News on the Xinfeng coal-to-natural gas coal chemical project in Wu’an, Hebei

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Central Environmental Inspection Team: Coal-based chemical projects such as Xinfeng Coal-to-Natural Gas in Wu’an, Hebei, do not comply with industrial policies. Author/Source: Date: 2016-05-04 Clicks: 31. In order to implement the important decisions and arrangements regarding environmental protection inspections issued by **** and the State Council, from December 31, 2015, to February 4, 2016, the Central Environmental Inspection Team conducted inspections in Hebei Province and issued feedback on those inspections. With the approval of the State Council, the inspection team provided feedback to the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government on May 3, 2016. The feedback session was chaired by Deputy Secretary Zhao Yong. Team leader Zhou Jian presented the inspection findings, while Secretary Zhao Kezhi delivered a statement. Deputy Minister Zhao Yingmin of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, members of the inspection team, members of the leadership teams of Hebei Province and its relevant departments, as well as the main responsible officials from various related departments, attended the meeting. The inspection report indicates that there are serious issues with projects launched in Hebei Province in violation of regulations. It is stated that for the Wu’an Xinfeng coal-to-natural gas comprehensive utilization project in Handan City, the relevant procedures have been handled by the provincial and municipal authorities respectively, but this project does not meet the requirements of **industrial policies. It is reported that the total investment in this project is 20 billion yuan, with an annual output of 1.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas; the by-products include methanol, gasoline, etc. It is the only coal-to-natural gas project in Hebei Province to date. The project contract was signed in December 2015; Tianchen Company was responsible for the design, procurement, and general construction of the main parts of the project, with construction set to begin in 2016. The inspection report also noted that in December 2012, the top leaders of Shenzhou City in Hengshui illegally interfered in the project approval process, ordering local authorities to approve a project with an annual production capacity of 220,000 tons of ethylene glycol – a project that should have been approved by the relevant departments – and this project has now been largely completed. The 220,000-ton coal-to-ethylene glycol project in Shenzhou is invested and constructed by Yangmei Group Shenzhou Chemical Co., Ltd. This company is a subsidiary of Yangmei Group; it was established with funding provided by Taiwan Zhongsheng Postage Co., Ltd., Yangmei Group Chemical Investment Co., Ltd., and Yangmei Group Shenzhou Fertilizer Co., Ltd. It is a Sino-foreign joint venture under state ownership. Construction of the project began in 2013; all construction work and equipment installation and commissioning were completed by the end of 2014. Unit testing started in April 2015, and the plant was successfully put into operation in July. Prior to this, the Ministry of Environmental Protection already had inter-regional inspection agencies, but since they only had the power to conduct inspections, investigations, and issue recommendations, it was difficult for them to exert effective oversight on local authorities. It has now been upgraded to a central environmental inspection mechanism; serious issues must be reported to the central authorities, and the results of the inspections are submitted to the Central Organization Department. These results serve as an important basis for evaluating, assessing, and making decisions regarding the leadership teams and officials under inspection. It is reported that, in accordance with the arrangements of the Central Committee and the State Council, environmental inspections will be carried out across the country this year and next. As planned, the inspection tasks for around 15 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities will be completed by the end of 2016. Enabling the “Central Government-led” supervision focuses on supervising people to investigate matters. Inspectors tasked with monitoring the achievement of environmental protection goals must keep a close eye on local party committees and governments, to ensure that the principal responsibilities for environmental protection work, namely the principle of \"shared responsibility by the party and government\" and \"dual responsibilities for each position\", are properly implemented. http://www.nmtech.com.cn/*nwen_mhg_xx.asp?id=177173