【Haichuan. Pioneers of the Chemical Industry】Fushun Petrochemical – the cradle of China’s refining industry
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Fushun Petrochemical: the cradle of China’s refining industry. In 1909, a \"combustible stone\" was discovered in the Fushun coal mines; upon further investigation, it was identified as oil shale. The Japanese company \"Nanmanchuria Railway Company\" began constructing the Fushun Coal Mine Oil Refining Plant (the predecessor of Oil Plant No. 1), the Fushun Coal and Coke Chemical Plant (the predecessor of Oil Plant No. 3), and the Fushun Coal Mine East Oil Refining Plant (the predecessor of Oil Plant No. 2) in 1928, 1936, and 1939 respectively, in order to carry out ruthless monopolization and exploitation of China’s shale oil resources. China’s synthetic oil industry began in a humiliating manner under such colonial rule.
After Fushun was liberated, the three oil refineries gradually resumed production. In 1959, the Fushun Refinery produced 721,800 tons of shale oil, accounting for 80% of the country’s total production of synthetic oil that year. In the era when the Daqing Oil Field still contained little oil, the refinery workers in Fushun managed to extract precious energy from stone to propel the progress of the republic. On the eve of National Day in 1959, astonishing oil reserves were discovered in Daqing, Heilongjiang, which provided a new opportunity for Fushun’s refining industry; from then on, it began to shift from the production and processing of shale oil to petrochemicals. A year later, Fushun Petroleum Plant No. 1 successfully processed Daqing crude oil using atmospheric distillation technology. As Daqing oil became the main raw material for Fushun’s petroleum industry, Fushun’s petrochemical sector grew rapidly. During this period, the petrochemical industry surpassed the coal industry to become Fushun’s economic pillar and industrial symbol.
By the end of 1966, Fushun Oil Plants No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 had produced 2.46 million tons of fuel oil, accounting for 40% of the country’s total production and constituting half of the oil product output in the People’s Republic of China. In the 1960s, China’s production of refined petroleum products reached 6.17 million tons, enabling self-sufficiency, and the technology of its refining industry was close to the world’s advanced levels at that time. Three of the “five golden flowers” of the refining industry (five advanced refining technologies), namely catalytic cracking, delayed coking, and platinum reforming, were developed in Fushun. The installation of China’s first set of fluidized catalytic cracking units at Fushun Petroleum Plant No. 2 significantly improved the quality of gasoline. Yu Qiuli, the then Minister of the Petroleum Industry, said, “This is like an atomic bomb dropped on the refining industry.” ”
In October 1971, China’s first large-diameter underground crude oil pipeline, running directly from Daqing to Fushun, was completed and put into operation. By 1980, Fushun’s annual crude oil processing capacity had reached 8.7 million tons, ranking first in the country and making it a leader in China’s refining industry. In March 1982, Fushun Oil Plant No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, along with Fushun Fiber Factory and Chemical Plastics Factory which were under the jurisdiction of Fushun City, joined forces to form Fushun Petroleum Industry Corporation, which was later incorporated into Sinopec. In 1999, the company completed the initial transition from a decentralized operation model to a group-based one, establishing an integrated industrial structure covering oil, chemicals, fibers, plastics, detergents, and wax products. It thus became a large-scale petrochemical production base equipped with comprehensive refining capabilities and advanced chemical manufacturing technologies.
On October 28, 2012, the Fushun Petrochemical million-ton ethylene project was completed and put into operation, and the adjustment of the ten-million-ton oil refining capacity was fully implemented; it became one of the key landmark projects for revitalizing Liaoning’s old industrial base. At present, Fushun Petrochemical is the world’s largest paraffin base, Asia’s largest raw material base for surfactants, and China’s largest production base for precious metal catalysts. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, dozens of scientific research achievements from the Fushun Petrochemical Complex have filled gaps in domestic technology. It has trained over 20,000 professionals for various regions across the country. Wherever there are oil refineries on the Chinese mainland, there are people from Fushun Petrochemical. The complex has played a pivotal role as the \"cradle\" of China’s refining industry, making significant contributions to the development of the country’s energy sector! Article source: People’s Daily Online
According to data from Longzhong Information, in the first half of 2018, Fushun Petrochemical produced a total of 255,900 tons of paraffin, an increase of 3,400 tons compared to the previous year, representing a growth rate of 1.6% – which once again demonstrates the strength of this \"paraffin king\". Leveraging its favorable natural conditions and advantages in resource allocation, and with the strong support of China’s petroleum refining sector, Fushun Petrochemical has strengthened its determination and confidence to develop the paraffin industry further. In 2017, technical upgrades were carried out on three hydrogenation units, raising their processing capacity to over 600,000 tons per year, with a maximum daily production capacity of 1,600 tons. By group, in 2017, CNPC and Sinopec produced 1 million tons and 390,000 tons respectively, accounting for 72% and 28% of the total national production. Fushun Petrochemical’s annual production amounted to 480,000 tons, accounting for 34.53% of the national total. It ranked first on the 2017 production list.
Recently, the 2016-2017 **High-Quality Project Award Summary and Commendation Conference was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where Fushun Petrochemical Company’s 800,000 tons per year ethylene expansion project won the **High-Quality Project Award.
The 800,000 tons per year ethylene expansion project at Fushun Petrochemical is a key project for the comprehensive revitalization of the old industrial bases in the Northeast, and it also serves as a vital project for driving the economic transformation of Fushun City. The commissioning of this project spurred the construction of a number of highly processed enterprises in the Fushun Petrochemical Industrial Park; a total of over 27 billion yuan was invested in related infrastructure, it created employment for more than 20,000 people, and generated an output of over 100 billion yuan per year.