Zhongsha Gulei 1.5 million tons/year ethylene project: The main units have fully entered the installation phase

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Sino-Saudi Ghulayyeh 1.5 million tons/year ethylene project: Main units have entered the installation phase 2026-02-27 14:09:29 With a total investment of 42.07 billion yuan and a planned ethylene cracking capacity of 1.5 million tons per year, the Sino-Saudi Ghulayyeh petrochemical integration project has now seen its main units enter the installation phase, resulting in an accelerated pace of construction. As an important project for realizing energy and chemical cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, the advancement of this project holds great significance for the development of the petrochemical industry belt along Fujian’s coast. The project is jointly developed by Fujian Energy & Petrochemical Group (holding 49% of the shares) and Saudi Industrial Investment Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SABIC (holding 51% of the shares). It is one of the key cooperation projects between China and Saudi Arabia in the field of energy and chemicals. This cooperation model not only reflects the deep integration of international capital and local resources, but also signifies a further deepening of the internationalization strategy of the Gulei Petrochemical Complex. In terms of plant configuration, the project is centered around a 1.5 million tons per year ethylene cracking unit, with key units such as EO reactors, product recovery towers, reboilers, polyethylene/polypropylene plants, and propylene oxide plants built as supporting facilities. It also includes core equipment such as large-scale compressors, heat exchangers, towers, storage tanks, environmental protection treatment devices, and intelligent control systems; the overall process system is complete, with a high level of automation. Around the ethylene core platform, high-value-added facilities are planned to be constructed downstream, including ones for producing 100,000/1 million tons per year of ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol, 400,000 tons per year of HDPE, 600,000 tons per year of mLLDPE/HDPE, 50,000 tons per year of hexene-1, 950,000 tons per year of polypropylene, 250,000/150,000 tons per year of phenol acetone, 270,000 tons per year of bisphenol A, and 290,000 tons per year of polycarbonate. At the same time, facilities for the hydrogenation of 910,000 tons per year of pyrolysis gasoline, butadiene extraction at 220,000 tons per year, butene-1 production at 56,000 tons per year, and aromatic extraction at 570,000 tons per year will be built as well, thus creating a complete industrial chain that spans from ethylene pyrolysis to the production of high-end new materials. As a key project set to come online in 2026, it will not only enhance the raw material supply capacity of Fujian’s coastal petrochemical industry belt but also improve the availability of high-end chemical materials in the region. With the implementation of this project, the strategic importance of the Gulei Petrochemical Complex within China’s and even the world’s petrochemical industry is set to increase further.