Sinopec plans to build a million-ton ethylene project in Luoyang, Henan

Project progress process: On March 28, 2022, a public announcement was made regarding the analysis and assessment of social stability risks associated with the project. On March 11, 2022, the project was included in the list of the first batch of key construction projects in Luoyang City for that year. At the end of December 2021, one batch of applications was submitted for the land required for the project, covering an area of 803.5995 mu. The first batch of urban construction land for 2022 (for the million-ton ethylene project) is to be submitted for approval; the area involved is 822.603 mu, and a notice of initiation has been issued as preparations are made to submit the application for approval. In October 2021, the project feasibility study report entered the evaluation phase. On October 13–14, the leaders and experts who attended the evaluation meeting listened to Luoyang Petrochemical’s presentation on the project’s background and progress, while Sinopec Engineering Corporation and Luoyang Engineering Company presented the main contents of the feasibility study report. The participants conducted a comprehensive evaluation of various aspects such as the necessity of the project construction, raw materials, product options and markets, process technology, overall layout and storage and transportation, utility systems and environmental protection, investment and financial assessment, competitiveness, and risks, in order to formulate their opinions. After the meeting, the relevant agencies will revise and improve the feasibility study report based on the expert group’s suggestions, ultimately preparing and issuing an evaluation report to advance the project to the stage of approval for the feasibility study report. In August 2021, the project held video-based demonstrations on occupational health, safety, and chemical engineering technologies, thereby completing the risk assessment review process. The work on drafting the feasibility study report was initiated in mid-June 2021. The feasibility study report was completed in May 2021 and submitted to headquarters for review. In January 2021, the Luoyang Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology officially issued the \"14th Five-Year Plan\" for the development of Luoyang’s \"6+3+X\" model of specialized industrial parks. This plan included plans to establish high-end petrochemical industrial parks in Luoyang, with the aim of creating an industrial structure featuring a hierarchical development pattern of \"6+3+X\" and accelerating the establishment of a national-level advanced manufacturing hub worth trillions of yuan.

On August 2, 2021, Sinopec Luoyang Engineering Co., Ltd. informed us that a \"one-stop\" review meeting for the feasibility study report of Luoyang Petrochemical’s million-ton ethylene project was held in Beijing recently. The meeting was chaired by the Development Planning Department of Sinopec’s headquarters, with Sinopec Luoyang Engineering Co., Ltd. attending as the design firm for the refining projects associated with the ethylene production. Sinopec Luoyang Engineering Co., Ltd. will evaluate the feasibility study reports for the 2.2 million tons per year hydrocracking unit and the 400,000 tons per year ethane recovery unit that it is responsible for, formulate evaluation opinions, and revise the feasibility study reports based on these opinions before submitting them to the headquarters. In addition to the million-ton ethylene project discussed in this seminar, the 120,000-ton ethylbenzene-styrene complex built by Luoyang Petrochemical was completed some time ago. Among them, the newly built facility with an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons of ethylbenzene requires a total investment of 180 million yuan. It utilizes the gas-phase dry gas to produce ethylbenzene technology owned by Sinopec, and is composed of the ethylbenzene production unit along with various supporting systems; its raw materials are catalytic dry gas and benzene produced by Luoyang Petrochemical. Once the project is completed and put into operation, it will be able to supply raw materials for the 120,000 tons per year styrene plant downstream. Construction of this project began in October 2019, and the civil works were completed and ready for installation work in September 2020. The 120,000-ton/year styrene plant that accompanies it is the first styrene project in Henan Province, with a total investment of 480 million yuan. It utilizes Sinopec’s own negative-pressure adiabatic dehydrogenation styrene technology, and includes the construction of a new styrene plant with an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons, a substation for the plant, as well as a new tank farm for storing styrene. This project uses ethylbenzene produced by the dry gas process as raw material; its main product is styrene, while the by-products are benzene, toluene, styrene tar, and dehydrogenation off-gases. Construction began in July 2020, and the project was completed after 12 months.