CNOOC Daxie Petrochemical Phase 6 project kicks off! By 2028, a \"3 million-ton class\" product portfolio will be established

Thread Content

In Beilun, Ningbo, a region driven by the momentum of the blue economy, CNOOC Daxie Petrochemical is using its Phase 6 project as a catalyst for a strategic shift from traditional refining and chemical processing to high-end new materials. While the scorching sun of August baked the oil storage tanks along the East China Sea coast, the company’s energy-saving assessment team was busy preparing a report on the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene project. Hidden within this plan, which is set to be submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission, lies the key to Sinopec’s pursuit of reaching the top of the value chain. On August 11, an announcement was issued regarding the procurement plan for energy-saving assessment and acceptance services for the Phase 6 project of Daxie Petrochemical. Tracing the evolution of this company is like reading a micro-history of China’s refining industry. When it was established in 2001, it was merely a \"follower\" with a crude oil processing capacity of 5 million tons; yet now, with the commissioning of the 2×450,000-ton polypropylene units in Phase 5, the company’s total polypropylene production capacity has risen to rank it among the top players in the country. Inside the silver-colored reaction towers, heavy oil is magically transformed into high-quality polypropylene products such as car bumpers and medical syringes. Of the 1.2 million tons of production capacity that came online in July, the thin-walled injection-molded plastics intended for food packaging have obtained EU food-grade certification. In the control room of the 250,000-ton olefin separation unit, the data from the propylene compressor surge tests just completed by the engineers are helping to gather the key technical parameters for the upcoming Phase 6 project. The relay races in phases five and six reflect the ‘dual-drive’ strategy adopted by Daxie Petrochemical. While the catalytic cracking unit in phase five converts residue oil into aromatics, the high-molecular-weight polyethylene production line planned for phase six has already completed pilot tests in the laboratory. This material, used in bulletproof vests and artificial joints, costs eight times more per ton than ordinary polyethylene. What is remarkable about it is the comprehensive utilization design for carbon tetra compounds: the butylene component produced in Phase 5 is no longer burned as fuel, but instead is transformed into raw material for medical catheters using the new elastomer facility in Phase 6, generating an annual economic benefit of over 300 million yuan solely from this approach. This \"drain every last drop\" circular economy model reduces a company’s energy consumption by 18% compared to industry benchmarks, and it is applying to become a **-grade green factory. Starting from this new base of 12 million tons of refining capacity, Daxie Petrochemical’s ambitions extend beyond simply expanding in scale. The strategic sandbox display located in the new materials exhibition hall shows that by 2028, the company will have a product portfolio consisting of \"three products at the million-ton level\": in addition to the already operational polypropylene production, there is also the aromatic compounds complex that is currently under development, as well as the planned production capacity for acicular coke in phase six. As a key raw material for lithium battery anode materials, the latter can meet the growing demand for new energy batteries in Ningbo once it goes into production. The combined implementation of distributed photovoltaic systems and 5G-enabled smart factories has enabled this traditional refinery to exhibit the strengths of the digital era; the project aimed at replacing foreign-made real-time databases has just received special support from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.