10-07-2014

Sinochem commissions Quanzhou refining project

With all its 19 units successfully passed the trial run, Sinochem Quanzhou 12 million MT/a refining project (hereinafter referred to as Sinochem Quanzhou refining project), invested solely by Sinochem Group, was officially rolled out on July 9th.

Located in Quanhui Petrochemical Industrial Park of Quanzhou, Fujian Province, Sinochem Quanzhou refinery is a key project in Fujian Province and China’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan period. The total investment of the project is nearly RMB30 billion. All its gasoline and diesel products meet Euro V emission standards. The project has a total of 19 units, including those related to such processes as atmospheric and vacuum distillation, residue hydrotreating, VGO hydrocracking, continuous reforming, heavy oil catalytic cracking, delayed coking, and polypropylene, as well as supporting dock and storage facilities. The project is expected to generate an annual gross sales revenue of nearly RMB70 billion, with over RMB12 billion in tax and profits contribution.

Sinochem Quanzhou refining project is designed and constructed in accordance with "domestically leading and world advanced" standards, and Sinochem Group is committed to building the project into a large-scale, modern refining enterprise characterized by advanced techniques, resource efficiency, environmental friendliness and sustainable development. The project enjoys significant advantages domestically in safety and environment protection, energy-saving and emission-reduction, general layout and general process, technical plan, unit scale, product quality and market suitability. Domestically or internationally advanced technologies have been adopted for its principal units: both the catalytic cracking unit and atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit employ domestic techniques with internationally advanced standards; most advanced international techniques have been introduced for the residue hydrotreating unit, the hydrocracking unit and the continuous reforming unit; the oil refining process adopts "residue hydrotreating + delayed coking + catalytic cracking" scheme. The project features high energy efficiency, with its BT energy consumption index reaching 131.2%, a leading level among domestic refineries; the installation can be made to suit any desired diesel-gasoline ratio within the range of 1.2-2.3, based on actual market demand.

Sinochem Quanzhou refining project attaches great importance to HSE (health, safety and environmental protection). Its safety, environmental protection and occupational health facilities have been designed, constructed and put into operation with the main project concurrently. The project is equipped with complete safety and environmental protection facilities: it employs state-of-the-art refinery waste (wastewater, flue gas, and solid waste) treatment technologies, and its flue and gas emissions have been desulfurized and denitrated. All its major environmental indexes are at domestically and internationally advanced levels.

Experts within the industry observe that although China has excessive oil refining capacity in general, it lacks advanced, high-level refining capability. Sinochem Quanzhou refining project, featured by economies of scale, advanced technologies and environmental friendliness, can better satisfy market demand for high quality oil products, and promote the upgrading and transformation of China’s petroleum refining industry.

Sinochem Group is China's fourth largest national petroleum company noted for its market orientation and global operation. Since the late 1990s, Sinochem Group has been speeding up the strategic transformation of its petroleum business as China reforms its petroleum administration system. While consolidating its advantages in crude oil trading and third-party petroleum storage and logistics business, Sinochem Group has been striving to expand both upstream and downstream along the petroleum industry value chain. At present, Sinochem’s energy business covers every link of the industry value chain, including oil and gas exploration & production (E&P), oil refining, oil trading, storage and logistics, distribution and retails.

With the completion of Sinochem Quanzhou refining project, a major breakthrough in oil refining, a key link in Sinochem Group’s petroleum industry value chain, has been achieved. As a result, Sinochem Group's petroleum business will develop at a much greater speed, its position as the fourth largest national oil company, gained through market competition, will be strengthened, and new vitality will be injected into China's refined oil market.