that holds independent intellectual property rights for the manufacturing technologies of all series of isocyanates, including MDI, TDI, and ADI. Its business operations cover four major industrial clusters: polyurethanes, petrochemicals, fine chemicals, and emerging materials. Wanhua Chemical stated that the commissioning of the Fujian project will further optimize the company’s MDI production layout and enhance its competitiveness in the global industry. In addition, in 2021, Wanhua Chemical completed a capacity expansion project for its MDI plant in Yantai, increasing its MDI production capacity to 2.65 million tons. This makes the company the world’s largest MDI producer, with a global market share of nearly 30%. In December 2022, the 400,000-ton/year MDI project in Fuqing, Fujian was put into operation. At present, Wanhua Chemical has an MDI production capacity of 3.05 million tons per year, with 1.1 million tons per year in Yantai, Shandong; 1.2 million tons per year in Ningbo, Zhejiang; 0.4 million tons per year in Fuqing, Fujian; and 0.35 million tons per year in Borsod, Hungary. At present, Wanhua has developed the latest “6th-generation+” MDI technology, and is carrying out technical upgrades to the existing MDI plants at its Ningbo facility in order to increase their total production capacity to 1.8 million tons per year. The first phase of these upgrades will raise the production capacity from 400,000 tons per year to 600,000 tons per year, while the second phase will increase it from 800,000 tons per year to 1.2 million tons per year. Once the MDI project at the Ningbo facility is put into operation, Wanhua Chemical’s total MDI production capacity will reach 3.65 million tons per year. CICC predicts that, aside from Wanhua Chemical, only Kumho Mitsui and BASF will have modest capacity expansions for MDI in the coming years. New MDI production capacity worldwide will continue to concentrate around Wanhua Chemical, and it is expected that Wanhua’s market share in MDI will keep rising, thereby further strengthening its leading position. The release of Wanhua Chemical’s MDI production capacity is roughly in line with global demand growth. As the domestic economy gradually recovers, demand for MDI in China is expected to improve over time, which will drive an upward trend in MDI prices and profits.