China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Shell Nanhai B.V. (Shell) today announce the official start-up of the second ethylene cracker at their Nanhai petrochemicals complex in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Several linked derivative units have also started up and the remaining units will start up progressively over the next few weeks. These new units were constructed by CNOOC and are owned and operated by the existing CNOOC and Shell Petrochemical Company (CSPC) joint venture.
The new ethylene cracker increases ethylene capacity at the complex by around 1.2 million tonnes per year, more than doubling the capacity of the complex, and benefits from a deep integration with adjacent CNOOC refineries. The new facility will also include a styrene monomer and propylene oxide (SMPO) plant, which will be the largest in China when it begins operations.
“The start-up of the new ethylene cracker and derivatives units is a significant milestone for Shell,” Graham van’t Hoff, Executive Vice President for Royal Dutch Shell plc’s global Chemicals business, said. “I would like to thank our partner CNOOC for its excellent project delivery. As the largest single-site ethylene complex in China, CSPC is key to Shell Chemicals’ growth ambitions.”
He Zhongwen, Chairman and President of CNOOC Oil & Petrochemicals Co. Ltd, said: “The expansion project demonstrates great synergies between CNOOC’s engineering, construction and management capabilities, and Shell’s advanced technologies in chemicals. It has been recognised by the government as a role model for major industrial projects in China. This shows what we can achieve through effective international partnerships. We can now produce more and better chemical products for the growing domestic market.”
The new complex utilises Shell’s proprietary OMEGA, SMPO and polyols technologies to produce ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, propylene oxide and high-quality polyols, as well as advanced technologies for polyolefins, phenol and oxo-alcohols production. It is the first time that Shell’s industry-leading OMEGA and advanced polyols technologies have been applied in China.
With a strong track record of reliable and safe operations, the petrochemicals complex produces olefins and derivative products that are used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products, including household appliances, cars, furniture and computers.
