Central approval for coal-to-oil and gas projects, local approval for coal-to-olefins projects | The State Council issues a list of approved investment projects

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Central approval for coal-to-oil and gas projects, local approval for coal-to-olefins projects | The State Council issued a list of approved investment projects. Author/Source: Date: 2016-12-23 Clicks: 14 The State Council recently released the “List of Approved Investment Projects (2016 edition).” With this revision to the Catalogue, a total of 17 approval authorities have been abolished or delegated; among them, 2 were changed from requiring approval to merely requiring registration, while 15 were delegated to local authorities for approval. Among them, projects such as new oil refining facilities, dedicated berths for coal mine liquefied petroleum gas, container terminals, navigation and communication hubs for inland waterway transportation, rare earth mine development, coal-to-olefins production, coal-to-methanol production, rare earth smelting and separation, and new automobile manufacturing facilities that are included in the plan will be subject to approval at the provincial ** or local level. At the same time, restricted projects in the Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment with a total investment (including capital increases) of $100 million or more but up to $300 million are delegated to provincial authorities for approval. In May 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on effectively implementing the “Plan for the Planning and Layout of the Petrochemical Industry” (Document No. 1047 on industrial development). It stipulated that provincial-level development and reform authorities are responsible for approving coal-to-olefins projects and new oil refining projects outlined in the Plan. These include the Shenhua Group’s Ordos coal-to-olefins project, Zhongtian Hechuang Company’s Ordos coal-to-olefins project, Heilongjiang Longtai Company’s Shuangyashan coal-to-olefins project, Sinopec-Henan Coal Chemical’s Hebi coal-to-olefins project, Sinopec’s Bijie coal-to-olefins project, China National Coal Group’s Yulin coal-to-olefins project, Huahong Huijin Company’s Pingliang coal-to-olefins project, Qinghai Mining Group’s Haixi Prefecture coal-to-olefins project, and Shenhua Group’s Hulunbuir coal-to-olefins project. Investment catalog for the petrochemical industry: Coal-based fuel projects with an annual production of over 2 billion cubic meters of coal gas, and coal-to-oil projects with an annual production of over 1 million tons are subject to approval by the investment authority under the State Council. Coal chemical industry: New projects for coal-to-olefins and coal-to-p-xylene production are approved by provincial authorities in accordance with the relevant plans that have been authorized. The construction of new coal-to-methanol projects with an annual production capacity of over 1 million tons is approved by the provincial authorities. Construction of the remaining projects is prohibited. Petrochemicals: New projects for ethylene, p-xylene (PX), and methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) are approved by provincial authorities in accordance with the approved planning framework for the petrochemical industry. The construction of new ethylene, p-xylene (PX), and methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) projects that are not included in the **approved relevant plans is prohibited. Liquefied petroleum gas receiving and storage facilities (excluding supporting facilities for oil and gas fields and refineries): Approved by local authorities. Import facilities for receiving, storing, and transporting liquefied natural gas: New projects (including those expanded in other locations) are approved by the industry regulatory authorities under the State Council; projects with a new receiving, storage, and transportation capacity of 3 million tons or more are approved by the investment regulatory authorities under the State Council and must be filed with the State Council as well. The remaining items are approved by the provincial authorities. Oil transmission pipelines (excluding those used for oil field gathering and transportation): Major pipeline projects that cross borders or provinces (regions, municipalities) are approved by the state department in charge of investment; those that cross borders must be filed with the State Council. The remaining items are approved by the local authorities. Gas transmission networks (excluding those for oil and gas field gathering and transportation): Cross-border and inter-provincial (regional, municipal) main pipeline projects are approved by the state council’s department in charge of investment, with cross-border projects requiring filing with the state council. The remaining items are approved by the local authorities. Refining: The construction of new refineries and the expansion of existing ones are approved by provincial authorities in accordance with the relevant plans that have been authorized. The construction of new oil refining projects and expansions to existing oil refining facilities that are not included in the **approved relevant plans is prohibited. Denatured fuel ethanol: Approved by the provincial authorities. Development of rare earth, iron ore, and non-ferrous metal mines: Approved by provincial authorities. Rare earths: Projects related to the smelting and separation of rare earths, as well as projects for their further processing, are approved at the provincial level. The cigarette, cellulose diacetate for tobacco use, and tow projects are approved by the industry regulatory department of the State Council.