Thread Content
In the Beibu Gulf in November, the “Rapid Cooling Twin Towers” shrouded in morning mist complement each other beautifully with the cross-sea “Longmen Bridge”. At 12:58 on November 8, accompanied by the sound of a ship’s horn, the vessel “Ruigao Pattern”, carrying 3,700 tons of styrene, slowly departed from Guangxi Petrochemical’s 100,000-ton dock. This marked the successful shipment of Guangxi Petrochemical’s first batch of styrene, and the official opening of the full maritime transportation route for products from Guangxi Petrochemical’s ethylene project. As China National Petroleum Corporation’s first refining transformation project aimed at integrating refining and chemical production, the launch of the ethylene plant at Guangxi Petrochemical represents a strategy based on a combination of basic and high-end products, as well as specialization, high quality, and differentiation. It serves as an important catalyst for industrial upgrading in the southwest region and helps to connect the domestic and international economic cycles. Breaking the deadlock: A last-ditch effort amidst threefold dilemmas. The construction of the petrochemical ethylene project in Guangxi is not merely an expansion of production capacity; it is a battle to break the deadlock and ensure survival and development. From enterprises to regions and then to industries, the convergence of these three challenges makes this transformation a tough battle that must be won. At the beginning of 2020, on the desks of the Planning and Science and Technology Information Department of Guangxi Petrochemical, two tables reflected the company’s concerns regarding its survival: one contained statistics on the declining sales volume of refined oil products, while the other was an analysis of the current situation regarding imports of high-end chemical products. At that time, this refinery, which began operations in the southwest in 2010 with a capacity of tens of millions of tons of \"fuel-grade\" products, was facing its most severe challenges in the 10 years since its inception. At that time, the yield of light chemical oils in our country was far lower than the international advanced level. In addition, there is a high degree of dependence on imports for high-end chemical products such as electronic-grade chemicals and high-performance resins; the import dependency for some of these products exceeds 70%, which has become a bottleneck to the upgrading of the manufacturing industry. “The structural contradiction of \"more oil and less refined products\" is particularly evident in this large refinery in the southwest; with refined products accounting for over 70% of its output, it faces difficulties in competing in the market. Behind this contradiction lies the path dependence of traditional refineries toward processing heavy oil rather than light products, as well as a lack of core technologies. “Enterprise development should be planned within the **broader context of development. ”Dai Houliang, chairman of the group company and secretary of its Party leadership group, said earnestly during his inspection of Guangxi Petrochemical. Faced with industry trends such as a saturated domestic refined oil market and surging demand for chemical products, large-scale refineries must shift from a \"fuel-oriented\" model to one focused on \"chemical products and organic materials\" in order to find new paths for growth amid industry changes. “If I don’t change course, it’s just waiting to die ； If you can’t make the turn properly, it’s a death sentence. ”These words spoken by Wang Shengwei, the then deputy general manager in charge of planning and development, at the project preparation meeting reflected the determination to fight to the end. In the layout of China’s petrochemical industry, a pattern of “stronger in the east and weaker in the west” has persisted for a long time. East and South China account for over 60% of the country’s ethylene production capacity, while the Southwest region, as an important industrial base in China, has long suffered from a shortage in the supply of basic chemical raw materials on a million-ton scale. This “geographical imbalance” directly causes regional industries to fall into a predicament of “passive dependence”. “Previously, we purchased SBS products from Maoming and other places. The transportation cost per ton exceeded 200 yuan, and the stability of the supply was greatly affected by logistics conditions and market fluctuations. ”Zhang Tianding, head of an asphalt production enterprise under Guangxi Communications Investment located in the Qinzhou Petrochemical Industrial Park in Guangxi, expressed his helplessness regarding the industrial chain. More importantly, the core raw materials in the high-end new materials sector have long been dependent on imports, leaving the Southwest region at a disadvantage in the development of industries such as electronics and information technology, as well as automobile manufacturing. The construction of the Guangxi Petrochemical Ethylene Project has enabled Guangxi to gain, for the first time, the capability to supply basic chemical raw materials on a large scale. It has not only put an end to the long-standing shortage of production capacity for high-end new material raw materials in the Southwest region, but also filled a crucial gap in the modern chemical industry chain, laying the foundation for the region’s industries to become “self-reliant and under control”. For Guangxi Petrochemical, this transformation also carries a more profound mission. It is not only about finding ways for enterprises to survive, but also a practical effort to overcome the dilemma of the petrochemical industry being large in scale yet not strong enough – by pursuing a strategy of \"reducing oil production and increasing chemical production, as well as pursuing high-end transformation\", it provides a replicable model for transformation in this industry. Breaking new ground: Creating an efficient, sophisticated, and environmentally sustainable industry benchmark. Transformation is imperative; the question of how to develop a benchmark project that serves as a model for the entire industry has become the most pressing issue. There are two paths ahead: either rely on the existing oil refining infrastructure and expand along the existing aromatic chemicals industry chain, which offers low investment costs and rapid results, but is limited by a lack of diversity in basic chemical products, making it difficult to meet the urgent needs for the upgrading of regional industries to higher levels ； Alternatively, one can break free from path dependence, make independent innovation the core, and shift toward the high-end chemical industry segment led by ethylene. By adopting cutting-edge domestic and international technologies and equipment, it’s possible to proactively break the stalemate. This approach allows for greater control over development, but it entails substantial upfront investment and technical complexity. How to choose? Development must take the long term into account and plan for the future. In line with its industrial development strategy, Guangxi Petrochemical has firmly chosen a dual-driven approach based on technological innovation and managerial innovation. It adopts a strategy centered on \"basic capabilities plus high-end technologies\" as well as \"specialization, high-end features, and differentiation\" to address various challenges. While working to fill the gap in ethylene production capacity at the million-ton level in the southwestern region, the company also aims to seize a leading position in the field of high-end chemical materials through independent technological breakthroughs. Ultimately, it seeks to establish a modern integrated petrochemical complex that features an annual ethylene production capacity of 1.2 million tons, along with 14 chemical processing units, 2 refining units, and various supporting facilities, thereby creating an industry benchmark with significant scale advantages. The most representative one is the world’s largest diesel adsorption separation unit with a capacity of 2 million tons per year. During the project preparation phase, the technical team faced a dilemma. On one hand, there is the option of using high-pressure hydrogenation unit retrofitting; this technology is mature, but the retrofitting costs are high and the economic benefits are poor. On one hand, there is the use of \"molecular engineering\" technology developed independently by Sinopec, which can increase the utilization rate of raw materials by 15%, offering good economic benefits; however, this is the first time such technology is being applied on an industrial scale. “If only short-term interests are considered, choosing mature technology is the safest option ； But when considering the long-term prospects for industrial development and the overall situation regarding technological independence, independent innovation is the only way forward! ”Tan Xiaowu, a member of the transformation task force and process engineer, recalled, \"The lights in the meeting room were on for three consecutive nights; after intense discussions, ‘independent innovation’ became the final consensus.\" ” This breakthrough in autonomous technology has completely transformed the traditional, extensive separation method based on batch processing; it enables precise separation into high-quality raw materials for ethylene production and aromatic compounds with high added value, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency. Huang Bingyao, a technical specialist from Kunlun Engineering Company, explained: \"The facility uses a new generation of high-efficiency adsorbents of the second type, adsorption tower grids with a diameter of 9 meters, as well as an independently developed SMIL control system. Upon operation, it reached a level that is ahead of the global standard, setting a benchmark for process upgrades in this industry.\" ” The core unit of the project is the 1.2 million tons per year ethylene plant, which utilizes a large-scale ethylene production process developed by CNPC through its own intellectual property; the proportion of domestically produced equipment in this plant exceeds 98%. Li Chunyan, the person in charge of pyrolysis technology at Global Engineering Company, pointed to the pyrolysis furnace, which is over 50 meters tall, and said, “The furnace tubes are made of chromium-nickel alloy material, and heat flux is precisely controlled through coupled heat transfer technology; the technical specifications are superior to those of similar foreign technologies.” Among them, the F1701 pyrolyzer is China National Petroleum Corporation’s first pyrolyzer that truly employs factory-based, modular construction methods. ”These technological advancements have not only reduced the project’s reliance on foreign technologies but also lifted the level of manufacturing large-scale ethylene equipment in our country to a new height. In the Beibu Gulf, where temperatures are high, rainfall is frequent, and typhoons occur often, a construction miracle achieved through relentless efforts was brought to life in a race against time. On July 29, 2023, the ethylene project at Guangxi Petrochemical began construction on a full scale. Guided by CNPC’s \"six modernizations\" philosophy of \"standardized design, centralized procurement, factory-based prefabrication, modular construction, intelligent management, and digital delivery,\" the construction team set an industry record by completing the project to high standards in just 23 months. In the 9-kilometer-long pipeline tunnel construction area, the traditional on-site single-column single-beam installation method has been completely overturned. “We assemble the pipe corridors into modular units in the prefabrication yard and then transport them to the site for assembly, which not only reduces the need for a large amount of work at heights but also improves construction efficiency. ”Xu Jianshu, manager of the Engineering Management Department, explained. In September 2025, Xu Jianshu, representing tens of thousands of construction workers, was moved as he received the \"Touching Petroleum\" award trophy, saying, \"Using the latest construction concepts, we have built a model project in the Typhoon-prone Beibu Gulf – all our efforts were worth it!\" ” From the very beginning of its design, the project has embraced \"green and low-carbon\" principles throughout. At the 210-mu chemical plant ground flare area, Zhu Chunqiang, deputy manager of Storage and Transportation Department 1, explained: “This is China Petroleum’s largest chemical plant ground flare area.” Compared to traditional high-altitude flares, it has a higher burn rate, lower noise levels, and prevents light pollution, fully meeting the **requirements for the green development of petrochemical enterprises. ” By optimizing the process routes and energy recovery systems, the project has enabled the energy consumption metrics of both the refining and ethylene plants to reach internationally leading levels. At the same time, thanks to the new renewable energy power generation projects in Guangxi, 100% of the additional electricity consumption is met by green energy, thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions. Breaking down barriers – reshaping the landscape of the petrochemical industry. One move, and the entire situation changes. The commissioning of the ethylene project at Guangxi Petrochemical is not only the success of a single project, but also a reshaping of the development landscape for **, the region, and the entire industry. From overcoming critical bottlenecks to fostering regional cooperation, from setting industry benchmarks to integrating into the dual-circulation strategy, its strategic significance is gradually becoming apparent. Based in the Greater Southwest, it activates the \"dual circulation\" strategy. With the commissioning of the ethylene project at Guangxi Petrochemical, its role in addressing weaknesses and strengthening industrial chains is becoming increasingly evident. Once the project is put into operation, it will enable a reduction of oil production by 3.49 million tons per year, while increasing the production of chemical products by 3.06 million tons. Moreover, the high-quality polyolefins and SSBR products produced will directly fill the gaps in domestic supply, helping to address the structural imbalance in China of having more oil than chemicals. “The independent production of these high-end products ensures the upgrading of the manufacturing sector in China’s southwest region. ”Xu Pu, the chief expert at Guangxi Petrochemical, said. A grander collaborative narrative is being written. As the largest petrochemical industry hub in the southwest region, Guangxi Petrochemicals forms industrial alliances with refining and chemical enterprises in Guangdong, Dalian and other places through a model of \"mutual supply of raw materials and complementary products\", thereby promoting the coordinated development of China’s petrochemical industry. At the same time, by leveraging the advantages of the Beibu Gulf ports, it expands access to the ASEAN market and facilitates the export of high-end chemical products, thereby serving as a bridge for China’s petrochemical industry to expand its operations overseas. For the southwestern region, the commissioning of the Guangxi Petrochemical Ethylene Project represents an industrial revolution from scratch. It not only enabled Guangxi to gain the capacity to supply chemical raw materials in the millions of tons for the first time, but also, through its role as a leading force, facilitated the restructuring of the regional industrial ecosystem. In the Qinzhou Petrochemical Industrial Park, 5 downstream chemical enterprises have already set up operations there thanks to Guangxi Petrochemical’s supply model that allows for delivery across partitions. Tang Yanfa, director of the Office for the Reform and Development of Qingzhou Industrial Park, said that by leveraging the raw material advantages of Guangxi Petrochemicals, the Qingzhou Petrochemical Industrial Park is establishing a diversified raw material supply system based on oil, coal, gas, and salt, with a focus on developing high-end functional materials, electronic chemicals, and materials for new energy batteries. “We plan to develop a complete petrochemical industry chain based on the needs of industries such as electronic information and automobile manufacturing, turning the southwestern region into an ‘industrial hub’. ” The practice of the Guangxi Petrochemical ethylene project provides a mature, replicable and scalable solution for the transformation of traditional refineries. Its transformation path of \"reducing oil use and enhancing quality\" along with its development orientation of \"high-end, green, and intelligent\" features are becoming benchmarks for the industry to follow. A responsible official from China National Petroleum Corporation’s Refining, Chemicals, and New Materials Division said, “The impact of the ethylene project on downstream industries is 1:7. We aim not only to promote the development of Guangxi Petrochemicals but also to make our due contribution to the advancement and upgrading of the petrochemical industry across the country.” ” As the sun set, the sea breeze from the Beibu Gulf blew across the towers of the ethylene plant, while the lights on the docks of Qinzhou Port complemented those of the plant. This young \"petrochemical city\" is using ethylene production as a driving force to propel the petrochemical industry in the southwest region toward a new path of \"high-end development, sustainability, and regional cooperation\"; it is writing a new chapter in the oil industry within the grand framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.