The Yulin chemical and coal chemical project is set to resume operations soon

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The Yulin chemical and coal chemical project is set to resume operations. Author/Source: Coal Chemical Industry 114 Forum. Date: 11-16-2021. Clicks: 13. Recently, it was reported on the official website of the Yulin Municipal Government that since 2021, Yulin has adhered to the strategy of using projects that are not considered high-carbon or high-energy-consuming projects to supplement those that are, using infrastructure projects to support industrial projects, and leveraging government investment to attract private investment. By taking various measures to promote project development and stabilize investment, the decline in fixed asset investment in the first three quarters was reduced by 1.6 percentage points compared to the period from January to August, marking a turnaround in the trend. First, optimize mechanisms to clarify responsibilities. A project advancement mechanism of \"weekly scheduling, monthly progress reviews, and quarterly assessments\" has been established. The Municipal Development and Reform Commission is tasked with going to the counties and districts where fixed-asset investment is declining or where the disbursement of special bonds is delayed to provide supervision. The municipal authorities hold meetings to discuss the progress of key projects in different regions, thereby ensuring that responsibilities are passed down at each level and that efforts are coordinated to stabilize investment across all levels. Second, implement targeted measures to advance projects. Active efforts will be made to secure support at the central and provincial levels for energy-consuming projects that meet **the relevant requirements**, with the aim of getting the Shaanxi Coal Yulin Chemical and Shenhua’s 50,000-ton per year decomposable plastic production projects back online by November. Accelerate the completion of preliminary procedures for projects that have not yet started, with the goal of attracting an additional 3 billion yuan in investment within this year. Weekly progress reviews are conducted for key municipal projects under construction, and preparations are being made to hold on-site observation meetings for these projects in the fourth quarter, in order to encourage better work through visual inspection. Third is the strong support provided by fiscal leverage. In the fourth quarter, the municipal level allocated 4 billion yuan for urban renewal and the construction of major infrastructure projects; throughout the year, both the municipal and county levels planned to invest an additional 10 billion yuan in projects that were not part of the original plans. Realize the municipal subsidy of 30 million yuan in the form of incentives, and complete industrial technology upgrade investments of over 16.5 billion yuan throughout the year. At the same time, efforts will be intensified in real estate investment; 11,000 units of talent apartments, logistics facilities, and affordable rental housing will be built in the next two years, thereby stimulating investment while helping to stabilize housing prices. On May 27, 2021, the Shaanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued a notice titled “Notice on Requesting Plans for Equivalent Energy Reduction and Replacement for High-Energy-Consuming Projects Scheduled to Be Put into Operation during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period” (Shaanxi Development and Reform Environment and Resources [2021] No. 691) to the development and reform commissions of Xianyang, Tongchuan, Yan’an, Yulin, Hanzhong, and Hancheng. This notice stated that, in order to implement the spirit of the notice issued by the General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council regarding the need to curb the indiscriminate development of high-energy-consuming projects (Document No. [2021]12), and to strictly control the construction and operation of such projects while ensuring the achievement of the energy consumption control targets set for the 14th Five-Year Plan period, all cities (districts) were required to develop plans for equivalent energy reduction and replacement for coal chemical, petrochemical, chemical, steel processing, non-ferrous metal smelting, cement, and other projects that are already under construction and need to be retained. Projects that began construction without prior approval for energy efficiency reviews had to be suspended for rectification (the list of projects and related requirements are provided in the attachments). The specific requirements are outlined below. I. For projects that have already received approval for energy-saving reviews, please submit a plan for equivalent reduction of energy consumption to our commission by August 1, 2021, for review and approval. The plan for equivalent energy reduction through substitution must be accurate and reliable, and the relevant substitution sources must be shut down and phased out before the project goes into operation. Projects for which an equivalent energy reduction plan through substitution has not been approved by our commission shall not be put into operation. II. Projects that have not yet received approval for energy-saving reviews but have already started construction must cease work immediately for rectification, and shall submit a plan for reducing energy consumption by an equivalent amount as soon as possible to our commission for review. III. In principle, it is not recommended to retain those high-energy-consuming and high-emission projects that are still under negotiation and have not yet started construction. For projects that must be built, plans for compensating for the increased energy consumption through equivalent reductions elsewhere must be put in place. All cities (districts) should thoroughly assess the necessity and feasibility of such constructions, in order to firmly curb the indiscriminate development of high-energy-consuming and high-emission projects. All cities are requested to earnestly implement the relevant requirements set by the central government and our province, draw lessons from these cases, strengthen corrective actions, and in accordance with the central government’s directives on firmly curbing the reckless development of high-energy-consuming and high-emission projects, take concrete steps to assume their responsibilities and achieve the targets set for energy consumption control during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The Demonstration Project on the Utilization of Coal by Quality Classification to Produce New Chemical Materials, undertaken by Yulin Chemical Company of Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group, is currently the largest coal chemical project under construction in the world. The project covers a total area of approximately 13 square kilometers, with a planned total investment of around 126.2 billion yuan. It is expected to process about 24 million tons of coal annually. The project comprises 27 processing units along with supporting utility facilities. Its main outputs include 15 million tons of coal processed via medium- and low-temperature pyrolysis, 5.6 million tons of methanol, 1.8 million tons of ethylene glycol, 2 million tons of olefins, as well as downstream products derived from these intermediates. Among them, the first phase of Project 1, which involves an ethylene glycol production facility with an annual capacity of 1.8 million tons, covers an area of approximately 4.4 million square meters. The total investment required for this project is estimated at around 26.5 billion yuan. It is currently the largest coal-based ethylene glycol production plant under construction in the world, with completion scheduled for June 2021 ； Phase 1, stage 2 involves the construction of a facility capable of producing 5.6 million tons per year of methanol and 2 million tons per year of olefins, along with related processing units; completion is scheduled by the end of 2023. Phase II of the project focuses on coal pyrolysis and is also divided into two stages. The first stage involves an industrial demonstration facility for 1.2 million tons per year of pulverized coal pyrolysis and 500,000 tons per year of advanced processing of coal tar; mechanical completion is scheduled for June 2021 ； In the second phase, the scale of pyrolysis will be increased to 15 million tons, and the coal tar industry chain will be expanded to produce aromatics as well as downstream products derived from arylenes. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2022, with all construction work to be completed by the end of 2025.