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On April 17, at the construction site of the integrated petrochemical project in Jieyang, Guangdong, a 4,606-ton extractive distillation column was lifted into place, setting a new record for the heaviest tower structure lifted in Asia. The successful lifting of the raffinate tower has laid a solid foundation for the timely commissioning of the 2.6 million tons per year aromatic compounds complex in Guangdong Petrochemical’s integrated refining and chemical processing project. And this aromatic compound complex is currently the largest aromatic compound plant in terms of production capacity in the world. The Guangdong Petrochemical Integration Project, which includes 20 million tons per year of oil refining capacity, 2.6 million tons per year of aromatic compounds production, and 1.2 million tons per year of ethylene production, will, once operational, **reduce China’s reliance on foreign imports for aromatic compounds and enhance its ability to secure raw materials domestically. At present, the petrochemical integration project in Guangdong has completed most of the civil engineering work and has entered the phase of full-scale installation activities; it is planned to be fully completed and put into operation by 2022. Introduction to the Guangdong Petrochemical Integration Project: This project was funded jointly by CNPC and Venezuela’s PDVSA. It is managed and operated on a joint-stock enterprise basis, with CNPC holding 60% of the shares in the refining section and PDVSA holding 40%. ●Project scale: 20 million tons per year of oil refining (including 2.6 million tons per year of aromatics) and 1.2 million tons per year of ethylene. ● Project location: The refinery is situated in the area west of the mouth of the Longjiang River, within the Dainanhai Petrochemical Industrial Zone in Jieyang, Guangdong ； The crude oil terminal storage area is located in the Shibishan area in the southeast of Huilei County ； The crude oil terminal is located in the waters near the Shibishan Lighthouse in Jinghai Town ； The refined oil terminal is located in the waters to the west of the Longjiang River estuary in Dainan Sea. ●Project developers: CNPC and PDVSA. The project uses 10 million tons per year of Venezuelan Merey 16 crude oil and 10 million tons per year of Middle Eastern mixed crude oil as raw materials. The refining section primarily produces high-quality, low-cost ethylene feedstocks, as well as clean fuels such as gasoline, aviation kerosene, and diesel, as well as certain aromatic products like p-xylene and toluene. The chemical processing section manufactures chemical products such as HDPE, LLDPE, PP, SM, and butadiene. See the table below for details. Table 1: Overview of the construction scale for the project’s process facilities. Data source: Process Industry. In addition to the refinery itself, Guangdong Petrochemical will also build two terminals for crude oil and refined products. Near the refinery area, there will also be an ABS plant built and operated by Jilin Petrochemical Company, as well as the Jieyang National Oil Storage Base Co., Ltd.; these facilities will together form CNPC’s refining and petrochemical base in South China, and it will also be CNPC’s first base-type refinery. Key historical milestones in project development: On May 24, 2001, Sino-Communist Biphenol signed a memorandum of understanding to initiate cooperation in the energy sector ； January 29, 2005: CNPC and PDVSA signed a memorandum of understanding on a cooperation project to develop the Orinoco heavy oil belt ； On May 9, 2008, the Chinese and Venezuelan sides signed another framework agreement regarding the establishment of a joint venture for the development of the Orinoco heavy oil belt, as well as a framework agreement for a joint venture on refinery projects in China ； In 2009, CNPC officially began preparations for and launched the Sino-Venezuelan Guangdong Petrochemical project for the processing of 20 million tons per year of heavy oil, choosing Jieyang in Guangdong ； In March 2011, the original oil refining project received relevant supporting documents from various departments including the Ministry of Land and Resources, the **Maritime Administration, the Ministry of Environment, and the National Development and Reform Commission ； On April 20, 2012, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the original oil refining project ； Since the second half of 2014, Guangdong Petrochemical has collaborated with relevant organizations to conduct research and comparisons on various solutions ； On June 7, 2017, the joint venture agreement for Guangdong Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Sinopec and CNPC, was officially signed ； In June 2017, CNPC finalized the integrated plan for refining, aromatics, and chemical production, and subsequently completed relevant specialized studies ； In December 2017, the resumption of the feasibility study work was approved by the board of directors of CNPC Group, and the overall design work was subsequently launched officially ； On July 10, 2018, the second public announcement regarding the environmental impact assessment changes for Sinopec Guangdong Petrochemical’s 20 million tons per year heavy oil processing project was posted online. November 2018: The overall project design work was essentially completed ； Construction of the project began in December 2018. On June 30, 2019, the inauguration ceremony for the refining unit of Guangdong Petrochemical’s integrated refining and chemical production project was held on site, marking the full resumption of construction activities at the project site. The first units to come online include the petroleum coke hydrogenation unit in the refining section, the sulfur recovery unit, and two coking units. The refining section will be completed by the end of 2021. On December 27, 2019, construction of the chemical industry zone project commenced; the chemical sector is set to be completed in the first half of 2022, pushing the project into full-scale development mode. On March 15, 2020, the construction of the pile foundations for the power center began. Acting as the \"heart\" of Guangdong Petrochemical’s integrated refining and chemical processing project, the power center supplies essential energy sources such as water, electricity, steam, and air to support the operation of the main facilities; it is also a crucial condition for the commissioning of these facilities. On May 30, 2020, the construction of the 1.2 million tons per year ethylene plant began. The ethylene plant is a key facility in the chemical production sector, and it is also one of the critical components of Guangdong Petrochemical Company’s 2020 \"4441\" development plan. Once completed, its main products will be polymeric ethylene, polymeric propylene, and hydrogenated gasoline, while the main by-products will be hydrogen, pyrolyzed C4 compounds, pyrolyzed C5 and C9 compounds, as well as pyrolyzed fuel oil. On November 4, 2020, the Guangdong Petrochemical Project successfully completed the pouring of the large-volume concrete foundation for the stripping tower in the aromatic compounds processing area. This achievement marks a milestone for the smooth progress of subsequent civil engineering works in this facility as well as for the timely commencement of the installation projects. On November 18, 2020, the review of the project’s basic design was successfully completed. Thus, the review of the basic designs for the originally planned 204 main units of the project has been fully completed, and the Guangdong Petrochemical Integration Project has officially entered the detailed design phase. On January 9, 2021, the radiation chamber of Cracker No. 6 in Guangdong Petrochemical’s ethylene plant was successfully hoisted into place; it was the 12th cracking furnace radiation chamber to be installed successfully in that ethylene plant. Source: Process Industry, China Petroleum News, Lianhua Yidian Tong, and online resources; compiled by China Chemical Information Weekly. Please indicate the source when reproducing this content. Disclaimer: The content contained herein is sourced from the Internet, WeChat official accounts, and other public sources. We maintain a neutral stance regarding the views expressed in it; this article is intended solely for reference and discussion purposes. The copyright of the reproduced articles belongs to the original authors and institutions; if there is any infringement, please contact us to have it removed. Source: China Chemical Industry Information Weekly