From the Bohai Bay to the South China coast: A summary of the progress in the construction of large-scale integrated petrochemical projects in China
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Summary of the progress in the construction of large-scale integrated petrochemical projects in our country → I. Intensive project development at the start of the year: from the Bohai Bay to the southern coast. Since the beginning of 2026, several million-ton-scale ethylene projects have made significant progress, with advancements seen in the commissioning of key facilities, the launch of major projects, and the achievement of important milestones. Although the wave of capacity expansion during the 15th Five-Year Plan period has cooled down, the production capacity of projects planned in the early stage of the 14th Five-Year Plan is being brought online one after another, which will continue to exacerbate the mismatch between supply and demand. CNPC Dalian Petrochemical Xizhongdao Project: The first case of relocation in China. On January 14, information regarding the use of marine resources for the integrated refining and chemical processing project of CNPC Dalian Petrochemical Branch (Xizhongdao), with a total investment of 68.5 billion yuan, was made public; construction is scheduled to begin in 2026. This project is the first large-scale case in China of a refining and chemical enterprise being relocated and rebuilt; it will feature a new refinery with a capacity of 10 million tons per year, an ethylene plant with a capacity of 1.2 million tons per year, as well as associated downstream chemical processing facilities. The downstream product portfolio includes high-end polyolefins, comprising 1 plant with a capacity of 400,000 tons per year for PP, 2 plants with a capacity of 450,000 tons per year for FDPE, 1 plant with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year for LDPE, 1 plant with a capacity of 200,000 tons per year for POE, and 1 plant with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year for CHPPO – reflecting the strategic intention to shift toward products with higher added value. Huajin-Aramco Project: Flagship project for the revitalization of the Northeast enters countdown to operation. On January 13, the first unit of the Huajin-Aramco fine chemicals and raw materials production project, with a total investment of 83.7 billion yuan, successfully underwent its initial trial operation – the air compression station was started up successfully on that day. This is another milestone following the mechanical completion of all 32 major production units on December 25, 2025. The refining section of the project includes 20 process units: 15 million tons per year of atmospheric and vacuum distillation, light hydrocarbon recovery, hydrotreating of coal diesel, diesel hydrocracking, wax oil hydrocracking, hydrotreating of residue oil, catalytic cracking of residue oil, catalytic cracking for high propylene yield, gasoline desulfurization, aromatics complexation (including p-xylene), gas purification, gas fractionation, C2 recovery, PSA, hydrogen production from coal, ammonia synthesis, methanol production, acid water stripping, solvent regeneration, and sulfur recovery. The chemical processing section includes 15 process units: 1.5 million tons per year of steam cracking (taking into account the ethylene recovered from various units, the total ethylene production amounts to 1.63 million tons per year), hexene-1, ethylene glycol, ethylbenzene/styrene, HDPE, FDPE, 3 PP units, acrylonitrile, MMA, ABS, butadiene extraction, C4 complexation, and pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation complexation, among others. This project is the largest refining and chemical integration project in the Northeast region, serving as a benchmark for the upgrading of the regional industry.
Tarim 1.2 million tons/year Phase II Ethylene Project: A Green Benchmark with Fully Electric Drive On January 8, the first high-pressure motor of the polypropylene unit in Tarim’s 1.2 million tons/year Phase II Ethylene Project, operated by Dushanbe Petrochemical Company, completed its trial run successfully; all technical parameters met the requirements specified in the design standards, indicating that the power core system of this unit is now ready for operation. The project components include: an ethylene plant, an FDPE plant, an LDPE plant (with EVA production capability), a PP plant, a butadiene extraction plant, an MTBE/butene-1 plant, a cis-polybutadiene rubber plant, a pyrolysis gasoline plant, an aromatics extraction plant, as well as supporting utility systems, auxiliary production facilities, and storage and transportation facilities. The main products are HDPE, LLDPE, LDPE, EVA, PP, butadiene rubber, MTBE, pyrolyzed C5, benzene, toluene, xylene, and pyrolyzed fuel oil, while by-products include polyethylene wax, butadiene, C9+, etc. This project utilizes all-electric drive technology and is China’s first million-ton-class green and low-carbon ethylene plant. BASF’s Zhanjiang Integrated Facility: The Largest Foreign Investment Project in the Region Goes Into Operation On the evening of January 7, BASF announced that the core facility of its Zhanjiang Integrated Facility – the ethylene complex – had been successfully put into operation. This facility will supply ethylene and propylene to various units within the facility, with an ethylene production capacity of 1 million tons per year. The total investment in the project amounts to 10 billion euros (approximately 78 billion yuan), making it BASF’s largest single investment project worldwide. The core facilities of the project include a steam cracking unit with an annual production capacity of 1 million tons of ethylene, as well as several downstream units such as units for the production of ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol with capacities of 660,000/830,000 tons per year, a unit for the production of non-ionic surfactants with a capacity of 215,000 tons per year, and a polyethylene production unit with a capacity of 500,000 tons per year. There are also supporting utility systems and auxiliary facilities. This is the largest chemical project undertaken by a foreign-funded enterprise in China, and it is of great significance for improving the chemical industry chain in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Yueyang 1 million tons/year ethylene project: The largest single investment in Hunan to date. On January 4, the results of the bidding process for Phase 1 of the integrated ethylene refining and production project in the Yueyang area were announced; six units capable of producing 1 million tons of ethylene each, along with seven different process technologies, were involved in this project. China Petrochemical Technology Development Co., Ltd. was declared the winner of the bid. The Yueyang ethylene project has a total investment of 35.68 billion yuan, making it the largest industrial project in Hunan to date in terms of investment amount. It consists of two components: an ethylene production facility with an annual capacity of 1 million tons, and upgrades to the refining facilities. The main construction components of the ethylene project include: the construction of a new ethylene plant with an annual capacity of 1 million tons, along with 14 other chemical processing units downstream. Ten of these chemical processing units are to be built in the Changling New Area; they include the 1-million-ton-per-year ethylene plant, a 500,000-ton-per-year pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation unit, a 300,000-ton-per-year aromatic extraction unit, a 300,000-ton-per-year aromatic to benzene conversion unit, a 150,000-ton-per-year butadiene extraction unit, a 20,000-ton-per-year styrene extraction unit, a 300,000-ton-per-year EVA plant, a 400,000-ton-per-year HDPE plant, a 400,000-ton-per-year LLDPE plant, and MTBE/butene-1 plants with capacities of 100,000/40,000 tons per year respectively. II. Capacity expansion during the 15th Five-Year Plan period: 26 million tons of ethylene on the way. As we enter the 15th Five-Year Plan period, several integrated refining and chemical projects are scheduled to come online. By the end of 2030, the trend of reducing domestic oil refining capacity and replacing it with other facilities will be more pronounced; an additional 30 to 40 million tons of refining capacity will be added, all in the form of large-scale integrated refining and chemical projects. Amidst this trend of shifting away from oil-based production, plans still call for 26 million tons per year of ethylene production and 10 million tons per year of PX production. Other large-scale petrochemical integration projects expected to come online during the 15th Five-Year Plan period include: the Dongming Petrochemical 15 million tons/year petrochemical integration project (with a total investment of 73.8 billion yuan), which will primarily involve the construction of facilities for processing 15 million tons/year of crude oil via atmospheric and vacuum distillation, 1.6 million tons/year of ethylene, 2.2 million tons/year of p-xylene, along with 36 other supporting units. The project focuses on the production of high-end petrochemical products, while also producing clean fuels. The project includes the construction of a steam cracking unit for ethylene production, which provides scalable and competitive raw materials for the manufacture of advanced chemical materials and specialty chemicals downstream. It also involves the establishment of chemical production facilities for products such as EVA, PO/SM, ABS, FDPE, UHMWPE, m-PP, and EPOE, thereby enabling the production of high-value chemical products. CNOOC Shell Huizhou Phase III Ethylene Project (total investment of 48 billion yuan): Construction of an ethylene cracking plant with a capacity of 1.6 million tons per year, along with 16 other chemical processing units, as well as utility systems and supporting facilities. Upon completion of the project, CNOOC Shell’s ethylene production capacity will reach 3.8 million tons per year, allowing it to maintain its status as China’s largest single ethylene plant and the largest ethylene production base in terms of scale. Qilu Petrochemical’s Luyou Lu Lian transformation and upgrading project (with a total investment of 24.4 billion yuan): It involves the construction of a refinery with an annual processing capacity of 10 million tons and an ethylene plant with an annual capacity of 1 million tons; completion is scheduled for 2027. Yulong Petrochemical Phase I and associated downstream facilities (investment of 116.8 billion yuan): construction of a refinery with an annual capacity of 20 million tons, an ethylene plant with an annual capacity of 3 million tons, and a mixed xylene plant with an annual capacity of 3 million tons; full operation is scheduled to begin in 2029. This project is a large-scale petrochemical integration project that is given priority attention in Shandong Province, and it plays an important role in optimizing the regional industrial structure.
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