Middle Eastern petrochemical giant Borouge partners with Wanhua Chemical to build a 1.6 million tons per year polyolefin integrated project in Fuzhou

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On April 17, the Middle Eastern petrochemical giant Borouge announced on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange that its subsidiary Borouge PLC (Ruwais) had signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement with Wanhua New Materials (Yantai), a subsidiary of Wanhua Chemical, to jointly build a steam cracking and polyethylene complex in Fujian. This marks the entry of this high-end Sino-Arabian petrochemical partnership into the stage of actual development. This joint venture is based on the project cooperation agreement signed by the two parties in July 2024, which outlines the project governance structure and financing arrangements; it is still awaiting approval from regulatory authorities. Borouge stated that the project will leverage the group’s proprietary Borstar polyolefin technologies, as well as its established sales network in Asia, and will rely on experienced joint venture partners to drive growth in regional markets. As background to the project, Borouge PLC was established as a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc and the Nordic chemical company Borealis AG; it is now part of the newly formed Borouge Group International AG (BGI). The group combines the former Borouge PLC, Borealis, and the Canadian Nova Chemicals operations; Adnoc’s shareholding was transferred to its investment platform XRG PJSC, with XRG and OMV each holding 50% of the shares. According to the initial plan disclosed in July 2024, the cooperation between the two parties focuses on the feasibility study of a 1.6 million tons per year polyolefin integrated project in Fuzhou, Fujian. The project is planned to be powered entirely by zero-carbon electricity, with Wanrong New Materials, a subsidiary of Wanhua, and a foreign consortium composed of Adnoc, Borealis, and Borouge working together in a 50:50 shareholding ratio to advance the project. The signing ceremony was held in Beijing at that time, with Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Technology of the UAE and Managing Director of Adnoc as well as Chairman of Borouge, Liao Zengtai, Chairman of Wanhua Chemical, and Wu Xiande, Mayor of Fuzhou, all attending as witnesses ； Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi, CEO of Borouge, and Kou Guangwu, CEO of Wanhua Chemical, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective companies. It is understood that the establishment of this joint venture will further strengthen Wanhua Chemical’s production capacity and technological capabilities in the field of high-end polyolefins, while also providing an important foundation for Borouge to expand its business in China. To date, the specific investment scale and construction timeline for the project have not been made public.